The Pipeline, march 22, 2013

     For Tower Holdings, the third time really was the charm. Just weeks ago, planning officials approved a substantially downsized version of the company’s “eco-friendly” vacation spot on Great Keppel Island, including its 18-hole golf course. Terry Agnew, Tower Holdings’ owner, once called Grand Keppel, off the coast of Queensland, “probably the most outstanding island paradise in Australia,” and in the mid 2000s he set out to make it “one of Australia’s premier tourist attractions.” But his grander development proposals were rejected twice, and now his North Sydney-based firm will be limited to building 750 villas, 600 apartments, a 250-room hotel, a marina, and other attractions. A condition in the federal approval will require the proposed golf course, a Greg Norman layout, to be located somewhat farther inland, to preserve a habitat for migratory birds. It’s been a long haul, but these days Tower can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel.
     Some information in the preceding post originally appeared in the February 2010 and March 2013 issues of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Government authorities on Luzon Island in the Philippines have endorsed plans for an eco-tourism resort and industrial park that will include a controversial 18-hole golf course. The construction will take shape on 660 coastal acres immediately west of Lingayen, the capital city of Pangasinan Province. In an effort to woo both tourists and foreign investment, the province aims to build a hotel, a shopping mall, an electric-car manufacturing plant, an electronics factory, and a golf course that some local officials believe will “put the province in the world sporting map,” according to Positive News Media. The proposal has generated considerable debate, however, as some residents of the villages where the construction will take place -- the “barangays” of Sabangan, Estanza, Malimpuec, and Capandanan -- fear that earth movement along the waterfront will trigger erosion. Those fears have largely been allayed, however, and now the province is seeking private-sector groups to undertake the various projects. It’s possible that the golf course will be developed by a South Korean entity called All Weather Aqua City Philippines, which has been linked to both the resort and the industrial park.
     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the August 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Taylor Morrison is trying to breathe new life into what is widely believed to be a vanishing species: A gated golf community in Naples, Florida. The 1,800-acre spread, called Esplanade Golf & Country Club, will eventually include more than 1,100 single-family homes and other housing types, a wellness center with a spa, hiking and biking trails, lakes and nature preserves, and an 18-hole, “eco-friendly” golf course. The latter has been designed by Chris Wilczynski, a protégé of Arthur Hills, who aims to “encourage beginners while challenging the most seasoned players,” according to a press release masquerading as a newspaper story. The 6,900-yard track is expected to open sometime next year.

     A mined-out quarry in suburban Christchurch is being eyed as the new home of Templeton Golf Club. The quarry is just a hop, a skip, and a jump north of Templeton’s 6,619-yard course on New Zealand’s South Island, and its owner has agreed to build a new course and a clubhouse in exchange for the club’s 130-acre property. Greg Turner and Scot Macpherson, a design duo based in Queenstown, have sketched out a routing for the 18-hole track, which Templeton’s president believes will provide “a unique golfing experience” that would help to attract new members. But don’t hold your breath waiting for Templeton to move. The club expects the entitlement process to take two years or more, and course construction will add another year or two to the time line.  
     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Slowly but surely, the members of Minot Country Club are getting closer to building their new home. Planning officials in Minot, North Dakota, a city desperately in need of new housing, have given partial approval to the community that the club will eventually be part of. If the community’s developer can secure the density it wants, it’ll allocate 300 acres of its property for the club’s new, Jim Engh-designed course. The club’s original course has been closed since the spring of 2011, when it was covered by waters spilling out of the Souris River. The flooding devastated the entire city of Minot, although the area’s oil boom is helping it recover quickly.  
     Some information in this post originally appeared in the July 2012 issue of the U.S. Golf Course Report.

     A proposal to build a nine-hole course on a small farm just north of Toronto has stirred some controversy. Carlo Baldassarra, a well-known developer in the area (his Vaughan-based Greenpark Homes is said to be Canada’s largest home builder), wants to build the course at his 128-acre Westlin Farms, in an unincorporated area just west of King City. He intends to build the course for his personal use, but his proposal has nonetheless triggered worries among some of the area’s residents about excessive water use and the loss of agricultural land. If Baldassarra and his representatives can placate those concerns and persuade local planning officials to rezone the property, construction will likely begin in 2015. The course will be designed by Doug Carrick, an architect based in suburban Toronto.
     The original version of the preceding post appeared in the January 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     The new owners of Essendon Country Club in Hertfordshire, England are laying plans to take their New course to the next level. Kieran and Liam Griffin bought the 400-acre club (the former Hatfield London Country Club) in 2012, with the aim of making it what they describe as “an inclusive and integrated club that appeals to all the family.” The club, in a northern suburb of London, features a pair of 18-hole courses -- the Fred Hawtree-designed, 6,808-yard Old course, which opened in 1976, and the 6,938-yard New course, which was designed by Landscape Design Company and opened in 1992 -- along with a nine-hole pitch-’n’-putt track and a practice center. The Griffins, who own a local taxicab company, plan to upgrade the entire facility, starting with the New course. “We are in the process of commissioning an architect to recommend changes and genuinely believe it has the potential to stand comparison to anything else in the area,” Liam Griffin said in a press release.  
     The original version of the preceding post appeared in the January 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     The members of a historic club in northeastern Scotland have approved a master plan for future renovations. The plan, created by Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert, will provide a road map for improvements at Edzell Golf Club, which features an 18-hole, Bob Simpson-designed course that dates from 1895 and a nine-hole, Graeme Webster-designed course that opened in 2001. Top 100 Golf Courses of the World calls Simpson’s 6,455-yard layout, which was redesigned by James Braid in the early 1930s, “an enchanting experience” that’s been laid out in “one of the best settings for an inland course anywhere in the British Isles.” Mackenzie and Ebert don’t figure to mess with the course’s essence, as they’ve sympathetically modernized many British golf antiques, among them three that have recently hosted Open Championships: the Ailsa Course at Turnberry (2009), Royal St. George’s Golf Club (2011), and Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club (2012). Edzell, which is located in the town of Edzell, hasn’t yet announced when construction will begin.  
     The original version of the preceding post appeared in the January 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report. 

     A recession-delayed resort community in Los Cabos, Mexico is about halfway finished with construction of its Jack Nicklaus golf course. The 7,200-yard track, which will likely open sometime next year, is one of two “signature” layouts in the master plan for Quivira Los Cabos, an oceanfront community that’s finally taking shape along the picturesque cliffs at the bottom of Baja Peninsula. The 1,850-acre spread, originally known as Cabo Pacifica, has been kicking around since the mid 2000s (if not before), when Ernesto Coppel, its developer, claimed to be “ready to build the best golf courses in North America.” Nicklaus has called the site “a great piece of property,” as have most others who’ve seen it, including the Hollywood producers who filmed parts of Troy there. The rest of Quivira Los Cabos will include a parade of single-family houses, some hotels, time-share and fractional condos, a village center, a “holistic retreat and spa,” two beach clubhouses, several sports parks, a protected wildlife area, and more than 20 miles of hiking trails. The community is even supposed to provide a helicopter for the use of its residents.  
     Some information in the preceding post originally appeared in the November 2011 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.