The Week That Was, march 10, 2013

     Donald Trump, who made his reputation by doing things bigger and theoretically better, has decided to spend less -- much less -- on the hotel at his golf resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Not two years ago, the celebrity developer and reality-TV host had planned to build a luxurious 450-room, £280 million ($418 million) hotel for guests at Trump International Golf Links Scotland. Today, he’s sliced the number of rooms to 140 and plans



to invest a measly £99.4 million ($148 million). In a conversation with the Scotsman, a critic has already complained that the new building looks like “a Frankenstein’s monster of architectural body parts” and “as dead as the Victorian style it hopes to re-create.” Despite the financial cutback, Trump insists that the finished product will be “among the finest hotels in Europe, with breathtaking direct views of the North Sea and the Great Dunes of Scotland.” But don’t hold your breath waiting to construction to begin, because Trump continues to insist that he won’t invest another dime in Scotland if the government okays a proposed off-shore wind farm within view of his property.

     The pressure to deliver the golf course for the 2016 Olympics is, quite understandably, starting to gnaw at Gil Hanse. ESPN reports that the Pennsylvania-based architect, who’s in Rio de Janeiro and waiting impatiently to rev up his a bulldozer, “sounded hopeful but also frustrated” about the delays that have held up construction for nearly six months. “It just seems like there’s this bureaucracy that won’t seem to let its tentacles go,” Hanse said in an interview with the Golf Channel. “I’m disappointed in that. I’m disappointed in myself because I thought, gosh, it’s the Olympics, you can’t get any bigger than that, they’ve got to be able to just move this through. Unfortunately, I was dead wrong with that.” In the interview, Hanse also acknowledged that he and his crew are “right up against the deadline” if the course is to be ready for test events in 2015. Fingers crossed, he hopes to start moving dirt around the first of next month.

     Are Donald Trump and Gil Hanse butting heads over the forthcoming renovation of the Blue Monster course at Doral? Last week, Trump told reporters that he plans to “blow up” the Dick Wilson-designed track and create an island green on hole #15. But it doesn’t appear that Hanse shares Trump’s design vision. “As far as I know, Dick Wilson never built an island,” Hanse said during an interview with the Golf Channel. “So while we’re going off the reservation on a number of changes, we’re hoping stylistically it’ll still have the appearance of a classic Wilson course. And an island green doesn’t really go into that.” Hanse’s idea, according to the Golf Channel, is to create a “peninsula green” that will give the 15th some teeth without inviting comparisons to the 17th at TPC Sawgrass. My guess is that the compromise gets a thumbs-up from Trump.

     Greg Norman, golf’s proudest and loudest conglomerate, has found a new way to market his diverse business interests: He’s agreed to become an advisor to China’s national golf program. “There’s a lot for them to learn,” Norman noted in a comment reported by the Golf Channel. “I think I can hone their skills and give them a lot of important factors about how to develop their skills to become world champions.” Specifically, Norman will help China’s golf association develop a training regimen for junior golfers and to select the team that will compete at the 2016 Olympics. In discussing his new role in the People’s Republic, Norman made it clear that he would have lent his expertise to nations closer to his heart, if they’d only asked. “I’ve never been asked by Australia, never been asked by the United States or anybody else to help guide a group of golfers to an ultimate goal of being in the Olympics,” he said. “So I seized the moment.” So what does Norman, a classic example of a guy who’s only in it for the money, hope to get in return for taking on this new role? Well, he’s opened an architectural office in China, and greater visibility sure won’t hurt his chances of securing future design commissions. And then there are his sales of Kobe beef and wine, plus the Norman-branded pants and shirts. And the sunglasses. Don’t forget the sunglasses.

     A mothballed golf course in County Limerick, Ireland is about to reopen as the centerpiece of a member-owned club. Limerick County Golf Club in Ballyneety, which went belly up in early 2011, has been purchased by investors from Cork who aim to “return the course to its former glory,” according to the Limerick Leader. The course, which was designed by Des Smyth and opened in 1994, is expected to begin its second life later this month. “There was a great love of the former club, and people missed it sorrowfully when it closed,” a spokesperson for the investment group told the Limerick Post. And as a profession of their love, more than 400 local golfers have already paid subscription fees for 2013.

     A Houston, Texas-based company, Capital Direct Funding Hard Money, has decided to start funding U.S. golf ventures. “What many investors would consider a risky proportion,” says a press release, “Capital Direct Funding Hard Money views as a major opportunity.” One worry: The firm doesn’t identify its principals, either in the press release or on its website.

     You can add Tony Jacklin’s name to the chorus of voices calling for restrictions on the flight of golf balls. “The ball going as far as it goes does not make golf a better game,” the former touring pro told the London Evening Standard. “But it suits all these companies who make big money selling these balls on the idea of distance, distance, distance. What about direction? Does that not matter?” As a course designer, Jacklin understands the savings that would accrue if golf courses were, say, 15 percent shorter. But he knows it isn’t going to happen. “It is all about making billions for equipment manufacturers,” he argues, “and it is ruining the game. To take five, six hours to play a round of golf is ludicrous.”

     It attracts the world’s best players, it’s played on the same course every year, and it has Amen Corner. Those are three of the five reasons why Steven Stromberg believes the Masters is the best sporting event on the planet. Though love may know no bounds, journalism should.

    Speaking of the Masters, one of its iconic green jackets has become the focus of a lawsuit brought by Augusta National, Inc. A collector of golf memorabilia is trying to auction a blazer -- one



originally given to Art Wall, Jr., the winner of the 1959 Masters -- but the club-related entity has at least temporarily blocked the sale, arguing that the item was stolen from its clubhouse and must therefore be returned. “The green jacket to Augusta is the Statue of Liberty to New York or the Mona Lisa to the Louvre,” a club official said at a court appearance, according to the Dallas Morning News. That may be true, but the club unfortunately never filed a police report on the alleged theft, which it says also involved green jackets belonging to Gay Brewer, George Archer, and Fuzzy Zoeller. What’s interesting to me is that Wall’s jacket has a number: 80469M. I’d love to know what that number represents.