More of The Week That Was, may 24, 2013

     The three most popular destinations for golf vacationers are, in order, Spain, Portugal, and Scotland. Care to guess number four? It’s Turkey, according to a survey of more than 110 international tour operators by KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice. “Consumers are now saying price is the most important factor when choosing a golf holiday, although the quality of courses is still extremely important,” explained Andrea Sartori of KPMG. “In part, this is why we are seeing emerging destinations such as Turkey being able to position themselves effectively for the market. The quality of the golf courses is high, and the packages represent good value for money.” The most frequent travelers, says KPMG, live in Great Britain, the United States, and Canada, and it appears that they’ll be on the move even more in the future. Of the companies that responded to the survey, 80 percent expect to improve on last year’s bookings in 2013.

     Damac Properties is talking plenty about its forthcoming golf community, the one with Trump International Golf Club Dubai as its centerpiece, but it continues to evade a key question. Why won’t Damac -- or Trump, for that matter -- tell us who’s designed the golf course that’s supposedly under construction and scheduled to open next year?

     You know what they say about having to spend money to make money? Well, the Arizona Republic has gotten into the nitty-gritty of a controversy that’s brewing over the cost of operating TPC Scottsdale, the site of the PGA Tour’s annual Phoenix Open. The matter came to a head late last year, when the city of Scottsdale agreed to cough up $15 million for renovations to the TPC’s Stadium course in exchange for a contract extension that will require the PGA Tour to pay just $4 million in additional fees over the next 20 years. Spreadsheets were closely inspected, and critics soon concluded that the city has been fleeced by the Tour’s smooth-talking lawyers. As a result, they’re threatening to sue unless the contract is renegotiated.

     It took 10 years, but Civix Sarasota GC LLC’s investment in Sarasota Golf Club is about to pay off. The LLC, an entity led by Wallace Devlin, plans to close the club on Memorial Day and replace its fairways with houses. That hissing noise you hear is the sound of nearby property values deflating. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune concludes that the club’s closing is “yet another sign of the resurgent demand for residential real estate” in Southwest Florida and, citing the opinion of the local real-estate professionals, believes similar conversions “could once again become in vogue.” Devlin’s LLC bought the club from Wells Fargo Bank in November 2003, reportedly for $2.2 million.

     A golf course in Independence, Missouri is taking a ride on the road less taken. As private clubs all over the nation open their doors to public play, Drumm Farm Golf Club is going in the opposite direction. “We felt like there was a need in the area for a good, family-friendly private club, not a stuffy club,” the club’s general manager told the Independence Examiner. “We’re just trying to make it a fun spot for members to come and spend some time.” The club features an 18-hole, Michael Hurdzan-designed course and a nine-hole, executive-length track. It currently has 120 members, but its owner, Landscapes Unlimited, hopes to have 200 by the end of next year.

     Just when you start thinking that putting sheep on your fairways is an idea way too corny for American tastes, you read a story about Hermitage Golf Course in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. Mike Eller, the owner the 36-hole complex, let 13 sheep free-range on his property last year, and now he’s added another dozen. His customers apparently enjoy the experience. “We’ve had several people come out here and want to know which course the sheep are on,” Eller told a local television station. “That’s the course they want to play.” So I’m compelled to ask: What value do sheep have as a marketing tool?