The Week That Was, may 19, 2013

     Mike Keiser has begun to share his thoughts about future phases of development at or near Bandon Dunes, his nearly impeccable golf resort in Oregon. It appears that the resort’s sixth course will be another par-3 track, a la Coore & Crenshaw’s popular 13-hole Preserve course. A report by the Golf Channel identifies David McLay Kidd, who created the first course at Bandon Dunes, as the likely designer. In addition, Keiser told Golf World that he dreams of creating “an archipelago of golf courses” up the state’s coast and can already envision one of the facilities taking shape at a “mystery site” roughly 20 miles north of Bandon. He didn’t spell out what would be built on the property, but for Keiser, golf courses rarely stand alone. And if you’re wondering where Keiser’s development fantasies end, he said that he intends to keep building links courses “until I either run out of interest, which I doubt, or until I run out of money.” Don’t count on that day doesn’t arriving anytime soon.

     Casa de Campo has unveiled a statue of Pete Dye, who deserves much of the credit for making it one of the world’s great vacation destinations. Next, the 7,000-acre spread on the Dominican



Republic’s southeastern coast plans to add nine more Dye-designed holes to its enviable golf portfolio. The new nine will be part of the 27-hole Dye Fore complex, one of the four golf venues at Casa de Campo. (The group is highlighted by Teeth of the Dog, #22 on Golf Digest’s list of the best courses outside the United States.) The resort, a veritable country within a country, also features nearly 2,000 houses, a beach club, a marina, a spa, polo fields, an equestrian center, an amphitheater, and lots of other distractions. It’s owned by one of the biggest sugar producers on the planet, the Fanjul family -- the Domino Sugar people -- which has, according to Jay Flemma, allocated $6 million for the design and construction of the addition. The family apparently thinks that Casa de Campo can accommodate more golf, as Flemma reports that Dye Fore may eventually grow to 45 holes.

     The original version of the previous post first appeared in the May 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report. 

     Speaking of Pete Dye, he may not be able to claim Israel’s only golf course for very much longer. Within a month or so, Israel’s Land Administration Council is expected to approve the sale of a 210-acre parcel along the Mediterranean coast to a private group that will build a resort featuring 650 overnight accommodations, meeting space, retail and commercial space, and the nation’s second 18-hole golf course. The property is adjacent to the Nitzanim Nature Reserve, a 2,000-acre stretch of sand dunes near Ashkelon. Only one suitor for the concession has so far been identified, but he’s one of the biggest celebrities on the planet and a near inescapable figure in our business. “I have great affection for Israel and its people,” Donald Trump wrote to the city’s mayor after his lieutenants made a site visit, “and I believe that Israel is a worthy place to be included in the list of communities which host Trump golf centers.” As I’ve often said, those who underestimate Trump and his ambitions do so at their own peril.

     Andrew McDonald’s seven-year itch has been scratched. McDonald’s Esencia Hotels & Resorts has been granted permission to build the first new golf course in Cuba since the Revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power more than a half-century ago. The 18-hole track will be the centerpiece of Carbonera Club, an upscale, 425-acre community in Varadero, an hour’s drive from Havana, that will feature gated housing, a hotel, a spa, a yacht club, and other attractions. “We’ve been working on this for seven years, step by step, so we’re very excited it’s finally going to happen,” McDonald said to the BBC. Carbonera Club’s golf course will be designed by Tony Jacklin, who’s based in Bradenton, Florida but is allowed to work in Cuba because he, like Esencia, is British. He expects to break ground on the course next year.

     The effect of this season’s cold, wet weather on the golf business has been calculated, and the outcome isn’t pretty. The number of rounds played on U.S. golf courses in the first quarter of 2013 dropped by 15.4 percent from those recorded in 2012. Courses open to the public attracted 14.4 percent fewer rounds, according to the National Golf Rounds Played Report, and private venues were off by 18.2 percent. Only one of the nation’s eight regions, the Pacific states, registered a gain, and it was small (3.6 percent). The worst-hit regions were the East North Central (down by 75.3 percent), the West North Central (down by 68.4 percent), the Mid Atlantic (down by 59 percent), and New England (down by 55.3 percent). The road to recovery will be a long one.

     In Dallas, more dominos have fallen. For starters, the Byron Nelson Championship, a fixture in Irving for three decades, has agreed to relocate to the planned Trinity Forest Golf Club. The event will begin a 10-year run at Trinity Forest’s golf course, to be designed by Coore & Crenshaw, in 2019. In addition, the city has approved development agreements with the entities that will build and manage the course. “I want this golf course built quickly, and I want to start playing top-notch golf there,” the mayor of Dallas reportedly said. Give the city credit: It’s making golf happen.

     Rees Jones will have to wait a little longer to get started on his $24.5 million, championship-worthy golf course at New Orleans’ City Park. FEMA hasn’t yet determined how much to pay the city for the damage incurred at the park by Hurricane Katrina, and course construction will be delayed until it does. “We have to wait for FEMA to do its thing,” the park’s CEO told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Jones’ course will take shape on property once occupied by the park’s ruined East and West courses. The city hopes it can bid out the work this summer and break ground this fall, in which case the course could be ready for play in 2015.

     The editors of Golf Digest aren’t the only people with ideas for making golf more relevant. New Zealand’s most famous golfer, the esteemed “Sir” Bob Charles, believes the game needs to be “shorter, faster, and more accessible if it is to survive,” so he’s created a new way to play. It’s called 30-30 Golf, and, by adding forward tees, it reduces any existing 18-hole course to a par-60 layout with a dozen par-3 holes and six par-4s. Think of it as a course within a course that can be hard or easy, depending on the nature of the existing greens and greenside bunkers. Carts are compulsory, and Charles says a round can be played in three hours or less.

     Ever wish you could put your name on a sports stadium? Well, the city of Spokane, Washington may have a viable alternative. If the price is right, it plans to sell “naming rights” to its four golf properties. The income will enable the city to make what it calls “significant capital investment” in the properties, to “protect their future as premier public golf courses.” Collectively, the courses attract 144,000 rounds a year. The city is seeing expressions of interest through June 11.