Can you guess where developers are planning to build a mega-resort with a Jack Nicklaus “signature” course, a Bill Coore-designed “natural” course, and, last but most certainly not least, “a perfect mirror image” of the Old Course at St. Andrews? Dubai, maybe? Tianjin? Sochi? The correct answer: Las Vegas. Eurasia Resorts International, a Bahamian group with pronounced Russian overtones, wants to build the golf courses and much, much more on 3,000 acres of publicly owned desert outside Sin City, “not too far,” it says, from the Strip. The spread has been master-planned to include 39 casinos, 45 hotels, indoor and outdoor theme parks, a convention center, the world’s largest shopping mall, the world’s largest Ferris wheel, sports arenas, a private airport, and lots of places to eat, drink, and be deliriously merry. Eurasia Resorts hopes to break ground on the property’s initial phases next year, but its construction schedule ultimately depends on the willingness of partners to roll the dice on such a pie-in-the-sky venture.
A former Wall Street investment analyst believes that sales of metal drivers may soon plummet, perhaps by as much as 40 percent. It all has to do with replacement cycles, says Andrew Glaser, the CEO of ClubCrown by Vive. Glaser contends that equipment manufacturers have squeezed all the performance they can out of their products, given the limits imposed by golf’s ruling bodies, and, as a result, consumers no longer have a compelling reason to upgrade. If consumers simply wait to replace their clubs after five years instead of after three, he says, sales will fall by 40 percent. “The implications will be dire, especially for those manufacturers and retailers who prefer to keep their heads in the sand,” he writes in his blog. Of course, the manufacturers have long understood that this day would inevitably come and have a solution: They’re going to boost sales of related products, particularly fairway woods.
Donald Zucker, a Manhattan-based real estate mogul, has agreed to buy his second distressed golf property on Long Island, New York. Zucker, acting as Golf Riverhead LLC, has offered $6 million for the bankrupt Long Island National Golf Club, which features a Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed course that opened in 1999. Bill Gatz, the club’s developer, once called Jones “a genius,” but he may have changed his mind after he realized that Long Island National generated less income than the potato farm it was built on. Gatz wanted $10 million for the property but could find no takers. The club, in Riverhead, had been scheduled to sell at a public auction that was canceled due to lack of interest. In 2009, Zucker bought North Shore Country Club in Glen Head and hired Tom Doak’s firm to give it a makeover. (The work was overseen by Bruce Hepner.) It sounds as though something similar may be in the works at Long Island National, for Zucker told Newsday that he plans to have Doak “put his eyes on it.”
Now that his career on the Asian Tour has ended, Zhang Lianwei is doing what he can to grow the game in China. His immediate mission: To build affordable public courses, which the nation sorely lacks. “I am keen to push this through,” he said in a comment published by the South China Morning Post, “as this is the only way to get more young golfers to pick up and learn the game.” Zhang, who’s considered to be one of the elder statesmen of Chinese golf, told the newspaper that he’s identified three potential sites for his courses but didn’t say where they were. Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, and others have said that they also desire to popularize golf in the People’s Republic. Do you think there’s any chance that they might be enlisted to design Zhang’s courses?
If the PGA Tour agrees to the ban on anchored putting, Harry Manion is going to be a household name in the golf business. At least nine PGA pros -- the group includes Tim Clark, Carl Pettersson, and Adam Scott, the winner of this year’s Masters -- have retained the Boston-based lawyer to defend their right to use so-called belly putters. Manion, a partner in Cooley Manion Jones, will bide his time until the tour signals its intentions, a decision that’s expected to come this summer. His previous clients have included Nike, Dunkin Donuts, Larry King, Panera Bread, Mike Milliken, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Where tourists go, golf courses are sure to follow. And these days, the world’s best-known hoteliers are zeroing in on locations in Asia, particularly those that aren’t already overstocked with high-end properties. The hottest of the hot spots, according to the New York Times, are China (by a landslide), India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, but some destinations that are clearly off the beaten track -- Bhutan and Laos, for example, as well as unnamed islands in Indonesia and the Philippines -- are said to be generating interest as well. It’s no coincidence that several of the aforementioned places are expected to see substantive golf development in the coming years. In our business, the easiest way to make a living is simply to follow the money.
David Fay may have retired as the executive director of the United States Golf Association, but he continues to support youth-oriented grow-the-game initiatives. These days he’s serving as an unpaid advisor to one of the premier training facilities in Rhode Island, the Button Hole Short Course & Teaching Center in Providence. He has several administrative and developmental duties, but his most important role is fundraiser. “At one level, Button Hole is an easy sell, and people do support it,” Fay told the Providence Journal. “But in this day and age, you need consistent financial support.” And Fay is an ideal guy to deliver it.
The Symposium on Affordable Golf may have started out as a gathering of back-to-the-roots traditionalists, but it’s growing fast and rapidly becoming an institution. The fourth edition of this annual quest for knowledge will be held, as always, in Southern Pines, North Carolina, this year on October 28 and 29. Richard Mandell, a Pinehurst-based architect, created the event to address vital issues that have now happily gone mainstream, in particular playability and sustainability. “The goal,” he’s said, “is to generate healthy discussion on how to return the game of golf to a state of stability, prosperity, and affordable simplicity.” The symposium may not be the biggest get-together in our business, but it’s the most thought-provoking and the one that offers the most potential for change. And it’s free.
Talk about getting undressed in public: Not long after we read that Gary Player may be sued by his former best friend, it was announced that the 77-year-old course designer and South African stud farmer will appear naked (tastefully, of course) in an upcoming issue of ESPN the Magazine.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
The Pipeline, june 28, 2013
The Odd Couple, Part Two: It’s safe to conclude that Gil Hanse’s work at Doral has won Donald Trump’s approval. The improbable partners are teaming up again, this time on the new golf course at the Akoya community in Dubai. This is another in what will almost certainly be a series of high-profile commissions for Hanse, and yet a question lingers: Why did Trump and his Middle Eastern clients keep Hanse’s identity under wraps for so long? Be that as it may, the 7,205-yard centerpiece of Trump International Golf Club Dubai won’t be the world’s greatest golf course -- that one, as we’ve been told repeatedly, lays atop the dunes at Trump’s resort in Scotland -- but it will be, in Trump’s words, “the greatest golf course in the region.” (Trump just took a shot at you, Kyle Phillips!) Not so long ago, a series of collaborations between Trump and Hanse didn’t seem likely. Has one of them changed? And if so, which one?
What happens to a golf dream deferred? It shrinks to fit leaner times. A case in point is the long-planned golf community at Rocking K Ranch in suburban Tucson, Arizona. Once upon a time, Donald Diamond’s 5,600-acre development fantasy was to include 10,000 houses, three resort-style hotels, and four golf courses. Today, Rocking K has been downsized to less than 3,000 houses, one hotel, and one golf course. Bigger may be better, but let’s be thankful for small favors: Diamond thinks it can start construction within two years.
Golf is no longer a dirty word in Fresno County, California. County officials are thinking about opening up a stretch of farm land north of Fresno for tourism- and recreation-related development, including hotels, restaurants, and a golf course. “I think it’s appropriate to look at the area and determine what you can do with it, rather than just let it sit,” the head of a building group told the Fresno Bee. Actual construction is still years away, of course, and the county is currently waiting for private interests to fund a study of the area’s development potential. But it’s been a while since such proposals were floated, let alone got a serious listen.
Any day now, an Australian development group led by Bernie McMahon and Graeme Grant plans to break ground on yet another destination-worthy coastal links in Tasmania, this one on the windswept western coast of King Island. The partners believe the land that will become home to Ocean Dunes Golf Club rivals that of Barnbougle Dunes, and their course, they promise, will find its way onto lists of the world’s best. “It is like Scottish and Irish links land, with a bit of Pebble Beach thrown in,” Grant said in a recent interview with Turfmate. “It’s unique, and if we are successful, I think a lot of other people will follow us down there.” Ocean Dunes is just one of two courses slated to emerge on King Island (the other is a Mike DeVries-designed track at King Island Links), which lies midway between the main island of Tasmania and the southern coast of Victoria. So here’s the key question: Does King Island, a place even more remote than the main island of Tasmania, have what it takes to become a viable golf destination?
Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the April 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
The only nation on earth with nuclear bombs but not a single golf course may soon begin to equalize the ratio. North Korea, a desperately impoverished nation, has floated an idea to build three “tourism zones” that will be specially designed to attract Western money. These vacation spots will take shape in villages near Mount Chilbo and Mount Kumgang and in the city of Wonsan. They’ll include hotels, entertainment venues, golf courses, and other attractions. “A variety of tourism courses will open, as the country is eager to promote its tourism industry,” one of the venture’s promoters told the Yonhap news service. One problem: Tourists bristle when they’re told where they can go, what they can do, and when they can do it. What’s the point of traveling all the way to North Korea just to become imprisoned in a resort when you get there?
An improving housing market has given some developers in New York enough confidence to think about reviving an abandoned golf project. In Franklin County, up near Lake Placid, Loon Golf, Inc. may try to reopen Loon Lake Golf Course, which has been closed since 2003, and build a resort community on 2,800 surrounding acres. Although Loon Golf claims to be “just testing the waters,” according to North Country Public Radio, it can’t be denied that a conceptual development plan has been submitted to local planning officials. A representative for the developers insists that “we have no immediate plans to do anything,” but it should be remembered that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
A year or so from now, the investment group that owns Westham Golf Club hopes to resume construction on the property’s Nicklaus Design golf course. Westham’s first nine opened in 2010, as the centerpiece of Magnolia Green, a master-planned community in suburban Richmond, Virginia that became a victim of the Great Recession. iStar Financial, which assumed ownership of the community via a foreclosure, evidently believes it needs an 18-hole course to effectively market the remaining lots. Tom Clark, the Virginia-based half of Ault Clark & Associates, is collaborating with Nicklaus’ in-house designers and will oversee the construction.
An abandoned quarry in New Bern, North Carolina could soon become the home of a grow-the-game venture featuring a junior-friendly golf course. The First Tee of Eastern North Carolina is seeking the city’s permission to build a nine-hole track and a practice center, and it may enlist other assistance from the city as well. “I think it is a win-win situation,” New Bern’s city manager told the New Bern Sun Journal. If the plans are approved, the First Tee group will embark on a fundraising campaign.
By this time next year, disconsolate gamblers in Larchwood, Iowa, on the South Dakota state line, may be taking out their frustrations on a browner than usual, Rees Jones-designed golf course. The 18-hole track, an amenity for Grand Falls Casino Resort, will play firm and fast, Jones told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, partly due to the drying winds that blow across the Great Plains and partly due to turf that won’t get even a drop more water than it needs. “It’s going to be a prairie golf course,” Jones explained. “It’s going to change every day.” Is this the sound of an old-school architect embracing minimalist ideals?
What happens to a golf dream deferred? It shrinks to fit leaner times. A case in point is the long-planned golf community at Rocking K Ranch in suburban Tucson, Arizona. Once upon a time, Donald Diamond’s 5,600-acre development fantasy was to include 10,000 houses, three resort-style hotels, and four golf courses. Today, Rocking K has been downsized to less than 3,000 houses, one hotel, and one golf course. Bigger may be better, but let’s be thankful for small favors: Diamond thinks it can start construction within two years.
Golf is no longer a dirty word in Fresno County, California. County officials are thinking about opening up a stretch of farm land north of Fresno for tourism- and recreation-related development, including hotels, restaurants, and a golf course. “I think it’s appropriate to look at the area and determine what you can do with it, rather than just let it sit,” the head of a building group told the Fresno Bee. Actual construction is still years away, of course, and the county is currently waiting for private interests to fund a study of the area’s development potential. But it’s been a while since such proposals were floated, let alone got a serious listen.
Any day now, an Australian development group led by Bernie McMahon and Graeme Grant plans to break ground on yet another destination-worthy coastal links in Tasmania, this one on the windswept western coast of King Island. The partners believe the land that will become home to Ocean Dunes Golf Club rivals that of Barnbougle Dunes, and their course, they promise, will find its way onto lists of the world’s best. “It is like Scottish and Irish links land, with a bit of Pebble Beach thrown in,” Grant said in a recent interview with Turfmate. “It’s unique, and if we are successful, I think a lot of other people will follow us down there.” Ocean Dunes is just one of two courses slated to emerge on King Island (the other is a Mike DeVries-designed track at King Island Links), which lies midway between the main island of Tasmania and the southern coast of Victoria. So here’s the key question: Does King Island, a place even more remote than the main island of Tasmania, have what it takes to become a viable golf destination?
Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the April 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
The only nation on earth with nuclear bombs but not a single golf course may soon begin to equalize the ratio. North Korea, a desperately impoverished nation, has floated an idea to build three “tourism zones” that will be specially designed to attract Western money. These vacation spots will take shape in villages near Mount Chilbo and Mount Kumgang and in the city of Wonsan. They’ll include hotels, entertainment venues, golf courses, and other attractions. “A variety of tourism courses will open, as the country is eager to promote its tourism industry,” one of the venture’s promoters told the Yonhap news service. One problem: Tourists bristle when they’re told where they can go, what they can do, and when they can do it. What’s the point of traveling all the way to North Korea just to become imprisoned in a resort when you get there?
An improving housing market has given some developers in New York enough confidence to think about reviving an abandoned golf project. In Franklin County, up near Lake Placid, Loon Golf, Inc. may try to reopen Loon Lake Golf Course, which has been closed since 2003, and build a resort community on 2,800 surrounding acres. Although Loon Golf claims to be “just testing the waters,” according to North Country Public Radio, it can’t be denied that a conceptual development plan has been submitted to local planning officials. A representative for the developers insists that “we have no immediate plans to do anything,” but it should be remembered that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
A year or so from now, the investment group that owns Westham Golf Club hopes to resume construction on the property’s Nicklaus Design golf course. Westham’s first nine opened in 2010, as the centerpiece of Magnolia Green, a master-planned community in suburban Richmond, Virginia that became a victim of the Great Recession. iStar Financial, which assumed ownership of the community via a foreclosure, evidently believes it needs an 18-hole course to effectively market the remaining lots. Tom Clark, the Virginia-based half of Ault Clark & Associates, is collaborating with Nicklaus’ in-house designers and will oversee the construction.
An abandoned quarry in New Bern, North Carolina could soon become the home of a grow-the-game venture featuring a junior-friendly golf course. The First Tee of Eastern North Carolina is seeking the city’s permission to build a nine-hole track and a practice center, and it may enlist other assistance from the city as well. “I think it is a win-win situation,” New Bern’s city manager told the New Bern Sun Journal. If the plans are approved, the First Tee group will embark on a fundraising campaign.
By this time next year, disconsolate gamblers in Larchwood, Iowa, on the South Dakota state line, may be taking out their frustrations on a browner than usual, Rees Jones-designed golf course. The 18-hole track, an amenity for Grand Falls Casino Resort, will play firm and fast, Jones told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, partly due to the drying winds that blow across the Great Plains and partly due to turf that won’t get even a drop more water than it needs. “It’s going to be a prairie golf course,” Jones explained. “It’s going to change every day.” Is this the sound of an old-school architect embracing minimalist ideals?
Sunday, June 23, 2013
The Week That Was, june 23, 2013
It didn’t take the new owners of Kiawah Partners long to flip their resort property in the Caribbean, and it appears likely that Doonbeg Golf Club in Ireland will soon have new owners as well. South Street Partners has sold Christophe Harbour, which occupies 2,500 acres on St. Kitts, to a partnership led by Charles “Buddy” Darby, who just happens to be one of the principals of Kiawah Partners. Clearly, it was a marriage of convenience. The forthcoming resort will feature Park Hyatt hotel (it’s currently under construction) and, eventually, a Tom Fazio-designed golf course. South Street may need to work a little harder to sell Doonbeg, which hasn’t turned an annual profit even once since it opened in 2002. Red ink aside, however, Doonbeg has a nice location on the southwestern coast of County Clare, a well-appointed lodge, and a Greg Norman-designed links that’s received many favorable notices. Even Darius Oliver, a tough critic, has conceded that “there have been few more impressive virgin courses built in this region during the last half century.”
Don’t hold your breath waiting for a Tiger Woods-designed layout to emerge at the Cliffs at High Carolina. Silver Sun Partners, the new owner of the seven Cliffs Communities, doesn’t have any immediate plans to build more golf courses, most certainly not one that might cost $25 million or more. “Does America need another golf course right now?” asked the firm’s CEO, Brett Johnson, in a comment reported by the Asheville Citizen-Times. And then he answered his rhetorical question: “Probably not.” Johnson hasn’t ruled out developing High Carolina, the Cliffs’ 3,000-acre property outside Asheville, North Carolina, but it appears that Woods’ inaugural U.S. track will need to find a home elsewhere.
A suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana is hoping to attract an LPGA event. “We’ve put our toe in the water,” a city official in Lawrence told the Indianapolis Star. The event would be played at the state-owned Fort Golf Course, a former military track that was redesigned by Pete Dye and Tim Liddy in the late 1990s. The LPGA Tour, which is eager to expand its presence in the Midwest, appears to be intrigued. “It certainly is an attractive market for us,” acknowledged a tour administrator. Before negotiations can get serious, however, the city needs to line up a title sponsor willing to make a three-year commitment, most likely at $3 million a year.
It may be time to start taking golf in Iceland more seriously. Paul Ingrassia, a reporter for Reuters, claims that Iceland is “one of the most golf-obsessed places on earth,” with a participation rate (10 percent) higher than you’ll find in the United States, Great Britain, and other “mature” golf markets. The nation has just 65 courses, but that number translates as one for every 5,000 residents -- a ratio that isn’t exceeded elsewhere. (Golf Digest says that Scotland has more courses per capita, but it only considers more populated nations.) The big negative on Iceland, of course, is its short season. But look on the bright side: The summer allows for play virtually 24 hours a day.
A glaring void in ClubCorp’s portfolio has been filled. The Dallas, Texas-based management company has picked up its first property in New Jersey, Cherry Valley Country Club outside Princeton. “In these economic times of up and down,” the president of the accompanying homeowners’ association told the Princeton Packet, “the club and the membership decided it’s a better opportunity to have it run by a professional organization than to try and go it alone.” The 22-year-old club features a Rees Jones-designed golf course, two pools, a clubhouse slated for an immediate renovation, and the stuffiness associated with a published dress code. With the contract, ClubCorp has established a golf presence in 23 states.
Sea Trail, the bankrupt golf community in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, has found its new owner. It’s a Chinese investment group led by “a man known as Mr. Pan,” according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News. Pan’s Wealth Spring Industry LLC has reportedly agreed to pay $8.5 million for Sea Trail, a 2,000-acre spread that includes three 18-hole golf courses (designed by Rees Jones, Dan Maples, and Willard Byrd), 1,300 houses, meeting space, 600 units of rental housing, a pair of clubhouses, an undisclosed number of unsold lots, and roughly 190 acres’ worth of developable property. “It’s Mr. Pan’s objective to create a first-class facility,” the property’s new CEO told the newspaper. “We sort of know where we want to take it. We’re going to come in and do some immediate upgrades, but nothing substantive until we go through a master-planning effort.” The sale is expected to close next month.
Those neo-classic and links courses that are popping up everywhere are having an unforeseen and welcome effect on our nation’s golf operations: As walking becomes the preferred manner of play, caddies are making a comeback. Lawrence Yacht & Country Club, on Long Island, is among the U.S. golf properties that are trying to establish caddie programs, in an effort to promote the health benefits of golf, create a few jobs, and develop a pipeline for new players. “Few innovations have done more damage to a game than the motorized cart has done to golf,” Bill Morris writes in the New York Times. Clearly, this is one in a series of back-to-the-future moments that golf has experienced in recent years. My question: How big a niche can caddying carve out in a business that relies so much on income from cart rentals?
Lake Region Yacht & Country Club, now a receding memory in suburban Orlando, Florida, has hired Billy Casper Golf to orchestrate its future. The club, which was going broke and is now owned by a group of founding members, is closed this summer for an overhaul of its 18-hole golf course. When it reopens, in late 2013, it’ll assume a new identity: Country Club of Winter Haven. BCG has been directed to make Winter Haven “a best-in-class” club, which will eventually entail building a new clubhouse and selling equity memberships for $50,000. “The Country Club of Winter Haven will once again be one of the finest private clubs in central Florida,” promises Peter Hill, the CEO of BCG. The contract gives BCG 13 properties in Florida.
What do Donald Trump, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, and Marc Anthony have in common? They play with custom-made, hand-crafted, gold- and platinum-plated Japanese clubs that cost $75,000 a set. They’re supposed to improve performance. But if they’re all they’re cracked up to be, why don’t the pros use them?
Don’t hold your breath waiting for a Tiger Woods-designed layout to emerge at the Cliffs at High Carolina. Silver Sun Partners, the new owner of the seven Cliffs Communities, doesn’t have any immediate plans to build more golf courses, most certainly not one that might cost $25 million or more. “Does America need another golf course right now?” asked the firm’s CEO, Brett Johnson, in a comment reported by the Asheville Citizen-Times. And then he answered his rhetorical question: “Probably not.” Johnson hasn’t ruled out developing High Carolina, the Cliffs’ 3,000-acre property outside Asheville, North Carolina, but it appears that Woods’ inaugural U.S. track will need to find a home elsewhere.
A suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana is hoping to attract an LPGA event. “We’ve put our toe in the water,” a city official in Lawrence told the Indianapolis Star. The event would be played at the state-owned Fort Golf Course, a former military track that was redesigned by Pete Dye and Tim Liddy in the late 1990s. The LPGA Tour, which is eager to expand its presence in the Midwest, appears to be intrigued. “It certainly is an attractive market for us,” acknowledged a tour administrator. Before negotiations can get serious, however, the city needs to line up a title sponsor willing to make a three-year commitment, most likely at $3 million a year.
It may be time to start taking golf in Iceland more seriously. Paul Ingrassia, a reporter for Reuters, claims that Iceland is “one of the most golf-obsessed places on earth,” with a participation rate (10 percent) higher than you’ll find in the United States, Great Britain, and other “mature” golf markets. The nation has just 65 courses, but that number translates as one for every 5,000 residents -- a ratio that isn’t exceeded elsewhere. (Golf Digest says that Scotland has more courses per capita, but it only considers more populated nations.) The big negative on Iceland, of course, is its short season. But look on the bright side: The summer allows for play virtually 24 hours a day.
A glaring void in ClubCorp’s portfolio has been filled. The Dallas, Texas-based management company has picked up its first property in New Jersey, Cherry Valley Country Club outside Princeton. “In these economic times of up and down,” the president of the accompanying homeowners’ association told the Princeton Packet, “the club and the membership decided it’s a better opportunity to have it run by a professional organization than to try and go it alone.” The 22-year-old club features a Rees Jones-designed golf course, two pools, a clubhouse slated for an immediate renovation, and the stuffiness associated with a published dress code. With the contract, ClubCorp has established a golf presence in 23 states.
Sea Trail, the bankrupt golf community in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, has found its new owner. It’s a Chinese investment group led by “a man known as Mr. Pan,” according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News. Pan’s Wealth Spring Industry LLC has reportedly agreed to pay $8.5 million for Sea Trail, a 2,000-acre spread that includes three 18-hole golf courses (designed by Rees Jones, Dan Maples, and Willard Byrd), 1,300 houses, meeting space, 600 units of rental housing, a pair of clubhouses, an undisclosed number of unsold lots, and roughly 190 acres’ worth of developable property. “It’s Mr. Pan’s objective to create a first-class facility,” the property’s new CEO told the newspaper. “We sort of know where we want to take it. We’re going to come in and do some immediate upgrades, but nothing substantive until we go through a master-planning effort.” The sale is expected to close next month.
Those neo-classic and links courses that are popping up everywhere are having an unforeseen and welcome effect on our nation’s golf operations: As walking becomes the preferred manner of play, caddies are making a comeback. Lawrence Yacht & Country Club, on Long Island, is among the U.S. golf properties that are trying to establish caddie programs, in an effort to promote the health benefits of golf, create a few jobs, and develop a pipeline for new players. “Few innovations have done more damage to a game than the motorized cart has done to golf,” Bill Morris writes in the New York Times. Clearly, this is one in a series of back-to-the-future moments that golf has experienced in recent years. My question: How big a niche can caddying carve out in a business that relies so much on income from cart rentals?
Lake Region Yacht & Country Club, now a receding memory in suburban Orlando, Florida, has hired Billy Casper Golf to orchestrate its future. The club, which was going broke and is now owned by a group of founding members, is closed this summer for an overhaul of its 18-hole golf course. When it reopens, in late 2013, it’ll assume a new identity: Country Club of Winter Haven. BCG has been directed to make Winter Haven “a best-in-class” club, which will eventually entail building a new clubhouse and selling equity memberships for $50,000. “The Country Club of Winter Haven will once again be one of the finest private clubs in central Florida,” promises Peter Hill, the CEO of BCG. The contract gives BCG 13 properties in Florida.
What do Donald Trump, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, and Marc Anthony have in common? They play with custom-made, hand-crafted, gold- and platinum-plated Japanese clubs that cost $75,000 a set. They’re supposed to improve performance. But if they’re all they’re cracked up to be, why don’t the pros use them?
Friday, June 21, 2013
Transactions, june 21, 2013
In what’s certain to be one of 2013’s blockbuster transactions, Omni Hotels & Resorts has agreed to buy five top-notch golf resorts from affiliates of KSL Capital Partners. The group consists of the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia; Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas; the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina; and two equally well-known spreads in California, La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad and Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage. The resorts offer 10 golf courses designed by Donald Ross, William S. Flynn, Tom Fazio, Ben Crenshaw, Arnold Palmer, Dick Wilson, and Ted Robinson. Assuming the sale is completed, Omni will rank among the premier owner/operators of U.S. golf properties. Its portfolio currently includes five golf resorts, among them Amelia Island Plantation in Florida; Bedford Springs Resort in Pennsylvania; and Omni Interlocken Resort in Colorado. The company is controlled by Robert Rowling, one of the nation’s richest people (Forbes says he’s worth $4.9 billion) and a major contributor to American Crossroads, Karl Rove’s political action committee.
After nearly two years in receivership, one of Canada’s premier golf properties has found new owners who hope to turn it into a world-class destination. John Preston and Henry Bereznicki -- the former is from Palm Beach, Florida, the latter from Edmonton, Alberta -- have purchased Tobiano Golf Course, which was named as Canada’s best new course when it opened in 2008 and is routinely ranked by ScoreGolf as one of the nation’s top 10. The Tom McBroom-designed track is just outside Kamloops, in the heart of British Columbia’s vacation country, and close enough to Vancouver to lure dedicated golf travelers. “We’re committed to fielding a must-play course,” the course’s general manager, Mike Grenier, told Kamloops This Week, “and that means we have to be among the best in North America.” Preston and Bereznicki haven’t said what they paid for Tobiano, but the bank that controlled it was asking for $5.5 million.
Concert Golf Partners has added a third property to its golf holdings in Florida: Emerald Greens Golf Resort & Country Club, a facility in suburban Tampa that was born as Carrollwood Village Country Club. Tampa-based Convergent Capital Partners accepted $6 million for the club and its 27-hole, Dan Maples-designed golf complex, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Concert Golf was founded by Peter Nanula, a Tampa-area native, in 2010. Since then, it’s purchased Heathrow Country Club in suburban Orlando and The Golf Club of Amelia Island on Amelia Island. Late last year, it bought The Country Club at Woodmore in Mitchellville, Maryland. In a letter to Emerald Greens’ members, Nanula promised to deliver “more events, better service, top-notch course conditions, and the very best private club experience that Tampa has to offer.” Upgrades are planned, beginning with a regrassing of the complex’s greens this summer.
Ever on the prowl for under-performing vacation properties, Northlight Financial LLC has acquired a controlling interest in the Seven Canyons resort community in Sedona, Arizona. The community features a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course that had been highly regarded until its previous owners stopped watering it. “It’s a beautiful golf course in one of the most spectacular settings in North America,” a Northlight official said in a press release. “The potential is enormous.” Northlight, which was founded by former executives from GE Capital, acquired Seven Canyons in a bankruptcy court proceeding. The company also claims to have a financial stake in two other golf properties, Quintero Golf & Country Club in suburban Phoenix, Arizona and Snake River Sporting Club outside Jackson, Wyoming. The course at Seven Canyon is now open to the public, but it was originally the centerpiece of a private club where initiation fees ranged as high as $175,000.
As part of a last-ditch rescue effort, a homeowners’ group in Granby, Colorado has agreed to acquire Grand Elk Golf Course. The course, a Craig Stadler “signature” layout (the only one in existence, as best I can tell), has been bleeding profusely in recent years, according to the Ski-Hi News. It anchors a 520-acre resort community that’s seen as many as 400 of its 680 lots go through foreclosure. The Grand Elk Homeowners Association bought the course from an LLC that’s reportedly lost something like $13 million on its investment. “We’re thrilled that the HOA is going to take over the golf course and make it a huge success,” the head of the LLC told the newspaper. The sale price wasn’t announced, but the LLC had been asking for $1.05 million plus the payment of $420,000 in back taxes.
A flailing economy and a looming banking crisis couldn’t dissuade some Hong Kong-based investors from shelling out €290 million (nearly $388 million) for an emerging resort in Paphos, Cyprus. China Glory National Investment, a group led by Charles Zhang, now controls the future of Venus Rock Golf Resort, which has been master-planned to include up to 3,000 upscale vacation houses, a Nikki Beach hotel, a marina, a retail/commercial area, a beach club, a spa, and other attractions. The 2,375-acre property is currently home to Secret Valley, an aging resort with an 18-hole golf course. Tony Jacklin has redesigned Secret Valley’s 6,310-yard track (it’s scheduled to reopen in September), and he’s been contracted to add a new 18-hole track. Venus Rock’s seller is Dolphin Capital Investors, which appears to be warming up for future transactions with China Glory. “We look forward to establishing a strategic partnership with the purchaser of the Venus Rock project,” one of Dolphin’s principals said in a press release, “and expanding the relationship to other Dolphin assets.” Those assets include more than a dozen similar resort properties in Greece, Croatia, Turkey, the Dominican Republic, and Panama.
Indigo Lakes Golf Club, formerly one of Florida’s top golf properties, has been purchased out of foreclosure for a mere $1.25 million. “Someone got an 18-hole championship golf club for the price of a riverfront home,” a local real estate professional told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. The someone is Colin Jon, who reportedly works for a Canadian company that manufactures bowling shoes. Jon plans to spend at least $1 million more on improvements to the Lloyd Clifton-designed layout and to, in the words of the facility’s new director of golf, “bring the club back to what it once was.” Indigo Lakes opened during the American bicentennial and hosted the LPGA Championship in 1994.
A pair of golf properties in the suburbs of Pattaya, Thailand have found new owners. Phoenix Golf & Country Club now belongs to Hemaraj Land & Development PLC, while Rayong Century Country Club has been sold to TCC Capital Land. The clubs opened within three years of each other in the mid 1990s. Phoenix, which has 27 holes, was designed by Denis Griffiths. Rayong Century, which is sometimes referred to as Emerald Golf Club, features a Nick Faldo “signature” layout co-designed by Desmond Muirhead. A renovation may be in the cards, for Travel Daily News describes Rayong Century as “run down.”
It took nearly 20 years, but ClubCorp has finally acquired Oak Tree Country Club in Edmund, Oklahoma. Oak Tree, which features a pair of Pete Dye-designed golf courses, was among the crème de la crème of the high-prestige golf properties developed by Jerry Barton’s legendary Landmark Land Company. ClubCorp began eyeing Oak Tree in the wake of the savings-and-loan scandal of the 1980s, when Landmark lost it to the federal government’s Resolution Trust Corporation. In fact, ClubCorp had a right of first refusal on the club when the RTC put it up for sale in 1994, but a Canadian group wanted it more. So this year, when another purchase opportunity presented itself, ClubCorp stepped up. “We are very excited about the addition of Oak Tree Country Club, nationally recognized as one of the preeminent clubs in Oklahoma, which gives us a presence in the state and increases our brand awareness nationwide,” a ClubCorp exec said in a press release. The seller was a local group that had owned Oak Tree since the mid 2000s.
Ridgemont Country Club, in Greece, New York, has been purchased by one of its long-time members. Jim Cucinelli’s goal is to ensure the future of the club, which opened in 1928 and has of late endured lean times due to a declining membership. “This is truly a labor of love,” the club’s general manager told the Greece Post. “Our new owner cares about the future of Ridgemont and only wants to see it thrive with a strong membership base.” To attract new members, Cucinelli has eliminated initiation fees, special assessments, and food and beverage minimums. He also hopes to attract an increased number of meetings and weddings, a part of the business Ridgemont couldn’t fully tap due to its non-profit status.
A Jacksonville, Florida-area golf pro has purchased his first golf property. Charles Raulerson, who runs a golf academy at Country Club of Orange Park, has acquired Golf Club of Fleming Island. The 13-year-old club features a 6,688-yard, Bobby Weed-designed course. Raulerson, who played briefly on the PGA and European tours, also plans to open an academy at Fleming Island. Next on his agenda: He plans to buy Orange Park, which is owned in part by his father.
After nearly two years in receivership, one of Canada’s premier golf properties has found new owners who hope to turn it into a world-class destination. John Preston and Henry Bereznicki -- the former is from Palm Beach, Florida, the latter from Edmonton, Alberta -- have purchased Tobiano Golf Course, which was named as Canada’s best new course when it opened in 2008 and is routinely ranked by ScoreGolf as one of the nation’s top 10. The Tom McBroom-designed track is just outside Kamloops, in the heart of British Columbia’s vacation country, and close enough to Vancouver to lure dedicated golf travelers. “We’re committed to fielding a must-play course,” the course’s general manager, Mike Grenier, told Kamloops This Week, “and that means we have to be among the best in North America.” Preston and Bereznicki haven’t said what they paid for Tobiano, but the bank that controlled it was asking for $5.5 million.
Concert Golf Partners has added a third property to its golf holdings in Florida: Emerald Greens Golf Resort & Country Club, a facility in suburban Tampa that was born as Carrollwood Village Country Club. Tampa-based Convergent Capital Partners accepted $6 million for the club and its 27-hole, Dan Maples-designed golf complex, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Concert Golf was founded by Peter Nanula, a Tampa-area native, in 2010. Since then, it’s purchased Heathrow Country Club in suburban Orlando and The Golf Club of Amelia Island on Amelia Island. Late last year, it bought The Country Club at Woodmore in Mitchellville, Maryland. In a letter to Emerald Greens’ members, Nanula promised to deliver “more events, better service, top-notch course conditions, and the very best private club experience that Tampa has to offer.” Upgrades are planned, beginning with a regrassing of the complex’s greens this summer.
Ever on the prowl for under-performing vacation properties, Northlight Financial LLC has acquired a controlling interest in the Seven Canyons resort community in Sedona, Arizona. The community features a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course that had been highly regarded until its previous owners stopped watering it. “It’s a beautiful golf course in one of the most spectacular settings in North America,” a Northlight official said in a press release. “The potential is enormous.” Northlight, which was founded by former executives from GE Capital, acquired Seven Canyons in a bankruptcy court proceeding. The company also claims to have a financial stake in two other golf properties, Quintero Golf & Country Club in suburban Phoenix, Arizona and Snake River Sporting Club outside Jackson, Wyoming. The course at Seven Canyon is now open to the public, but it was originally the centerpiece of a private club where initiation fees ranged as high as $175,000.
As part of a last-ditch rescue effort, a homeowners’ group in Granby, Colorado has agreed to acquire Grand Elk Golf Course. The course, a Craig Stadler “signature” layout (the only one in existence, as best I can tell), has been bleeding profusely in recent years, according to the Ski-Hi News. It anchors a 520-acre resort community that’s seen as many as 400 of its 680 lots go through foreclosure. The Grand Elk Homeowners Association bought the course from an LLC that’s reportedly lost something like $13 million on its investment. “We’re thrilled that the HOA is going to take over the golf course and make it a huge success,” the head of the LLC told the newspaper. The sale price wasn’t announced, but the LLC had been asking for $1.05 million plus the payment of $420,000 in back taxes.
A flailing economy and a looming banking crisis couldn’t dissuade some Hong Kong-based investors from shelling out €290 million (nearly $388 million) for an emerging resort in Paphos, Cyprus. China Glory National Investment, a group led by Charles Zhang, now controls the future of Venus Rock Golf Resort, which has been master-planned to include up to 3,000 upscale vacation houses, a Nikki Beach hotel, a marina, a retail/commercial area, a beach club, a spa, and other attractions. The 2,375-acre property is currently home to Secret Valley, an aging resort with an 18-hole golf course. Tony Jacklin has redesigned Secret Valley’s 6,310-yard track (it’s scheduled to reopen in September), and he’s been contracted to add a new 18-hole track. Venus Rock’s seller is Dolphin Capital Investors, which appears to be warming up for future transactions with China Glory. “We look forward to establishing a strategic partnership with the purchaser of the Venus Rock project,” one of Dolphin’s principals said in a press release, “and expanding the relationship to other Dolphin assets.” Those assets include more than a dozen similar resort properties in Greece, Croatia, Turkey, the Dominican Republic, and Panama.
Indigo Lakes Golf Club, formerly one of Florida’s top golf properties, has been purchased out of foreclosure for a mere $1.25 million. “Someone got an 18-hole championship golf club for the price of a riverfront home,” a local real estate professional told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. The someone is Colin Jon, who reportedly works for a Canadian company that manufactures bowling shoes. Jon plans to spend at least $1 million more on improvements to the Lloyd Clifton-designed layout and to, in the words of the facility’s new director of golf, “bring the club back to what it once was.” Indigo Lakes opened during the American bicentennial and hosted the LPGA Championship in 1994.
A pair of golf properties in the suburbs of Pattaya, Thailand have found new owners. Phoenix Golf & Country Club now belongs to Hemaraj Land & Development PLC, while Rayong Century Country Club has been sold to TCC Capital Land. The clubs opened within three years of each other in the mid 1990s. Phoenix, which has 27 holes, was designed by Denis Griffiths. Rayong Century, which is sometimes referred to as Emerald Golf Club, features a Nick Faldo “signature” layout co-designed by Desmond Muirhead. A renovation may be in the cards, for Travel Daily News describes Rayong Century as “run down.”
It took nearly 20 years, but ClubCorp has finally acquired Oak Tree Country Club in Edmund, Oklahoma. Oak Tree, which features a pair of Pete Dye-designed golf courses, was among the crème de la crème of the high-prestige golf properties developed by Jerry Barton’s legendary Landmark Land Company. ClubCorp began eyeing Oak Tree in the wake of the savings-and-loan scandal of the 1980s, when Landmark lost it to the federal government’s Resolution Trust Corporation. In fact, ClubCorp had a right of first refusal on the club when the RTC put it up for sale in 1994, but a Canadian group wanted it more. So this year, when another purchase opportunity presented itself, ClubCorp stepped up. “We are very excited about the addition of Oak Tree Country Club, nationally recognized as one of the preeminent clubs in Oklahoma, which gives us a presence in the state and increases our brand awareness nationwide,” a ClubCorp exec said in a press release. The seller was a local group that had owned Oak Tree since the mid 2000s.
Ridgemont Country Club, in Greece, New York, has been purchased by one of its long-time members. Jim Cucinelli’s goal is to ensure the future of the club, which opened in 1928 and has of late endured lean times due to a declining membership. “This is truly a labor of love,” the club’s general manager told the Greece Post. “Our new owner cares about the future of Ridgemont and only wants to see it thrive with a strong membership base.” To attract new members, Cucinelli has eliminated initiation fees, special assessments, and food and beverage minimums. He also hopes to attract an increased number of meetings and weddings, a part of the business Ridgemont couldn’t fully tap due to its non-profit status.
A Jacksonville, Florida-area golf pro has purchased his first golf property. Charles Raulerson, who runs a golf academy at Country Club of Orange Park, has acquired Golf Club of Fleming Island. The 13-year-old club features a 6,688-yard, Bobby Weed-designed course. Raulerson, who played briefly on the PGA and European tours, also plans to open an academy at Fleming Island. Next on his agenda: He plans to buy Orange Park, which is owned in part by his father.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
The Week That Was, june 16, 2013
The numbers have been crunched, and they confirm what we expected: The number of rounds played at U.S. golf properties has fallen by 15.1 percent through the first four months of this year. Only one region of the nation, the Pacific states (California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington), has so far been able to record a gain (3.2 percent). The declines were worst in the West North Central states (down by 52 percent), the East North Central states (down by 47 percent), and the Mid Atlantic states (down by 30 percent). The National Golf Rounds Played Report has also determined that the number of rounds played at private facilities so far this year is off by 18.2 percent, while the number played at public tracks is off by 14.2 percent.
The population of white Americans has officially begun to shrink, a fact that has vast implications for the future of the golf business. During the year ending on July 1, 2012, in what the New York Times calls “a benchmark that heralds profound demographic change,” more white Americans died than were born. What’s more, the population decline among whites won’t be reversed, because these days the majority of U.S. children are being born to Hispanic, black, and Asian mothers. As a result of all this, the Times concludes, “white Americans will become a minority nationwide within about three decades.” The handwriting is therefore on the wall: Our ever-smaller industry’s bread-and-butter demographic won’t be able to carry us for very much longer. If our industry expects to thrive in the years to come, we have only two choices: We can make a diligent effort to attract the minorities we’ve heretofore shunned (as well as women and children), or we can begin to import white people from nations with a penchant for golf. The sensible choice seems obvious.
The United States Golf Association expects to lose $10 million on this year’s U.S. Open. The amount was reported by an anonymous source to Bloomberg Businessweek, which credits the loss to space-related limits on ticket sales at Merion Golf Club and a resulting decline in revenues from concessions and merchandise. This news needs to be digested with a grain of salt, however, because the USGA is collecting interest on $274 million in reserves. The group may be not be thrilled about the bottom line at this year’s U.S. Open, but it’s crying all the way to the bank.
Last Sunday I reported that Mike DeVries, an architect whose career has so far flown under the average golfer’s radar, may be on the cusp of design stardom. What I didn’t know until just days ago is that, in order to keep his wits about him as he oversees the construction of King Island Links, he’s engaged in what will henceforth be known in the design business as “a Gil Hanse”: He’s not only relocated to a far-away place, but he’s taken his family with him. “I’m super excited to be here,” DeVries told me via phone from King Island in Tasmania. “This is an amazing opportunity.” Construction is set to begin any day now, and the course is scheduled to open in the fall of 2014. DeVries says that the track will be “a true links” on “the most dynamic, diverse site” he’s ever seen. It doesn’t sound as though he’s allowing the pressure to create a genuine world-class, destination-worthy venue get to him, however. “There’s always pressure,” he says. “Every project brings its own special opportunities.” The DeVries family moved to King Island last month and expects to stay there through the end of the year.
After years of discussions and negotiations, Mike Keiser and the state of Oregon are closing in on a land swap that will pave the way for the construction of a Gil Hanse-designed, 27-hole municipal golf complex on property roughly seven miles south of Bandon Dunes. “I think it’ll happen,” says Keiser, the owner of Bandon Dunes. Keiser tells me that he’s reached a preliminary agreement with the state’s governor, the first step in a three-step approval process. Next, the board of state parks must sign off on the agreement. The board has been the hang-up all along, as its members must be assured that there’s an “overwhelming public benefit” in the land swap. In the original proposal, Keiser would have received 210 acres in the Bandon State Natural Area in exchange for 110 acres elsewhere in the BSNA plus 97 acres adjacent to Bullards Beach State Park. Since then, however, Tim Wood, the director of the state’s parks and recreation department, has apparently squeezed a better deal out of Keiser. “I give him credit for milking me along,” says Keiser. “He’s done it brilliantly.” The board isn’t expected to take a vote for several months. Keiser’s target date for construction is the fall of 2014.
Some legislators in Goa, India want to pull the plug on a controversial Colin Montgomerie-designed golf course in the village of Tiracol. The legislators allege that the state government is “forcibly ousting villagers from their homes” to pave the way for the construction, an accusation that’s sure to give the image of golf in India another black eye. The developer, an entity led by Leading Hotels, Ltd., has managed to acquire the rights to part of the property it needs, but the New York Daily News reports that “a resolute group of over 30 residents has been holding out for the last four years.” This is a familiar story in India, where golf construction is often stymied by difficulties involved in assembling land. Goa’s government isn’t likely to give up on the project, however, because it’s eager to promote tourism, and Montgomerie’s golf course was to be flanked by a Four Seasons hotel.
In recent years, as the golf business tumbled off its fiscal cliff, we all speculated about how far we would fall before we hit bottom. Today, as the business gradually stabilizes, people are beginning to wonder where exactly we are and where we go from wherever that is. “Will it bounce back up, and at what velocity?” an associate for Pellucid Corporation recently asked. It’s the question on everyone’s mind. All we know for sure is that we have less to build upon and less upside potential. And that, I suppose, leaves us somewhere between a rock and a hard place.
Most British golfers would love to play a round at Augusta National Golf Club, but there’s a limit to what they’d pay for the privilege. A whopping 87 percent of the more than 2,000 golfers responding to a survey by Today’s Golfer cited Augusta National as being the number-one venue on their bucket lists, but only 24 percent of them would shell out more than £500 ($750) to play it. In fact, the majority of the respondents might be classified as downright stingy. A significant number -- 28 percent -- said they wouldn’t pay more than £200 ($300), and nearly as many -- 27 percent -- would take a pass at any price above £100 ($150).
The population of white Americans has officially begun to shrink, a fact that has vast implications for the future of the golf business. During the year ending on July 1, 2012, in what the New York Times calls “a benchmark that heralds profound demographic change,” more white Americans died than were born. What’s more, the population decline among whites won’t be reversed, because these days the majority of U.S. children are being born to Hispanic, black, and Asian mothers. As a result of all this, the Times concludes, “white Americans will become a minority nationwide within about three decades.” The handwriting is therefore on the wall: Our ever-smaller industry’s bread-and-butter demographic won’t be able to carry us for very much longer. If our industry expects to thrive in the years to come, we have only two choices: We can make a diligent effort to attract the minorities we’ve heretofore shunned (as well as women and children), or we can begin to import white people from nations with a penchant for golf. The sensible choice seems obvious.
The United States Golf Association expects to lose $10 million on this year’s U.S. Open. The amount was reported by an anonymous source to Bloomberg Businessweek, which credits the loss to space-related limits on ticket sales at Merion Golf Club and a resulting decline in revenues from concessions and merchandise. This news needs to be digested with a grain of salt, however, because the USGA is collecting interest on $274 million in reserves. The group may be not be thrilled about the bottom line at this year’s U.S. Open, but it’s crying all the way to the bank.
Last Sunday I reported that Mike DeVries, an architect whose career has so far flown under the average golfer’s radar, may be on the cusp of design stardom. What I didn’t know until just days ago is that, in order to keep his wits about him as he oversees the construction of King Island Links, he’s engaged in what will henceforth be known in the design business as “a Gil Hanse”: He’s not only relocated to a far-away place, but he’s taken his family with him. “I’m super excited to be here,” DeVries told me via phone from King Island in Tasmania. “This is an amazing opportunity.” Construction is set to begin any day now, and the course is scheduled to open in the fall of 2014. DeVries says that the track will be “a true links” on “the most dynamic, diverse site” he’s ever seen. It doesn’t sound as though he’s allowing the pressure to create a genuine world-class, destination-worthy venue get to him, however. “There’s always pressure,” he says. “Every project brings its own special opportunities.” The DeVries family moved to King Island last month and expects to stay there through the end of the year.
After years of discussions and negotiations, Mike Keiser and the state of Oregon are closing in on a land swap that will pave the way for the construction of a Gil Hanse-designed, 27-hole municipal golf complex on property roughly seven miles south of Bandon Dunes. “I think it’ll happen,” says Keiser, the owner of Bandon Dunes. Keiser tells me that he’s reached a preliminary agreement with the state’s governor, the first step in a three-step approval process. Next, the board of state parks must sign off on the agreement. The board has been the hang-up all along, as its members must be assured that there’s an “overwhelming public benefit” in the land swap. In the original proposal, Keiser would have received 210 acres in the Bandon State Natural Area in exchange for 110 acres elsewhere in the BSNA plus 97 acres adjacent to Bullards Beach State Park. Since then, however, Tim Wood, the director of the state’s parks and recreation department, has apparently squeezed a better deal out of Keiser. “I give him credit for milking me along,” says Keiser. “He’s done it brilliantly.” The board isn’t expected to take a vote for several months. Keiser’s target date for construction is the fall of 2014.
Some legislators in Goa, India want to pull the plug on a controversial Colin Montgomerie-designed golf course in the village of Tiracol. The legislators allege that the state government is “forcibly ousting villagers from their homes” to pave the way for the construction, an accusation that’s sure to give the image of golf in India another black eye. The developer, an entity led by Leading Hotels, Ltd., has managed to acquire the rights to part of the property it needs, but the New York Daily News reports that “a resolute group of over 30 residents has been holding out for the last four years.” This is a familiar story in India, where golf construction is often stymied by difficulties involved in assembling land. Goa’s government isn’t likely to give up on the project, however, because it’s eager to promote tourism, and Montgomerie’s golf course was to be flanked by a Four Seasons hotel.
In recent years, as the golf business tumbled off its fiscal cliff, we all speculated about how far we would fall before we hit bottom. Today, as the business gradually stabilizes, people are beginning to wonder where exactly we are and where we go from wherever that is. “Will it bounce back up, and at what velocity?” an associate for Pellucid Corporation recently asked. It’s the question on everyone’s mind. All we know for sure is that we have less to build upon and less upside potential. And that, I suppose, leaves us somewhere between a rock and a hard place.
Most British golfers would love to play a round at Augusta National Golf Club, but there’s a limit to what they’d pay for the privilege. A whopping 87 percent of the more than 2,000 golfers responding to a survey by Today’s Golfer cited Augusta National as being the number-one venue on their bucket lists, but only 24 percent of them would shell out more than £500 ($750) to play it. In fact, the majority of the respondents might be classified as downright stingy. A significant number -- 28 percent -- said they wouldn’t pay more than £200 ($300), and nearly as many -- 27 percent -- would take a pass at any price above £100 ($150).
Friday, June 14, 2013
More of the Week That Was, june 14, 2013
It’s high time we finally stopped discussing golf development in Russia in terms of its potential, as if one of the planet’s largest, richest, most powerful nations were on par with, say, Bulgaria or Belarus. The benefit of the doubt should no longer be in play, because Russia has had ample time to realize its potential and unfortunately come up short. If we shine the harsh light of reality on Russia’s golf business, here’s what we get: Over the past 25 years, according to a report by KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice, the nation has managed to open a mere 16 golf properties -- among them, just seven 18-hole courses -- and to develop only 4,500 registered golfers, for a participation rate so ridiculously low that it isn’t worth calculating. Does such a performance hint of “a tremendous opportunity” for development, as KPMG suggests, or is it evidence of a lost cause?
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the May 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Robert Trent Jones, Jr. opens his ninth golf course in China this year -- “They call me Chairman Bob over there,” he happily chirps -- but these days the 74-year-old architect is celebrating a more unique achievement. Jones’ 1994 book, Golf by Design, has been translated into Mandarin and is now for sale in the many places where Chinese people work and play. “There are 1.3 billion people in China, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that there are many, many other millions living outside China,” Jones explains. “There are a lot more Chinese than we think, and they love golf.” Golf by Design’s publisher is a company controlled by a friend, Wang Jun, the princeling and former arms merchant who’s been called “the godfather of golf in China.” But even if the book finds a second life in the People’s Republic, Jones doesn’t intend to write another one. “It’s the first and last book I’ll ever do,” he promises. “Writing it was the hardest thing I ever did.”
Now that Cuba has approved Carbonera Club and effectively opened the door to golf development, how many other possible golf properties are waiting in the wings? Property Wire reports that a Chinese-funded venture “is expected to be approved by the end of this year,” while groups based in Spain, Russia, and Vietnam are also trying to hammer out development agreements. Not all of them will make the cut, of course, but it’s evident that Cuba is finally willing to determine if golf and socialist principles can coexist peacefully. Who’s bourgeois now?
Clothes make the man, and the man occasionally makes a golf course. At least that’s how it went on Namhae Island in South Gyeongsang Province, where a South Korean clothier has fashioned his first golf course. His name is Jung Jae Bong, and his South Cape Golf Links is the centerpiece of a small waterfront community. South Cape’s 7,312-yard, daily-fee track has been designed by Kyle Phillips, who reports that Jung gave him “a dramatic site” along “a rocky, craggy coastline” that offers “fantastic views” of the mainland and other nearby islands. “Water is present on every hole,” Phillips notes. “Every hole has a view of the sea.” Jung (his name is sometimes written as “Chung”) is the CEO of various entities, Handsome P&D Company and Fashion Exchange Corporation among them, that manufacture and sell men’s and women’s apparel under at least a dozen brands. I don’t know why he chose to build a course on Namhae, but I do know this: The island was the home of the South Korean character in “Lost.”
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the April 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Get ’em while they’re hot: Forbes Life reports that Greg Norman has cut his design fee by roughly 30 percent, to $900,000 from $1.25 million.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the May 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Robert Trent Jones, Jr. opens his ninth golf course in China this year -- “They call me Chairman Bob over there,” he happily chirps -- but these days the 74-year-old architect is celebrating a more unique achievement. Jones’ 1994 book, Golf by Design, has been translated into Mandarin and is now for sale in the many places where Chinese people work and play. “There are 1.3 billion people in China, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that there are many, many other millions living outside China,” Jones explains. “There are a lot more Chinese than we think, and they love golf.” Golf by Design’s publisher is a company controlled by a friend, Wang Jun, the princeling and former arms merchant who’s been called “the godfather of golf in China.” But even if the book finds a second life in the People’s Republic, Jones doesn’t intend to write another one. “It’s the first and last book I’ll ever do,” he promises. “Writing it was the hardest thing I ever did.”
Now that Cuba has approved Carbonera Club and effectively opened the door to golf development, how many other possible golf properties are waiting in the wings? Property Wire reports that a Chinese-funded venture “is expected to be approved by the end of this year,” while groups based in Spain, Russia, and Vietnam are also trying to hammer out development agreements. Not all of them will make the cut, of course, but it’s evident that Cuba is finally willing to determine if golf and socialist principles can coexist peacefully. Who’s bourgeois now?
Clothes make the man, and the man occasionally makes a golf course. At least that’s how it went on Namhae Island in South Gyeongsang Province, where a South Korean clothier has fashioned his first golf course. His name is Jung Jae Bong, and his South Cape Golf Links is the centerpiece of a small waterfront community. South Cape’s 7,312-yard, daily-fee track has been designed by Kyle Phillips, who reports that Jung gave him “a dramatic site” along “a rocky, craggy coastline” that offers “fantastic views” of the mainland and other nearby islands. “Water is present on every hole,” Phillips notes. “Every hole has a view of the sea.” Jung (his name is sometimes written as “Chung”) is the CEO of various entities, Handsome P&D Company and Fashion Exchange Corporation among them, that manufacture and sell men’s and women’s apparel under at least a dozen brands. I don’t know why he chose to build a course on Namhae, but I do know this: The island was the home of the South Korean character in “Lost.”
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the April 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Get ’em while they’re hot: Forbes Life reports that Greg Norman has cut his design fee by roughly 30 percent, to $900,000 from $1.25 million.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
The Week That Was, june 9, 2013
A family feud has forced the sale of two golf courses and other properties in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. South Street Partners, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based investment group, reportedly paid a price north of $350 million for Kiawah Partners, the development entity that’s developing the 10,000-acre island. The purchase includes courses designed by Tom Fazio and Tom Watson as well as financially challenged Doonbeg Golf Club in Ireland and Christophe Harbour, a long-delayed resort community on St. Kitts that’s been master-planned to include a Fazio-designed course. Charles P. “Buddy” Darby III and a cousin, Leonard Long, co-founded Kiawah Partners in the late 1980s but in recent years haven’t been able to see eye-to-eye on the foreign properties, which now have an uncertain future. Kiawah Island’s renowned Ocean Course, which hosted last year’s PGA Championship, wasn’t part of the sale.
One of the inherent problems with an industry steeped in tradition is its members are often reluctant to change. An aspect of this problem -- the use of technological innovations that might enhance the appeal of professional golf -- was discussed at last week’s KPMG Golf Business Forum in Scotland. “I think golf has a long way to go,” argued the head of a technology company who believes golf isn’t exploiting readily available opportunities. “Everyone understands there is an issue, but there doesn’t seem to be a willingness to act.” Here’s an example of what he’s talking about: These days the Royal & Ancient is patting itself on the back because during next month’s Open Championship it’s going to erect, “on a trial basis,” several electronic scoreboards with “video capability” that will broadcast live action and statistics. Sadly, this is what passes for a high-tech breakthrough in our business. When you think about how, say, the X Games engages with its fans, golf is hopelessly behind the times. And it’s going to stay that way until the dinosaurs in charge become extinct.
Speaking of the Golf Business Forum, I was amused to find, in a round-up of bon mots spoken at the event, this priceless nugget from one of HSBC’s top golf honchos: “I don’t think golf has a reputational problem, but it does have to monitor its reputation all the time. We choose to sponsor events in golf rather than players, as we see individuals as too much of a risk.” Is HSBC claiming some kind of moral high ground? Because that’s like Bernie Madoff bragging about the money he donated to Jewish charities. This is an appropriate time to mention that HSBC, one of golf’s sweetest sugar daddies, was in the news again this week. The state of New York intends to sue two of the company’s divisions for allegedly ripping off homeowners involved in foreclosure proceedings. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
A short time ago, while on a golf holiday in New Mexico, David Pfaff died. For many years, Pfaff was Pete Dye’s right-hand man, and he later served as the in-house architect for Landmark Land Company. He established his own firm in Carmel, California in the mid 1990s but didn’t really hit big until last year, when his course at Royal Isabela Golf Course in Puerto Rico was unveiled. The track has received nothing but praise. The Golf Channel has called it “possibly the most interesting golf course in the world,” and last week Forbes said “it is impossible not to be moved” by the course, which “offers one jaw-dropping vista after another” and features “one of the greatest holes in golf.” I spoke with Pfaff shortly before Royal Isabela opened, and he was hoping to design the property’s next course. It’s unfortunate that he won’t get the chance. He was 74.
Mike DeVries has landed what may be a career-defining commission. The Traverse City, Michigan-based architect has been chosen to design King Island Links, an 18-hole track on the northern coast of King Island in Tasmania. The property has all the elements needed to create a true world-class destination layout, one that could someday be compared to the celebrated courses at Barnbougle Dunes on Tasmania’s main island. “He is one of the up-and-coming architects in the world, which is one of the reasons why we selected him,” one of the course’s developers told the Examiner. So now, for DeVries, the challenge awaits. Can he deliver the way Tom Doak and Coore & Crenshaw did at Barnbougle Dunes?
In keeping with one of this blog’s core philosophies -- “Never believe anything until it has been officially denied” -- I can say with some confidence that the Open Championship will return to Northern Ireland for the first time since the 1950s. The year: 2018. The venue: Royal Portrush Golf Club. The news was first reported by the Irish Sun but immediately denied by both the Royal & Ancient and the club, so you know it’s true.
After a one-year hiatus, Tiger Woods has returned to the top spot on Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes. The magazine figures that over the past year Woods collected $13.1 million in winnings plus $65 million in endorsements, appearance money, and course design fees. The total: $78.1 million. Only four other professional golfers were named to Forbes’ top 100: Phil Mickelson at #7 ($48.7 in total earnings), Rory McIlroy at #21 ($29.6 million), Ernie Els at #78 ($19.5 million), and Brandt Snedeker at #81 ($19 million).
International travelers are finding their way to Abu Dhabi’s golf courses in ever-larger numbers. During the first quarter of this year, the number of “overseas” rounds played at the emirate’s seven golf properties was up by 90 percent over those played during the first quarter of 2012, according to the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. Surprisingly, the emirate’s championship-caliber properties -- Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, and Yas Links -- have combined to ring up just 9,215 overseas rounds so far this year, not quite one-third of the total number. The TCA notes that this is the trio’s best performance ever, but some may wonder why Abu Dhabi’s most heavily promoted courses don’t capture a larger share of the market. On the brighter side, it’s worth noting that Abu Dhabi’s championship layouts last year registered a nearly 95 percent increase in rounds played over the numbers posted in 2011.
Jack Nicklaus never wore sunglasses when he played competitive golf, but he swears that his new line of shades -- especially the more expensive “signature” models -- can improve your game. I hear they’re especially effective when combined with a lifetime’s worth of lessons.
One of the inherent problems with an industry steeped in tradition is its members are often reluctant to change. An aspect of this problem -- the use of technological innovations that might enhance the appeal of professional golf -- was discussed at last week’s KPMG Golf Business Forum in Scotland. “I think golf has a long way to go,” argued the head of a technology company who believes golf isn’t exploiting readily available opportunities. “Everyone understands there is an issue, but there doesn’t seem to be a willingness to act.” Here’s an example of what he’s talking about: These days the Royal & Ancient is patting itself on the back because during next month’s Open Championship it’s going to erect, “on a trial basis,” several electronic scoreboards with “video capability” that will broadcast live action and statistics. Sadly, this is what passes for a high-tech breakthrough in our business. When you think about how, say, the X Games engages with its fans, golf is hopelessly behind the times. And it’s going to stay that way until the dinosaurs in charge become extinct.
Speaking of the Golf Business Forum, I was amused to find, in a round-up of bon mots spoken at the event, this priceless nugget from one of HSBC’s top golf honchos: “I don’t think golf has a reputational problem, but it does have to monitor its reputation all the time. We choose to sponsor events in golf rather than players, as we see individuals as too much of a risk.” Is HSBC claiming some kind of moral high ground? Because that’s like Bernie Madoff bragging about the money he donated to Jewish charities. This is an appropriate time to mention that HSBC, one of golf’s sweetest sugar daddies, was in the news again this week. The state of New York intends to sue two of the company’s divisions for allegedly ripping off homeowners involved in foreclosure proceedings. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
A short time ago, while on a golf holiday in New Mexico, David Pfaff died. For many years, Pfaff was Pete Dye’s right-hand man, and he later served as the in-house architect for Landmark Land Company. He established his own firm in Carmel, California in the mid 1990s but didn’t really hit big until last year, when his course at Royal Isabela Golf Course in Puerto Rico was unveiled. The track has received nothing but praise. The Golf Channel has called it “possibly the most interesting golf course in the world,” and last week Forbes said “it is impossible not to be moved” by the course, which “offers one jaw-dropping vista after another” and features “one of the greatest holes in golf.” I spoke with Pfaff shortly before Royal Isabela opened, and he was hoping to design the property’s next course. It’s unfortunate that he won’t get the chance. He was 74.
Mike DeVries has landed what may be a career-defining commission. The Traverse City, Michigan-based architect has been chosen to design King Island Links, an 18-hole track on the northern coast of King Island in Tasmania. The property has all the elements needed to create a true world-class destination layout, one that could someday be compared to the celebrated courses at Barnbougle Dunes on Tasmania’s main island. “He is one of the up-and-coming architects in the world, which is one of the reasons why we selected him,” one of the course’s developers told the Examiner. So now, for DeVries, the challenge awaits. Can he deliver the way Tom Doak and Coore & Crenshaw did at Barnbougle Dunes?
In keeping with one of this blog’s core philosophies -- “Never believe anything until it has been officially denied” -- I can say with some confidence that the Open Championship will return to Northern Ireland for the first time since the 1950s. The year: 2018. The venue: Royal Portrush Golf Club. The news was first reported by the Irish Sun but immediately denied by both the Royal & Ancient and the club, so you know it’s true.
After a one-year hiatus, Tiger Woods has returned to the top spot on Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes. The magazine figures that over the past year Woods collected $13.1 million in winnings plus $65 million in endorsements, appearance money, and course design fees. The total: $78.1 million. Only four other professional golfers were named to Forbes’ top 100: Phil Mickelson at #7 ($48.7 in total earnings), Rory McIlroy at #21 ($29.6 million), Ernie Els at #78 ($19.5 million), and Brandt Snedeker at #81 ($19 million).
International travelers are finding their way to Abu Dhabi’s golf courses in ever-larger numbers. During the first quarter of this year, the number of “overseas” rounds played at the emirate’s seven golf properties was up by 90 percent over those played during the first quarter of 2012, according to the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. Surprisingly, the emirate’s championship-caliber properties -- Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, and Yas Links -- have combined to ring up just 9,215 overseas rounds so far this year, not quite one-third of the total number. The TCA notes that this is the trio’s best performance ever, but some may wonder why Abu Dhabi’s most heavily promoted courses don’t capture a larger share of the market. On the brighter side, it’s worth noting that Abu Dhabi’s championship layouts last year registered a nearly 95 percent increase in rounds played over the numbers posted in 2011.
Jack Nicklaus never wore sunglasses when he played competitive golf, but he swears that his new line of shades -- especially the more expensive “signature” models -- can improve your game. I hear they’re especially effective when combined with a lifetime’s worth of lessons.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Vital Signs, june 7, 2013
HVS Golf has attempted to calculate the losses suffered by U.S. golf properties since the salad days of the mid 2000s. In the ensuing years, says the Boulder, Colorado-based consulting firm, our average course has lost 15 percent of its rounds and 10 percent of its ancillary revenues and seen its average greens fee drop by 20 percent. “The golf industry is in a painful period of distress,” notes a report by Darius Hatami. “Golf course values are down, lending is still difficult, and the ability of the industry to alter these constraints is going to be tested in the years to come.” That being said, HVS Golf has reason to believe better times are ahead. It promises to tell us why in the next installment of Hatami’s report, which will be published later this summer.
The number of U.S. golfers continued to fall last year, although the pace of the decline eased. According to a brief provided by Pellucid Corporation, our business lost nearly 2 million golfers in 2011 and 400,000 more in 2012. The total number left standing: a little over 24 million. Pellucid’s report raises several red flags, the biggest one being this: The demographic group that saw the largest percentage decline was juniors. In other words, the desperately needed replacements for our aging golfers are slipping through our fingers.
Passions aren’t easily quantified, but a new report by KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice suggests that Scotland’s lust for golf may be unrivaled. Though Scotland is a small country -- it had a population of just 5.25 million in 2011, about the same as metropolitan Atlanta’s -- during that year it could count 240,000 people who belonged to golf clubs (almost 4.6 percent of the population) and 400,000 (about 7.5 percent) who played at least 12 rounds annually. This is an exceptionally high level of commitment. What’s more, in 2011 Scotland had a whopping 597 golf courses (one for every 9,800 people), which is more than can be found in the entire state of Georgia. These and many other facts and figures can be found in “The Value of Golf to Scotland’s Economy,” which assesses all the various sectors of the nation’s golf industry, including facility operations, tourism and real estate development. The bottom line: Directly and indirectly, golf contributes £1.17 billion (almost $1.82 billion) to the gross national product in “the home of golf.”
If you feel as though our planet might be tilting on its axis just a bit, it’s probably because most of the world’s construction workers are headed to Dubai. By the end of the current decade, Dubai expects to have roughly 160,000 hotel rooms, double its current stock. The new rooms will be built to accommodate the 20 million tourists who are expected to visit the emirate annually by 2020. To attract those travelers, Dubai also plans to build theme parks, entertainment venues, and other attractions, including more golf courses.
The National Golf Foundation has a new idea for growing the game, one that has a familiar ring to it. The trade group is encouraging our industry to tap “latent” demand -- that is, people who have some desire to play golf but haven’t yet acted on the impulse. There are something like 25 million Americans who are either “very” or “somewhat” interested in giving the game a try, the NGF has determined, a number large enough that even a 20 percent slice of it would have a salutary effect on our fiscal health. “They are fresh, optimistic prospects who, if welcomed to the game properly, can become committed golfers on some level,” the NGF believes. The trouble is, golf has never had a problem finding qualified prospects. Our problem is the “welcoming” part, especially as it applies to women and minorities. That’s the one we need to solve.
The number of international tourists visiting New Zealand continues to increase, but over the last five years they’ve been spending less. So, to get the cash registers ringing, New Zealand’s tourism officials have set out to double the number of golfers that they currently attract. These days the nation draws about 50,000 golfers a year, most of them from Australia, the United States, and Asia. As is often noted, vacationing golfers typically spend twice the amount that other tourists do.
The golf courses in California’s San Joaquin Valley are “headed for their third straight year of growth,” according to the Business Journal. This is good news, but it’s a small sample size. Membership sales at Copper River Country Club in Fresno are said to be up by roughly 15 percent, and sales of annual passes at the city of Dinuba’s golf course are said to be 7 percent ahead of projections. “The economy is getting better, and people are wanting to play a little golf and spend a little more for recreation,” a local general manager explained. So far this year, unfortunately, markets with chillier, wetter weather haven’t fared as well.
Researchers in Scotland estimate that next month’s Open Championship at Muirfield will be worth £70 million ($109 million) in direct and indirect benefits to East Lothian and greater Edinburgh. The event is expected to attract an audience of 160,000, about the same number it got in 2002, when it was last played at Muirfield. By contrast, the U.S. Golf Association believes that this month’s U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club will attract 190,000 spectators and inject as much as $120 million into the Philadelphia area’s economy.
The number of U.S. golfers continued to fall last year, although the pace of the decline eased. According to a brief provided by Pellucid Corporation, our business lost nearly 2 million golfers in 2011 and 400,000 more in 2012. The total number left standing: a little over 24 million. Pellucid’s report raises several red flags, the biggest one being this: The demographic group that saw the largest percentage decline was juniors. In other words, the desperately needed replacements for our aging golfers are slipping through our fingers.
Passions aren’t easily quantified, but a new report by KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice suggests that Scotland’s lust for golf may be unrivaled. Though Scotland is a small country -- it had a population of just 5.25 million in 2011, about the same as metropolitan Atlanta’s -- during that year it could count 240,000 people who belonged to golf clubs (almost 4.6 percent of the population) and 400,000 (about 7.5 percent) who played at least 12 rounds annually. This is an exceptionally high level of commitment. What’s more, in 2011 Scotland had a whopping 597 golf courses (one for every 9,800 people), which is more than can be found in the entire state of Georgia. These and many other facts and figures can be found in “The Value of Golf to Scotland’s Economy,” which assesses all the various sectors of the nation’s golf industry, including facility operations, tourism and real estate development. The bottom line: Directly and indirectly, golf contributes £1.17 billion (almost $1.82 billion) to the gross national product in “the home of golf.”
If you feel as though our planet might be tilting on its axis just a bit, it’s probably because most of the world’s construction workers are headed to Dubai. By the end of the current decade, Dubai expects to have roughly 160,000 hotel rooms, double its current stock. The new rooms will be built to accommodate the 20 million tourists who are expected to visit the emirate annually by 2020. To attract those travelers, Dubai also plans to build theme parks, entertainment venues, and other attractions, including more golf courses.
The National Golf Foundation has a new idea for growing the game, one that has a familiar ring to it. The trade group is encouraging our industry to tap “latent” demand -- that is, people who have some desire to play golf but haven’t yet acted on the impulse. There are something like 25 million Americans who are either “very” or “somewhat” interested in giving the game a try, the NGF has determined, a number large enough that even a 20 percent slice of it would have a salutary effect on our fiscal health. “They are fresh, optimistic prospects who, if welcomed to the game properly, can become committed golfers on some level,” the NGF believes. The trouble is, golf has never had a problem finding qualified prospects. Our problem is the “welcoming” part, especially as it applies to women and minorities. That’s the one we need to solve.
The number of international tourists visiting New Zealand continues to increase, but over the last five years they’ve been spending less. So, to get the cash registers ringing, New Zealand’s tourism officials have set out to double the number of golfers that they currently attract. These days the nation draws about 50,000 golfers a year, most of them from Australia, the United States, and Asia. As is often noted, vacationing golfers typically spend twice the amount that other tourists do.
The golf courses in California’s San Joaquin Valley are “headed for their third straight year of growth,” according to the Business Journal. This is good news, but it’s a small sample size. Membership sales at Copper River Country Club in Fresno are said to be up by roughly 15 percent, and sales of annual passes at the city of Dinuba’s golf course are said to be 7 percent ahead of projections. “The economy is getting better, and people are wanting to play a little golf and spend a little more for recreation,” a local general manager explained. So far this year, unfortunately, markets with chillier, wetter weather haven’t fared as well.
Researchers in Scotland estimate that next month’s Open Championship at Muirfield will be worth £70 million ($109 million) in direct and indirect benefits to East Lothian and greater Edinburgh. The event is expected to attract an audience of 160,000, about the same number it got in 2002, when it was last played at Muirfield. By contrast, the U.S. Golf Association believes that this month’s U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club will attract 190,000 spectators and inject as much as $120 million into the Philadelphia area’s economy.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
The Week That Was, june 2, 2013
My blog is in the process of relocating! I’m happy to announce that Golf, Inc. has decided to give my reporting -- not to mention my idle thoughts and lame opinions -- a bigger audience. Some of my posts can already be found at the magazine’s website -- this month’s installment of the Pipeline, for example, along with a “Letter from China” by Ronald Fream, the Kuala Lumpur-based architect who occasionally treats us with reports from far-away places. In the future, the World Golf Report will probably be completely phased out, so it would be great if all of you would get into the habit of looking for my new home.
One of the golf industry’s longtime benefactors is in trouble with the law yet again. UBS, the Swiss investment banking colossus, is formally being investigated in France for what the Financial Times calls “illegal solicitation.” The phrase suggests activities that are juicy and sordid and oh so very French, but the alleged misdeeds are somewhat more mundane, as they involve tax evasion. These days, as you probably know, UBS is the principal sponsor of the Hong Kong Open. Before the Great Recession took a bite out of its marketing program, however, it put its name on the Asian Golf Tour, the Japan Golf Tour Championship, the Faldo Series Asia, and the Players Championship. And as I’ve previously noted, UBS isn’t golf’s only patron that engages in white-collar crimes. Barclays, the bank that puts its name on the annual tournament in New Jersey, has paid multimillion-dollar fines for conspiring with UBS and others to fix Libor rates, and HSBC has, among other things, been fined for laundering money on behalf of terrorists and drug smugglers. So the next time someone mentions all those cherished values that golf represents, remind them that we routinely do business with corporate scoundrels and ought to cut it out.
In the midst of a reminiscence about a recent golf vacation in China, Craig Tansley of the Australian Financial Review makes a startling observation. Over the course of two days at Stone Forest International Golf Club in Kunming, Tansley reports that he saw just “five other groups” on the 54-hole complex. “There are no other golfers around at all,” he happily notes. Playing at Stone Forest may be, as Tansley believes, “like golfing through Machu Picchu or through Stonehenge,” but one has to wonder how long it can survive without more paying customers.
Peter Kostis has identified the culprit responsible for modern golf and its wretched excesses: Robert Trent Jones. Our industry’s “Original Sin” moment, as Kostis calls it in an article for Golf magazine, came when Jones toughened up the Donald Ross-designed course at Oakland Hills Country Club in preparation for the 1951 U.S. Open. “By the mid 1960s,” Kostis recollects, “golfers began to confuse a course’s difficulty with its quality,” and things quickly went downhill from there. “At some point,” he believes, “we lost sight of what a course should be: a fun, contiguous, walkable layout that can be played in a reasonable amount of time.” The article breaks no new ground, but it reflects a growing sentiment that will ultimately be very good for golf.
Two years after Minot, North Dakota’s premier kid- and beginner-friendly golf course was washed away in a flood, leaving so many future golfers up the river without a putter, Jack Hoeven Wee Links is back in business. “The adults have found places to play,” a local golf pro told the Minot Daily News, “but the kids in the community have had to wait two long years.” This is a significant achievement and a major investment in the future of golf in Minot. Welcome back, Jack!
The Hyderabad Golf Association isn’t accentuating the positive for golf in India. For the fourth time, according to the Times of India, the association has been accused of illegally felling trees on property where it’s building a golf course. The first three times it happened, the association got off by paying a fine. This time, authorities in Hyderabad are thinking about bringing criminal charges.
Montenegro’s most ambitious golf developer has sold out to one of its minority partners. Boka Group, a Bahamas-based firm led by John Gvozdenovic Kennedy and John James, has acquired the assets of LPGD Company LLC. Boka Group’s investors are said to include members of “famous European aristocratic families” -- among them princes from Monaco and Russia -- as well as “people from the world of business who want to invest money in Montenegro.” LPGD, a Dutch entity, had hoped to build golf properties in Kavac, Danilovgrad, and Seljanovo. So far, though, Boka Group has revealed plans for just one of them, the one in Kavac. (LPGD had named it Tivat National Golf Club.) Depending on how quickly Orascom Development Holding proceeds with its Gary Player-designed course at the Luštica Bay resort community in Tivat, Boka Group could produce Montenegro’s first golf property.
Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the April 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Some of you who’ve read my rant about racism in golf may have reached your limit on the subject. If you’d like some alternative viewpoints, however, let me direct your attention to a pair of recently published articles. In the Scotsman, John Huggan offers an insightful capsule history of black and white relations in U.S. golf and explains how our version of the game became viewed as “the preserve of rich, right-wing, white, middle-aged men with a collectively narrow view of the wider world.” In a piece for the Golf Channel, Jason Sobel wonders how George O’Grady, the CEO of the European Tour, has held onto his job. “If he was the CEO of a high-profile company and used the term colored on live television,” Sobel writes, “his gleaming corner office would be inhabited by the next guy in line before end of business that day.” Sobel is right. For the good of the game, O’Grady should be dismissed.
The city of Benson, Arizona, like other municipalities from coast to coast, is trying to fend off a challenge from citizens who believe that golf courses should be operated exclusively by the private sector. The critics’ target is San Pedro Golf Course, which expects to lose $118,000 this year. In San Pedro’s defense, Benson’s city manager points out that the course’s financial losses are offset by sales tax revenues (in this case, more than $100,000 worth) and spending by tourists. What’s more, the course helps to generate money for local charities, serves as a collector for the city’s reclaimed waste water, and is used by the city as an economic-development tool. “If the course closes,” the city manager said in comments published by the Benson News-Sun, “it would result in a serious economic blow to our local restaurants, RV parks, and hotels.” San Pedro’s fate will likely be decided sometime this summer.
Given how Fidel Castro felt about golf, nobody could have predicted that his son would end up being a golf nut. In fact, Antonio Castro Soto del Valle won this year’s edition of the sole significant golf event played in Cuba, the International Championship of Golf Montecristo. The event was played at Cuba’s only 18-hole golf course, Varadero Golf Club, and it was sponsored in part by Esencia Hotels & Resorts, the company that figures to build Cuba’s second 18-hole course. Is it too far-fetched to wonder if a Castro might become Cuba’s most passionate advocate for golf?
One of the golf industry’s longtime benefactors is in trouble with the law yet again. UBS, the Swiss investment banking colossus, is formally being investigated in France for what the Financial Times calls “illegal solicitation.” The phrase suggests activities that are juicy and sordid and oh so very French, but the alleged misdeeds are somewhat more mundane, as they involve tax evasion. These days, as you probably know, UBS is the principal sponsor of the Hong Kong Open. Before the Great Recession took a bite out of its marketing program, however, it put its name on the Asian Golf Tour, the Japan Golf Tour Championship, the Faldo Series Asia, and the Players Championship. And as I’ve previously noted, UBS isn’t golf’s only patron that engages in white-collar crimes. Barclays, the bank that puts its name on the annual tournament in New Jersey, has paid multimillion-dollar fines for conspiring with UBS and others to fix Libor rates, and HSBC has, among other things, been fined for laundering money on behalf of terrorists and drug smugglers. So the next time someone mentions all those cherished values that golf represents, remind them that we routinely do business with corporate scoundrels and ought to cut it out.
In the midst of a reminiscence about a recent golf vacation in China, Craig Tansley of the Australian Financial Review makes a startling observation. Over the course of two days at Stone Forest International Golf Club in Kunming, Tansley reports that he saw just “five other groups” on the 54-hole complex. “There are no other golfers around at all,” he happily notes. Playing at Stone Forest may be, as Tansley believes, “like golfing through Machu Picchu or through Stonehenge,” but one has to wonder how long it can survive without more paying customers.
Peter Kostis has identified the culprit responsible for modern golf and its wretched excesses: Robert Trent Jones. Our industry’s “Original Sin” moment, as Kostis calls it in an article for Golf magazine, came when Jones toughened up the Donald Ross-designed course at Oakland Hills Country Club in preparation for the 1951 U.S. Open. “By the mid 1960s,” Kostis recollects, “golfers began to confuse a course’s difficulty with its quality,” and things quickly went downhill from there. “At some point,” he believes, “we lost sight of what a course should be: a fun, contiguous, walkable layout that can be played in a reasonable amount of time.” The article breaks no new ground, but it reflects a growing sentiment that will ultimately be very good for golf.
Two years after Minot, North Dakota’s premier kid- and beginner-friendly golf course was washed away in a flood, leaving so many future golfers up the river without a putter, Jack Hoeven Wee Links is back in business. “The adults have found places to play,” a local golf pro told the Minot Daily News, “but the kids in the community have had to wait two long years.” This is a significant achievement and a major investment in the future of golf in Minot. Welcome back, Jack!
The Hyderabad Golf Association isn’t accentuating the positive for golf in India. For the fourth time, according to the Times of India, the association has been accused of illegally felling trees on property where it’s building a golf course. The first three times it happened, the association got off by paying a fine. This time, authorities in Hyderabad are thinking about bringing criminal charges.
Montenegro’s most ambitious golf developer has sold out to one of its minority partners. Boka Group, a Bahamas-based firm led by John Gvozdenovic Kennedy and John James, has acquired the assets of LPGD Company LLC. Boka Group’s investors are said to include members of “famous European aristocratic families” -- among them princes from Monaco and Russia -- as well as “people from the world of business who want to invest money in Montenegro.” LPGD, a Dutch entity, had hoped to build golf properties in Kavac, Danilovgrad, and Seljanovo. So far, though, Boka Group has revealed plans for just one of them, the one in Kavac. (LPGD had named it Tivat National Golf Club.) Depending on how quickly Orascom Development Holding proceeds with its Gary Player-designed course at the Luštica Bay resort community in Tivat, Boka Group could produce Montenegro’s first golf property.
Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the April 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Some of you who’ve read my rant about racism in golf may have reached your limit on the subject. If you’d like some alternative viewpoints, however, let me direct your attention to a pair of recently published articles. In the Scotsman, John Huggan offers an insightful capsule history of black and white relations in U.S. golf and explains how our version of the game became viewed as “the preserve of rich, right-wing, white, middle-aged men with a collectively narrow view of the wider world.” In a piece for the Golf Channel, Jason Sobel wonders how George O’Grady, the CEO of the European Tour, has held onto his job. “If he was the CEO of a high-profile company and used the term colored on live television,” Sobel writes, “his gleaming corner office would be inhabited by the next guy in line before end of business that day.” Sobel is right. For the good of the game, O’Grady should be dismissed.
The city of Benson, Arizona, like other municipalities from coast to coast, is trying to fend off a challenge from citizens who believe that golf courses should be operated exclusively by the private sector. The critics’ target is San Pedro Golf Course, which expects to lose $118,000 this year. In San Pedro’s defense, Benson’s city manager points out that the course’s financial losses are offset by sales tax revenues (in this case, more than $100,000 worth) and spending by tourists. What’s more, the course helps to generate money for local charities, serves as a collector for the city’s reclaimed waste water, and is used by the city as an economic-development tool. “If the course closes,” the city manager said in comments published by the Benson News-Sun, “it would result in a serious economic blow to our local restaurants, RV parks, and hotels.” San Pedro’s fate will likely be decided sometime this summer.
Given how Fidel Castro felt about golf, nobody could have predicted that his son would end up being a golf nut. In fact, Antonio Castro Soto del Valle won this year’s edition of the sole significant golf event played in Cuba, the International Championship of Golf Montecristo. The event was played at Cuba’s only 18-hole golf course, Varadero Golf Club, and it was sponsored in part by Esencia Hotels & Resorts, the company that figures to build Cuba’s second 18-hole course. Is it too far-fetched to wonder if a Castro might become Cuba’s most passionate advocate for golf?
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