The Week That Was, september 29, 2013

     The Nicklaus empire’s Chinese affiliate has snuggled up to one of the true high flyers in the nation’s golf industry. Nicklaus China, an entity created last year, will lend its development expertise and design talents to the golf operations of Hainan Airlines, which hopes to elevate the quality of its 13 golf properties in China and the United States. “Golf course developers in China are looking for leadership and expertise in the golf and real estate arenas,” Jack Nicklaus noted. According to a press release, the partnership is expected to “lead to the re-design and re-branding of many of the HNA facilities.” The properties to be upgraded haven’t been identified, but HNA Development Company says it owns seven on Hainan Island, among them Kangle Garden International Golf Club and Sun River Golf Club, and four others elsewhere in the People’s Republic. And at one time or another it had also planned to build courses in Chengde (Hebei Province) and Tianjin. Nicklaus’ architectural team is also expected to evaluate the two properties that HNA owns in the United States, starting with the former Pasadera Country Club in Monterey, California, which is now known as Nicklaus Club Monterey. If the name change is a harbinger of things to come, we may soon see the Nicklaus name on other HNA-owned properties, including Somers Pointe Golf Club in Somers, New York.

     Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the January 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Mike Keiser’s rumored golf resort in Wisconsin is looking more and more like a sure thing. The resort already has a name, Sand Valley, and Keiser hopes to break ground on its first 18-hole golf course next year. In a conversation with Rory Spears, a Chicago-based radio-show host, Keiser said that he’s “very close to a purchase agreement” for a 1,500-acre spread with the potential to become “the Pine Valley of the Midwest,” except that it may have as many as seven golf courses. A designer for course number one hasn’t yet been selected, but Keiser has whittled his options to four: Tom Doak, Coore & Crenshaw, David McLay Kidd, and Jim Urbina. Keiser says that he won’t build a second course unless the first one attracts 25,000 rounds, but what are the chances of that not happening?

     While he formulates plans for his forthcoming golf venture in Wisconsin, Mike Keiser continues to add attractions at his celebrated property in Oregon. Bandon Dunes has begun to offer its guests preview rounds at the Punchbowl, its 3.5-acre putting course. “You will find every kind of putt that you can imagine out there,” Tom Doak said in a comment published by the Eugene Register-Guard, “and probably a few that you’ve never dreamed of.” The course, which was co-designed by Doak and Jim Urbina, has been modeled after similar facilities at St. Andrews in Scotland and the Pinehurst resort in North Carolina. It’ll make its official debut in May 2014.

     ClubCorp took home less than anticipated from its initial public offering. The Dallas, Texas-based management firm had been expected to sell its share at $16 to $18, but it ended up asking for just $14. As a result, ClubCorp and its owner, KSL Capital Partners, raised $252 million instead of $300 million or more. ClubCorp didn’t provide a rationale for its pricing, but an online investment analyst, Seeking Alpha, had advised against the purchase, citing “anemic” membership growth, a “very high” valuation, and “a large amount of insider selling.” In the end, ClubCorp sold 13.2 million shares and KSL sold 4.8 million.

     KemperSports has been hired to rescue the fast-fading Arlington Club in suburban Lexington, Kentucky. Arlington, a private country club owned by Eastern Kentucky University and whose members consist mostly of alumni, was forced to close its restaurant and catering operation last year. The club’s problem, declining use, has also begun to affect its 44-year-old golf course. A board member concedes that “professional management will benefit the club and our members going forward.” A press release doesn’t say when KemperSports begins its tenure, but its primary task will be to attract new members, particularly young families with children.

     Golf clubs in need of revitalization have a new group to call, as a group of Texas-based investors are looking to buy private clubs, provide financing to entities that wish to acquire private clubs, and invest in member-owned private clubs seeking to upgrade their facilities. The recently established group, Millennium Club Partners, is led by Tom Bennison, a golf industry veteran and a former principal of Fore Golf Partners. It doesn’t expect to have a shortage of opportunities, as it believes private clubs in the future must not only offer golf but also “a broad range of family-oriented amenities including resort-style pools, expansive fitness facilities, modern clubhouse décor, and exceptional dining experiences.” Bennison’s partners are Christopher Bancroft, a one-time director of Dow Jones & Company, the entity that formerly owned the Wall Street Journal; John Pigott and Bruce Leadbetter, a pair of Dallas, Texas-based investors; and Harold Handelsman, the legal representative for the Pritzker family.

     Signature Group has been enlisted to master-plan the future of a group that aims to become a major player in Asian golf. Tim Trinka believes that Signature can help his Asian Golf Industry Federation become the organization that leads “the responsible development of golf in Asia.” To reach that goal, he says, the AGIF needs to develop “a strategic plan that will offer a successful path for our organization to provide long-term benefits to the industry in the region.” Signature, which is based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, expects to produce the master plan and a “sponsorship engagement program” by the end of the year.

     The new owner of IMG Worldwide will have an opportunity to capitalize on the 10-year history of the golf industry’s premier international get-together. IMG has acquired the Golf Business Forum, an annual conference created by KPMG that’s given golf professionals a convenient excuse to visit Italy, Dubai, Scotland, the Czech Republic, and other worthy destinations. Andrea Sartori, the face of the accounting firm’s golf advisory practice, believes that IMG “will help bring new life to the event” and take both it and KPMG’s online Golf Business Community “to new levels.” Forstmann Little, IMG’s owner since 2004, is said to be reviewing offers for its sports management and marketing colossus, which could be worth $2 billion.

     The world’s most under-appreciated golf market, Africa, has 828 golf courses, according to CNN. More than half of them -- 450 -- are in South Africa, but the news service reports that 43 of the continents nations have at least one golf course.