The Week That Was, september 8, 2013

     The 21st century was supposed to be India’s century, the time when the nation became a global economic power and its golf industry took off like a rocket. Today, just 13 years into the new millennium, India’s economy is in “disarray,” according to the New York Times, “with the prospect of worse to come in the next few months.” Clearly, now is not the time to bet heavily on the prospects for golf development in the world’s largest democracy, no matter what the self-promoters and others with vested interests say. The Times reports that India’s real estate markets are “teetering,” its infrastructure is a wreck, good jobs are getting hard to find, the price of diesel fuel -- “the lifeblood of the Indian economy” -- is expected to spike, and, thanks to runaway inflation, many coveted goods (automobiles and electronics in particular) now cost more than many prospective buyers can afford. What’s more, since May the value of the rupee has fallen by 20 percent against the U.S. dollar, a fact that has implications for every sector of the nation’s economy, including its golf sector. In the face of such evidence, why would anyone believe that India’s golf industry is about to flourish?

     India’s faltering economy has claimed its first golf victims: the Avantha Masters, the nation’s richest golf event, and the Kensville Gujarat Challenge, a stop on the European Challenge Tour. Neither tournament will be played in 2014. The cancellations could cost the Professional Golf Tour of India more than 40 percent of its prize money, according to the Times of India. One other thing: Next year, for the first time since 2009, India won’t host a event on the European Tour.

     Banzai! Japan, a nation still suffering from the aftereffects of the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, has been awarded the 2020 Summer Olympics. “I think we conveyed the message that we can hold a safe Olympics,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a comment published by the Guardian. As in Brazil in 2016, golf will be played during the games, at Kasumigaseki Country Club’s East course, in the outskirts of Tokyo. The East course, which opened in 1929 and was redesigned a year later by Charles H. Alison, has hosted the Japan Open twice, the World Cup once, and lesser events countless other times. Japan’s tourism officials hope to attract 8.5 million free-spending tourists during the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, although nothing will be guaranteed until radiation leaks are plugged at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, which is a two-hour drive from Tokyo. Last month, in the latest chapter written for the continuing horror story, the plant’s operator acknowledged that the tormented facility was spewing roughly 300 tons of contaminated groundwater into the Pacific Ocean every day.

     Yes, he’s still the King: For the second time in six months, Arnold Palmer has found a reason to get his picture taken with Kate Upton. In March, the 83-year-old golf legend and the 20-year-old supermodel got together to discuss some of their



favorite subjects, namely marketing and branding. “I’ve always wanted to meet Arnold,” Upton said at the time. “He’s a legend in more than golf.” Last month, Upton claimed to have received a golf lesson from Palmer and issued a photo to prove it. No doubt, this is all a publicity stunt. Still, can we enlist her in a campaign to promote golf?

     The city of Red Wing, Minnesota may attract a prominent management firm to operate its shuttered golf complex. A get-together at the 36-hole Mississippi National Golf Links, a troubled facility that was abandoned by a previous operator, reportedly attracted nearly a dozen interested parties, among them representatives from KemperSports and Billy Casper Golf. “We were really pleased with the turnout and the interest,” said the president of Red Wing’s city council told the Rochester Post-Bulletin. The city is accepting responses to its recently issued request for proposals until September 27, 2013. It aims to reopen the complex next spring.

     Bubba Watson, a Masters champion and one of Justin Bieber’s pals, has agreed to promote the historic Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Watson, who’s reportedly “purchased” a home in the property’s Greenbrier Sporting Club, will glue the resort’s logo to his golf bag and whisper sweet nothings about the place whenever he gets the chance. “The Greenbrier has everything and more that I look for in a golf resort,” he said in a press announcement, “and I look forward to creating lasting memories with my family here.” The Greenbrier has similar arrangements with Tom Watson, Kenny Perry, and Webb Simpson.

     The fellow who owns the Pittsburgh Pirates and Somerset County, Pennsylvania’s Seven Springs Mountain Resort has agreed to buy the nearby Hidden Valley Resort. Bob Nutting is purchasing Hidden Valley, a 1,200-acre spread less than 15 miles from Seven Springs, from The Buncher Company. Both properties have ski areas and 18-hole golf courses. Hidden Valley’s track was designed by Russell Roberts and opened in 1987, while Seven Springs’ X. G. Hassenplug-designed layout dates from 1969. Nutting, who also owns Mother Earth News and the Utne Reader, told the Pittsburgh Tribune that he plans to market the properties aggressively, to attract vacationers from outside the immediate area. “Clearly, [Hidden Valley] fits very nicely with Seven Springs, and I believe over time we’ll find opportunities to market the two resorts to bring more people into the Laurel Highlands,” he said. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this month.

     Struggling under the weight of financial losses at its 18-hole golf courses, the city of Modesto, California has set out to find new private-sector management. The number of rounds played at the Dryden and Creekside tracks has fallen by 20 percent since 2007, according to the Modesto Bee, and the city has been forced to fill the financial breach with nearly $1 million in taxpayers’ money. As a result, next month the city plans to cut its ties with FM Golf, which had been hired to manage the facilities just last year. The city alleges that FM Golf owes it more than $231,000, a claim that FM Golf’s lawyer disputes. Valley Crest Golf Maintenance, which currently tends to the courses, has offered to operate them in a joint venture with KemperSports, but the city appears to be intent on weighing other offers as well.

     Next year, KPMG will return its annual Golf Business Forum to the Middle East. The 11th edition of international golf’s premier meet and greet will take place on April 28-30, 2014 at the Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa. In 2011, KPMG held the event in Dubai. If you need an excuse to attend, the trip will provide an opportunity to play one of the world’s top-rated courses, the Kyle Phillips-designed track at Yas Links (it’s ranked #24 by Golf Digest), as well as two other well-regarded layouts, Abu Dhabi Golf Club (Peter Harradine) and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club (Gary Player).