The Pipeline, october 11, 2013

     Ibiza may have the coolest club scene on the planet, but it has just one golf course. The 18-hole track at Ibiza Golf Club may soon have company, however, because Grupo Empresas Matutes has floated an idea to build an 18-hole course along the southern part of the island, in an area known as Playa d’en Bossa. GEM believes that Playa d’en Bossa can become “a premier tourist destination in the Mediterranean,” especially if it’s also permitted to build a shopping center, an office park, a sports center, outdoor gathering places, and a bunch of family-friendly entertainment venues. The family-friendly aspect of the attractions is important, because some local residents have grown weary of the all-night bacchanalia that has made Ibiza, which is located off the eastern coast of Spain, “the Gomorrah of the Mediterranean.”

     One of the Middle East’s biggest developers is negotiating to build a golf mega-project at Dubai’s new international airport. Emaar Properties could eventually build as many as four 18-hole golf courses at Dubai World Central, the government-controlled aerotropolis that’s beginning to take shape on nearly 35,600 acres alongside Al Maktoum International Airport. Emaar, the emirate’s largest developer, is best known locally for Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, and the Downtown Dubai mixed-use complex that surrounds it. But it’s also built two golf properties in Dubai (Arabian Ranches Golf Club and the Montgomerie), and it currently has a second massive golf project, the 1,280-acre Mohammed Bin Rashid City, on its development plate. Emaar has also developed a golf community in India, and in recent years it’s floated plans to build others in Indonesia, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The first phase of development at DWC’s Golf District, which is to occupy 3,700 acres, will consist of an 18-hole course and several hundred villas.

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

     Tom Watson has been enlisted to design a $550,000, junior- and beginner-friendly golf course in Maryville, Missouri. The nine-hole track will take shape on property adjacent to Mozingo Lake Golf Course, an 18-hole municipal layout, and the St. Joseph News-Press says it’ll be “challenging but not discouraging.” Watson, a Missouri native who now reportedly lives on a farm in Kansas, told the newspaper the course would be “a place for kids to learn how to play the game but also learn what goes along with it.” A local dentist has so far collected more than $125,000 in donations and commitments, the newspaper says, and is hoping to complete the fundraising before the winter ends. Target opening date: Spring 2015.

     An unidentified Chinese ownership group has given a comatose resort community in northeastern Tasmania, Australia a new lease on life. Musselroe Bay will take shape on 4,700 acres near Mount William, about 50 miles east of Bridport, the home of Barnbougle Dunes. Spencer Morgan Group, the community’s original developer, believed that the course would rank among the top 10 in Australia and, like Barnbougle Dunes, attract passionate golfers from all over the world. In fact, it had hired Michael Clayton, who co-designed the first course at Barnbougle Dunes, to design Musselroe Bay’s 18-hole track. Musselroe Bay’s new, Melbourne-based owners aim to begin construction in the spring of next year. Besides the golf course, the community will feature a to-be-determined number of vacation houses, a resort-style hotel with 100 suites and 80 apartments, and an air strip.

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

     The state government in Penang, Malaysia is seeking proposals from groups willing to build a golf course and a theme park on Batu Kawan Island. The Penang Development Corporation, which is conducting the search, has identified a 475-acre site for an 18-hole (or larger) “international-standard” golf course that may be accompanied by houses and/or a commercial center. The theme park, which will occupy 215 nearby acres, can also be flanked by ancillary development. Both properties are being offered via 30-year leases, with an option for a 30-year renewal, and the groups selected to develop the properties will have four years to deliver in their promises.

     Beginning early next year, Jack Nicklaus’ design firm will put a fresh new face on one of the oldest golf clubs in the Philippines. The two-year makeover will reportedly be the first major renovation in the history of Cebu Country Club, which opened in the late 1920s. The architects at Nicklaus’ North Palm Beach, Florida-based firm plan to stretch the club’s 6,677-yard course to 7,100 yards, regrass the entire 127-acre spread, and redesign and rebuild all of the track’s design elements. To fund the work, the 800-member club has agreed to lease two acres of its property in central Cebu City to a developer who plans to build a condo/hotel and a retail area. When it reopens, Cebu expects to become one of the nation’s premier golf destinations.

     Late last year, Phil Mickelson gave a broad outline of his plans for the makeover of Torrey Pines’ North course, and now his design firm is providing San Diego’s golfers with some details. The cost: $7 million. For such an investment, the municipally owned layout’s tees, greens, and bunkers will be rebuilt, a set of forward tees will be added, a new irrigation system will be installed, and 22 acres of turf will be replaced with what the San Diego Union-Tribune calls “sand material.” No significant design changes appear to be contemplated. “Phil wants this to be a challenge for the better player and fun for the average player,” explained Mike Angus, Mickelson’s director of design. The work is expected to begin in 2015.

     As soon as federal approvals are granted, the Kenya Golf Union expects to break ground on a nine-hole, beginner-friendly golf course in suburban Nairobi. The track will take shape at the Moi International Sports Centre, as part of the KGU’s effort to both grow the game and identify promising juniors who might eventually represent the nation in international tournaments. “We want to bring the sport closer to the ordinary citizen by constructing a course that will be open to all,” the KGU’s chairman, Francis Okwaro, said in a comment published by the Xinhua news service. When the course is completed, the union will begin to identify sites elsewhere in Kenya for similar affordable tracks.

     After more than a decade’s worth of planning, and with approvals finally in hand, Thomas Na says he’ll break ground on his golf training center in suburban Christchurch, New Zealand in early 2014. The Christchurch Golf Resort has a new name, however -- it’s now called Whisper Creek -- and in 2015, when its 18-hole golf course opens, it’ll wear Nick Faldo’s “signature.” But not much else has changed for Whisper Creek, which is being created to attract Asian and European students looking for careers in golf management. In addition to the 18-hole course, which Faldo will co-design with Kristine Kerr of Kura Design, the 393-acre community will include a golf academy with a nine-hole practice course, 113 apartments for students and their families, 140 single-family houses, and a recreation center. Faldo has been designing the course “in his head for the past four years,” according to a local newspaper.

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