The Pipeline, december 13, 2013

     Mike Keiser isn’t the only developer who believes that coastal Oregon is America’s links land. Jim Haley, the shaper for Keiser’s first course at Bandon Dunes, has announced plans to build an 18-hole, stand-alone layout -- no hotel or houses -- on Knapp Ranch, a 1,100-acre spread outside Port Orford. The sandy, oceanfront property, just 30 miles south of Bandon Dunes, features “rocky cliffs that recall Pebble Beach or Cypress Point,” according to a press release, along with “gorse-filled ravines that resemble those at Pine Valley” and “views unmatched anywhere else on the West Coast.” Dave Esler, an architect based in Chicagoland, has promised to deliver “something extraordinary, because the site deserves it,” and he believes his 18-hole, au naturel track “may even become the best one in the neighborhood.” Haley’s LLC hopes to begin construction next summer, provided that it can secure financing.

     The mother of Andy Murray, the British tennis star, has teamed up with Colin Montgomerie to build a sports complex in suburban Glasgow, Scotland. “My aim,” Judy Murray told the Daily Record, “is to create a real community hub that links with local clubs and schools to grow both tennis and golf in the Stirling area and can deliver a pathway to excellence for the most promising players and coaches.” The Park of Keir Centre will take shape on the Park of Keir estate, a historic, 270-acre spread. It’ll consist of a dozen tennis courts (half of them indoor courts), several sports fields covered with artificial turf, hiking trails, and a nine-hole golf course. Montgomerie hasn’t been identified as the course’s architect, but he seems to be a likely candidate, as he’s designed 16 golf courses in Wales, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, and at least a half-dozen other nations. Public hearings on the project have been scheduled. The sports complex has been warmly received, but some other expected development -- houses and a hotel -- has not, because the Park of Keir estate is part of a protected greenbelt. Pending approval by local officials, the partners hope to break ground on the facility next year.

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

     Can Nebraska accommodate another links-like, minimalist-inspired golf venue? The Santee Sioux Nation sure hopes so, because, after a two-year delay, it’s officially broken ground on an 18-hole course on property it owns in Niobrara, a town hardly anyone has heard of (estimated population: 370) in the northeastern part of the state. The track has been designed by Paul Albanese, who intends to produce “a natural golf course that fits with the beautiful surroundings,” even though those surroundings will include a casino, a conference center, and other commercial attractions. Naturally, the tribe is hoping that Albanese’s creation compares favorably with the highly regarded layouts at Nebraska’s established golf destinations -- Sand Hills Golf Club, Dismal River Club, and Prairie Club. But those are stand-alone properties built by passionate people for the love of the game. Will Albanese’s work be discredited by its context?

     A shaky economy may be putting the jitters in India’s housing market, but a residential developer has nonetheless announced plans for a golf community in Goa. Zuari Infraworld India, the real estate arm of Adventz Industries, Ltd., owns three properties totaling 517 acres in the state made famous by wandering hippies in the 1960s. The company hasn’t specified the location of its properties, but it told the Times of India that it intends to build houses, a convention center, a “hospitality project,” and a golf course. Zuari Infraworld is currently developing houses in suburban Mysore, Karnataka, and next year it aims to break ground on houses outside Delhi. Its parent company is said to own 5,000 acres of developable property.

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

     A development group in British Columbia has teed up a master plan for a four-season resort that will offer year-round snow skiing. The resort will take shape on 2,500 acres just west of Valemount, a village in the Canadian Rockies that’s roughly 250 miles west of Edmonton, Alberta. Its developer, Valemount Glacier Destinations, Ltd., says the ski area will feature the world’s longest ski runs as well as the world’s biggest vertical drop -- more than 7,800 feet. It’ll also have North America’s only ski-in, ski-out airport, vacation houses, hundreds of hotel rooms, a shopping area, places to eat and drink, and a variety of recreational amenities, including an 18-hole golf course. So far, VGD’s proposal has elicited strong community approval. “Backcountry skiers have long known that this area, so close to Valemount, is a ski mecca,” the village’s mayor said in a press statement, “but not many of us envisioned such an amazing project.” VGD is hoping that local officials approve the master plan in 2014. If they do, construction could conceivably begin in 2015.

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

     The new owner of Blue Skies Golf Course, in Yucca Valley, California, has set out to end the tyranny of 18-hole golf. Bill Brehm, Sr. has hired Landscapes Unlimited to rip out the 18-hole, nearly 60-year-old layout at Blue Skies and replace it with a water-conserving, player-friendly 12-hole track that’s been designed by Cary Bickler. Brehm, the owner of the Hi-Desert Star, has suggested that he’s leading “the new revolution in golf,” and his spokespeople are trying to sell the notion that “12-hole courses are a trend now.” In the golf business, however, those who break with tradition do so at their own peril. Local golfers will decide whether to join the revolution in early 2015, when the new course is scheduled to open.

     One of Ethiopia’s most celebrated athletes has reserved space for a nine-hole golf course near a training center he’s building for elite long-distance runners. Kenenisa Bekele has won three Olympic gold medals and countless other track and field championships, but it appears that the backbone of his second career will be real estate development. He’s already built a world-class running track outside Addis Ababa, the nation’s capital, along with two small hotels. Next, he plans to add a 100-room lodge to his property, plus the golf course and various other recreational amenities. Kenenisa hopes not just to attract the planet’s top runners for high-level competitions but to leave a legacy for those who follow in his footsteps. “If I’m not sharing with other people,” he said in a story distributed by Agence France Presse, “it’s no sense.”

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

     DMB Associates has begun to promote Victory, the oddly named, seniors-only community it’s building in Buckeye, Arizona, but its lips remain sealed on matters related to the property’s forthcoming golf course. Many moons ago, however, a commentator at GolfClubAtlas.com identified the track’s architect as Tom Lehman, the co-designer (with John Fought) of DMB’s Country Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale. As it happens, Lehman also designed The Raven at Verrado, an 18-hole layout at the master-planned community that Victory will be part of. Is there a point in sitting on this news any longer?