The Week That Was, march 23, 2014

     In what may very well be a preview of the future, California’s persistent drought has claimed its first high-prestige golf course. Diablo Grande, an upscale community west of Patterson, can no longer irrigate its “signature” Legends track due to evaporating local water supplies. The Troon Golf-managed layout, a co-design by Jack Nicklaus and Gene Sarazen, will close when it’s no longer playable, probably next month. The community’s Ranch course, a Denis Griffiths design that’s been described as “essential to residential view sheds,” will continue to be watered. Nobody has as yet suggested when -- or if -- the Legends course might reopen.

     Vladimir Putin’s devilish empire building has strained relations between Russia and the rest of the civilized world, but it could provide a boost to resort development in Crimea. Russia’s ministry of culture has offered proposals to support Crimea’s tourism industry, and the Gulf Times reports that Ruslan Baisarov, a wealthy developer from Chechnya, wants to build a resort on the Black Sea that will include hotels, a marina, a spa, an amusement park, a water park, and a golf course. “Up to 40,000 people would be able to vacation at the complex every year,” Baisarov told a Russian newspaper. Crimea nowadays attracts 6 million travelers a year, according to the Times, 40 percent of them from Russia.

     In its first year as a publicly traded company, ClubCorp generated $627 million from its golf operations, according to a year-end financial statement. The ClubCorp network, including 154 golf and country-club properties, counted 146,800 members in 2013, an increase of 1.2 percent over the previous year. The company’s chief financial officer reports that he’s seeing “an increase in new members, an increase in club usage, and an increase in average revenue per member visit.” The annual report didn’t address ClubCorp’s performance in regard to its “central purpose,” which the company claims is “building relationships and enriching lives.” It’s possible that such purposes aren’t easily quantified.

     The golf operations in Salt Lake City, Utah are on the brink of slipping into a financial “death spiral,” according to an analysis by the National Golf Foundation. The Jupiter, Florida-based trade group contends that the eight golf properties are in “declining physical condition,” says the Salt Lake Tribune, and need at least $11 million worth of near-term upgrades -- money that the city claims it doesn’t have. If the properties aren’t improved soon, however, the NGF predicts that they’ll be further drained of income as the area’s golfers seek out greener pastures. Salt Lake City’s problem has been years in the making, as various administrations have put off making the investments necessary to maintain the viability of their golf assets. Now, the long-avoided day of reckoning appears to have arrived.

     Some will sneer, but a growing number of U.S. golf courses have come to view footgolf -- a game that blends elements of soccer and golf -- as a viable alternative revenue stream. More than 60 golf properties in North America are now offering footgolf, and Upstart Business Journal reports that 39 footgolf venues are expected to open this spring. “It’s a good way to bring new bodies to the course and introduce people to our facilities,” the manager of a golf course in Minnesota told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The sport’s growth has even gotten the attention of Ted Bishop, the PGA of America’s president, who’s apparently agreed to participate in a footgolf match. “The interest that I’m already getting from the soccer community on the sport is unbelievable,” he said. Footgolf’s growth will certainly be slowed by resistance from traditionalists in the golf industry, but some venues -- municipal courses in particular -- may not have the luxury of just saying no.

     Troon Golf has secured its second management contract in Kansas. Troon Privé, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based firm’s private club division, has begun to operate Salina Country Club, a facility in Salina that was established in 1911. Jim McLaughlin of Troon Privé has promised to deliver “an enhanced lifestyle experience” to Salina’s 680 members. Elsewhere in the Sunflower State, Troon manages a daily-fee track, Ironhorse Golf Club in Leawood.

     It took a while, but the price finally got right for Blarney Golf Resort. The eight-year-old property, in County Cork, Ireland, has been sold to Tom O’Gorman, a former oil man described by the Belfast Telegraph as “a low-key investor from Northern Ireland.” O’Gorman hasn’t disclosed the size of the check he wrote, but the receivers in control of the 420-acre resort were most recently asking for €2.5 million ($3.47 million). Blarney features a 61-room hotel, meeting space, and an 18-hole, John Daly-designed golf course. It’s been on the market since 2009.

     For years, titanium clubs were among the hottest products on the market. And according to researchers at Cal Irvine, under the right conditions they can actually start fires.