skillfully managed the business side of international golf. He helped to open new markets for the game, attracted deep-pocketed corporate sponsors, enhanced the status (and boosted the profits) of the Open Championship, and helped to identify new sources of revenue for the sport of golf. And just weeks ago, in what may turn out to be his last major initiative, he set the stage for a long-overdue vote that will likely admit women to the Royal & Ancient. Unfortunately, all too often he served as a defender of the status quo, and he presided over an unprecedented decline in golf’s popularity among amateur golfers. Dawson’s retirement may be an opportunity for golf to chart a fresh new course, but history suggests that we’re in for more of the same.
In lieu of assessing themselves for millions of dollars’ worth of capital improvements, the 600 members of a golf club in Cary, North Carolina have chosen to sell their 200-acre property to Concert Golf Partners. Peter Nanula’s Newport Beach, California-based investment group has agreed to buy MacGregor Downs Country Club, reportedly for $3.4 million. The 47-year-old venue features an 18-hole, Willard Byrd-designed golf course, a clubhouse, and the usual recreational amenities, all of which need to be modernized. Nonetheless, the club’s members reportedly weighed offers from at least three other suitors. With MacGregor Downs in the fold, Nanula’s group has acquired seven golf properties over the past three years. It has four facilities in Florida and others in Oklahoma and suburban Washington, DC.
China’s golf markets may be growing rapidly, but a new analysis indicates that they aren’t as large as some people believe. In 2012, according to Research & Markets, China had 386,000 “core” golfers, an increase of 7.8 percent over the number it had in 2011. Based on the belief that “core” golfers account for between 35 to 42 percent of a nation’s total golf population, R&M estimates that the total number of golfers in China is somewhere between 920,000 and 1.1 million. Thanks to rising incomes and improved standards of living, R&M concludes, the number will grow by about 12 percent annually over “the next several years.”
A new survey suggests that British golf properties would generate more play if they were friendlier to their customers, offered affordably priced lessons, and were more welcoming to women and beginners. “Growing Golf in the U.K.,” a study commissioned by Syngenta, took the pulse of 1,477 golfers and 2,145 non-golfers. In a summary of the results, Golf Club Management said that a large number of respondents specifically desire “relaxed, family-friendly facilities,” flexible membership options, informal dress codes, and “the freedom to do things such as use a smartphone in the clubhouse.” The survey also highlights the role a thriving junior program can have on a facility’s bottom line and notes that as many as 8.5 million people in the U.K. might be inclined to give golf a try.
Romspen Investment Corporation, the new owner of four former Carolina Trail golf courses, might be advised to stick to a business it knows better than golf operations. The Canadian financier has alienated some of the trail’s long-time customers by refusing to honor memberships sold by former owner Jeff Silverstein -- thousands of dollars worth of memberships, in some cases. “They are throwing away the guys that are there day in and day out,” a former member complained to the Charlotte Observer. The response, from a Romspen vice president: “I don’t think they should be upset with us. We weren’t party to the deal that they made.” In other words, since Romspen isn’t legally bound to recognize Silverstein’s contracts, all bets are off. Clearly, Romspen doesn’t view itself as the trail’s long-term owner/operator. It may be adept at lending and investing, but customer relations doesn’t appear to be its strong suit.
Without Tiger Woods to attract casual viewers, this year’s Masters recorded its worst ratings in a decade. The final round of the 78th edition of the sport’s premier invitational was viewed in 7.8 percent of U.S. homes, the lowest number since 2004 (7.3 percent) and down by 2.4 percent from 2013. The ratings weren’t helped when Phil Mickelson failed to make the cut, or by the lack of drama on the back nine. Not that Bubba Watson minds.
Is it possible that a failing golf venue in Colorado or Washington -- or even a successful one, for that matter -- might follow the money and become a combination golf/marijuana club?
Billy Casper Golf has assumed control of the golf operations at Seven Oaks Golf Course, an 18-hole layout located on the campus of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Golfweek currently ranks Seven Oaks at #22 on its list of the nation’s best campus courses. The parkland-style track, designed by Robert Trent Jones in the mid 1930s, opened in two phases, in 1956 and 1965. BCG, which markets itself as “the largest domestic owner-operator of golf courses, country clubs, and resorts,” has three other golf properties in New York: Pine Ridge Golf Club in Coram, Beekman Golf Course in Hopewell Junction, and Hudson Hills Golf Course in Ossining. It appears that the university will continue to maintain the grounds at Seven Oaks.
The you-know-what has hit the fan in Escondido, California. In a dirty trick worthy of the Christie State House and the Nixon White House, the owner of Escondido Country Club spread chicken manure on abandoned fairways located nearest to the houses that line the defunct golf course. The homeowners, who’ve blocked Stuck in the Rough LLC’s plans to develop the golf-course property, raised a stink about the stench, and air-quality officials in San Diego County are investigating. Michael Schlesinger, the LLC’s CEO, insists that he’s employing an “industry-standard landscaping program,” but he’ll have to pay fines if he’s deemed to be a deliberate public nuisance. As lawyers so often tell us, payback can be a bitch.
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