The Week That Was, april 6, 2014

     In Queensland, Australia, a Great White Shark is on the prowl for investor prey. Greg Norman, who’s been commissioned to design an 18-hole golf course for the forthcoming Great Keppel Island resort, has also agreed to serve as an “ambassador” for the developer, Tower Holdings, which has set out to secure financing. “My golf courses are an economic indicator of when money is starting to flow,” the West Palm Beach, Florida-based architect told the Australian. GKI was approved last year, after a seven-year battle against anti-development interests. Norman, one of the richest people in the golf industry, hasn’t announced whether he plans to invest in the venture.

     One of Thailand’s best-known and most besieged golf venues has a new owner. Thanit Rattakamchai has purchased Blue Canyon Country Club, a 23-year-old, 36-hole facility in Phuket. The club is known for good golf -- Tiger Woods once called its Yoshikazu Kato-designed Canyon course “one of the best I have ever played on” -- but in recent years its commercial potential has been sapped by financial distress, legal proceedings, possible criminal activity, and overall bad vibes. The Phuket News reports that local golfers are celebrating the departure of the seller, a group led by Sia Leng Yuen, and are hoping that Thanit, who’s been described as “a low-profile” businessman, will fund long-overdue course improvements.

     First, the bad news: The golf industry in Great Britain lost 150,000 players last year, according to a survey by SMS, Inc., and the total number of golfers in the region has fallen below 3.5 million for the first time in a decade. SMS blames the decline on “infrequent” golfers (those who play fewer than 12 rounds a year), who aren’t playing as much as they once did. Now, the good news: SMS has also determined that the number of “avid” golfers in Great Britain (those who play at least once a week) is growing. It increased by nearly 89,000 players last year.

     Accordia Golf Company, the largest golf-course owner/operator in Japan, plans to move the majority of its golf properties into a publicly traded investment fund. The Tokyo-based firm has agreed to sell 90 of its 133 golf properties to Singapore-based Daiwa Securities Group, reportedly for ¥111.7 billion ($1.08 billion). If the price is correct, Accordia’s courses are being valued at roughly $12 million each. The nation’s golf clubs “are expected to see a gradual decline in players as the country deals with an aging population,” notes Japan Property Central, which believes that Accordia is “attempting to reduce its exposure by selling off its assets.” Daiwa plans to list the fund on the Singapore Exchange later this year.

     Two of the oldest golf properties in Louisville, Kentucky are now one. The properties -- Big Spring Country Club and Harmony Landing Country Club -- merged earlier this month, amid reports that they were having trouble finding members. By combining their assets, the clubs believe they can cut expenses, offer more value to potential members, and secure their financial futures. Louisville Business First reports that Harmony Landing lost $930,000 over a four-year period beginning in 2009. Big Spring appears to be on firmer financial ground, as it’s reportedly turned profits in three of the past four years. Big Spring opened in 1926, Harmony Landing in 1929. Both are said to have golf courses originally designed by George Davies.

     The Villages is having a senior moment. The 20,000-acre spread outside Ocala, Florida, a haven for retirees, has become the nation’s fastest-growing community, according to CNN and U.S. government data. It grew by 5.2 percent between July 2012 and July 2013, to a current population of more than 101,000. The Villages, which is being developed by entities controlled by Gary Morse, has gained notoriety among active adults because it has 32 nine-hole, executive-length courses and 11 regulation-length venues, most of them 27-hole complexes. The golf construction hasn’t ended, because Morse has more courses in his master plan.

     Another court battle over renewable energy may be on Donald Trump’s dance card. Trump fought bitterly against a proposed off-shore wind farm in Scotland, and now it appears that more than a dozen land-based turbines could be built in Doonbeg, Ireland, not far from his recently acquired Lodge at Doonbeg. Bloomberg reports that Trump is “prepared for another fight if necessary.” George Sorial, a top official of the Trump Organization, told the news service that his boss will “fight and object with [the] same vigor as we did in Scotland.” Trump abandoned his development plans for “the world’s greatest golf course” when he lost his battle in Scotland. Might he also do so in Ireland?

     The effect of Tiger Woods’ withdrawal from the Masters will be felt far beyond Augusta, Georgia. Television ratings always suffer when Woods doesn’t appear in a tournament, and Bloomberg says that some gambling parlors in Las Vegas expect the total amount of money wagered on this year’s event to fall by 20 percent. The Masters is “by far” the most popular golf tournament for bettors, according to a representative of the Las Vegas Hotel’s SuperBook. “It’s basically double the next one, which is the U.S. Open,” he said. In Woods’ absence, Rory McIlroy has been installed as the Masters’ favorite, at 8-1 odds.