The Pipeline, july 11, 2014

     Kris Spence, who’s been renovating and redesigning golf courses for well over a decade, has finally earned an opportunity to design his first from-scratch layout. The North Carolina-based architect is keeping details about the 18-hole track under his hat, but he recently told the Southern Pines Pilot that it’ll take shape somewhere within the triangle formed by Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. “It’s the first time I’ve had the full freedom ... to create something based on all the ideas I have accumulated over the years,” he said. Spence, whose design influences include Donald Ross and A. W. Tillinghast, thinks the developers will break ground on the course this fall.

     The Jack Nicklaus brand may not gleam as it once did, but the Golden Bear’s courses are still coveted in Russia. The Wall Street Journal reports that Nicklaus has been hired to produce a pair of “signature” layouts in metropolitan Moscow, one for a “poultry magnate” named Igor Babaev, the other for a group that includes the Kremlin itself. The Journal may not have a definitive list, however, as Nicklaus’ website lists three forthcoming courses in and around the capital city, along with a Nicklaus Design track somewhere near Vladivostok. So far, Nicklaus has produced two courses in the Moscow area, the first of which -- Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club -- apparently has just 25 members. To attract more, according to the newspaper, the club (it’s owned by aluminum-industry mogul Oleg Deripaska) has slashed its initiation fee from $300,000 to a more affordable $50,000.

     If a private-sector developer delivers on recently made promises, the party capital of Cyprus will soon have its first golf course. The town of Ayia Napa has issued a contract for an 18-hole, “international-standard” track to L. K. Mazeri, a company that reportedly owns property adjacent to the town-owned golf-course site. Mazeri figures to cover the cost of the construction by adding houses, hotels, and a shopping area. Mazeri is obligated to break ground on the course within three years. If it fails to do so, the town can seek another collaborator.

     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the March 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     A top state official in northern India is trying to drum up support for golf construction, as part of an effort to generate tourism. “We must try to develop a cluster of golf courses across the state,” announced Harish Rawat, the chief minister of Uttarakhand. Rawat singled out the towns of Dehradun, Nainital, Harsil, and Haridwar as some of his “preferred destinations,” primarily because they already attract vacationers eager to hike in the Himalayas. “We must promote these places as future destinations for golfers from across the country,” he said in a comment published by the Hindustan Times. One other thing: Rawat also promised unspecified government support to private-sector groups that might be inclined to undertake golf ventures.

     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the April 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     A Coral Gables-based group still believes that golf courses can help to sell houses in Florida. The developers plan to build a nine-hole track at Avenir, a proposed 4,763-acre spread in Palm Beach Gardens. According to the Palm Beach Post, Avenir -- the name appears to be derived from the French word for “the future” -- could also have as many as 7,600 housing units, 1 million square feet of office space, 500,000 square feet of retail space, a hotel, a medical center, and a college campus. Once upon a time, a community so large would have accommodated, at minimum, an 18-hole course.

     By 2020, a landfill on South Korea’s Yeongjong Island is expected to become a major international vacation destination. The 780-acre landfill, located just a short drive from Incheon International Airport, will be transformed into a resort called Dream Island that’s been master-planned to include hotels, a theme park, a water park, an aquarium, a marina, a shopping area, and a golf course. South Korean tourism officials believe that Dream Island will attract 2 million visitors a year, most of them from Japan and China. The resort’s developers, a group that includes Japanese groups and Koreans living overseas, aim to break ground in mid to late 2015.

     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the March 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     One of the busiest golf architects in the Middle East is headed back to Oman, to create a nine-hole course on an expanse of dunes overlooking the Arabian Sea. Peter Harradine’s course and an accompanying practice center will be the featured attractions of a community in Qurayyat, a fishing village outside Muscat. Little has been revealed about the community, including its name. It’s being developed by Zubair Corporation, a family-owned enterprise whose flagship subsidiary, Zubair Automotive Group, sells at least a dozen brands including Audi, Bentley, Chrysler, Peugeot, and Volkswagen. Harradine, who’s designed at least a half-dozen courses in the Middle East, has set out to create “a fun, challenging, and diverse layout” with “incredible views of the dune landscape and Arabian Sea.” His to-do list includes two other commissions in Oman, both part of coastal resorts: Jebel Sifah in As Sifah (the course is under construction) and Salalah Beach in Salalah.