The Week That Was, july 20, 2014

     Not to be an alarmist, but a British newspaper says that the people in charge of the golf competition at the 2016 Olympics “are refusing to guarantee the event will be played.” Okay, maybe the Telegraph is just trying to sell newspapers. And, given the delays that have so far plagued the course’s construction, maybe the International Golf Federation is just being extra cautious with its public statements. Clearly, though, there’s a lack of confidence in the IGF’s executive suite. The course, in Rio de Janeiro, is supposed to be grassed before the end of the year, but Ty Votaw of the IGF passed on an opportunity to guarantee that the schedule would be met. “Predictions are dangerous things,” he said glumly. In addition, Votaw admitted that the IGF has a Plan B and maybe even a Plan C if the situation goes further south. “What they are is not something we’re going to share right now,” he told the Guardian, “but there are contingency plans.” Let’s hope the IGF doesn’t have to use them.

     For the second time, the European Tour is staging a contest to select the site of a forthcoming Ryder Cup competition.
     Ryder Cup Europe has opened the bidding for the 2022 Ryder Cup and expects to name a winner in the fall of next year. As it did in 2010, when it searched for the stage of the 2018 Ryder Cup, the RCE intends for the matches of 2022 to be played at a world-class venue near a major city. And because the Ryder Cup is the Tour’s cash cow, the event that contributes most to its bottom line, bidders that offer the most lucrative commercial opportunities will merit special consideration.
     The Ryder Cup has historically been contested in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, and Europe -- the places where its players come from. In 2022, however, things may be different, because the event could conceivably be held just about anywhere outside the United States. The bidding documents don’t specify a preferred location, so any country that meets the RCE’s criteria can presumably walk away with the grand prize.
     The contestants must make their intentions known by the end of August and file their completed application by February 16, 2015. Turkey, a nation located in both Europe and Asia, has already expressed its desire to compete for the event. Spain may also throw its hat into the ring, and Germany and Ireland likely will as well.
     And though it’s a long shot, the 2022 Ryder Cup could be played in the Middle East. The Tour views the region as its territory -- it holds its premier championship event there -- and it just so happens that Donald Trump, a guy who can buy pretty much anything he wants, is building what he’s described as “an incredible venue for the Ryder Cup” in Dubai.
     “They will be bringing [the Ryder Cup] to this region at some point -- in my opinion, in the not-too-distant future -- and we will have the best course by far,” he recently said.
     Trump hasn’t yet announced a bid. But if he does, don’t bet against him.

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

     For the second consecutive week, the drought California has helped put a golf course out of business. Last week, it was Gleneagles Golf Course in San Francisco. This week, it’s Carmel Highland Golf Course, an 18-hole track associated with a Doubletree hotel in San Diego. A local television station reports that the course has lost about $500,000 annually in each of the past five years, and, to save money, its owners have recently cut back on irrigation. The course, a William F. Bell design that opened in the mid 1960s, is expected to host its final rounds next year.

     At least for the time being, the future of Fox Acres Country Club has been secured. The club, part of a 460-acre community in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, has been sold out of foreclosure to a group of 28 members who, the Coloradoan says, aims “to restore the club to its previous glory.” The 30-year-old club, which features an 18-hole, John Cochran-designed golf course, is being managed by Touchstone Golf.

     Phil Mickelson recently played a round at Donald Trump’s course in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and came away thinking the Martin Hawtree-designed track is good enough to host the Open Championship. “I thought the Trump course was sensational,” Mickelson said in a comment published by the Daily Record. “Whether it’s an Open venue of the future is tough for me to say because there’s so many things that go into an Open Championship venue outside of the golf course itself. Whether or not the other things the R&A look at -- like parking or crowd movement or accommodations and all the stuff that goes into it -- I don’t know. But certainly the course could hold it.” For now, at least, Trump has all but guaranteed that his venue will never get a chance to host the Big One. He’s vowed not to complete his development plans for the property, including a hotel and a clubhouse, until Scotland pulls the plug on a wind farm it hopes to build in nearby waters.

     Mosaic Clubs & Resorts has been hired to manage Maple Ridge Golf Club, the centerpiece of a 700-acre community in Columbus, Georgia. The semi-private club features a 21-year-old, Mike Young-designed golf course. “Maple Ridge has long been recognized as the best place to live in Columbus,” the club’s owner said in a press release, “and with Mosaic’s help it will continue to be the best place to gather, play, share a meal, and nurture friendships.” Mosaic manages at least two other golf properties in Georgia, Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta and Georgia Club in Statham. It also has properties in South Carolina and Texas.

     Top officials in India’s newly elected government are cracking down on bureaucrats who spend too much time playing golf. “This whole government mind-set needs to be changed,” a recently appointed minister griped to the Washington Post. The nation’s notoriously corrupt civil servants have begun to watch their steps, and some have bailed on their memberships at Delhi Golf Club. But the die-hards have taken to teeing off at 5:30 AM, the Post says, “so that they can play and still make it to work on time.” Where there’s a will, there’s always a way.