Mirimichi -- the venue takes its name from an American Indian word that translates as “place of happy retreat” -- but the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that Edmaiston’s goal is “turning a profit by increasing the number of rounds played and tournaments planned at the course.” Mirimichi, a 27-hole facility, opened in the mid 1970s, as Big Creek Golf Course. Timberlake learned to play golf there. He bought the property in 2007 and gave it a cost-is-no-object makeover, hoping to lure, literally, a U.S. Open. At the debut of the redesigned track, he said, “I think this is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of in my life.” In all, Timberlake reportedly spent $16 million chasing his dream. Edmaiston, who appears to have lesser ambitions, intends to use Timberlake’s name in his marketing and advertising campaigns. Eventually, however, the facility will have to forge its own identity.
A Chinese group, intent on becoming what it calls “a serious global investor in country clubs and golf courses,” has acquired 22 public and private golf properties, all of them presumably in the United States. C-Bons International Golf Group hasn’t revealed the names of the properties that it purchased or how much it paid for them, but it cheerfully noted that the transaction is “a milestone acquisition” and that its “primary focus at this time is on the acquisition of golf properties in the recovering United States market.” And while C-Bons didn’t reveal the identity of the sellers, it said that the properties, at least some of which are in Texas and the Northeast, had been “operated in partnership with Century Golf Partners” and will continue to be managed by Century’s management subsidiary, Arnold Palmer Golf Management. Previously, C-Bons had purchased three golf properties in Arizona and one in Las Vegas, Nevada. It says that it expects to “acquire additional strategic golf courses in the near future.”
It seems that Donald Trump paid even less for the Lodge at Doonbeg than originally believed. The Independent, citing a filing made by the resort’s receivers, says that Trump picked up the 400-acre oceanfront property, in County Clare, Ireland, for just over €8.7 million (just under $10.9 million). The initial reports on the transaction speculated that the price was closer to €15 million (about $20.6 million), which was the amount that the receivers were asking for.
Less than two years after merging with a financially secure neighbor in suburban Richmond, Virginia, Lake Chesdin Golf Club has been cut loose, and its future is in doubt. Lake Chesdin had hoped to ensure its future by joining forces with Meadowbrook Country Club, but Meadowbrook has bailed on the arrangement, complaining in a letter to the clubs’ members that its partner “would no longer pay shared costs.” Before the merger, Lake Chesdin had been owned by ClubLink, the largest owner/operator in Canada’s golf industry. ClubLink continues to own an equity stake in the club, and its next move will likely be to help find a buyer.
Ted Bishop won’t get all the rights and privileges that his predecessors at the PGA of America have received, but he isn’t going to be disappeared. That’s the word from the PGA, which issued a “statement of clarification” about Bishop’s status after terminating him as the group’s president for making those much-discussed “insensitive gender-based statements.” According to the statement, “Bishop will continue to be recognized as the 38th president of the PGA, and his record of service during the time period which he served will remain intact.” Many reporters -- myself included -- believed Bishop when he said that he wouldn’t “be recognized as a past president in our association’s history.” Obviously, he was mistaken, and his interpretation of events caused many others to say things that they might like to take back, such as “The PGA did right by expelling him, wrong by banishing him from history” and “Having his entire tenure be stricken from the record carries a strong whiff of Stalinist erasure that reflects poorly on the PGA of America” and “The PGA apparently believes that history can, when desirable, be rewritten.” How long before we put this sorry episode behind us?
Before the Tim Bishop fiasco is consigned to the dustbin of history, it’s worth noting that a clear majority of high-profile U.S. golf instructors think the PGA of America’s 38th president got a raw deal. According to a survey by Golf magazine, 65 percent of our nation’s top 100 golf teachers believe that Bishop shouldn’t have lost his job on account of his inappropriate Twittering. “The only rational explanation for the Board of Director’s [sic] actions is that they were executing the wishes of an undisclosed entity within the organization,” one of the instructors commented. “And this individual or individuals were determined to eviscerate [Bishop] and then watch with satisfaction as he bled out on the street before them.” I can’t honestly say that the same thought didn’t cross my mind as well.
Dan Jenkins will be the first journalist to receive the Old Tom Morris Award, a lifetime achievement accolade that’s been bestowed annually since 1983 by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Jenkins, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has been writing about golf for more than 60 years and still remains unique in the profession. “Through his words,” said Keith Ihms, the GCSAA’s president, “we have all felt closer to the greats of the game.” Last year, the GCSAA gave the Old Tom Morris Award to Annika Sorenstam. Other winners include Bob Hope, Gerald Ford, and Dinah Shore.
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