The Week That Was, march 29, 2015

     After an initial stall, Tiger Woods’ career as a golf course architect has shifted into overdrive. Fresh off the opening of his El Cardonal track at the Diamante resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the Jupiter, Florida-based designer has been hired to put his “signature” on two projects in China, including a redesign of Beijing Tian’an Holiday Golf Club, a 27-hole complex in metropolitan Beijing. For his trouble, Woods will bring home some serious bacon, as Golf magazine reports that Pacific Links International has agreed to a design fee of $16.5 million -- among the most lucrative ever for golf architecture. Golf didn’t provide any details on the new course that Woods will create, but it quotes Woods as saying that the redesigned layout in Beijing -- a venue that will become “the flagship” in PLI’s network of golf properties -- “will stand the test of time and be one of the most prestigious courses in China, and even Asia.” These days Woods has three other projects on his plate: A course in Dubai that will operate as a Trump-branded property, a second course at Diamante, and Bluejack National Golf Course in suburban Houston, Texas. And without question, other opportunities await.

     Mike Keiser has been making significant contribution to elected officials in Wisconsin in recent years, and he may soon see a return on his money. Republican legislators have written a bill that would modify existing regulations and enable the town of Rome to extend loans and/or cash grants to Keiser’s Sun Valley resort, which is expected to break ground this year. Details are still to come, but the public money would presumably enable Keiser to finance the construction of his four-course, 1,500-acre golf venture on more favorable terms than he could get from conventional lenders. Since 2012, Keiser has given more than $11,000 to Wisconsin’s governor, Scott Walker, and $10,000 to the state’s Republican Party. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign describes him as “a frequent, generous contributor to state and federal Republican candidates and committees and conservative causes,” and a watchdog group says that he’s also written checks to Mitt Romney, John Boehner, Paul Ryan, the Illinois Republican Party, the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

     ClubCorp plans to add a half-dozen high-profile golf properties to its ever-expanding portfolio. The publicly traded, Dallas, Texas-based firm has agreed to pay nearly $44 million for a group that consists of four private clubs (among them Temple Hills Country Club in Franklin, Tennessee and Firethorne Country Club in Marvin, North Carolina), a semi-private course (Ford's Colony Country Club in Williamsburg, Virginia), and a public course (Legacy Golf Club at Lakewood Ranch in Bradenton, Florida). “These clubs fit well with our stated goal to continue consolidating a very fragmented industry,” ClubCorp’s CEO, Eric Affeldt, said in a press release. Although it may desire to create a monopoly in golf operations, it’s important to remember that the company’s “central purpose” is “building relationships and enriching lives.” ClubCorp is buying the six-course collection from Stratford Golf Partners and Accord Golf Capital, which got them from Textron Financial Corporation.

     The crackdown on illegal golf construction in China will apparently force a Taiwanese group to close its golf properties in Shanghai, Ningbo (Zhejiang Province), and Harbin (Heilongjiang Province). Orient Golf, which owns and operates 15 golf facilities in more than a dozen metropolitan areas in the People’s Republic, has until the end of the month to close Orient Shanghai Golf & Country Club, Ningbo Orient Golf & Country Club, and Harbin Orient Golf & Country Club. The club in Shanghai hosts the Shanghai Classic, an annual event on China’s LPGA tour. Orient Golf, which is sometimes called Orient Golf Group and Orient Golf International, also has golf properties in Beijing, Dalian, Quingdao, Shenyang, Taipei, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Yantai, Yangzhou, and Zhuhai. For what it’s worth, the company’s CEO told the Want China Times that the endangered facility in Shanghai was “totally legal.”

     Gifts of Gab: That buzz you hear is coming from Cape Wickham Links, the much anticipated 18-hole track on Tasmania’s King Island. “I don’t think I have seen anything remotely like it,” said Daryl David, a course rater for Golfweek. “It is a course that will deliver in all my key wants: strategy off the tee, challenging approach shots, ground game in spades, fun factor, and a jaw-dropping walk in the park.” The course, which has been co-designed by Mike DeVries and Darius Oliver, is expected to have its official debut in late October.

     Greg Norman has officially launched his Great White Shark Opportunity Fund, a financing program for small and medium-sized companies. Does this mean we’ll soon be calling him the Great White Loan Shark?

Transactions, march 27, 2015

     Naples, Florida. Ever in search of recreational amenities that can help it sell houses, Pulte Homes has acquired Golf Club of the Everglades, a property that features an 18-hole, Rees Jones-designed golf course. “The natural beauty of this site and its ideal location cannot be replicated,” a company official said in a press release. “We truly believe the setting is one of the best Naples has to offer.” In an effort “to further enhance the course and the new community” that will emerge next to it, Pulte has hired Jones’ firm to redesign four of the course’s holes.

     Southern Pines, North Carolina. The U.S. Kids Golf Foundation, which has been hosting world championships for children and teenagers for a decade, has agreed to buy a golf property of its own. Sometime next month, the Georgia-based foundation expects to close on Longleaf Golf & Country Club, a venue that features an 18-hole, Dan Maples-designed golf course. The sales price hasn’t been announced, but Dan Van Horn, the foundation’s founder, told a local newspaper that it’ll be “an all-cash deal.” Robert Erickson, the principal of Longleaf’s current ownership group, told the newspaper that the property has an assessed value of $4.7 million.

     Middletown, Maryland. Victor Liu has purchased Hollow Creek Golf Club, in the hope of making it “a place for children to have the opportunity to play golf.” Liu, a Maryland resident, reportedly paid $2.15 million for the 174-acre club, which features an 18-hole, Rick Jacobson-designed golf course and a 16,000-square-foot clubhouse. According to the Frederick News-Post, Hollow Creek was originally built, in 2002, for $12 million. Liu plans to operate the property as Hollow Creek International Golf Academy. He told the newspaper that he owns a golf course outside Shanghai, China and has invested in golf properties in Florida and South Carolina, and that his family owns the Links at Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

     Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii. The Hawaiian affiliate of Pacific Links International has agreed to sell one of its five golf properties on Oahu. Any day now, an unidentified Japanese firm is expected to close on Kapolei Golf Club, whose featured attraction is an 18-hole, Ted Robinson-design golf course. Pacific Business News believes that the 20-year-old track, which hosted an LPGA event for six consecutive years beginning in 1996, is “one of the toughest courses on Oahu.” Pacific Links Hawaii, which bought Kapolei from a Japanese group in 2010, didn’t offer a reason for the sale. It still owns Royal Hawaiian Golf Club, Olomana Golf Links, Makaha Golf Club, and Makaha Valley Country Club, along with other golf properties on the U.S. mainland and in China.

     Piqua, Ohio. The bankrupt Piqua Country Club, which was put on Desolation Row in the waning days of 2014, has been rescued by a group of its former members. “This is a big win for the future of the club,” one of the new owners told the Dayton Business Journal. The club, which was established in 1896, plans to reopen next month, under the management of Honours Golf, a division of Troon Golf.

     Cloudcroft, New Mexico. A couple from Texas has purchased one of New Mexico’s hospitality landmarks, including one of the state’s (and our nation’s) oldest golf courses. Joe and Lanna Duncan paid an undisclosed amount for the Lodge at Cloudcroft, a historic resort that includes a 59-room hotel, a spa, a restaurant, and a nine-hole golf course that opened in 1899. “We love historic preservation,” Joe Duncan told the Alamogordo Daily News. The Duncans own a pair of hotels in Texas, in Marfa and Van Horn. They bought the Lodge from Great Inns of the Rockies, which had tried unsuccessfully to sell the property at auction last year.

     McKinney, Texas. A faceless group operating as WRidge Golf LLC has taken possession of WestRidge Golf Club, the featured attraction at city’s largest planned community. The 18-hole, Jeff Brauer-designed track has been described as “a very playable course for golfers of all skill levels” and “one of the hidden golf gems in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.” It hosts more than 44,000 rounds a year, according to a broker involved in the transaction. WRidge Golf bought the club from Stonebridge Westerra, L.P.

     East Falmouth, Massachusetts. In what appears to be a bank-ordered sale, a group led by David Spiegel has purchased Ballymeade Country Club, reportedly for $6.3 million. Ballymeade’s 18-hole, daily-fee golf course was co-designed by Jim Fazio and Chi Chi Rodriguez and opened in 1989. Spiegel plans to operate it as the Cape Club. The seller, a group led by Martin Shaevel, owns Golf Club of Cape Cod, which is located on adjacent property.

     Cushing, Oklahoma. Just after the first of the year, the members of Cushing Country Club voted almost unanimously to sell their property to David Hough, the owner of a tool-rental company and an RV park. The club, which opened in 1921, features a Perry Maxwell-designed, 18-hole golf course. KUSH, a local radio station, believes that “a thorough remodel of the property may be upcoming.”

     Columbia, South Carolina. In the final days of 2014, Empire Sports Management bought a 25-year-old, P. B. Dye-designed golf course that was, according to The State, about to “drown in a sea of red ink.” The track, the centerpiece of Northwoods Golf Club, rang up just 16,000 rounds last year, down from 34,000 in the mid 1990s, and the newspaper says it was “on the brink of extinction.” The club had been in the family of the sellers, Bobby and Doyle McBride, for 25 years. Empire, an entity controlled by Joe Rice, also owns Bulls Bay Golf Club in suburban Charleston, a facility that features an 18-hole layout designed by Mike Strantz. The firm believes that Northwoods can attract 20,000 rounds this year and 25,000 in 2016.

     Warsaw, Kentucky. In January, David Morris and his two sons paid $750,000 for the 18-hole Sugar Bay Golf Course. Their goal, one of the sons told the Carrollton News-Democrat, is to create “a friendlier atmosphere that will make the time our customers spend with us more fun and rewarding.” Sugar Bay is said to be “a short, tight, par-71 golf course with plenty of water hazards and trees to challenge all golfers at any skill level.” Since the course opened, in the late 1980s, it’s had five owners. The Morrises bought it from Doug and Nancy Jefferies, who’d reportedly owned it since 2003.

     Bristol, Connecticut. A Chevy dealer has acquired the financially troubled Chippanee Golf Club, promising to make it “a great club once again.” Fritz Blasius bought the 92-year-old venue, which went belly up late last year, from its members, who’d declined to invest in its future. Chippanee, which has been called “a gathering place for the community’s business elite,” is expected to reopen next month, with membership plans that will be, according to Blasius, “substantially less than previous regular dues scenarios. The Bristol Press has blamed the club’s struggles on “an aging membership and a decline in interest in golfing.”

The Week That Was, march 22, 2015

     In what appears to be a quintessential win-win arrangement -- as well as a glimpse into the nature of “signature” golf course architecture -- Arnold Palmer has been commissioned to design his first golf course in Scotland. The 18-hole track will emerge at Castle Stuart Golf Links, a venue with a highly regarded 18-hole course that was co-designed by Gil Hanse and the property’s owner, Mark Parsinen. On its face, this is an unusual hire, because Palmer, who’s 85, really won’t be deeply engaged in the design process, which is in the hands of Parsinen and the associates in Palmer’s design firm, Brandon Johnson and Thad Layton. Heck, at first blush it’s hard to figure why Parsinen needs a “signature” architect at all, seeing as how he has two co-designs ranked on Golf Digest’s top 100 outside the United States -- the first course at Castle Stuart (#38) and Kingsbarns Golf Links in St. Andrews (#34) -- while Palmer’s firm has just one, Tralee Golf Course in County Kerry, Ireland (#82). So why did Parsinen select Palmer for this high-profile job? According to Golfweek, Palmer’s company “has become an equity partner” in Parsinen’s development group and will “fund the second course.” Long live the King.

     Taking its public-relations cues from Bill Cosby and corrupt politicians everywhere, the National Golf Foundation has begun to blame the media for our industry’s lingering financial troubles.
     In its latest report on the state of recreational golf, the trade group contends that the hole we’re in was dug by “multiple media outlets” disseminating “gloomy scenarios” and “sensational negative perceptions.” Sadly, the truth is that the “negative perceptions” were created by the NGF’s own data. And though our foremost booster group will profess its innocence, it’s also true that some of our industry’s worst problems -- in particular, those caused by overbuilding -- were caused by the NGF itself.
     Not surprisingly, the NGF wants to tell a more upbeat story about golf’s present situation and its future prospects. “All things considered,” it writes, “2014 may well be remembered as the year golf found its post-recession footing and turned a corner toward a future at least a little brighter than its recent past.”
     That’s supposed to be a hopeful statement, but it’s full of qualifiers and unfortunately echoes comments that were made by many industry observers in 2012 and 2013, when it was widely believed that our industry had bottomed out. Clearly, it takes a long time to turn a corner when the road is pockmarked with declines in play by every one of our most important demographic groups.
     But let’s not dwell on negative perceptions. Our future is “at least a little brighter,” as the NGF puts it, thanks to “positive economic indicators, stabilization in participation and rounds played, an increase in weather-adjusted utilization, and the return of private equity funding to the industry.”
     In a nutshell, that’s the NGF’s response to all the nattering nabobs of negativism in the media. So it behooves those of us in golf to examine the NGF’s analysis carefully.
     Regarding those “positive economic indicators”: The upturn in the U.S. economy (combined with beneficial tax policies, a soaring stock market, and other factors), has been helping to enrich golf’s most dependable customers -- wealthy white families -- for several years. At the same time, however, the golf industry’s own economic indicators have continued to erode. The rising tide isn’t giving us the lift we need, and that ought to be concerning to everyone reading this blog. To put a twist on Bill Clinton’s campaign motto: It’s not the economy, stupid.
     To assuage our fears about the 1.7 percent decline in the number of rounds played last year, the NGF has taken to describing the state of our industry as “stabilization.” For most people, stabilization suggests a condition that’s neither rising nor falling. For the NGF, however, it means that our declines aren’t as severe as they used to be. But make no mistake: The word stabilization should not be confused with the word growth.
     In another hopeful comment, the NGF says that recreational golf has seen “an increase in weather-adjusted utilization.” Regrettably, the increase is virtually insignificant: 1 percent.
     The NGF also heralds “the return of private equity funding” as a harbinger of good times. While Wall Street’s interest in our business may reflect what the NGF calls “a bullish attitude toward golf by savvy investment groups,” in the long run these carpetbaggers, swooping in like vultures to buy distressed golf properties at pennies on the dollar, aren’t good for golf.
     By and large, private equity groups don’t intend to have an extended relationship with our business. They aren’t operators. They make no commitments. They simply desire to acquire undervalued properties, spiff them up, and then sell them. Their goal is to make money for their investors, not to make the golf industry more viable. If they had to choose between doing the right thing for golf or making a larger profit, we all know what they’d choose. Their business model boils down to Slam, Bam, Thank You, Ma’am.
     All this brings us to course closings, which objective observers typically view as evidence of a problem but which the NGF considers to be “part of a positive trend,” a “natural correction in total course supply” that must continue if our business is to create “a healthier balance between supply and demand.”
     Although the NGF can fairly say that our nation has too many golf courses, it can also be fairly said that our nation doesn’t have enough golfers. Here’s the rub: By arguing so forcefully about the positive impact of course closings, the NGF is tacitly acknowledging that it can’t solve the participation problem.
     Also, it never hurts to mention that course closings are “a positive trend” only for the venues that are spared execution, and that the facilities being lost, as the NGF’s data indicates, are mostly those that cater to beginners, retirees, and others who can’t afford to join a private club or justify shelling out $75 or more for an afternoon of golf. By closing the door to these people, we make golf less relevant to society at large and miss valuable opportunities to grow the game.
     Our industry leaders constantly insist that the prevailing image of golf, as a sport for rich white men, is utterly and completely false. But let’s play out the string: If we continue to lose a hundred or more blue-collar courses every year, as the NGF believes we must, what exactly will our business look like?
     Goodness knows, all of us in golf need reasons to be optimistic. Let’s hope that the NGF can soon give us some.

     Gary Player has agreed to create the first championship-standard layout in the Republic of Congo. The South Carolina-based “signature” architect has been inked to create Golf du Kintélé, an 18-hole course in a northeastern suburb of Brazzaville, the nation’s capital. According to a press release, Player’s unnamed client aims to give the area’s golfers “a world-class golf experience” on “a strategic and playable course for all levels,” and Scott Ferrell, the president of Player’s design firm, has promised to deliver “a fantastic course that will raise playing standards in the Congo and continue to promote the game throughout Africa.” Those goals appear to be easily achievable, for Golf du Kintélé will almost certainly be the Congo’s top-rated venue from the minute it opens. Today the former French colony has just one 18-hole course and only five in total, according to Golf Digest, and the only existing venue in the Brazzaville area is a non-descript nine-hole track south of the city.

     Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the March 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Looking for a place where there won’t be any golf development in the foreseeable future? Try California. The state, now officially in its fourth year of drought, is said to have only about a year’s worth of water in its reservoirs, and its groundwater is disappearing fast. “As difficult as it may be to face,” writes Jay Famiglietti, a water scientist for NASA, “the simple fact is that California is running out of water.” Given the severity of the problem, it’s hard to imagine a thirsty community allocating vast amounts of water for sports instead of farming.

     If it’s true that you should never believe anything until it has been officially denied, then it appears certain that the European Tour is on the verge of a merger with its counterpart in Oceania. The denial has been issued by the PGA Tour of Australasia, in response to a report by the Daily Mail, a British newspaper, indicating that “negotiations have reached an advanced stage” for “some sort of merger.” The PGA Tour of Australasia insists that it’s only discussing “potential co-sanctioning agreements” with the European Tour.

Vital Signs, march 20, 2015

     Leave it to the National Golf Foundation to find the silver lining in even the darkest of clouds. The Jupiter, Florida-based trade group and some of its closest associates (Golf Datatech, the PGA of America, and the National Golf Course Owners Association) have determined that the total number of rounds played last year in the United States was down by 1.7 percent from the number posted in 2013. The NGF blames the decline on “poor weather that affected nearly half of the country during multiple stretches of the year,” a phrase that translates as factors beyond the industry’s control. Despite the decline, the NGF has concluded that U.S. golfers “remained resilient in their commitment to playing the game,” because the number of rounds played on good-weather days showed an increase. Unfortunately, the increase was a measly 1 percent, which, as a measure of commitment, isn’t anything to brag about. Clearly, all those grow-the-game strategies that our industry leaders have unveiled in recent years aren’t having much effect.

     While the number of rounds played in the United States continues to deteriorate, Australia’s golf properties registered a healthy increase. According to data compiled by the Australian Golf Industry Council, the number of “competition” rounds (a.k.a. “handicapped” rounds) played in 2014 was up by 7.2 percent over the number recorded in 2013. What’s more, the evidence of improvement was widespread. Every month in 2014 showed an increase over its counterpart in 2013, every state showed an increase, and the Australian PGA reports that growth “consistently spread across metropolitan and regional areas.” Even better, both genders contributed. The number of rounds played by men grew by 7.4 percent, while the number played by women grew by 6.2 percent. The question now is whether Australia’s golf industry can post a second consecutive year of improvement, for in 2014 it capitalized on what the Australian PGA describes as “a relatively mild and drier winter.”

     Golfers in the United Kingdom were also somewhat more active last year. Sports Marketing Surveys reports that the number of rounds played in 2014 improved by 3.5 percent over the number from 2013.

     U.S. vacationers may not yet be traveling to Cuba in significant numbers, but those from other nations certainly are. Citing figures provided by an official government source, the Miami Herald reports that slightly more than 3 million international travelers set foot in Cuba last year, a number said to be a record. The island nation has long been a favorite among Canadian travelers, but these days it also draws well from European nations, particularly Germany, England, France, and Italy.

     In its first year as a publicly traded company, ClubCorp added more than 50 golf and country clubs to its portfolio and rung up $884.2 million in revenues, an 8.5 percent increase over 2013. “Fiscal 2014 was an outstanding year for us,” Eric Affeldt, the company’s CEO, acknowledged a press release. ClubCorp generated $695 million from its golf and country clubs, a 10 percent increase from 2013, but revenues from “same-store” golf operations -- that is, previously owned properties in its portfolio -- was up by just 2 percent. Although the company identifies its central business strategies as “consolidating market share” and “growing membership and increasing ancillary spend” (in this case, spend is corporate-speak for spending), its central purpose, as it so often notes in a trademarked phrase, is “building relationships and enriching lives.”

The Week That Was, march 15, 2015

     According to what’s been called “the first-ever official count,” our world has 34,011 golf venues in 206 nations. The data, published by the R&A in “Golf Around the World 2015,” was compiled over the past four years by the National Golf Foundation. The NGF’s numbers crunchers have determined that the vast majority of the Earth’s golf facilities -- 79 percent of them -- can be found in just 10 nations: the United States (15,372), Japan (2,383), Canada (2,363), England (2,084), Australia (1,628), Germany (747), France (648), Scotland (552), South Africa (512), and Sweden (491). It’s worth noting that only 33 countries on the planet don’t have at least one golf course.

     The future of golf tourism in Southeast Asia isn’t as rosy as it used to be, according to the region’s foremost tour operator. Mark Siegel, the principal of Bangkok, Thailand-based Golfasian, has identified several looming threats to the industry, chief them unreasonably high greens fees, aging venues in need of a makeover, poor service, and competition from golf destinations such as Turkey, Portugal, and South Africa. “You can have the best course, but golfers want more,” Siegel said in a press release. “Golfers don’t travel only to explore a market. They want a whole golf tourism experience, which is why Thailand and Vietnam, in particular, are now so successful.” Siegel figures that more than 1 million golfers travel to and within Southeast Asia each year, with the typical one spending between $2,000 and $3,000, and he believes that the number of vacationing golfers can grow to 2 million annually by 2025.

     Deep-pocketed Chinese investors have acquired another high-profile resort in Australia, this one featuring one of the nation’s top-rated golf courses. An affiliate of Beijing-based Sunshine Insurance Group has purchased the Vintage, a popular resort community in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. The Australian estimates that Sunshine, the seventh-largest insurance company in the People’s Republic, paid $40 million for the property, which includes hundreds of houses and apartments, a 100-suite hotel, a spa, some developable property, and Vintage Golf Club. Sunshine plans to add a 300-room hotel, renovate the club’s existing, Greg Norman-designed golf course, and build the community’s hoped-for second 18-hole, championship-quality golf course. The Vintage had been owned in part by Donald Panoz, the inventor of the nicotine patch and the developer of a pair of U.S. golf properties, Chateau Elan in Braselton, Georgia and Diablo Grande in Patterson, California.

     The Vintage is one of at least a half-dozen Australian golf properties that have been sold to Chinese entities in recent years. In 2012, William Han, the owner of China’s Golf Channel and the developer of two forthcoming Tom Doak-designed golf courses on Hainan Island, bought the former Club Med resort on Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays. The following year, My Yi Yu’s Fullshare Holding Group purchased two golf resorts in Queensland, Laguna Whitsundays near Airlie Beach and the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas. And last year Hong Kong-based Green Horse Holdings, the owner of Dragon Lake Golf Club in Guangzhou, China, acquired two other properties in Queensland, Noosa Springs Golf & Spa Resort and Links Hope Island Golf Club. In addition, Tony Fung, the face of one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest families, has announced a plan to build the Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort on 850 acres north of Cairns, Queensland. Among other things, the Aquis will feature a casino, a convention center, nine hotels, one of the world’s largest aquariums, and an 18-hole golf course.

     Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the January 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Last month, a waterfront resort on the island of Zanzibar unveiled what it figures will be “a unique golfing experience for the whole family.” The nine-hole, 18-tee track, the first course to open on the island, is the featured attraction at Sea Cliff Resort & Spa, on the island’s northwestern coast. Peter Matkovich, the layout’s designer, believes the course will add “an enjoyable and fun golfing experience” to Sea Cliff, which has been attracting vacationers seeking “tranquility, peace, and beauty” since the 1990s. Matkovich, an architect based in South African (and a former professional golfer), has had a hand in creating numerous courses in South Africa (among them Pinnacle Peak Golf Club in Mossel Bay and Elements Private Golf Reserve in Bela Bela), as well as others in Mauritius, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.

     Africa is richer than most people think, and it’s rapidly emerging as the next frontier for golf development. Yes, it’s still the planet’s poorest continent, with widespread poverty, corrupt governments, and a distressing lack of drinkable water, quality medical care, round-the-clock electricity, and modern infrastructure. But it’s also the land of the future. By 2050, its population is expected to nearly quadruple, from the current 1.1 billion to roughly 4.2 billion. By the end of the 21st century, it’ll have 40 percent of the world’s population. Today, Africa’s biggest cities are full of people who are making good money in the energy, banking, and technology industries, and they’re spending it on designer clothes, expensive jewelry, and luxury rides. Like their counterparts in the United States and Europe, they want to live in safe, high-prestige communities, like the popular golf enclaves being built in Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt. They want to vacation in fully appointed destination resorts, and they believe that golf is one of the keys to getting ahead in business. With the golf industry’s prime markets stuck in no-growth modes, and with China putting the squeeze on new construction, Africa stands alone as a golden, ground-floor opportunity for architects, developers, and builders who have the foresight and wherewithal to capitalize on it.

     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the March 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

The Pipeline, march 13, 2015

     Turkmenistan. The world’s favorite “signature” architect has agreed to design what will likely be the first golf course in energy-rich Turkmenistan. “We’re going to do the first one for them,” Jack Nicklaus said last fall, after meeting with the nation’s president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. No details have been announced, but it appears that Turkmenistan wants to open the track by 2017, when it hosts the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games. Despite its increasing wealth, generated by huge reserves of natural gas, Turkmenistan remains a secretive, largely backward nation, in the same class as North Korea, Myanmar, Somalia, and Sudan. The BBC describes it as “one of the most repressive states in the world.” Turkmenistan is also virgin territory for golf, and Berdimuhamedov appears to understand that the sport can play an important role in boosting his nation’s tourism business, and perhaps its public image as well.

     Tallin, Estonia. Annika Sorenstam, the greatest female golfer of all time, will put her “signature” on the second 18-hole course at Estonian Golf & Country Club in suburban Tallin. She’ll be co-designing with an architect from European Golf Design, a British firm owned in part by the European Tour. The track will complement Estonian’s Sea course, an 18-hole layout that Golf Digest ranks as the nation’s best, and replace the club’s nine-hole Stone course, which will be razed. Sorenstam believes it’ll win over accomplished golfers by being “strategic, competitive, and visually appealing” but will be “equally enjoyable and engaging for newer golfers and young players.” Hanno Kross, Estonian’s owner, expects to break ground on the course in 2016, along with a 150-room hotel, a tennis academy, and a spa. If all goes as planned, the layout will open in 2019.

     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the January 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Sarasota, Florida. The 18-hole golf course at the Forest Lakes community, abandoned and overgrown since 2007, is expected to reopen by the end of the year. The former Forest Lakes Golf Club, which opened in 1964, was created by Otto Graham, the professional football star, but has gone through several owners over the past two decades. A firm controlled by Neil Neilinger acquired the Forest Lakes community in 2011, after purchasing a delinquent mortgage, and soon thereafter outlined plans to revive its Roy Albert Anderson-designed golf course. “We want to really do something for the community and finally change the course of history there,” he said in 2013. Neilinger has commissioned Gordy Lewis to create a par-63 track that will operate as Palms Golf Club at Forest Lakes.

     Strahan, Tasmania. As he prepares to break ground on his first golf venture, an Australian touring pro has his eyes on a possible second. Mat Goggin has already secured permission to build one of the two courses in the master plan for Golf Preserve, his forthcoming 36-hole complex on Seven Mile Beach, near Hobart. Now he’s reportedly considering a venue that would take shape on a publicly owned site near Hells Gates, the name of the mouth of Macquarie Harbour, outside the town of Strahan. One of Goggin’s associates believes that a destination-worthy layout could emerge on the property for as little as $5 million. The Burnie Advocate supposes that a course at Hells Gates might be “another potential jewel in the crown of Tasmanian golf tourism,” but it’s never wise to count your chickens before they hatch. Hells Gates got its name, according to Wikipedia, because it’s “notoriously shallow and dangerous.”

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

     Taroudant, Morocco. A group of U.S. and Saudi Arabian companies have reportedly agreed to build a resort community, including an amusement park and a golf course, in the Sous Valley of southwestern Morocco. The unnamed, 2,150-acre spread will include more than 5,000 houses, several hotels, schools, and a spa that specializes in weight loss. A specific location hasn’t been identified, but various news reports suggest that the community will take shape near Taroudant, a walled, Berber city roughly 120 miles southwest of Marrakech. The venture is being facilitated by Knowledge Corner Marketing & Real Estate Services, a Riyadh-based company that signed a development agreement with Taroudant Province late last year. The golf course and some of the planned hotels will be tied to the amusement park, which Morocco World News says will be operated by “an internationally known American brand.”

     Kajiado County, Kenya. For an emerging resort in southern Kenya, a 27-hole golf complex -- one that will offer “a golfing experience second to none” -- is just what the doctor ordered. The doctor in question is Anthony Monyo, an obstetrician and gynecologist as well as the chairman of a Nairobi-based development group known as Gee Twenty Holdings. Monyo has enlisted two other doctors, along with an engineer and a marketing professional, to develop Wyndham Amboseli Golf Resort & Spa, a luxurious, eco-friendly resort that aims to “meet the expectations of a demanding clientele.” To attract demanding vacationers, Monyo and his partners aim to create a golf venue that ranks among Kenya’s best. The resort’s 18-hole course, they say, will provide “an inspiring and thrill-packed round of unrivaled golf” and be capable of hosting professional events, while their nine-hole, par-3 track will be “audacious.” Gee Twenty hopes to open the resort in 2017.

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

     Popivičky, Czech Republic. Sometime this spring, a Czech group hopes to break ground on a “lifestyle development,” including a golf course, in suburban Prague. Oaks Prague will take shape on 350 acres in the town of Popivičky, roughly 15 miles southeast of the capital city. In addition to the golf course, the community is expected to feature 220 villas, apartments, and other housing types, a hotel, a village center with stores and restaurants, and a spa. Its developer, Prague-based Arendon Development Company, has vowed to create “a sustainable and vibrant community” for people who have “an appetite for contemporary architecture.”

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

     Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Regarding Tiger Woods and Diamante Cabo San Lucas: Once was not enough. At the recent unveiling of Woods’ much-anticipated El Cardonal track, the resort community on Mexico’s Baja California Sur announced that the freshly minted “signature” architect has also been contracted to produce a second 18-hole track, the Oasis, along with a forthcoming “short” course. The layouts will complement Diamante’s acclaimed Davis Love III-designed Dunes course, which was “the best course to open outside the U.S. in 2010,” according to Golf magazine. “I don’t think anyone else can move the needle like [Woods] has for us,” Ken Jowdy, the leader of Diamante’s ownership group, said at the unveiling. Jowdy hasn’t yet set a groundbreaking date for the Oasis, but Woods appears to be doing what Diamante most needs him to do: Sell real estate.

The Week That Was, march 8, 2015

     Jay Morrish, a golf architect whose work included dozens of courses in at least 17 U.S. states, died earlier this month. Morrish, a big-game hunter who served as a president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, learned his trade while working for Robert Trent Jones, George Fazio, Desmond Muirhead, and Jack Nicklaus, and in



the early 1980s he famously collaborated with Tom Weiskopf on a series of well-regarded designs, among them Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland, Troon Golf & Country Club in Arizona, and TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium course. Lee Schmidt, the ASGCA’s current president, called Morrish “a stalwart who was admired by everyone.” Cary Bickler, a fellow architect, said he was “a lion-hearted man of great talent, courage, and dignity,” and Paul Fullmer believed him to be “a man who knew how to excel in everything he did.” Morrish was 78 and reportedly suffered from heart disease. His son, Carter, inherited his love of golf architecture and is a designer today.

     Royal St. George’s Golf Club, an old-boys’ club since 1887, has voted to admit people they describe as “ladies” to their historic digs in Kent, England. The former all-male club, which needed to appear to be more welcoming to women to secure its place in the rotation for Open Championship, adopted the change in its rules by a 90-10 margin. It’s following the lead of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, which decided to open its doors to women last fall, and heeding a threat from HSBC, a sponsor of the Open Championship, which has said that it would prefer golf’s biggest event to be held at clubs that admit women. Royal St. George’s has hosted the Open Championship 14 times since 1894, most recently in 2011, and could host it again as early as 2021.

     Here’s a surprise: Despite its international fame, Bandon Dunes attracts hardly any golfers who live outside North America. Of the roughly 30,000 golfers who made their way to the oceanside venue in Oregon last year, only about 300 -- a measly 1 percent -- came from overseas. “The resort is not yet iconic for them. They think it’s in the middle of nowhere,” explains Mike Keiser, the managing partner of Bandon Dunes’ development group. “Americans and Canadians have figured out that it really isn’t difficult to get to, but Asians and Europeans haven’t. Eventually they will.” It’s worth noting that Golf Digest ranks all four of Bandon Dunes’ 18-hole layouts among the world’s top 74.

     Sri Lanka’s tourism ministers hope to turn their nation into a golf destination, but the private sector is learning that golf development can generate controversy. Alpha & Omega Developers (some sources call it Alfa & Omega) wants to build a 628-acre resort -- one that’s been described as “the country’s biggest golf course and ecotourism resort” -- in Beragala, a small town in the southern part of the island. The venture has been kicking around since 2012, if not before, under various names -- Hidden Valley Resort, Bergala Golf Resort, Beragala Eco-Friendly Golf Resort -- but it’s been stymied by critics who fear that the construction will inevitably compromise the environment. Ceylon Today identifies Alpha & Omega’s principal as Vasudewan Rasaiya, who’s said to own golf properties in Australia and Indonesia. If he can fend off the venture’s critics, Vasudewan will reportedly build 2,000 houses and overnight accommodations, a theme park, a world-class hospital, and an 18-hole golf course.

Desolation Row, march 6, 2015

     Palm Desert, California. The Great Recession is about to claim its first golf casualty in the Coachella Valley. Santa Rosa Golf Club, a private venue that opened in 1978, will bite the dust in May, a victim of aging membership, dried-up cash flow, and loans that can’t immediately be paid. “The golf-crazed Coachella Valley has been immune to course closures, at least until now,” writes the Desert Sun, which identifies Santa Rosa as “the first desert course to close its doors for good during the current national downturn.” A developer plans to build houses on the club’s 79-acre property.

     Salt Lake City, Utah. If budget-cutters in city government have their way, the municipal golf operation in Utah’s capital city is going to lose half of its eight major assets. Last year, elected officials in Salt Lake City voted to close Rose Park Golf Course. Now they want to close as many as three other 18-hole tracks, with Glendale, Wingpointe, and Nibley Park being the likely candidates. “We just don’t have enough golfers to support our golf systems in Salt Lake City,” a councilmember told a local television station. All of the city’s courses will remain in operation until somebody figures out what to do with them.

     Golden, Colorado. The corporation that brews Coors beer wants to get out of the golf business. In an effort to streamline, Molson Coors Brewing Company hopes to sell Applewood Golf Course, a 145-acre spread outside Denver, to a residential developer, provided that the developer can secure permission to build 450 houses. Applewood’s 18-hole, Press Maxwell-designed layout was created by Adolph Coors, Jr. and other family members and opened in 1961. According to KDVR-TV, the developer’s vision for the property is expected to get a public hearing this month.

     New Albany, Ohio. New Albany Company, a development group, has pulled the plug on its 18-hole, Arthur Hills-designed golf course. Winding Hollow Golf Course had been around since 1992, originally as the centerpiece of a failed, similarly named private club, and for a while in the late 2000s it operated as Tartan East Golf Club. The president of the ownership group told the Columbus Dispatch that the 190-acre property’s “future use is yet to be determined,” but he indicated that golf isn’t among the options being considered.

     Benton, Louisiana. On New Year’s Eve, John Ward turned out the lights at Palmetto Country Club for the final time. Palmetto opened in the early 1950s, and its 18-hole course was subsequently redesigned by Jim Lipe and David Toms, the Shreveport-based professional golfer. Ward tried to find a buyer who’d continue golf operations at Palmetto but ended up selling the property to a developer, a decision that he described as “difficult and painful.”

     White Salmon, Washington. Time has run out on Husum Hills Golf Course, a nine-hole track that enjoyed a 50-year run. “It’s like losing a part of the family,” said Don Struck, who’s owned the layout since 1994. Struck and his wife conducted a futile 30-month search to find buyer for Husum Hills, which charged $10 a round and collected the fee on the honor system. “I had lots of people that had the same vision we did, but nobody with the money to go forward,” Struck told the White Salmon Enterprise. The course will close officially sometime this spring. The Strucks are trying to secure permission to build some houses on the 47-acre parcel.

     Hardeeville, South Carolina. Memories are all that remains of Pintail Creek Golf Course, an 18-hole, daily-fee track that had operated for more than a half-century. Hal Bennett, one of Pintail Creek’s co-owners, blamed the course’s demise on fierce competition in and around Savannah, Georgia, but WJCL-TV suggests that the value of the track’s 100 acres made it easier for Bennett to get out while the getting was still good.

     Denison, Texas. The future of the golf course at Grayson College is in doubt, as the 18-hole track habitually loses money but is, in the opinion of a professional consultant, be operating as efficiently as it can. The track, consisting of nine-hole layouts designed by Joe Finger and Leon Howard, has been in existence since the early 1960s. The Sherman Herald Democrat reports that “there is talk of closing the golf course, but nothing is official.”

     Lynn Haven, Florida. Nature Walk Golf Club reportedly “loses tens of thousands of dollars annually,” so its owners are hoping to sell the 18-hole, executive-length track to a residential developer. “We’re trying to make lemonade out of lemons,” a spokesman for Royal American Companies, the club’s owner, groused to the Panama City News Herald. Royal American faces an uphill battle, however, as what the newspaper describes as “an avalanche of public criticism” helped to persuade local planning officials to reject its initial proposal. It’s likely that the company is already trying to find more effective sweeteners.

The Week That Was, march 1, 2015

     A manufacturer of camouflage apparel and knives, scents, and gear for hunters has enlisted Gil Hanse to design a “premier golf destination experience” in West Point, Mississippi. Mossy Oak, a company that professes to have “an obsession” with the “hunting and outdoors lifestyle,” aims to build Mossy Oak Golf Club on property adjacent to Old Waverly Golf Club, whose owners are partnering in the venture. “Our goal is to create a truly unique golf experience and to develop it into not only one of the finest golf courses in the country but in the world,” said Toxey Haas, the founder of Mossy Oak. The golf course and a group of cabins tailored to golf travelers are scheduled to open in 2017. “We believe that the outdoor enthusiast and avid golf traveler share a common love of nature,” said Hanse, one of golf architecture’s foremost naturalizers. Sadly, the love of nature to which Hanse refers doesn’t extend to the deer and other wildlife slaughtered by Mossy Oak’s customers.

     Increased government scrutiny has clearly put a crimp on golf development in China, and now it appears that the operations side of the business may be suffering as well. According to a columnist for the Shenzhen Daily, many golf courses in the People’s Republic are “on the brink of bankruptcy” because “wealthy people’s golf expenditures [are] shrinking sharply.” Unfortunately, Lei Xiangping offers no evidence to support his contention, and no other news sources have thus far made a similar claim. One other thing: Citing a report by the Xinhua news agency, Lei writes that “hardly any courses in Hainan are making a profit” and that greens fees at some golf properties in the popular Chinese vacation spot “have been cut by half” to attract more play.

     The king of the One Percent Solution wants to make another move into municipal golf operations. Donald Trump, who’ll soon begin operating New York City’s new “signature” golf course in Ferry Point Park, has made a behind-the-curtain move to take over the city of Miami’s golf course in Crandon Park and make it, in the words of the Miami Herald, “a world-class venue.” Trump apparently believes that the 18-hole track, located on a waterfront site in Key Biscayne, can become Florida’s version of Pebble Beach Golf Links. “I would like to make it great!” he wrote to the city’s mayor early last year. The greatness will come at a price, however, for Trump’s pro forma suggests that local golfers will lose their discounted rates just three years after the takeover. A public hearing on Trump’s proposal is expected to be held this spring.

     Donald Trump is also making headlines again in Scotland, as the on-again/off-again second course at his golf resort in Aberdeenshire is -- for the time being, at least -- on again. “I will build a second course in Aberdeen,” the New York City-based reality-TV star reportedly vowed in the forthcoming issue of Today’s Golfer. Trump put course number two on the back burner roughly a year ago, after he lost a court battle in his continuing war against Scotland’s alternative-energy industry. It’s worth noting, however, that although the Martin Hawtree-designed track may once again be on the table, Trump hasn’t yet announced a construction schedule.

     Gifts of Gab: Some of Florida’s home builders have once again warmed up to golf, but a housing-industry consultant recently gave our business the cold shoulder. “If I was building a family-oriented community today,” Lewis Goodkin told the Orlando Sun Sentinel, “I wouldn’t even think about putting in golf.” Instead, Goodkin advises his clients to create what the newspaper calls “a country club setting without golf and its pricey fees and mandatory memberships.”

     $25 million -- that’s roughly how much Hirakawa Shoji Group paid for Hoalalei Country Club, according to Pacific Business News. Haseko Hawaii, Inc. sold the club and its Ernie Els-designed golf course last fall, but at the time neither the buyer nor the seller was unwilling to announce the price.

     If you love this country as much as Rudy Giuliani does, at one time or another you’ve probably said to yourself, “Geez, I wish Jack Nicklaus sold his own brand of low-priced ice cream.” Well, your wish has been granted.