The Week That Was, may 17, 2015

     The end may be near for one of China’s elite golf properties. CTS Tycoon (Shenzhen) Golf Club, a 45-hole complex outside Hong Kong, in Guangdong Province, was supposed to close last week, as authorities have deemed that it imperils a reservoir that provides drinking water for the area’s residents. For China Travel Service, the club’s owner, the frustrating part is that Tycoon has been in place since the 1990s, when it opened as Honichi Golf Club. “We’ve been driven to a hopeless situation,” an official of state-owned CTS told the Wall Street Journal. Honichi, which was created by a Japanese group, originally had an 18-hole course, then a 27-hole complex. Later, Hurdzan-Fry Environmental Golf Design redesigned the 18-hole track, and Cynthia Dye-McGarey of Dye Designs Group created a tournament-worthy 18 and a lighted nine. Tycoon, which reportedly has more than 1,000 members and an initiation fee of more than $130,000, is said to be “bitter” about what’s happened and is trying to extend its life. It’s fighting an uphill battle.

     Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the March 2011 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Arthur Spring, an Irish golf architect who chased a dream project in southwestern Ireland for nearly two decades, has died. He was 70. Spring began designing golf courses in the late 1980s, but he never got to build the ones that consumed him in his later years: A series of tracks on more than 1,200 acres along Inch Strand, near Dingle. The property was special enough to get the attention of Mike Keiser, the world’s foremost developer of contemporary links courses, who considered becoming Spring’s development partner. “When I first saw the property, 10 years ago, it looked like Pacific Dunes but even better,” Keiser told Golf magazine late last year, referring to one of his courses at Bandon Dunes. Spring’s portfolio includes Cregmore Park Golf Club in County Galway, East Clare Golf Club in County Clare, and Beaufort Golf Course in County Kerry. He felt that he could design courses “without putting undue strains on the finances of the proprietors.” The Kerryman reports that thousands of people attended his funeral.

     Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the December 2009 and December 2014 issues of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Just weeks after making a site visit, Greg Norman has agreed to become an investor in the Adirondack Club, a proposed four-season resort in Tupper Lake, New York. “It’s a big deal for Tupper Lake,” one of the developers told the Lake Placid News. “It’s real exciting what’s going on here and the caliber of people that are coming here and what we’re proposing to do up on the mountain.” The developers haven’t yet announced any specifics about the role Norman will play in the venture, and it’s not clear whether he’ll be involved in upgrading the municipal golf course that’s lies adjacent to their property. One thing’s for certain, however: “The Living Brand” has already picked out the lot where his vacation home will be built.

     After several false starts, an Edinburgh-based firm finally appears ready to build a “world-class” golf community in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The development entity, an affiliate of FM Group, aims to build more than 400 houses on the 1,500-acre Ury Estate, along with a shopping area and an 18-hole, Jack Nicklaus “signature” golf course. “Aberdeenshire is a beautiful area, and this site is particularly special,” Nicklaus told the BBC. “I think Ury Estate provides us all the components to create a memorable golf experience.” If this venture sounds familiar, it’s probably because FM Group has been trying to develop the Ury Estate for years. The firm originally laid out its vision for the property in the mid 2000s, but it was forced to declare for bankruptcy protection during the Great Recession. It re-emerged in 2011, with a downsized and downscaled version of its original plan, but the venture nevertheless languished. Now, however, FM Group says that the project is “fully back on track.” Local planning officials are currently reviewing the group’s development proposal.

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

     Gifts of Gab: In 2008, Rolling Stone asked B. B. King, who died this week, a question: When you’re deep into a solo, when you’re playing a solo, what’s in your head? His answer: I wish I knew how to tell you. Sometimes I forget who I am. When I’m on the stage, I won’t be 


 
thinking about, hey, boy, I’m something else. I’m thinking about trying to tell this story that I want you to understand. It’s like now, just talking with you, it makes me feel good if I can make you understand what I’m trying to tell you. Even if I don’t have all the words, I’m doing my best. That’s the same way I think about the music.