Sylva, North Carolina. A 14-year-old, financially beleaguered private community in the mountains of western North Carolina has found its fourth ownership group. Balsam Mountain Preserve, a 4,400-acre spread that features an 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed golf course, has been purchased by Chris Manning, a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-based real estate investor, for an undisclosed price. “With our minimal debt structure and the support we have from the homeowners,” said Manning, who has “several community homeowners” as partners, “I’m confident we have the tools in place to bring long-term and lasting stability to this great club and community.” Balsam Mountain Preserve was established by Jim Chaffin and Jim Light, who defaulted on a $19 million during the darkest days of the Great Recession. For a while, the community’s development was overseen by a private-equity group that hoped to get its money back but couldn’t. The group, TriLyn LLC, ended up selling the community to David Carlile and Harry Avant, reportedly for $6 million. So far, 250 lots in Balsam Mountain Preserve have reportedly been sold. If my math is correct, that means Manning’s group has roughly 150 more lots to sell.
Saukville, Wisconsin. Speaking of Arnold Palmer, his 20-year-old golf course in suburban Milwaukee has fetched $1.99 million. A partnership led by Jon Hammes, the managing partner of a local health-care consulting firm, has purchased the Bog, one of two Palmer-designed courses in the state. (The other: One of the three “signature” layouts at Geneva National Golf Club in Lake Geneva.) “We believe that the Bog is one of the finest courses in southeast Wisconsin,” Hammes’ son, Mike, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hammes bought the Bog from John Taylor Golf, Inc., an entity owned by Terry Wakefield, the venue’s developer. According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, Wakefield was hoping to get $3.5 million for the 227-acre property.
Lenox, Massachusetts. An entity controlled by CampGroup LLC has paid $18 million for Cranwell Spa & Golf Resort, a 380-acre spread in the Berkshires that features a golf course co-designed by Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek. Cranwell, which has been in operation since the 1880s, features a resort-style hotel, a spa, and two restaurants. Its 18-hole course opened in 1926. “We plan to elevate the already outstanding guest experience and enhance the resort’s position as a destination,” Andrew Benerofe, the chairman of CampGroup, said in a press release. CampGroup and its partner, L. D. Builders, bought Cranwell from a partnership controlled by Daniel and Carol Burack, who purchased the property in 1993.
Bristol, Tennessee. A trio of local businessmen has come to the rescue of the struggling Country Club of Bristol. Mitch Walters, Roscoe Bowman, and Tim Carter, operating as Bristol Preservation LLC, have acquired the club, and they’ve hired Integrity Golf Company to revive it. “I understand that there has been a bit of a black cloud over the club,” Gene Garrotte of Integrity Golf told the Bristol Herald Courier, “but we’re here to move those clouds and bring life into this.” The club, which calls itself “the birthplace of organized golf in the state of Tennessee,” was founded in 1894, in another location. Its golf course, an A. G. McKay design, opened in the late 1950s, and it was redesigned by Mark McCumber in the late 1990s. The new owners bought the club from Trupoint Bank, which assumed control of the property after a previous rescue attempt failed. “The whole idea behind this effort is to preserve this golf course and keep Tennessee’s oldest club alive,” Walters told the Kingsport Times-News. “We didn’t want it closed and turned into a major development, because you can never build it back once that happens.” To signal a break with the past, Walters and his partners are thinking about changing the club’s name.
Missoula, Montana. Utah’s largest golf management company has acquired its first course in Montana. Vanguard Golf Management paid an undisclosed price for one of the state’s top golf properties, the Ranch Club, a 343-acre venue that features an 18-hole, Les Furber-designed golf course. “We were struck by the beauty of the course and the remarkable golf and were excited by the unique opportunity to expand our brand of outstanding golf and personal service,” the company’s president told a local television station. Vanguard owns and operates three golf courses in Utah and one in Nevada, and it manages two others. It bought the Ranch from an affiliate of First Interstate Bank, which took possession of the property in 2012. The golf course opened in 2003, as Phantom Hills Golf Club.
Leland, North Carolina. A golf developer has agreed to buy Magnolia Greens Golf Course, the centerpiece of a large, retiree-friendly community outside Wilmington. Bobby Harrelson, the principal of CP Brunswick LLC and Brunswick Golf Holdings LLC, paid an undisclosed amount for Magnolia Greens, which opened in the late 1990s and features a 27-hole complex that was designed by Tom Jackson. The seller was a group called Magnolia Greens Ventures LLC. Harrelson is currently developing Compass Pointe, a community in Leland that will feature a Rick Robbins-designed golf course.
Kalamazoo, Michigan. Acting on an idea that’s been floating around for several years, the city of Kalamazoo has agreed to sell Eastern Hills Golf Course, a 230-acre complex that will almost certainly be razed and replaced with houses and stores. The 27-hole Eastern Hills complex loses money, and the city is facing a $3 million budget deficit. So when JTM Management offered to buy the venue for $2.19 million, the city reluctantly agreed. “We’re in a situation now where we’re kind of like the homeowner who needs to sell some of his furniture in order to pay the rent,” a city commissioner told the Kalamazoo Gazette. Eastern Hills, which has been in business since 1959, is expected to operate at least through the 2016 season. Some of the proceeds from the sale will be used to pay for improvements to the city’s two other golf courses.
Westerly, Rhode Island. After 46 years of ownership, and after watching membership plummet in the 21st century, George Buck has sold Winnapaug Country Club. The new owners, Joe and Maria Luzzi, paid an undisclosed price for the club and its Donald Ross-designed course, a track that opened in 1922. “I was a member for 13 years and saw this opportunity and love the property and love the golf course,” Joe Luzzi told the Westerly Sun. “I thought it would be great to own it.” Winnapaug currently has “about a hundred” members, according to the newspaper, down from 282 in 1998. The Luzzis believe they can effect a turnaround with “hard work, perseverance, and dedication.” And if they can’t, their experience as real estate investors might come in handy.
Henderson, Nevada. Century Communities has identified a buyer for Tuscany Golf Course. In a transaction that closed last month, Thomas Burke, the CEO of TCompanies, Inc., paid an undisclosed amount for the 18-hole, Ted Robinson-designed layout that serves as the centerpiece of Tuscany Village. The 12-year-old venue is now called Chimera Golf Club at Tuscany.
Mankato, Minnesota. Mark and Vivian Smith, the principals of Opafore LLC, have purchased Minneopa Golf Club, which had been owned by members of the Bohks family since 1930. “They are good people,” said Kyle Bohks, one of the sellers. “We had the same thought process, the same family values. And I’m the type of guy who goes with my gut.” No details on the transaction have been announced. Minneopa’s executive-length course was co-designed by M. J. Donndelinger, its original owner, and John McRae, a local golf pro. The 42-acre track was open for only a year before Donndelinger sold it to Henry Bohks, whose grandchildren have apparently had enough of the golf business.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
The Week That Was, july 19, 2015
The billionaire who founded GoDaddy, Inc. has fleshed out the next phase of development at Scottsdale National Golf Club. Bob Parsons, who bought the former Golf Club Scottsdale in 2013, has set out to create one of our nation’s elite private venues, and his vision includes a second 18-hole golf course, a par-3 course, lodging for the club’s wealthy members, and a 175,000-square-foot clubhouse -- a building “roughly the size of a department store,” as the Arizona Republic helpfully notes. The forthcoming tracks will complement Scottsdale National’s existing 18-hole course, which was co-designed by Jay Morrish and Dick Bailey. Parsons, who reportedly paid $600,000 for the club, hasn’t yet publicly named the designer of the second course.
Though it has admitted to laundering money for Mexican drug cartels and terrorist organizations, HSBC has nonetheless won the right to continue serving as the primary financial sponsor of the Open Championship, golf’s oldest and most cherished professional event. In a press release, the bank called the five-year extension it’s signed “a landmark moment for HSBC,” and Peter Dawson of the R&A, the architect of the deal, called HSBC “a valued partner for the Championship.” To be fair, HSBC has invested a lot of money in a variety of grow-the-game initiatives all over the world. But it also understands the concept of money well spent, and it wouldn’t have renewed its contract if it wasn’t profiting from the marketing investments it’s made in golf. In every business relationship, one hand washes another. In this particular case, however, wouldn’t it be nice to be washed by cleaner hands?
When you’re the leader of the most powerful institution in golf, you have to take some tough stands on controversial issues. Unless you’re Peter Dawson, that is. Paying little or no mind to Donald Trump’s racial insults and social insensitivities, the R&A’s chief executive has decided that Trump Turnberry should remain in the running for an upcoming Open Championship. “We’ll just let a bit of time pass,” Dawson told reporters this week, “and future championship committees will deal with them at the time.” Translation: Dawson, who’ll retire later this year, is hoping that Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants will soon be forgotten. And if they aren’t, the golf industry’s foremost defender of the status quo is going to pass the buck to his successor.
Lough Erne Resort, which has struggled for years and been in the hands of administrators since 2011, finally has new owners. An investment group led by Michael Saliba of Chicago, Illinois-based Vine Avenue Advisors reportedly paid €8.4 million -- $9.2 million -- for Lough Erne, a 600-acre spread in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, that features 120 accommodations for overnight guests, meeting space, a spa, restaurants, five helipads, the Faldo Championship Golf Course, Castle Hume Golf Course, and a golf academy. What’s more, the eight-year-old resort hosted the G-8 Summit of world leaders in 2013, Rory McIlroy serves as the public face of its golf operation, and it’ll host the Irish Open in 2017. All that being said, Lough Erne competes for vacationers and business meetings with lots of similar resorts in Northern Ireland and throughout Great Britain, so the new owners intend to refresh the entire property, in particular its Nick Faldo-designed golf course. The sale of Lough Erne was originally scheduled to take place last fall but was held up due to what’s been described as “a legal dispute with a local landowner.”
A British hotelier that claims to “enjoy the path less traveled” and “thrive on challenging the status quo” has purchased one of Scotland’s most popular and most traditional golf resorts. London-based Ennismore has acquired Gleneagles, the world-famous, 850-acre resort in Perthshire, from Diageo PLC, a liquor colossus that’s looking to shed its non-core assets. A price hasn’t been disclosed, but the Guardian believes Ennismore paid about £150 million ($234 million), which, if accurate, is less than the estimate (£200 million, or $312 million) offered earlier this year by the Times of London. Gleneagles features a 232-room hotel, grouse-hunting grounds, the British School of Falconry, and three 18-hole courses, one of which -- the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA Centenary course -- was the site of last year’s Ryder Cup matches. Ennismore has promised to “preserve the special appeal of this Scottish landmark,” and it intends to keep selling Diageo-produced products, a line that includes Guinness, Smirnoff, Gordon’s, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Bailey’s, Harp, Red Stripe, Johnny Walker, and J&B.
In a video post on his Facebook page, Lee Westwood says that golf “needs to be made fun,” “needs to be promoted better,” “needs to be more available to the man in the street,” “needs a two-hour format,” and, by all means, needs to be “less expensive.” Geez, you’d think the game didn’t have anything going for it.
Though it has admitted to laundering money for Mexican drug cartels and terrorist organizations, HSBC has nonetheless won the right to continue serving as the primary financial sponsor of the Open Championship, golf’s oldest and most cherished professional event. In a press release, the bank called the five-year extension it’s signed “a landmark moment for HSBC,” and Peter Dawson of the R&A, the architect of the deal, called HSBC “a valued partner for the Championship.” To be fair, HSBC has invested a lot of money in a variety of grow-the-game initiatives all over the world. But it also understands the concept of money well spent, and it wouldn’t have renewed its contract if it wasn’t profiting from the marketing investments it’s made in golf. In every business relationship, one hand washes another. In this particular case, however, wouldn’t it be nice to be washed by cleaner hands?
When you’re the leader of the most powerful institution in golf, you have to take some tough stands on controversial issues. Unless you’re Peter Dawson, that is. Paying little or no mind to Donald Trump’s racial insults and social insensitivities, the R&A’s chief executive has decided that Trump Turnberry should remain in the running for an upcoming Open Championship. “We’ll just let a bit of time pass,” Dawson told reporters this week, “and future championship committees will deal with them at the time.” Translation: Dawson, who’ll retire later this year, is hoping that Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants will soon be forgotten. And if they aren’t, the golf industry’s foremost defender of the status quo is going to pass the buck to his successor.
Lough Erne Resort, which has struggled for years and been in the hands of administrators since 2011, finally has new owners. An investment group led by Michael Saliba of Chicago, Illinois-based Vine Avenue Advisors reportedly paid €8.4 million -- $9.2 million -- for Lough Erne, a 600-acre spread in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, that features 120 accommodations for overnight guests, meeting space, a spa, restaurants, five helipads, the Faldo Championship Golf Course, Castle Hume Golf Course, and a golf academy. What’s more, the eight-year-old resort hosted the G-8 Summit of world leaders in 2013, Rory McIlroy serves as the public face of its golf operation, and it’ll host the Irish Open in 2017. All that being said, Lough Erne competes for vacationers and business meetings with lots of similar resorts in Northern Ireland and throughout Great Britain, so the new owners intend to refresh the entire property, in particular its Nick Faldo-designed golf course. The sale of Lough Erne was originally scheduled to take place last fall but was held up due to what’s been described as “a legal dispute with a local landowner.”
A British hotelier that claims to “enjoy the path less traveled” and “thrive on challenging the status quo” has purchased one of Scotland’s most popular and most traditional golf resorts. London-based Ennismore has acquired Gleneagles, the world-famous, 850-acre resort in Perthshire, from Diageo PLC, a liquor colossus that’s looking to shed its non-core assets. A price hasn’t been disclosed, but the Guardian believes Ennismore paid about £150 million ($234 million), which, if accurate, is less than the estimate (£200 million, or $312 million) offered earlier this year by the Times of London. Gleneagles features a 232-room hotel, grouse-hunting grounds, the British School of Falconry, and three 18-hole courses, one of which -- the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA Centenary course -- was the site of last year’s Ryder Cup matches. Ennismore has promised to “preserve the special appeal of this Scottish landmark,” and it intends to keep selling Diageo-produced products, a line that includes Guinness, Smirnoff, Gordon’s, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Bailey’s, Harp, Red Stripe, Johnny Walker, and J&B.
In a video post on his Facebook page, Lee Westwood says that golf “needs to be made fun,” “needs to be promoted better,” “needs to be more available to the man in the street,” “needs a two-hour format,” and, by all means, needs to be “less expensive.” Geez, you’d think the game didn’t have anything going for it.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Vital Signs, july 17, 2015
Last year at this time, Golf Australia issued a distress signal. Half of the nation’s golf clubs, it said, were operating under “financial duress” and needed to connect with women, families, and young people if they expected to survive. One year later, sadly, the clubs have yet to make these connections effectively. In its “2014 National Participation Report,” Golf Australia notes that the 1,590 clubs it surveyed have lost 7.2 percent of their members over the past five years and a worrisome 21 percent since 1998, when membership rolls peaked. According to the report, exactly half of the nation’s clubs lost members in 2014, and they’re all burdened by the weight of age: 55 percent of their members are 55 and older, while just 17 percent are 34 and under. Despite the erosion, however, Golf Australia has detected signs of life. During 2014, the nation’s clubs lost a mere 2,852 members, a negligible number (less than 1 percent), and 44 percent of clubs with 100 or more members grew in size. What’s more, the nation’s golfers played 14.3 million “competition rounds” last year, a 7.2 percent increase from the number posted in 2013. “We are encouraged to see rounds played up and the decline in membership back to next to nothing,” says the group’s CEO. “We have seen almost five years of a downward trend, and, hopefully soon, the graph points upward again.” And here’s another reason for optimism: 57 percent of those who joined Australia’s golf clubs last year were between the ages of 25 and 54.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the July 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Vietnam is in the midst of a mini golf boom, perhaps because it’s also experiencing what a national news service calls a “tourism crisis.” The nation currently has about three dozen golf properties, and this year more than a half-dozen new golf ventures have been announced, from Quảng Ninh Province in the north to Kiên Giang Province in the south. Ordinarily, such a wave of development would be viewed as a triumph for a wanna-be golf nation, but for Vietnam it might be a sign of desperation. The nation counted a disappointing 7.87 million foreign visitors last year (it had expected to attract 8.2 million), and through the first six months of this year it counted only 3.8 million, an 11.3 percent decline. According to Thanhnien News, the nation’s deputy prime minister blames the declines on “unsafe traffic, dirty food and environment, thieves, beggars, and overcharging by vendors.” Clearly, Vietnam needs new seasonings for its tourism industry, and it’s probably hoping that golf will be its secret sauce.
Speaking of Vietnam, most Asian golfers don’t yet rate the nation among their favorite golf destinations. Thailand is the top choice for Asian golf tourists, according to the Club Managers Association of Asia, followed by China, Malaysia, and the United States. Vietnam checks in at #7. Of course, part of Vietnam’s problem is availability and ease of access. The nation has only 36 golf properties, according to the Wall Street Journal, and they’re spread all over. By contrast, one vacation spot in China -- Hainan Island -- offers nearly as many choices as Vietnam does, without all the wasted travel time.
When it comes to the top golf destinations in the United States, Myrtle Beach still reigns supreme. According to surveys by Golf magazine, some 6,000 traveling U.S. golfers ranked the coastal vacation spot in South Carolina as their overall favorite destination (ahead of Bandon, Oregon and Gaylord, Michigan), their favorite “value” destination (ahead of Montgomery, Alabama and Gaylord), and their favorite destination for a buddy trip (ahead of, once again, Bandon and Gaylord). Now you know why more than 3.5 million rounds of golf are played in Myrtle Beach every year.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the July 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Vietnam is in the midst of a mini golf boom, perhaps because it’s also experiencing what a national news service calls a “tourism crisis.” The nation currently has about three dozen golf properties, and this year more than a half-dozen new golf ventures have been announced, from Quảng Ninh Province in the north to Kiên Giang Province in the south. Ordinarily, such a wave of development would be viewed as a triumph for a wanna-be golf nation, but for Vietnam it might be a sign of desperation. The nation counted a disappointing 7.87 million foreign visitors last year (it had expected to attract 8.2 million), and through the first six months of this year it counted only 3.8 million, an 11.3 percent decline. According to Thanhnien News, the nation’s deputy prime minister blames the declines on “unsafe traffic, dirty food and environment, thieves, beggars, and overcharging by vendors.” Clearly, Vietnam needs new seasonings for its tourism industry, and it’s probably hoping that golf will be its secret sauce.
Speaking of Vietnam, most Asian golfers don’t yet rate the nation among their favorite golf destinations. Thailand is the top choice for Asian golf tourists, according to the Club Managers Association of Asia, followed by China, Malaysia, and the United States. Vietnam checks in at #7. Of course, part of Vietnam’s problem is availability and ease of access. The nation has only 36 golf properties, according to the Wall Street Journal, and they’re spread all over. By contrast, one vacation spot in China -- Hainan Island -- offers nearly as many choices as Vietnam does, without all the wasted travel time.
When it comes to the top golf destinations in the United States, Myrtle Beach still reigns supreme. According to surveys by Golf magazine, some 6,000 traveling U.S. golfers ranked the coastal vacation spot in South Carolina as their overall favorite destination (ahead of Bandon, Oregon and Gaylord, Michigan), their favorite “value” destination (ahead of Montgomery, Alabama and Gaylord), and their favorite destination for a buddy trip (ahead of, once again, Bandon and Gaylord). Now you know why more than 3.5 million rounds of golf are played in Myrtle Beach every year.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
The Week That Was, july 12, 2015
Just when you start thinking that China might actually have the money and manpower to solve virtually any problem, a gigantic Chinese conglomerate goes and lets the biggest, most anticipated new resort in the Caribbean postpone its grand opening for at least the third time. Baha Mar, a 1,000-acre spread along Nassau’s Cable Beach, has petitioned for bankruptcy protection, blaming its financial misfortunes on construction delays caused by its lead contractor, an affiliate of China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The builder, which reportedly shipped “thousands” of Chinese workers to the Bahamas to work on the project -- they ate mostly at the construction site and slept in a nearby campground, according to the Wall Street Journal -- claims that the bankruptcy filing was “the direct result” of Baha Mar, Ltd.’s “mismanagement” and “failure to secure adequate financing.” Baha Mar has been master-planned to include, among other things, the biggest casino in the region, the biggest convention center in the Bahamas, thousands of overnight accommodations, a nightclub designed by has-been pop singer Lenny Kravitz, and a Jack Nicklaus “signature” golf course that will serve as a link in the PGA Tour’s chain of Tournament Players Clubs.
Except for a setback that may be a harbinger of worse things to come, these days Donald Trump’s relations with the golf industry’s most powerful institutions remain intact and cordial. This week it was all quiet on the social-justice front for the U.S. Golf Association, the PGA Tour, and the LPGA, all of which have distanced themselves from Trump’s comments about Mexicans -- in case anyone has forgotten, he characterized them as criminals, drug-smugglers, and rapists -- but have so far chosen not to hit the presidential candidate where it really hurts. To its credit, however, the PGA of America took a stand, for it pulled an exhibition match, the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, from Trump’s club in suburban Los Angeles. Of course, if Trump’s value system is truly objectionable to the PGA, it’ll follow up by pulling two far more important events, the 2017 Senior PGA Championship and the 2022 PGA Championship, from Trump properties. “I’ve been very loyal to golf,” Trump told the New York Times last week. “We will see whether or not golf is loyal to me.” So far, the investment Trump has made in those loyalties -- “I’ve had tremendous support from the golf world, because they all know I’m right” -- continues to pay dividends. As Trump most definitely knows, the most successful people in business are those who know and understand their markets.
Regarding those worse things that might befall Donald Trump: The future of the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open, which is scheduled to take place at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, appears to be up in the air. “We are evaluating things,” Mike Davis, the executive director of the U.S. Golf Association, acknowledged to the Golf Channel, “and at this point that’s all we can say.” Clearly, Davis’ statement isn’t the unqualified vote of confidence that Trump would like to hear.
More on those possible worse things: Just a month ago, the European Tour seemed poised to award the 2017 Scottish Open -- officially, the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open -- to Trump International Golf Links Scotland. Now, in the wake of Donald Trump’s repellent mischaracterization of Mexicans, at least one British golf commentator has recommended that the Tour look in another direction. “If the PGA of America are moving the Grand Slam of Golf away from Trump’s course in Las Vegas in the wake of his outburst,” writes Aidan Smith of the Scotsman, “and if the LPGA Tour wish this month’s Women’s British Open could be played somewhere other than Turnberry, then I don’t see how the tournament can go to Balmedie. Let the course mature, find its place in the world. The owner, too.”
After a three-year search to find a developer for the “landmark destination for golf tourism” that it aims to build in suburban Liverpool, England, Wirral Council has settled on the individual who was probably at the top of its wish list: Jack Nicklaus. The council wants to build “an internationally acclaimed golf resort that golfers from across the world will travel to play and stay at,” and Nicklaus can certainly deliver the star power that publicists crave. The Golden Bear will design a “signature” golf course for Wirral’s property in Hoylake, and Nicklaus Joint Venture Group will oversee the construction of a Marriott hotel, a spa, a “links academy,” and other attractions. If you’re wondering, Nicklaus Joint Venture Group isn’t a freshly minted entity. It was created roughly a decade ago, to develop the Gary Nicklaus-designed layout at Machynys Peninsula Golf Club in Wales. At that time, the group consisted of Nicklaus Design and two British partners, Southern Golf Construction and Sawtrees, Ltd., and there’s no reason to believe that the roster has changed. Jim Anderson, the chief executive of the original group, will oversee the development of the Wirral property.
Some information in the preceding post was gleaned from the November 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Gary Player, who claims to have logged more than 15 million miles in airplanes, is looking for an excuse to visit Mexico. His firm has hired Eric Marble, described in a press release as a “a Mexico site analysis specialist,” to identify upcoming course-design opportunities. “Eric Marble has a reputation and network that will help us take our portfolio in Mexico to the next level,” said Scott Ferrell, the president of Player’s firm. The firm has so far produced one course in Mexico, at CostaBaja Resort & Marina in La Paz, but it hasn’t secured a commission in five years and these days it appears that the most coveted “signature” projects in Mexico are going to Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Tiger Woods, and Greg Norman. Incidentally, Player has trademarked the phrase “The World’s Most Traveled Athlete,” presumably because his many, many career accomplishments don’t suffice as a calling card.
Except for a setback that may be a harbinger of worse things to come, these days Donald Trump’s relations with the golf industry’s most powerful institutions remain intact and cordial. This week it was all quiet on the social-justice front for the U.S. Golf Association, the PGA Tour, and the LPGA, all of which have distanced themselves from Trump’s comments about Mexicans -- in case anyone has forgotten, he characterized them as criminals, drug-smugglers, and rapists -- but have so far chosen not to hit the presidential candidate where it really hurts. To its credit, however, the PGA of America took a stand, for it pulled an exhibition match, the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, from Trump’s club in suburban Los Angeles. Of course, if Trump’s value system is truly objectionable to the PGA, it’ll follow up by pulling two far more important events, the 2017 Senior PGA Championship and the 2022 PGA Championship, from Trump properties. “I’ve been very loyal to golf,” Trump told the New York Times last week. “We will see whether or not golf is loyal to me.” So far, the investment Trump has made in those loyalties -- “I’ve had tremendous support from the golf world, because they all know I’m right” -- continues to pay dividends. As Trump most definitely knows, the most successful people in business are those who know and understand their markets.
Regarding those worse things that might befall Donald Trump: The future of the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open, which is scheduled to take place at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, appears to be up in the air. “We are evaluating things,” Mike Davis, the executive director of the U.S. Golf Association, acknowledged to the Golf Channel, “and at this point that’s all we can say.” Clearly, Davis’ statement isn’t the unqualified vote of confidence that Trump would like to hear.
More on those possible worse things: Just a month ago, the European Tour seemed poised to award the 2017 Scottish Open -- officially, the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open -- to Trump International Golf Links Scotland. Now, in the wake of Donald Trump’s repellent mischaracterization of Mexicans, at least one British golf commentator has recommended that the Tour look in another direction. “If the PGA of America are moving the Grand Slam of Golf away from Trump’s course in Las Vegas in the wake of his outburst,” writes Aidan Smith of the Scotsman, “and if the LPGA Tour wish this month’s Women’s British Open could be played somewhere other than Turnberry, then I don’t see how the tournament can go to Balmedie. Let the course mature, find its place in the world. The owner, too.”
After a three-year search to find a developer for the “landmark destination for golf tourism” that it aims to build in suburban Liverpool, England, Wirral Council has settled on the individual who was probably at the top of its wish list: Jack Nicklaus. The council wants to build “an internationally acclaimed golf resort that golfers from across the world will travel to play and stay at,” and Nicklaus can certainly deliver the star power that publicists crave. The Golden Bear will design a “signature” golf course for Wirral’s property in Hoylake, and Nicklaus Joint Venture Group will oversee the construction of a Marriott hotel, a spa, a “links academy,” and other attractions. If you’re wondering, Nicklaus Joint Venture Group isn’t a freshly minted entity. It was created roughly a decade ago, to develop the Gary Nicklaus-designed layout at Machynys Peninsula Golf Club in Wales. At that time, the group consisted of Nicklaus Design and two British partners, Southern Golf Construction and Sawtrees, Ltd., and there’s no reason to believe that the roster has changed. Jim Anderson, the chief executive of the original group, will oversee the development of the Wirral property.
Some information in the preceding post was gleaned from the November 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Gary Player, who claims to have logged more than 15 million miles in airplanes, is looking for an excuse to visit Mexico. His firm has hired Eric Marble, described in a press release as a “a Mexico site analysis specialist,” to identify upcoming course-design opportunities. “Eric Marble has a reputation and network that will help us take our portfolio in Mexico to the next level,” said Scott Ferrell, the president of Player’s firm. The firm has so far produced one course in Mexico, at CostaBaja Resort & Marina in La Paz, but it hasn’t secured a commission in five years and these days it appears that the most coveted “signature” projects in Mexico are going to Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Tiger Woods, and Greg Norman. Incidentally, Player has trademarked the phrase “The World’s Most Traveled Athlete,” presumably because his many, many career accomplishments don’t suffice as a calling card.
Friday, July 10, 2015
The Pipeline, july 10, 2015
Heber City, Utah. Jack Nicklaus, who evangelizes for 12-hole layouts every chance he gets, has designed one that’s being built outside Park City. The track, consisting exclusively of par-3 holes and what are said to be “forgiving greens,” will complement the 18-hole Nicklaus “signature” track that opened at the Red Legends resort community in 2009. “We wanted to bring fun back to the game of golf,” one of the community’s developers said in a press release, “and we believe this course will open up the game to more players, whether they are beginnings, family groups, or the scratch player getting in a fast round after work.” The course, which will play to a maximum of 1,717 yards, is expected to open in the spring of next year.
Ocala, Florida. Talk about options: Shea Homes’ first Trilogy-branded community in Florida will feature an 18-hole, 48-acre golf course that can be played 12 different ways. The $3 million track, consisting entirely of par-3 holes, has been co-designed by Tom Lehman and Tripp Davis, who were, according to Golf Advisor, told to “come up with something unique.” Their layout, indisputably a break with tradition, is a risky proposition for both Shea, which has set out to sell nearly 1,700 houses, and for the golf industry itself, which has come to believe that participation rates will increase when rounds become cheaper and less time-consuming. In effect, then, the course is an experiment whose results deserve close scrutiny. It’s scheduled to open this fall.
Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. A Vietnamese investment banking group has enlisted two partners, one of them a Hong Kong-based multi-billionaire, to help build a stalled, casino-focused resort south of Đà Nẵng. The to-be-named resort will take shape outside Tam Ky City, and VinaCapital hopes to open it in late 2018 or early 2019. VinaCapital, which manages three investment funds that trade on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange, is working with entities controlled by Cheng Yu Tang, one of the world’s richest people (Forbes says he’s worth $13 billion), and Alvin Chau, the CEO of Suncity Group, a firm that organizes gambling junkets to Macau. The resort’s master plan includes a casino, vacation villas, several hotels, and a 36-hole golf complex. Tam Ky City is a 50-mile drive down the South China Sea coast from the Đà Nẵng Beach Resort, which was developed by two of VinaCapital’s investment funds. Đà Nẵng Beach features an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course, and in the future it’s supposed to add another Norman-designed, 18-hole layout.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the April 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Minot, North Dakota. Three years after a near-Biblical flood transformed life in northern North Dakota, the Minot Park Board has grown weary of making almost annual repairs to Souris Valley Golf Course. The board is negotiating to buy a 240-acre parcel that could serve as the home of a new golf course that isn’t routinely damaged by floods. “It’s very expensive to repair the golf course when it floods,” the city’s parks director told the Minot Daily News. “We would be better off spending that kind of money building a course that won’t have that kind of issue.” The board hasn’t yet determined what it wants to build on the property that’s available for purchase. It could build a nine-hole addition and close the holes on Souris Valley that are most prone to flooding, or it could build an entirely new 18-hole layout.
Noida, India. A forthcoming “sports city” outside Delhi will include a 50,000-seat cricket stadium and a nine-hole golf course. The Noida Authority, the entity that controls development in the area, is searching for a private-sector company willing to develop the 125-acre sports city, which will also feature, among other things, houses, entertainment venues, a medical center, a gymnasium, and a small commercial area. Since it was established, in 1976, the authority has developed some 15,000 acres with houses, office and commercial space, schools, hotels, shopping areas, and recreational amenities, including the 18-hole, Peter Thomson-designed Noida Golf Course. It controls an additional 8,500 acres, some of which are destined to become an amusement park, a water park, and possibly another golf course.
Kipipiri, Kenya. A three-member development entity has secured permission to build the first golf resort in Nyandarua County, Kenya. Government officials have wholeheartedly endorsed Mount Kipipiri Golf Resort, which will take shape on a 1,400-acre farm in the town of Kipipiri, at the foot of the Aberdare Mountains. “We need tourists to visit Nyandarua County in large numbers,” the county’s governor told the Star. Mount Kipipiri will feature 600 vacation houses, a hotel, and an 18-hole golf course, and the developers intend to put the farm’s crumbling air strip back into use. A government press release calls the developers “Chinese investors,” but it identifies them as a Korean (Young Moon Choi, the group’s CEO) and two Kenyans, Harish Ramji Patel and Robert Njoroge. The partners are eager to capitalize on the growing demand for vacation spots in Kenya, a nation with an increasingly wealthy middle class and a growing jones for golf.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the April 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Brisbane, Australia. Later this year, after more than a decade’s worth of debate and legal wrangling, a Manly-based developer expects to break ground on the city of Brisbane’s third golf course. BMD Group will cover the cost of building Cannon Hill Community Links, an 18-hole, Phil Ryan-designed track that will take shape on part of a 310-acre parcel in the southern part of Queensland’s capital city. In exchange, BMD has secured the right to build roughly 125 houses adjacent to the course. Brisbane’s existing golf properties, Victoria Park Golf Course and St. Lucia Golf Links, are both more than 70 years old, and the city has been hoping to put a course in the Cannon Hill area since the late 1990s. Infrastructure construction at the site was expected to begin in the late spring, and the city hopes to open the course in 2018. Ryan, who’s based in Sandringham, Victoria, aims to create a layout that offers “a challenge as well as [an] enjoyable experience for golfers of all levels.”
Trujillo, Honduras. A Canadian enclave along the northern coast of Honduras may soon sprout a golf course. The nine-hole, par-3 track will be among the featured attractions of Njoi Santa Fe Beach Residences, a gated community that will occupy 150 acres outside Trujillo, the capital city of Colón. The course will be public, and it’ll be the first in the area. Gino Santarossa, a principal of Toronto-based Los Suenos Development, hopes to break ground on it next year. “It’s going to be a great thing for the area,” he says, “and it’s going to enhance real estate values in our community.” Los Suenos is one of three Canadian development groups who’ve acquired properties along the northern Honduran coast and are luring their countrymen with affordable, resort-style communities. In fact, people who live in and around Trujillo, the nation’s oldest port city, have begun to call their part of the world “Little Canada.”
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the April 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Marfa, Texas. Can a non-descript nine-hole golf course in West Texas be transformed into a destination-worthy track, like those at Bandon Dunes in Oregon? Such is the future that Larry Lunsford of Pro Tour Events has outlined for Marfa Municipal Golf Course, which probably deservedly doesn’t get nearly as much ink as the town’s art galleries, film festival, and celestial lights. An online reviewer describes the 55-year-old course as “perfectly flat” and “not one of our favorite courses,” but Lunsford thinks it can be something special with nine new holes, a new clubhouse, a practice center, and a lodge. The venture is still in “the very early infant stages,” according to Big Bend Now, and it isn’t going anywhere unless Presidio County gives Lunsford a 99-year lease on the property.
Ocala, Florida. Talk about options: Shea Homes’ first Trilogy-branded community in Florida will feature an 18-hole, 48-acre golf course that can be played 12 different ways. The $3 million track, consisting entirely of par-3 holes, has been co-designed by Tom Lehman and Tripp Davis, who were, according to Golf Advisor, told to “come up with something unique.” Their layout, indisputably a break with tradition, is a risky proposition for both Shea, which has set out to sell nearly 1,700 houses, and for the golf industry itself, which has come to believe that participation rates will increase when rounds become cheaper and less time-consuming. In effect, then, the course is an experiment whose results deserve close scrutiny. It’s scheduled to open this fall.
Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. A Vietnamese investment banking group has enlisted two partners, one of them a Hong Kong-based multi-billionaire, to help build a stalled, casino-focused resort south of Đà Nẵng. The to-be-named resort will take shape outside Tam Ky City, and VinaCapital hopes to open it in late 2018 or early 2019. VinaCapital, which manages three investment funds that trade on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange, is working with entities controlled by Cheng Yu Tang, one of the world’s richest people (Forbes says he’s worth $13 billion), and Alvin Chau, the CEO of Suncity Group, a firm that organizes gambling junkets to Macau. The resort’s master plan includes a casino, vacation villas, several hotels, and a 36-hole golf complex. Tam Ky City is a 50-mile drive down the South China Sea coast from the Đà Nẵng Beach Resort, which was developed by two of VinaCapital’s investment funds. Đà Nẵng Beach features an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course, and in the future it’s supposed to add another Norman-designed, 18-hole layout.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the April 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Minot, North Dakota. Three years after a near-Biblical flood transformed life in northern North Dakota, the Minot Park Board has grown weary of making almost annual repairs to Souris Valley Golf Course. The board is negotiating to buy a 240-acre parcel that could serve as the home of a new golf course that isn’t routinely damaged by floods. “It’s very expensive to repair the golf course when it floods,” the city’s parks director told the Minot Daily News. “We would be better off spending that kind of money building a course that won’t have that kind of issue.” The board hasn’t yet determined what it wants to build on the property that’s available for purchase. It could build a nine-hole addition and close the holes on Souris Valley that are most prone to flooding, or it could build an entirely new 18-hole layout.
Noida, India. A forthcoming “sports city” outside Delhi will include a 50,000-seat cricket stadium and a nine-hole golf course. The Noida Authority, the entity that controls development in the area, is searching for a private-sector company willing to develop the 125-acre sports city, which will also feature, among other things, houses, entertainment venues, a medical center, a gymnasium, and a small commercial area. Since it was established, in 1976, the authority has developed some 15,000 acres with houses, office and commercial space, schools, hotels, shopping areas, and recreational amenities, including the 18-hole, Peter Thomson-designed Noida Golf Course. It controls an additional 8,500 acres, some of which are destined to become an amusement park, a water park, and possibly another golf course.
Kipipiri, Kenya. A three-member development entity has secured permission to build the first golf resort in Nyandarua County, Kenya. Government officials have wholeheartedly endorsed Mount Kipipiri Golf Resort, which will take shape on a 1,400-acre farm in the town of Kipipiri, at the foot of the Aberdare Mountains. “We need tourists to visit Nyandarua County in large numbers,” the county’s governor told the Star. Mount Kipipiri will feature 600 vacation houses, a hotel, and an 18-hole golf course, and the developers intend to put the farm’s crumbling air strip back into use. A government press release calls the developers “Chinese investors,” but it identifies them as a Korean (Young Moon Choi, the group’s CEO) and two Kenyans, Harish Ramji Patel and Robert Njoroge. The partners are eager to capitalize on the growing demand for vacation spots in Kenya, a nation with an increasingly wealthy middle class and a growing jones for golf.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the April 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Brisbane, Australia. Later this year, after more than a decade’s worth of debate and legal wrangling, a Manly-based developer expects to break ground on the city of Brisbane’s third golf course. BMD Group will cover the cost of building Cannon Hill Community Links, an 18-hole, Phil Ryan-designed track that will take shape on part of a 310-acre parcel in the southern part of Queensland’s capital city. In exchange, BMD has secured the right to build roughly 125 houses adjacent to the course. Brisbane’s existing golf properties, Victoria Park Golf Course and St. Lucia Golf Links, are both more than 70 years old, and the city has been hoping to put a course in the Cannon Hill area since the late 1990s. Infrastructure construction at the site was expected to begin in the late spring, and the city hopes to open the course in 2018. Ryan, who’s based in Sandringham, Victoria, aims to create a layout that offers “a challenge as well as [an] enjoyable experience for golfers of all levels.”
Trujillo, Honduras. A Canadian enclave along the northern coast of Honduras may soon sprout a golf course. The nine-hole, par-3 track will be among the featured attractions of Njoi Santa Fe Beach Residences, a gated community that will occupy 150 acres outside Trujillo, the capital city of Colón. The course will be public, and it’ll be the first in the area. Gino Santarossa, a principal of Toronto-based Los Suenos Development, hopes to break ground on it next year. “It’s going to be a great thing for the area,” he says, “and it’s going to enhance real estate values in our community.” Los Suenos is one of three Canadian development groups who’ve acquired properties along the northern Honduran coast and are luring their countrymen with affordable, resort-style communities. In fact, people who live in and around Trujillo, the nation’s oldest port city, have begun to call their part of the world “Little Canada.”
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the April 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Marfa, Texas. Can a non-descript nine-hole golf course in West Texas be transformed into a destination-worthy track, like those at Bandon Dunes in Oregon? Such is the future that Larry Lunsford of Pro Tour Events has outlined for Marfa Municipal Golf Course, which probably deservedly doesn’t get nearly as much ink as the town’s art galleries, film festival, and celestial lights. An online reviewer describes the 55-year-old course as “perfectly flat” and “not one of our favorite courses,” but Lunsford thinks it can be something special with nine new holes, a new clubhouse, a practice center, and a lodge. The venture is still in “the very early infant stages,” according to Big Bend Now, and it isn’t going anywhere unless Presidio County gives Lunsford a 99-year lease on the property.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
The Week That Was, july 5, 2015
Long, long ago, shortly before my wedding day, my father gave me some advice. “How you make your bed,” he said, “is how you’ll sleep in it.” Thanks to Donald Trump, who now snuggles between the sheets with every influential person, organization, and institution in golf, over the past weeks everyone in our business has experienced needlessly restless nights. Already, Trump is paying a personal price for the venom he has spread. Worse, he’s given golf yet another black eye, just as Sergio Garcia did almost exactly two years ago, when he made a stupid, ugly joke about Tiger Woods and fried chicken. To his credit, Garcia at least had the sense to apologize and get on with his career. Trump, by contrast, equates defiance with strength. He has damaged our business, and all that really matters now is how long his enablers will allow him to continue doing it.
Just to recap: In his first official address as a presidential candidate, Trump likened the people of Mexico to criminals, drug-dealers, and rapists. Then, to prove that he meant exactly what he said, he doubled down on his comments. From corporate America, the reaction was swift. Just about every business that could comfortably sever its relationship with Trump did so. Univision and NBCUniversal bailed on Trump’s beauty pageants and his reality-television show. Macy’s stopped selling Trump-branded menswear. But the Powers That Be in golf raised no significant objections, as if they’re hoping to let sleeping dogs lie. “I’ve had tremendous support from the golf world, because they all know I’m right,” Trump told GolfWorld. “I’ve been great to golf. I’ve been investing while everybody else was fleeing.”
Some additional historical perspective: Last year the PGA of America booted its president out of office because he issued a mildly offensive tweet about a professional golfer. It was white-on-white crime, and it was apparently unforgivable. Trump, on the other hand, went on national television, defamed an entire nation, and received what amounts to a free pass from his bed partners.
To be fair, four of golf’s major institutions -- the PGA of America, the U.S. Golf Association, the PGA Tour, and the LPGA -- issued a joint statement addressing Trump’s inflammatory remarks. “In response to Mr. Trump’s comments about the golf industry ‘knowing he is right’ in regards to his recent statements about Mexican immigrants, we feel compelled to clarify that those remarks do not reflect the views of our organizations,” the anonymous writer said. Translation: We’d prefer to avoid participating in this discussion, but we feel compelled to say something that sounds appropriate. We need to distance ourselves from Trump without going so far away that he’ll notice. This is a glaring example of ineffective leadership. When golf’s most powerful organizations need to discipline a close bedfellow who’s clearly done wrong, they hide under the cover of a press release and do whatever it takes to maintain the status quo and protect their income streams. As they proved when Sergio Garcia blundered, golf’s leaders wish to be behind the social curve and on the wrong side of history. By failing to right Trump’s wrong, they implicitly condone not only his comments but his entire value system. The more I think about what Trump originally said -- “I’ve had tremendous support from the golf world, because they all know I’m right” -- the more it feels like he’s telling it like it is.
So what’s worse, Trump’s misguided mischaracterizations of Mexicans or the golf industry’s lame response to them? It’s hard for me to decide.
So far, the business losses that Trump’s golf operation has suffered have been incidental. The city of New York is searching, most likely in vain, for a loophole that might end Trump’s management contract at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. The Los Angeles Galaxy, the professional soccer team, has canceled a charity golf tournament that it planned to host at Trump’s golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes. Ricky Martin, the Puerto Rican pop singer and occasional actor, has likewise canceled an event, his annual charity tournament at the Trump-branded golf club in Puerto Rico. And NASCAR, which had planned to hold an annual get-together at Trump National Doral, has decided to find another venue.
On a related and more important note, however, some elected officials and business groups on both coasts are hoping to derail Trump’s presidential ambitions by putting the squeeze on his business partners. “We are here calling for a nationwide boycott of those corporations who choose to invest in an individual who wants to take his racist feelings and translate them into public policy by running for president,” said a Latino elected official in New York City. The Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce, which reportedly represents the interests of more than 200,000 Latino-owned businesses, echoed that sentiment. “As a community of Latinos,” the group said in a press statement, “we must raise our voices by way of our political clout, consumer power, and through our business leadership and make those who would make racially charged remarks against our community and culture aware such talk will not be tolerated.” Reasonable people can most certainly debate the effect of such boycotts. But one thing is for sure: The Trump “brand” has become poison to any industries that aim to do business with the Latino community, golf included.
Make no mistake, Trump is feeling the heat. “I didn’t know it was going to be this severe,” he admitted to Fox News, a friendly audience. “I am a whipping post.”
And now, a glimpse inside the bubble in which Trump resides: “I have Mexicans and South Americans working for me all over the country, and believe me, they love me and I love them,” Trump said in an attempt to deflect the blows against his empire. “I think they’re great. I’ve had great support and I haven’t heard one negative thing, and frankly I don’t expect to.”
If how you make your bed is how you sleep, then the relationship between Trump and golf’s most entrenched institutions is riddled with the complications that inevitably arise when partners vie for money, power, fame, and glory. Over the years, Trump has not only assembled an enviable collection of golf properties, but, just as importantly, he’s done what golf’s elites have asked him to do. As a result, he’s been rewarded with what amounts to a king’s ransom of high-profile, image-enhancing, legacy-creating events, among them the U.S. Women’s Open, the Women’s British Open, the PGA Championship, the Barclays, and the Senior PGA Championship. In the wake of Trump’s discourse on effective immigration policy, some have suggested that these events be relocated to other venues. But as everyone in business knows, it’s hard to undo what’s been done. Promises have been made, and contracts have been signed. If Trump were to lose what he’s already won, his benefactors would have to admit that they made a mistake, and mistakes are never good for business. That being said, the past is prologue. So at this point, one must wonder if Trump’s ultimate dream -- to bring a U.S. Open championship to one of his venues -- can ever be delivered.
Finally, a question that nobody wants to answer: Is Donald Trump to golf what Donald Sterling was to professional basketball?
Just to recap: In his first official address as a presidential candidate, Trump likened the people of Mexico to criminals, drug-dealers, and rapists. Then, to prove that he meant exactly what he said, he doubled down on his comments. From corporate America, the reaction was swift. Just about every business that could comfortably sever its relationship with Trump did so. Univision and NBCUniversal bailed on Trump’s beauty pageants and his reality-television show. Macy’s stopped selling Trump-branded menswear. But the Powers That Be in golf raised no significant objections, as if they’re hoping to let sleeping dogs lie. “I’ve had tremendous support from the golf world, because they all know I’m right,” Trump told GolfWorld. “I’ve been great to golf. I’ve been investing while everybody else was fleeing.”
Some additional historical perspective: Last year the PGA of America booted its president out of office because he issued a mildly offensive tweet about a professional golfer. It was white-on-white crime, and it was apparently unforgivable. Trump, on the other hand, went on national television, defamed an entire nation, and received what amounts to a free pass from his bed partners.
To be fair, four of golf’s major institutions -- the PGA of America, the U.S. Golf Association, the PGA Tour, and the LPGA -- issued a joint statement addressing Trump’s inflammatory remarks. “In response to Mr. Trump’s comments about the golf industry ‘knowing he is right’ in regards to his recent statements about Mexican immigrants, we feel compelled to clarify that those remarks do not reflect the views of our organizations,” the anonymous writer said. Translation: We’d prefer to avoid participating in this discussion, but we feel compelled to say something that sounds appropriate. We need to distance ourselves from Trump without going so far away that he’ll notice. This is a glaring example of ineffective leadership. When golf’s most powerful organizations need to discipline a close bedfellow who’s clearly done wrong, they hide under the cover of a press release and do whatever it takes to maintain the status quo and protect their income streams. As they proved when Sergio Garcia blundered, golf’s leaders wish to be behind the social curve and on the wrong side of history. By failing to right Trump’s wrong, they implicitly condone not only his comments but his entire value system. The more I think about what Trump originally said -- “I’ve had tremendous support from the golf world, because they all know I’m right” -- the more it feels like he’s telling it like it is.
So what’s worse, Trump’s misguided mischaracterizations of Mexicans or the golf industry’s lame response to them? It’s hard for me to decide.
So far, the business losses that Trump’s golf operation has suffered have been incidental. The city of New York is searching, most likely in vain, for a loophole that might end Trump’s management contract at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. The Los Angeles Galaxy, the professional soccer team, has canceled a charity golf tournament that it planned to host at Trump’s golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes. Ricky Martin, the Puerto Rican pop singer and occasional actor, has likewise canceled an event, his annual charity tournament at the Trump-branded golf club in Puerto Rico. And NASCAR, which had planned to hold an annual get-together at Trump National Doral, has decided to find another venue.
On a related and more important note, however, some elected officials and business groups on both coasts are hoping to derail Trump’s presidential ambitions by putting the squeeze on his business partners. “We are here calling for a nationwide boycott of those corporations who choose to invest in an individual who wants to take his racist feelings and translate them into public policy by running for president,” said a Latino elected official in New York City. The Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce, which reportedly represents the interests of more than 200,000 Latino-owned businesses, echoed that sentiment. “As a community of Latinos,” the group said in a press statement, “we must raise our voices by way of our political clout, consumer power, and through our business leadership and make those who would make racially charged remarks against our community and culture aware such talk will not be tolerated.” Reasonable people can most certainly debate the effect of such boycotts. But one thing is for sure: The Trump “brand” has become poison to any industries that aim to do business with the Latino community, golf included.
Make no mistake, Trump is feeling the heat. “I didn’t know it was going to be this severe,” he admitted to Fox News, a friendly audience. “I am a whipping post.”
And now, a glimpse inside the bubble in which Trump resides: “I have Mexicans and South Americans working for me all over the country, and believe me, they love me and I love them,” Trump said in an attempt to deflect the blows against his empire. “I think they’re great. I’ve had great support and I haven’t heard one negative thing, and frankly I don’t expect to.”
If how you make your bed is how you sleep, then the relationship between Trump and golf’s most entrenched institutions is riddled with the complications that inevitably arise when partners vie for money, power, fame, and glory. Over the years, Trump has not only assembled an enviable collection of golf properties, but, just as importantly, he’s done what golf’s elites have asked him to do. As a result, he’s been rewarded with what amounts to a king’s ransom of high-profile, image-enhancing, legacy-creating events, among them the U.S. Women’s Open, the Women’s British Open, the PGA Championship, the Barclays, and the Senior PGA Championship. In the wake of Trump’s discourse on effective immigration policy, some have suggested that these events be relocated to other venues. But as everyone in business knows, it’s hard to undo what’s been done. Promises have been made, and contracts have been signed. If Trump were to lose what he’s already won, his benefactors would have to admit that they made a mistake, and mistakes are never good for business. That being said, the past is prologue. So at this point, one must wonder if Trump’s ultimate dream -- to bring a U.S. Open championship to one of his venues -- can ever be delivered.
Finally, a question that nobody wants to answer: Is Donald Trump to golf what Donald Sterling was to professional basketball?
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