The Pipeline, september 25, 2015

     Tucson, Arizona. Thanks to an improving local housing market, a long-delayed master-planned community in the desert southeast of Tucson has begun to show signs of life. Of course, post-recession life will only hint at what was originally promised for Rocking K, a 5,600-acre spread that was supposed to have 10,000 houses and four golf courses. Assuming it eventually takes shape, the new, downsized Rocking K will have a mere 3,000 houses and just one golf course. As sad as it is to admit, such is the new normal for golf development. Nobody said recovery would be easy.

     Wollongong, Australia. An infusion of Chinese money has revived a comatose golf community on the southern coast of New South Wales. Visionary Investment Group, an Australian company that claims to tap “a broad network of mainly Chinese investors” to fund its development ventures, has taken control of Huntley, a 1,050-acre community outside Wollongong. At build-out, Huntley is expected to include 500 houses, 65 apartments, a shopping area, and an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course. Huntley has been kicking around since the mid 2000s. Norman, who’s based in West Palm Beach, Florida, was hired by its s original developers, a group called HTT Huntley Heritage. At the time, he promised to create a layout that would rank among the state’s best. “You’re lucky when you get hold of a piece of land like this,” he said, noting that course architects sometimes “get some really crappy sites.” VIG expects Norman’s track to attract events on the Australian PGA Tour.

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

     Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Soccer may be “the beautiful game,” but before long some of England’s finest “football” players will also be spending time on a golf course. The nine-hole track will take shape at St. George’s Park, the Football Association’s three-year-old national development center in Staffordshire. The 330-acre facility, where the nation’s elite players and coaches gather to train and practice, currently features a dozen world-class soccer pitches, a regulation-sized indoor pitch, state-of-the-art medical facilities, fitness centers, and a Hilton hotel, but earlier this year one of the nation’s star players called the place “boring.” So the FA sprung to action, announcing that it’s got plans for further development, including a lodge for younger players. The older players stay at the Hilton, naturally.

     Yalta, Crimea. These days Crimea is attracting a wide variety of investments from China, and a golf course may eventually be among them. A few weeks ago, a delegation of Chinese businessmen visited Crimea, and they floated proposals to build factories, entertainment venues, shopping malls, and leisure-time attractions, including a golf resort somewhere along the peninsula’s southern coast, within a short drive of Yalta. “If we build a golf club here, we can draw a lot of Chinese tourists to Crimea,” said Chen Zhijun, the leader of the delegation, in a comment published by Radio Free Europe. No deals have so far been struck, but Chinese investors obviously view Crimea as a land of opportunity. How much opportunity? As best I can determine, there are no golf courses anywhere on the Crimean peninsula.

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

     Yalta, Crimea. When it comes to golf construction in Crimea, Chinese developers may need to stand in line. Just days after Russia’s army rolled across the Crimean peninsula, a Chechen businessman, Ruslan Baisarov, proposed to build a resort that would include 500 hotel rooms, an amusement park, a water park, a marina capable of berthing yachts, a spa, and a golf course. A specific location wasn’t mentioned, but Kommersant located it “in the southeast part of Crimea.”

     Lake Charles, Louisiana. Sometimes an unfortunate end leads to a new beginning. Such is the case in southwestern Louisiana, where the expansion of Chennault International Airport will lead to the demise of Mallard Cove Golf Course, a nearly 40-year-old municipal track. The area’s golfers won’t be hung out to dry, however, as the city of Lake Charles has vowed to build a replacement 18-hole layout that will be, in the words of the American Press, “as good as or better than Mallard Cove.” The city is searching for a site, and the newspaper reports that Mallard Cove will continue to operate until the new course opens.

     Odry, Czech Republic. One of Europe’s up-and-coming golf architects has broken ground on his first course in the Czech Republic, at a four-season resort that’s looking to boost its summertime revenues. Jonathan Davison of Bratislava, Slovakia-based Create Golf plans to create a pair of nine-hole tracks at the Heipark resort in Odry, a vacation spot in the eastern part of the nation. Heipark, which is owned by an Odry-based stove manufacturing company, currently has a ski area, a hotel, places to eat and drink, and a golf driving range. Its “academy” course is expected to open next summer, with a regulation-length track to follow in 2017. Like many architects these days, Davison believes that “a truly great golf course is discovered and created in the ground and not designed on a piece of paper or a computer screen.” With that philosophy, he’s produced a track in Slovakia, the Heritage course at Penati Golf Resort in Senica, and one in Poland, Sobienie Królewskie Golf & Country Club in suburban Warsaw.

     Urla, Turkey. A freshly minted golf group has floated a plan to build the first golf course in Urla, a town in western Turkey. İzmir Golf Club, which was established last year, hopes to open the course in 2017. The club hasn’t announced any details about its plans, but it appears that the members wish to create an easy-to-play, community-oriented layout. “We want to increase the number of golfers in İzmir, especially among children and teens, and create a place that families can enjoy together,” the club’s president, Heval Savaş Kaya, told the Hurriyet Daily News. The course will take shape on property that the club has leased.

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

     Mysore, India. Before he died, in the summer of 2013, Ashok Kumar set out to create what he felt would be “one of the finest courses in India.” Later this year, the nation’s golfers will determine whether he achieved his goal. Kumar, who understood the economic value of golf courses, created a template for India’s private golf communities in the late 1990s with Eagleton Golf Village, which has been described as the “most sought-over residential enclave in Bangalore.” Using Eagleton as a model -- high-end houses, a hotel, a golf academy -- Kumar created a master plan for Eagleburg Golf Resort in Mysore, in the state of Karnataka, which is being marketed as “the pinnacle of the ultimate luxury golfing experience.” Like Eagleton, Eagleburg will feature an 18-hole track designed by Phil Ryan of Pacific Coast Design, who thinks the forthcoming layout will be “great fun for all golfers” and ensure that the community becomes “a great place to live and play.” Eagleburg’s development is being overseen by Kumar’s sons, Kiran and Chetan. Like their father, they’re attempting to tap into the tastes of the area’s corporate executives, especially those who desire to live in “a picturesque, lush green retreat from everyday life.”