The Pipeline, november 13, 2015

     County Limerick, Ireland. One of Ireland’s richest people apparently wants to transform his recently acquired golf course into “the Augusta of Europe.” J. P. McManus bought Adare Manor, an 847-acre resort in County Limerick, earlier this year, reportedly for €30 million ($32.9 million at the time). The property features a luxurious hotel, villas and townhouses, and an 18-hole, Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course that will receive a significant facelift. According to the Limerick Leader, “a number of holes” on the 20-year-old track -- the site of the Irish Open in 2007 and 2008 -- will be “completely redesigned.” The newspaper reports that McManus aims to bring the Irish Open back to the resort, and it speculates that he has an even greater ambition: To attract the Ryder Cup matches of 2026. It quotes an unnamed source as saying that McManus wants Adare Manor to become “the best golf resort in Europe.”

     Noth, France. A British development duo has set out to create what they believe will be “a spectacular course” in the Limousin region of central France. Robin Barrasford and Alan Bird, the principals of Devon, England-based Barrasford & Bird Worldwide, are building the 18-hole, Bruce Weller-designed track at the Halcyon Retreat Golf & Spa Resort in a rural community in Département de la Creuse. Weller, who’s based in Surrey, England, has called Halcyon’s 220-acre property “a stunning landscape,” and Declan O’Malley of European Golf Services, the course’s builder, thinks it’s “a dream location for a fantastic parkland course.” Barrasford & Bird hopes to open Halcyon in 2017. The resort has an existing hotel, Château de la Cazine, which dates to the late 1890s and is said to offer “luxurious and indulgent” accommodations.

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

     Åkersberga, Sweden. The Swedish golf star who famously compared the greens at this year’s U.S. Open venue to “broccoli” and “the surface of the moon” has been tabbed to overhaul a golf complex in suburban Stockholm. Henrik Stenson will put his “signature” on Österåkers Golf Club, a venue that’s hosted events on the LPGA and Swedish golf tours. He’ll undertake the makeover via his newly established design firm, Henrik Stenson Golf Design, which will be based in Orlando, Florida, where he makes his home. Österåkers features a pair of 18-hole “moorland” tracks, the Västerled and Österled layouts, and a nine-hole course. The club has directed Stenson to renovate the 18-hole courses and to create an elaborate practice facility, an undertaking that will require the existing nine-hole course to become a par-3 track. Christian Lundin, who apprenticed with Jeff Howes Golf Design and is now one of the architects at (re)Golf, will do the architectural heavy lifting for Stenson. He recently said that Stenson intends to “target golf projects in every corner of the globe.”

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

     Quảng Bình Province, Vietnam. A Hà Nội-based company aims to build a golf-themed resort community on a stretch of beachfront between the Quảng Ninh and Le Thuy districts in Quảng Bình Province. An Viet Investment & Infrastructure Development’s venture has been endorsed by Quảng Bình’s people’s committee as well as the Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam, which has agreed to finance up to 70 percent of its construction. An Viet hasn’t named the architects for the community’s 36-hole golf complex, but a likely candidate is Thomson Perrett, a South Melbourne, Australia-based firm led by Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett. Last year, the parties created An Viet Thomson Perrett JSC, an entity that aims to become “the pioneer in golf course design and development in Vietnam.”

     Hengqin Island, China. A kingpin of the casino business on Macau is proceeding with plans to build a golf-focused resort community on Macau’s next-door neighbor. Hong Kong-based Galaxy Entertainment Group has “entered into a framework agreement” with local authorities that will enable it to turn a 667-acre parcel on Hengqin Island into “a world-class destination resort.” GEG hasn’t provided any details about its plans, but one of its senior vice presidents told China Daily that the to-be-named community “will focus on leisure and entertainment, such as a golf course and a resort.” Hengqin is connected via bridge to Macau, where GEG has two massive casino complexes, Galaxy Macau and Broadway Macau, as well as other gaming properties. These days hardly anyone lives there (estimated population: less than 10,000), but the island’s population is expected to hit 280,000 by 2020, which means that home builders will be busy. GEG has had its eyes on Hengqin since at least 2013, when it originally floated an idea to build a golf-related venture there.

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

     Iloko-Ijesha, Nigeria. The head of a civic-minded family in southwestern Nigeria is building an 18-hole golf course that’s been described as “a world-class facility.” The course is taking shape on 88 acres adjacent to Olashore International School and Royal Park International Hotel in Iloko-Ijesha, a rural town that aims to become an important commercial center. Prince Abimbola Olashore, the chairman of the school and the 89-room hotel, views golf as “a social game for networking and character building,” and he believes that Iloko-Ijesha can eventually become “a golf tourism destination.” Olashore has been working on the golf venture for five years. He hopes to open the layout’s first nine holes next year.

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

     Be’er Sheva, Israel. The long wait for Israel’s second 18-hole golf course may soon be over. An “international-standard” track has been proposed in Be’er Sheva, in the southern part of the nation, on property adjacent to a pair of established business parks. According to the Jerusalem Post, the course will be part of a complex that includes meeting space, a resort-style hotel, a “medical spa hotel,” entertainment venues, movie theaters, a recreation center, an artificial lake, and places to eat and drink. “It will bring a wave of tourism to the region and new business deals,” a spokesperson for the Omer Regional Council, told the newspaper. Israel’s tourism ministry has been trying to spark golf development since 2010, when it collaborated with the nation’s land administration on a plan to build 16 “international-caliber” courses, including one in the Be’er Sheva area. So far, though, not one has been built. Israel’s golf offerings currently consist of just two properties: Caesarea Golf Club in Caesarea, an 18-hole track that was recently redesigned by Pete Dye, and Ga’ash Golf Club in Kibbutz Ga’ash, a nine-hole layout that opened in the late 1990s.