The Pipeline, december 18, 2015

     Haywood County, North Carolina. A former Walt Disney Company official has enlisted a trio of “signature” architects to create 18-hole golf courses for a “high-end lifestyle resort” in western North Carolina. Jerry Pospisil is counting on three of the best-known names in the business -- Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, and Arnold Palmer -- to attract vacationers and home buyers to his Cataloochee Wilderness Resort, which will take shape on 4,500 acres roughly 30 miles northwest of Asheville. The community’s master plan includes, among other things, housing, hotels, a village center with boutique shopping, a campground, an RV park, a ski area, an equestrian center, the obligatory spa, and “meandering pathways.” If the venture is blessed by the Securities & Exchange Commission, Pospisil believes he can achieve build-out within a decade or so.

     Hà Nội, Vietnam. A company that views itself as “the leader in Vietnam’s tourism industry” has laid plans for a resort community outside Hà Nội that will feature three 18-hole golf courses created by architectural firms with international celebrity status. Vingroup, one of the premier developers in Vietnam’s fast-growing golf industry, intends to build Cau Duong on 680 acres along the Red River outside the capital city. The community will feature courses created by Gary Player Design, Faldo Design, and IMG Golf. Nota bene: None of the tracks will be “signature” layouts. Although Player’s course -- described as “a links-style course that exceeds 7,500 yards” -- will be the firm’s first in Vietnam, Nick Faldo and IMG will be working in familiar territory. Faldo’s firm has so far produced two courses in Vietnam (unfortunately, only one -- Laguna Lăng Cô Golf Club, along the Central Coast -- is currently operating), and Brit Stenson of IMG Golf has either designed or co-designed at least five, among them Colin Montgomerie’s track at Montgomerie Links outside Đà Nẵng. Stenson even has some history with Vingroup, as he designed the layout at the company’s Vinpearl Golf Club Nha Trang, on Hon Tre Island in Khánh Hòa Province.

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

     County Durham, England. Money talks, and the members of Darlington Golf Club have been listening. Darlington, which has operated in northern England for more than a century, will accept what’s been described as a “substantial sum of money” to leave its present home and relocate to nearby farmland. And there was hardly any debate over Theakston Estates’ proposal, as the club’s members endorsed it by a vote of 221 to 36. “We believe that this unique opportunity only comes around once in a lifetime and provides facilities and a solid financial base to take us forward into the future,” the club’s chairman told the Northern Echo. Theakston intends to build houses on Darlington’s Alister MacKenzie-designed course.

     Harris, Michigan. Paul Albanese and Chris Lutzke have been commissioned to design an 18-hole course that will eventually rank among the top five in Michigan. The track will be the second for the Island Resort & Casino, a tribal property in the western part of the Upper Peninsula. “Just my opinion,” the resort’s general manager told the Detroit Free Press, “but the land is so good that if it’s not top five in the state for public courses, I think we will have screwed it up.” While the pressure may be on, the Plymouth, Michigan-based architects have already delivered two of the state’s top tracks. Albanese was responsible for the resort’s first course, Sweetgrass Golf Club, while Lutzke designed Eagle Eye Golf Club in suburban Lansing. Their forthcoming course Harris, to be located six miles from the casino, is expected to debut in 2017.

     Queensland, Australia. A Cairns-based accountant has acquired Paradise Palms Resort & Country Club, and he’s intent on restoring it to the status it had in the 1990s, when it was one of Australia’s premier golf destinations. Darren Halpin and his Brisbane- and Sydney-based partners reportedly paid $20 million for Paradise Palms, a 280-acre spread outside Cairns that’s been called “the premier golfing facility in Tropical North Queensland.” Despite such notices, the resort had been controlled by receivers since 2013, when its former owners lost it to their lenders. Paradise Palms’ 18-hole golf course was co-designed by Graham Marsh and Ross Watson, who were, according to Darius Oliver of Planet Golf, directed to create “Australia's most difficult tournament venue.” The track formerly ranked among Australia’s truly elite courses, but in recent years, without committed ownership, it’s slipped a bit. “We are ranked 48th in Australia, and I would like to get in the top 20 to 25,” Halpin told the Cairns Post. “I would like to unlock the hidden gem that is here. I want to give the club its heart back and make it a red-hot cracker.” To finance the revitalization, Halpin intends to develop 850 housing units along the golf course, a plan that will require him to relocate hole #7 and the driving range.

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

     Odisha, India. Government officials in the State of Odisha are hoping to jump-start a massive resort community that’s languished for more than a quarter-century. The resort is called Shamuka (or sometimes Shamuka Beach), and the state aims to build it on a 3,000-acre spread south of Puri, along the Bay of Bengal. Shamuka’s master plan calls for the construction of 13 hotels, a convention center, an entertainment district, a spa, a wellness center, a beach club, and various recreational attractions, including two 18-hole golf courses. The community is supposed to serve as “a one-stop rejuvenation facility for the mind, body, and soul” and offer “a strong and unique local culture-oriented experience.” It was originally proposed in the early 1990s but never went anywhere due to what the Pioneer calls a “lack of suitable investors and land acquisition problems.” Now the state is looking for private-sector developers again.

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

     Munich, Germany. For probably the first time in golf-industry history, a golf venue is being built via crowd-funding. The venue, GolfCity München Puchheim, is operating on a leased former landfill in Munich, Germany, created by an entity affiliated with Clubhaus AG, a firm based in suburban Hamburg. (Clubhaus opened a similar facility in Cologne in 2008, without the crowd-funding.) GolfCity München Puchheim, about half constructed, will eventually feature a nine-hole course, a three-hole course, a driving range, and other practice facilities. Clubhaus believes such facilities are essential to growing the game, for they’re in densely populated areas and offer golf “without pressure and elitist constraints, but with good humor in a friendly, sporting atmosphere.” The company has already declared GolfCity München Puchheim to be a success, as it’s close to meeting its goal of raising €750,000 ($840,000). As in other crowd-funded ventures, the money was provided in small amounts by individual investors in exchange for a stake in the outcome.