Greg “the Living Brand” Norman often brags about his business acumen, but is Great White Shark Enterprises underperforming? Golf World reports that Norman is “trying to rejuvenate” his company with a group of new staffers, and he intends to introduce a new company -- one that will be “a game changer” -- sometime this summer. The golf industry expects nothing less, especially now that the always modest celebrity architect has described the new hires as “younger, energetic personnel that are visionaries, like I am.”
It appears that part of Great White Shark Enterprise’s makeover will include legal fees. Greg Norman has fired and sued his corporate attorney and chief financial officer for allegedly “copying and deleting proprietary, confidential, and trade secret information.” Norman’s aim: He wants to ensure that Jack Schneider, who reportedly worked for GWSE for 14 years, to promise that he’ll never use whatever knowledge he’s gleaned about the company. And here’s an interesting side note: The lawsuit says that Schneider was fired for “blatant disregard of his duties,” “insubordination,” and “other gross failures.” It’s worth noting that those can be serious charges when they’re leveled against a CFO.
Donald “the Candidate” Trump has officially received a vote of no confidence from the R&A. For the time being, at least, the golf industry’s most self-righteous institutional power has formally passed on an opportunity to award the Open Championship to Trump Turnberry anytime before 2022 at the earliest. The decision is a slap in the face for Trump, who acquired the historic Scottish resort in part because it’s long held a spot in the Open rotation and promised to help him realize his greatest golf dream, which is to host a major championship. Martin “Golden” Slumbers, the R&A’s CEO, avoided discussing the snub in much detail and didn’t raise the specter of a permanent ban, but in a conversation with reporters he noted that his organization is “very focused on the macro-environment” and believes that golf “should be open to all regardless of gender, race, nationality, or religion.”
Pacific Links International is about to lighten its golf portfolio. The Chinese/Canadian company’s Hawaiian subsidiary has agreed to sell Olomana Golf Links, an 18-hole track on O’ahu, to a freshly minted entity called JNC USA, Inc. JNC USA is led by Jim Hwang, who’s reportedly been involved in golf development -- for IMG Golf, it appears -- in Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. Neither the buyer nor the seller has revealed the sales price, but the transaction is expected to close next month. Olomana features a Bob Baldock-designed course that opened in the late 1960s. If the sale goes through, the 130-acre layout will be the second course on O’ahu that PLI has sold in the past year. In March 2015, it sold Kapolei Golf Course to Daito U.S., Inc., an affiliate of a Japanese company.
Is Steve Wynn thinking about getting out of the golf business? A columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, working off a tip from Siegfried & Roy (no, I’m not making this up) reports that Wynn is looking to build a 1,000-room hotel, a convention center, and a lake on property currently occupied by Wynn Golf Club. For its part, Wynn Resorts admits only that it’s “studying an expansion of the golf course.” Assuming that Wynn’s board okays the venture, however, the loss would be significant, as the track -- it’s the former Desert Inn Golf Course -- was redesigned by Tom Fazio, who rarely, if ever, loses any of his work.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Friday, February 26, 2016
Desolation Row, february 26, 2016
Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. If local government officials don’t mind looking at more rooftops, Bloody Point Golf Club will soon be history. Brian McCarthy, who’s owned Bloody Point since 2011, has proposed to replace the layout’s greens and fairways with houses, an inn, and commercial space. “You hate to see it go, but you can’t run it if you’re not making money,” one of McCarthy’s representatives told Beaufort County’s planning commission. He added: “It’s under-performing as golf, and they’re trying to position the property in a way that can respond to today’s market.” Bloody Point’s 18-hole golf course, originally part of Daufuskie Island Resort, was co-designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and opened in 1991. It went bankrupt and was abandoned before McCarthy bought it, and he reportedly spent $2 million on upgrades that didn’t increase play. If you’re wondering if any tears are being shed, McCarthy’s proposal has been unanimously endorsed by Bloody Point’s property owners association.
Naples, Florida. Robert Vocisano has been reading the writing on the wall, so he’s proposed an alternative use for Golden Gate Country Club, a venue he and his brother have owned since 1972. “Golf is falling off,” he told the Naples News. “Young people aren't taking to it. To spend four hours hitting a ball around is just not their thing.” Golden Gate’s 18-hole, Dick Wilson-designed course was “among the first in Collier County,” according to the newspaper, and “one of the go-to spots for golfers lacking the resources to buy into a private club.” But Vocisano says that the club nowadays loses about $600,000 a year and is, in the newspaper’s words, “unable to compete.” Vocisano does, however, believe that Golden Gate can compete as a subdivision, and he’s petitioned local planning officials to let him make the change.
Hamilton, Ohio. Time has run out on Vista Verde Golf Course. A home builder has purchased the 103-acre property, which it believes is “a great location” for 145 single-family houses. Vista Verde’s 18-hole, Eldon Smith-designed track opened in 1988.
Bloomington, Indiana. Presuming that Mark and Bobby Thompson kept their promise, Eagle Pointe Golf Course closed at the end of 2015. Perhaps not permanently, however. Though Eagle Pointe has reportedly been “struggling to stay open for some time,” the Thompsons believe they can sell the 18-hole, 43-year-old layout in time for a reopening this spring. The asking price: $2.5 million. “The recession has been hard on golf courses because golf is an expensive sport and it’s easy to give up when things get tight,” the president of Eagle Pointe’s “umbrella” homeowners association told the Bloomington Herald-Times. “Some have moved on to bigger and better things, and others have had less appealing things happening to them.” And though it pains me to say it, this story comes with a sad postscript: A local radio station says that the resort’s employees were notified of the course’s closing not in person or even via a phone call, but by mail. One saving grace: A letter is preferable to a text message.
Shelburne, Vermont. Come 2018 or maybe 2019, Kwiniaska Golf Course is going to lose half of its holes. Bonnie Caldwell, responding to what the Shelburne News describes as “shifts in golf trends,” has agreed to sell nine of Kwiniaska’s holes to a residential developer who’ll eventually populate the acreage with as many as 102 housing units. Kwiniaska opened in 1964, and it was designed by A. B. Caldwell, who appears to be Caldwell’s father. As an 18-hole track, it hosted Vermont’s men’s amateur championship in 1994 and 2009.
Bluffton, South Carolina. For the second time, United Company has set out to close and redevelop Hilton Head National Golf Club. Acting through Scratch Golf, United has requested a zoning change that, if approved, will enable it to convert the club’s 18-hole course into something more profitable. United last made such a proposal in 2013, but its request was denied. Hilton Head National, which occupies 310 acres, once had a 27-hole complex. Half of its existing layout was designed by Gary Player, half by Bobby Weed.
Windermere, Florida. The clock is ticking on Windermere Country Club. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the club will close in April, so its owner, Canadian developer Bryan DeCunha, can replace its 18-hole, Ward Northrup-designed course with houses. Residents in the area have voiced their objections, but DeCunha is counting on support from Orange County’s elected officials. He owns a golf course in suburban Hamilton, Ontario, and he claims to have an “entrepreneurial spirit” and a “passion for the game of golf.”
Naples, Florida. Robert Vocisano has been reading the writing on the wall, so he’s proposed an alternative use for Golden Gate Country Club, a venue he and his brother have owned since 1972. “Golf is falling off,” he told the Naples News. “Young people aren't taking to it. To spend four hours hitting a ball around is just not their thing.” Golden Gate’s 18-hole, Dick Wilson-designed course was “among the first in Collier County,” according to the newspaper, and “one of the go-to spots for golfers lacking the resources to buy into a private club.” But Vocisano says that the club nowadays loses about $600,000 a year and is, in the newspaper’s words, “unable to compete.” Vocisano does, however, believe that Golden Gate can compete as a subdivision, and he’s petitioned local planning officials to let him make the change.
Hamilton, Ohio. Time has run out on Vista Verde Golf Course. A home builder has purchased the 103-acre property, which it believes is “a great location” for 145 single-family houses. Vista Verde’s 18-hole, Eldon Smith-designed track opened in 1988.
Bloomington, Indiana. Presuming that Mark and Bobby Thompson kept their promise, Eagle Pointe Golf Course closed at the end of 2015. Perhaps not permanently, however. Though Eagle Pointe has reportedly been “struggling to stay open for some time,” the Thompsons believe they can sell the 18-hole, 43-year-old layout in time for a reopening this spring. The asking price: $2.5 million. “The recession has been hard on golf courses because golf is an expensive sport and it’s easy to give up when things get tight,” the president of Eagle Pointe’s “umbrella” homeowners association told the Bloomington Herald-Times. “Some have moved on to bigger and better things, and others have had less appealing things happening to them.” And though it pains me to say it, this story comes with a sad postscript: A local radio station says that the resort’s employees were notified of the course’s closing not in person or even via a phone call, but by mail. One saving grace: A letter is preferable to a text message.
Shelburne, Vermont. Come 2018 or maybe 2019, Kwiniaska Golf Course is going to lose half of its holes. Bonnie Caldwell, responding to what the Shelburne News describes as “shifts in golf trends,” has agreed to sell nine of Kwiniaska’s holes to a residential developer who’ll eventually populate the acreage with as many as 102 housing units. Kwiniaska opened in 1964, and it was designed by A. B. Caldwell, who appears to be Caldwell’s father. As an 18-hole track, it hosted Vermont’s men’s amateur championship in 1994 and 2009.
Bluffton, South Carolina. For the second time, United Company has set out to close and redevelop Hilton Head National Golf Club. Acting through Scratch Golf, United has requested a zoning change that, if approved, will enable it to convert the club’s 18-hole course into something more profitable. United last made such a proposal in 2013, but its request was denied. Hilton Head National, which occupies 310 acres, once had a 27-hole complex. Half of its existing layout was designed by Gary Player, half by Bobby Weed.
Windermere, Florida. The clock is ticking on Windermere Country Club. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the club will close in April, so its owner, Canadian developer Bryan DeCunha, can replace its 18-hole, Ward Northrup-designed course with houses. Residents in the area have voiced their objections, but DeCunha is counting on support from Orange County’s elected officials. He owns a golf course in suburban Hamilton, Ontario, and he claims to have an “entrepreneurial spirit” and a “passion for the game of golf.”
Sunday, February 21, 2016
The Week That Was, february 21, 2016
ClubCorp has added a third property to its holdings in greater Jacksonville, Florida. The publicly traded relationship builder and life enricher -- that’s how it describes itself -- shelled out $4.5 million for Marsh Creek Country Club, a 30-year-old venue in St. Augustine. The seller was an investment group led by Roger O’Steen, the developer of the club’s accompanying gated community. In a press release, O’Steen called ClubCorp “an ideal fit for the members and community,” and Eric Affeldt, ClubCorp’s president, called Marsh Creek as “a perfect complement to our nearby clubs and to the rest of the ClubCorp Network.” ClubCorp’s other Jacksonville-area properties are Deercreek Country Club and Queen’s Harbour Yacht & Country Club. The company has nine other golf properties in Florida, all of them, curiously, in the northern and central parts of the state. When it comes to golf, ClubCorp has no presence in or around Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Naples, and other southern population centers.
A New York City-based real estate investment trust has acquired a historic golf getaway in Vermont that opened (as a tavern and inn) before the Declaration of Independence was written. Carey Watermark Investors paid an undisclosed price for the Equinox Resort & Spa, a 1,300-acre mountain property in Manchester that’s been around, in one form or another, since 1769 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Teddy Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Mary Todd Lincoln all reportedly slept there. (Not together, of course.) The purchase includes Golf Club at Equinox, which opened (with an 18-hole, Walter Travis-designed golf course) on July 4, 1927. (Rees Jones redesigned the track in the early 1990s.) In a press release, Carey Watermark’s CEO describes the Equinox as a “high-yielding and stable, cash-flow generating asset” and a welcome addition to the company’s portfolio of “assets that are positioned to generate attractive, near-term cash flow and increase in value over time.” Among the resort’s other attractions are nearly 200 overnight accommodations, meeting space, a spa, and fly-fishing, shooting, and falconry schools.
Any day now, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. will reportedly break ground on his eighth golf course in China, an 18-hole track at Blue Bay International Golf Club. Details about the venture are scarce, perhaps because of the well-publicized moratorium on golf construction in the People’s Republic. Nonetheless, Blue Bay International’s unidentified developers recently opened their first course, an 18-hole layout created by Don Knott, one of Jones’ former associates. The golf complex and associated development -- houses, hotels, a marina, a theme park -- are taking shape at Gulei Port, a fast-growing area outside Zhanghou, in Fujian Province. (I suspect that the developer is Zhangzhou City Gulei Port Development Company, Ltd., but I can’t verify it.) Jones, who’s based in Palo Alto, California, has designed one other course in Fujian, Trans Strait Golf Club in Changle. The remainder of his Chinese portfolio includes a course at Spring City Golf & Lake Resort in Kunming (in Yunnan Province), Yalong Bay Golf Club on Hainan Island, and Enhance Anting Golf Club in Shanghai.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
China Daily reports that the vast majority of the 74 golf courses on Hainan Island are “struggling financially in a new era of frugality” and, taking the advice of a provincial tourism official, recommends that they “make the cost of play more affordable for the average person.” The director-general of the Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission told the state-run newspaper that roughly 70 percent of the courses on the island, a vacation spot that often likens itself to Hawaii, are losing money. The problem, he contends, is that too many of the courses are “focusing on high-end clients.” His advice: “There should be more golf courses open for regular tourists and white-collar workers.”
Not surprisingly, those “talks” that McConnell Golf was having with Providence Country Club have led to a sale. Without disclosing a price, John McConnell’s fast-growing company has announced that it’s acquired Providence, a 27-year-old venue that describes itself as “one of Charlotte’s premier family country clubs.” In a press release, McConnell called his most recent purchase “a truly outstanding club” and committed $4 million to making it, presumably, even more outstanding. McConnell Golf’s portfolio now consists of seven golf properties in North Carolina, two in South Carolina, and one in Tennessee.
A New York City-based real estate investment trust has acquired a historic golf getaway in Vermont that opened (as a tavern and inn) before the Declaration of Independence was written. Carey Watermark Investors paid an undisclosed price for the Equinox Resort & Spa, a 1,300-acre mountain property in Manchester that’s been around, in one form or another, since 1769 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Teddy Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Mary Todd Lincoln all reportedly slept there. (Not together, of course.) The purchase includes Golf Club at Equinox, which opened (with an 18-hole, Walter Travis-designed golf course) on July 4, 1927. (Rees Jones redesigned the track in the early 1990s.) In a press release, Carey Watermark’s CEO describes the Equinox as a “high-yielding and stable, cash-flow generating asset” and a welcome addition to the company’s portfolio of “assets that are positioned to generate attractive, near-term cash flow and increase in value over time.” Among the resort’s other attractions are nearly 200 overnight accommodations, meeting space, a spa, and fly-fishing, shooting, and falconry schools.
Any day now, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. will reportedly break ground on his eighth golf course in China, an 18-hole track at Blue Bay International Golf Club. Details about the venture are scarce, perhaps because of the well-publicized moratorium on golf construction in the People’s Republic. Nonetheless, Blue Bay International’s unidentified developers recently opened their first course, an 18-hole layout created by Don Knott, one of Jones’ former associates. The golf complex and associated development -- houses, hotels, a marina, a theme park -- are taking shape at Gulei Port, a fast-growing area outside Zhanghou, in Fujian Province. (I suspect that the developer is Zhangzhou City Gulei Port Development Company, Ltd., but I can’t verify it.) Jones, who’s based in Palo Alto, California, has designed one other course in Fujian, Trans Strait Golf Club in Changle. The remainder of his Chinese portfolio includes a course at Spring City Golf & Lake Resort in Kunming (in Yunnan Province), Yalong Bay Golf Club on Hainan Island, and Enhance Anting Golf Club in Shanghai.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
China Daily reports that the vast majority of the 74 golf courses on Hainan Island are “struggling financially in a new era of frugality” and, taking the advice of a provincial tourism official, recommends that they “make the cost of play more affordable for the average person.” The director-general of the Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission told the state-run newspaper that roughly 70 percent of the courses on the island, a vacation spot that often likens itself to Hawaii, are losing money. The problem, he contends, is that too many of the courses are “focusing on high-end clients.” His advice: “There should be more golf courses open for regular tourists and white-collar workers.”
Not surprisingly, those “talks” that McConnell Golf was having with Providence Country Club have led to a sale. Without disclosing a price, John McConnell’s fast-growing company has announced that it’s acquired Providence, a 27-year-old venue that describes itself as “one of Charlotte’s premier family country clubs.” In a press release, McConnell called his most recent purchase “a truly outstanding club” and committed $4 million to making it, presumably, even more outstanding. McConnell Golf’s portfolio now consists of seven golf properties in North Carolina, two in South Carolina, and one in Tennessee.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Transactions, february 19, 2016
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii County, Hawaii. An investment group from California has purchased a controlling interest in Big Island Country Club, a 403-acre community on -- where else? -- the Big Island. UNIVA Resort LLC, an entity related to Hong Kong-based UNIVA Capital Holdings, Ltd., paid an undisclosed amount for Moshe Silagi’s stake in Big Island, which features a 19-year-old, Perry Dye-designed layout. Dye’s 18-hole course -- “one of the most unique Hawaii golf courses,” the club says, and “the perfect course for a Hawaii golf vacation” -- rang up more than 40,000 rounds last year, according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Silagi, who’s based in Thousand Oaks, California, had controlled Big Island since 2010. The community has been master-planned for 99 single-family houses.
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The first golf property to open in the Sawgrass master-planned community (now TPC Sawgrass) has a new owner. A local investment group, Alta Mar Holdings LLC, paid who knows what for Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club, a venue whose facilities have reportedly “suffered from neglect for many, many years.” Alta Mar has promised to “right the ship.” The club opened in the early 1970s, and its 18-hole golf course was later redesigned by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay. The seller was Jamey Golf LLC, an entity controlled by James Salmon, who reportedly paid $3.7 million for the property in 2003.
East Falmouth, Massachusetts. Golf Club of Cape Cod has new owners and a new name. Sacconnesset Golf Society LLC paid an undisclosed amount for the 152-acre property, which is now known simply as TGC (The Golf Club). Links magazine says that TGC’s nine-year-old course “looks as though it has been there for decades,” and the track’s architect, Rees Jones, thinks that “all 18 holes fit the land like a glove.” The new owners bought TGC from a group led by Martin Shaevel. They believe the club is “unquestionably the best in the region,” and they describe their mission as “competition, tradition, and camaraderie.”
Spokane, Washington. Spokane Country Club, a venue that was forced to declare for bankruptcy protection after a court determined that it had discriminated against some of its female members, has accepted $3 million for its 118-year-old property. The offer came from the Kalispel Tribe, which operates a nearby casino and is looking to add amenities that might extend its customers’ visits. “We’re always looking at diversifying our businesses,” the casino’s general manager told KXLY-TV. Spokane had hoped to sell itself to Phil “the Gambler” Mickelson’s investment group and remain in business as a private club, but M Club Holdings lost interest when it decided that “it was unable to make the numbers work.” Because Spokane’s public image is in shambles, the tribe has changed its name to Kalispel Golf & Country Club.
Poughkeepsie, New York. It took three years, but Rhinebeck Bank has finally found a buyer for one of the nation’s oldest golf properties. In November, the bank accepted an offer for Dutchess Golf Club from Anthony Bacchi, the owner of Lazy Swan Golf & Country Club in Saugerties, New York. Bacchi intends to operate Dutchess, a private club that was founded in 1897, as a semi-private venue. The club has one major claim to fame: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was once one of its members.
Stanford, Kentucky. Lester and Carla Newsome are the new owners of Dix River Golf Course, a property in suburban Lexington that will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017. The Newsomes bought Dix River from Danny McQueen, a member of the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame and the owner of several golf properties in the state, among them two in Nicholasville, Keene Trace Golf Club and Golf Club of the Bluegrass. McQueen bought Dix River in 2012, a time when it was said to be “struggling.” Perhaps it still is.
Yanceyville, North Carolina. A group led by Bob Greear has acquired Caswell Pines Golf Club, a 23-year-old venue that features an 18-hole, Gene Hamm-designed golf course. “I fell in love with it the first time I ever walked on it,” Greear told the Caswell Messenger. The newspaper reports that the new owners aim to make Caswell Pines “a destination golf course,” and Greear has promised to make it “one of the best golf courses in the area, if not the best golf course in the area.” Greear is also reportedly a part owner of Draper Valley Golf Club in Draper, Virginia.
Auburn, New York. The troubled Owasco Country Club has been sold to one of its members, reportedly for $883,023. Gerald Crowley, operating via Owasco Golf & Tennis Club LLC, bought the 86-acre club and its nine-hole golf course late last year. Though the Auburn Citizen says that the club “had been struggling financially in recent years,” the newspaper reports that Crowley has “no plans to make any significant changes to the club’s daily operation.” Owasco was founded in 1896, as Auburn Golf Club, and it relocated to its current location in 1901, with a John Van Kleek-designed course.
Crosby, Texas. To preserve the value of their homes, the members of the Newport Property Owners Association have purchased their community’s golf course. The POA paid an undisclosed price for Newport Golf Course & Country Club, a venue in suburban Houston that opened in 1970 and was once a stop on the LPGA Tour. The POA made the acquisition to prevent the club’s former owner, an entity called Newport Golf Club Partners, from selling part of the course to a residential developer. It’s committed to making upgrades to both the clubhouse and the golf course, which have, according to the club’s pro, “kind of gone downhill” in recent years. To signal a fresh start, the property has been given a new name: Stonebridge Golf & Event Center.
Waukegan, Illinois. In mid November 2015, Glen Flora Country Club changed hands. The relevant information about the transaction is, at least for now, being kept under wraps, but Golf Digest indicates that the seller was hoping to get $2.75 million. Glen Flora was founded in 1911 and moved to its current location in the early 1920s. It had its moment in the sun in 1963, when it persuaded Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus to play a two-day, winner-take-all match for $50,000. (If you must know, Player went home with the prize.) Glen Flora believes its 18-hole golf course offers “incomparable charm and challenge” and credits the layout’s design to its first pro, Austin Clayssens. (A “preeminent architect,” it calls him.) A local history says that Alex Perry, who was affiliated with Old Elm Club in nearby Highland Park, contributed to the layout’s design.
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The first golf property to open in the Sawgrass master-planned community (now TPC Sawgrass) has a new owner. A local investment group, Alta Mar Holdings LLC, paid who knows what for Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club, a venue whose facilities have reportedly “suffered from neglect for many, many years.” Alta Mar has promised to “right the ship.” The club opened in the early 1970s, and its 18-hole golf course was later redesigned by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay. The seller was Jamey Golf LLC, an entity controlled by James Salmon, who reportedly paid $3.7 million for the property in 2003.
East Falmouth, Massachusetts. Golf Club of Cape Cod has new owners and a new name. Sacconnesset Golf Society LLC paid an undisclosed amount for the 152-acre property, which is now known simply as TGC (The Golf Club). Links magazine says that TGC’s nine-year-old course “looks as though it has been there for decades,” and the track’s architect, Rees Jones, thinks that “all 18 holes fit the land like a glove.” The new owners bought TGC from a group led by Martin Shaevel. They believe the club is “unquestionably the best in the region,” and they describe their mission as “competition, tradition, and camaraderie.”
Spokane, Washington. Spokane Country Club, a venue that was forced to declare for bankruptcy protection after a court determined that it had discriminated against some of its female members, has accepted $3 million for its 118-year-old property. The offer came from the Kalispel Tribe, which operates a nearby casino and is looking to add amenities that might extend its customers’ visits. “We’re always looking at diversifying our businesses,” the casino’s general manager told KXLY-TV. Spokane had hoped to sell itself to Phil “the Gambler” Mickelson’s investment group and remain in business as a private club, but M Club Holdings lost interest when it decided that “it was unable to make the numbers work.” Because Spokane’s public image is in shambles, the tribe has changed its name to Kalispel Golf & Country Club.
Poughkeepsie, New York. It took three years, but Rhinebeck Bank has finally found a buyer for one of the nation’s oldest golf properties. In November, the bank accepted an offer for Dutchess Golf Club from Anthony Bacchi, the owner of Lazy Swan Golf & Country Club in Saugerties, New York. Bacchi intends to operate Dutchess, a private club that was founded in 1897, as a semi-private venue. The club has one major claim to fame: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was once one of its members.
Stanford, Kentucky. Lester and Carla Newsome are the new owners of Dix River Golf Course, a property in suburban Lexington that will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017. The Newsomes bought Dix River from Danny McQueen, a member of the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame and the owner of several golf properties in the state, among them two in Nicholasville, Keene Trace Golf Club and Golf Club of the Bluegrass. McQueen bought Dix River in 2012, a time when it was said to be “struggling.” Perhaps it still is.
Yanceyville, North Carolina. A group led by Bob Greear has acquired Caswell Pines Golf Club, a 23-year-old venue that features an 18-hole, Gene Hamm-designed golf course. “I fell in love with it the first time I ever walked on it,” Greear told the Caswell Messenger. The newspaper reports that the new owners aim to make Caswell Pines “a destination golf course,” and Greear has promised to make it “one of the best golf courses in the area, if not the best golf course in the area.” Greear is also reportedly a part owner of Draper Valley Golf Club in Draper, Virginia.
Auburn, New York. The troubled Owasco Country Club has been sold to one of its members, reportedly for $883,023. Gerald Crowley, operating via Owasco Golf & Tennis Club LLC, bought the 86-acre club and its nine-hole golf course late last year. Though the Auburn Citizen says that the club “had been struggling financially in recent years,” the newspaper reports that Crowley has “no plans to make any significant changes to the club’s daily operation.” Owasco was founded in 1896, as Auburn Golf Club, and it relocated to its current location in 1901, with a John Van Kleek-designed course.
Crosby, Texas. To preserve the value of their homes, the members of the Newport Property Owners Association have purchased their community’s golf course. The POA paid an undisclosed price for Newport Golf Course & Country Club, a venue in suburban Houston that opened in 1970 and was once a stop on the LPGA Tour. The POA made the acquisition to prevent the club’s former owner, an entity called Newport Golf Club Partners, from selling part of the course to a residential developer. It’s committed to making upgrades to both the clubhouse and the golf course, which have, according to the club’s pro, “kind of gone downhill” in recent years. To signal a fresh start, the property has been given a new name: Stonebridge Golf & Event Center.
Waukegan, Illinois. In mid November 2015, Glen Flora Country Club changed hands. The relevant information about the transaction is, at least for now, being kept under wraps, but Golf Digest indicates that the seller was hoping to get $2.75 million. Glen Flora was founded in 1911 and moved to its current location in the early 1920s. It had its moment in the sun in 1963, when it persuaded Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus to play a two-day, winner-take-all match for $50,000. (If you must know, Player went home with the prize.) Glen Flora believes its 18-hole golf course offers “incomparable charm and challenge” and credits the layout’s design to its first pro, Austin Clayssens. (A “preeminent architect,” it calls him.) A local history says that Alex Perry, who was affiliated with Old Elm Club in nearby Highland Park, contributed to the layout’s design.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
The Week That Was, february 14, 2016
The developers of Pacific Gales, the forthcoming au naturel track near Port Orford, Oregon, are enjoying what they believe is a long-overdue “whoopee moment.” The state’s land-use board of appeals has rejected the latest and probably the last in a string of arguments against Pacific Gales, thereby giving Elk River Property Development LLC a seemingly clear path to development. “It’s like someone took a 50-pound slab off my shoulders, finally,” Jim Haley, one of the developers, told the Coos Bay World. Haley and his partners proposed Pacific Gales, an 18-hole layout that they’ve suggested might be ranked ahead of those at nearby Bandon Dunes, two years ago, and they’ve been fighting battles against critics ever since. They hope to break ground on their Dave Esler-designed golf course this summer, provided they can find enough investors to realize their dream.
Just three years short of its 100th anniversary, one of Scotland’s most famous golf courses will be made over to more faithfully resemble its designer’s original intentions. I’m talking about the James Braid-designed King’s course at Gleneagles, the celebrated resort -- “a national institution,” BBC News calls it -- that’s hosted, among other things, the Ryder Cup matches of 2014 and the G8 summit of 2005. Beginning any day now, Gleneagles’ new owners intend to restore some of the track’s lost design elements in an attempt to bring it “closer to Braid’s original vision” and give golfers “a more authentic playing experience.” The King’s course, which opened in 1919, is one of three regulation-length courses at Gleneagles. The rest of the 850-acre spread in Perthshire includes a 232-room hotel, a Michelin-starred restaurant, an equestrian center, a shooting range, and the British School of Falconry. For more than three decades, Gleneagles had been owned by Diageo, the world’s largest producer of spirits, but last year Diageo sold the property (reportedly for roughly $215 million) to Ennismore, an investment company that owns several boutique hotels. At the time of the sale, Ennismore promised to invest “significant sums” into improvements at Gleneagles. The upgrades at the King’s course are the first evidence of its commitment to the historic resort’s golf business.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
A decision has been made regarding the lawsuit filed last year by caddies on the PGA Tour: They fought the law, and the law won. The caddies have failed in their attempt to win a share of the sponsorship money that corporations pay to players on the tour and will therefore continue to wear advertising on their bibs. “Caddies have been required to wear the bibs for decades, so caddies know when they enter the profession that wearing a bib during tournaments is part of the job,” a judge in U.S. District Court concluded. The ruling aside, it’s worth noting that the caddies aren’t impoverished. Some have their own sponsorship agreements, and Forbes has determined that each of the 10 top earners in 2014 made at least $600,000. If the caddies have the will to muster another fight, it may be over health care and a retirement plan.
As we approach the date of a court hearing in the case of Vijay Singh versus the PGA Tour, Pete Madden of Golf magazine contends that professional golf’s drug-testing program is “riddled with holes,” “all but unenforceable,” and designed “not so much to catch cheaters as to reassure sponsors that there are no cheaters to catch.” Singh, you’ll no doubt remember, confessed to using deer-antler spray, a banned substance, in 2013. He received a short suspension that was later rescinded, but he sued the tour anyway, claiming that he’d lost a sponsor and was exposed to “public humiliation and ridicule.” His case is scheduled to be heard in early April, but Madden doesn’t expect it to shine any light on the way the tour polices the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The tour, he writes, has “argued for and won a sweeping protective order that made sure anything controversial remained confidential.”
The first nine holes have opened at what may eventually be Uganda’s top-rated golf course. The Kevin Ramsey-designed, tournament-worthy layout at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa opened late last year, after nearly six years of construction. Ramsey, one of the principals of Santa Rosa, California-based Golfplan/Dale & Ramsey, hopes to open the second nine by 2018, but he isn’t betting his house on it. “Construction slow and challenging for many reasons,” he writes in an e-mail. Among the challenges: The course is taking shape upon a marsh that must be solidified, a painstaking process. The resort is located on Africa’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria, midway between Kampala and Entebbe. It has a Roman-style hotel and a partially completed marina, and it’ll eventually have a “luxury residential complex,” meeting space, and a helipad. Golf Digest counts 15 golf properties in Uganda, and it rates Uganda Golf Club in Kampala as the nation’s best. But Serena Hotels believes it’s got the first “professional golf course” in Uganda, and it’s planning to implement a major marketing campaign to prove it.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Just three years short of its 100th anniversary, one of Scotland’s most famous golf courses will be made over to more faithfully resemble its designer’s original intentions. I’m talking about the James Braid-designed King’s course at Gleneagles, the celebrated resort -- “a national institution,” BBC News calls it -- that’s hosted, among other things, the Ryder Cup matches of 2014 and the G8 summit of 2005. Beginning any day now, Gleneagles’ new owners intend to restore some of the track’s lost design elements in an attempt to bring it “closer to Braid’s original vision” and give golfers “a more authentic playing experience.” The King’s course, which opened in 1919, is one of three regulation-length courses at Gleneagles. The rest of the 850-acre spread in Perthshire includes a 232-room hotel, a Michelin-starred restaurant, an equestrian center, a shooting range, and the British School of Falconry. For more than three decades, Gleneagles had been owned by Diageo, the world’s largest producer of spirits, but last year Diageo sold the property (reportedly for roughly $215 million) to Ennismore, an investment company that owns several boutique hotels. At the time of the sale, Ennismore promised to invest “significant sums” into improvements at Gleneagles. The upgrades at the King’s course are the first evidence of its commitment to the historic resort’s golf business.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
A decision has been made regarding the lawsuit filed last year by caddies on the PGA Tour: They fought the law, and the law won. The caddies have failed in their attempt to win a share of the sponsorship money that corporations pay to players on the tour and will therefore continue to wear advertising on their bibs. “Caddies have been required to wear the bibs for decades, so caddies know when they enter the profession that wearing a bib during tournaments is part of the job,” a judge in U.S. District Court concluded. The ruling aside, it’s worth noting that the caddies aren’t impoverished. Some have their own sponsorship agreements, and Forbes has determined that each of the 10 top earners in 2014 made at least $600,000. If the caddies have the will to muster another fight, it may be over health care and a retirement plan.
As we approach the date of a court hearing in the case of Vijay Singh versus the PGA Tour, Pete Madden of Golf magazine contends that professional golf’s drug-testing program is “riddled with holes,” “all but unenforceable,” and designed “not so much to catch cheaters as to reassure sponsors that there are no cheaters to catch.” Singh, you’ll no doubt remember, confessed to using deer-antler spray, a banned substance, in 2013. He received a short suspension that was later rescinded, but he sued the tour anyway, claiming that he’d lost a sponsor and was exposed to “public humiliation and ridicule.” His case is scheduled to be heard in early April, but Madden doesn’t expect it to shine any light on the way the tour polices the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The tour, he writes, has “argued for and won a sweeping protective order that made sure anything controversial remained confidential.”
The first nine holes have opened at what may eventually be Uganda’s top-rated golf course. The Kevin Ramsey-designed, tournament-worthy layout at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa opened late last year, after nearly six years of construction. Ramsey, one of the principals of Santa Rosa, California-based Golfplan/Dale & Ramsey, hopes to open the second nine by 2018, but he isn’t betting his house on it. “Construction slow and challenging for many reasons,” he writes in an e-mail. Among the challenges: The course is taking shape upon a marsh that must be solidified, a painstaking process. The resort is located on Africa’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria, midway between Kampala and Entebbe. It has a Roman-style hotel and a partially completed marina, and it’ll eventually have a “luxury residential complex,” meeting space, and a helipad. Golf Digest counts 15 golf properties in Uganda, and it rates Uganda Golf Club in Kampala as the nation’s best. But Serena Hotels believes it’s got the first “professional golf course” in Uganda, and it’s planning to implement a major marketing campaign to prove it.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Vital Signs, february 12, 2016
Care to predict the number of foreign golfers who’ll be teeing off in Turkey this year? As a result of terrorist bombings that killed more than 100 vacationers in Istanbul and Ankara in recent months, tourists have, understandably, become reluctant to visit Syria’s next-door neighbor. “Bookings were already slow for 2016 because of a combination of what’s going on in the region and the attacks in Paris last year,” a tour operator told the New York Times, “but now, I expect them to be at a standstill.” Of course, Turkey has a long golf season, and political tensions throughout the Middle East may soon ease. But there’s a lesson to be learned here about golf industries that depend almost exclusively on revenues generated by itinerant golfers. The flow of tourists can never be guaranteed, and it can be blocked by circumstances outside anyone’s control. When it comes to creating a sustainable golf business, nothing succeeds like a strong base of resident golfers.
The U.S. Open has brought a measure of world-wide fame to Chambers Bay, not to mention increased revenues. In the months after last June’s event, golfers from outside the state of Washington played 41 percent of the rounds at the municipal course in metropolitan Seattle -- “more than double the historical average,” according to Golf Advisor -- and at significantly higher prices. “The beauty of Chambers Bay and Pierce County were on display for the world to see,” reports the course’s general manager. “We look forward to maintaining the momentum in the upcoming golf season.” The momentum may actually be increased, because in 2016 Chambers Bay intends to add $50 to its non-resident greens fee, raising it from $225 to $275.
Cuba welcomed a record-breaking number of international tourists last year, and the smart money says it’ll break the record this year. Fidel Castro’s socialist paradise attracted more than 3.5 million foreign visitors in 2015, an increase of more than 17 percent over the number posted in 2014, and it still can’t count a significant number of U.S. vacationers or even one destination-worthy golf course. Last year, the largest number of Cuba’s foreign visitors came from Canada (1.3 million), Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Only 145,000 U.S. travelers dropped in, but their numbers are growing fast: The count in 2015 represents a 79 percent increase over the one in 2014. In fact, the anticipated growth in traffic from the United States has apparently given rise to a “visit-now” mentality among some world travelers. In a cartoonish illustration of how everyday people from all over the world view U.S. business, Xinhua writes that many international travelers are “rushing to visit the island” because they fear that “a full-blown American onslaught will soon alter the country's natural landscape with fast-food franchises and chain convenience stores.”
For more than a year, falling oil prices and the gradual disappearance of deep-pocketed foreign buyers have been putting the squeeze on Dubai’s real-estate markets, and now the vice chairman of the emirate’s largest lender has issued a warning to the region’s real-estate developers: The bubble may burst. “I’d be very cautious, whether running an asset management company or a development company,” Hesham Al Qassim of Emirates NBD PJSC said in a comment published by Arabian Business. Al Qassim is also the CEO of Wasl Asset Management Group, a residential and commercial developer with two golf properties in its portfolio: Emirates Golf Club, the home of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. He believes that “those who are mindful of the reality around them will manage, but those who stretch themselves with billions worth of projects won’t.”
Hesham Al Qassim may think the financial sky is falling, but the CEO of the company that’s building the Donald Trump-branded golf properties in Dubai doesn’t necessarily agree. Ziad El Chaar, the managing director of Damac Properties, told a British newspaper that he’ll “go on TV naked and resign” if the bottom really does fall out of the emirate’s property markets this year. That being said, El Chaar appears to have some worries about the value of Trump’s name in Dubai, especially now that the Candidate has vowed to ban Muslims from entering the United States if he becomes president. Citing a report by the Sunday Times, What’s On magazine says that Damac removed billboards that promoted its relationship with Trump and replaced them only after “bitter legal wrangling between El Chaar and lawyers for the American tycoon.” The magazine quotes an analyst as saying of Trump, “Nobody admires him anymore. Fewer want to live in a home with his name on the front door.”
The U.S. Open has brought a measure of world-wide fame to Chambers Bay, not to mention increased revenues. In the months after last June’s event, golfers from outside the state of Washington played 41 percent of the rounds at the municipal course in metropolitan Seattle -- “more than double the historical average,” according to Golf Advisor -- and at significantly higher prices. “The beauty of Chambers Bay and Pierce County were on display for the world to see,” reports the course’s general manager. “We look forward to maintaining the momentum in the upcoming golf season.” The momentum may actually be increased, because in 2016 Chambers Bay intends to add $50 to its non-resident greens fee, raising it from $225 to $275.
Cuba welcomed a record-breaking number of international tourists last year, and the smart money says it’ll break the record this year. Fidel Castro’s socialist paradise attracted more than 3.5 million foreign visitors in 2015, an increase of more than 17 percent over the number posted in 2014, and it still can’t count a significant number of U.S. vacationers or even one destination-worthy golf course. Last year, the largest number of Cuba’s foreign visitors came from Canada (1.3 million), Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Only 145,000 U.S. travelers dropped in, but their numbers are growing fast: The count in 2015 represents a 79 percent increase over the one in 2014. In fact, the anticipated growth in traffic from the United States has apparently given rise to a “visit-now” mentality among some world travelers. In a cartoonish illustration of how everyday people from all over the world view U.S. business, Xinhua writes that many international travelers are “rushing to visit the island” because they fear that “a full-blown American onslaught will soon alter the country's natural landscape with fast-food franchises and chain convenience stores.”
For more than a year, falling oil prices and the gradual disappearance of deep-pocketed foreign buyers have been putting the squeeze on Dubai’s real-estate markets, and now the vice chairman of the emirate’s largest lender has issued a warning to the region’s real-estate developers: The bubble may burst. “I’d be very cautious, whether running an asset management company or a development company,” Hesham Al Qassim of Emirates NBD PJSC said in a comment published by Arabian Business. Al Qassim is also the CEO of Wasl Asset Management Group, a residential and commercial developer with two golf properties in its portfolio: Emirates Golf Club, the home of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. He believes that “those who are mindful of the reality around them will manage, but those who stretch themselves with billions worth of projects won’t.”
Hesham Al Qassim may think the financial sky is falling, but the CEO of the company that’s building the Donald Trump-branded golf properties in Dubai doesn’t necessarily agree. Ziad El Chaar, the managing director of Damac Properties, told a British newspaper that he’ll “go on TV naked and resign” if the bottom really does fall out of the emirate’s property markets this year. That being said, El Chaar appears to have some worries about the value of Trump’s name in Dubai, especially now that the Candidate has vowed to ban Muslims from entering the United States if he becomes president. Citing a report by the Sunday Times, What’s On magazine says that Damac removed billboards that promoted its relationship with Trump and replaced them only after “bitter legal wrangling between El Chaar and lawyers for the American tycoon.” The magazine quotes an analyst as saying of Trump, “Nobody admires him anymore. Fewer want to live in a home with his name on the front door.”
Sunday, February 7, 2016
The Week That Was, february 7, 2016
After months of rumors, speculation, and denials, Minisceongo Golf Club’s days as a golf venue are officially done, as Eric Bergstol has sold his 18-hole course in Pomona, New York to an undisclosed buyer who has other plans for the 60-acre property. Bergstol once said that golf development was, for him, more “a passion” than “a business,” and Minisceongo, which opened in 1994, was the first property in what eventually became an enviable portfolio operated by his Empire Golf Management. After Minisceongo, Bergstol went on to create two properties that he ended up selling to Donald Trump -- Pine Hill Golf Club in Pine Hill, New Jersey (now Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia) and Branton Woods Golf Club in Hopewell Junction, New York (Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley) -- as well as other venues in New York (Hollow Brook Golf Club in Cortlandt Manor), New Jersey (Bayonne Golf Club in Bayonne), and Florida (Links at Madison Green in Royal Palm Beach). Today, however, Empire Golf’s website lists just three properties, all of them in New Jersey: Pine Barrens Golf Club in Jackson, New Jersey National Golf Club in Basking Ridge, and Twisted Dune Golf Club outside Atlantic City. The Journal News reports that Minisceongo has been “suffering amid an economic downturn and shifting demographics” since 2008. The mayor of Pomona told the newspaper that it’ll be “a shame to lose that open space.”
Now that Sun Group is about to open Bà Nà Hills Golf Club, I’m wondering if the company has ever questioned its investment in Luke Donald, the layout’s “signature” architect. In 2011, when he signed on to create what his co-designer, Brit Stenson of IMG Golf, said would be “one of the best courses in Vietnam,” Donald was among the brightest stars in professional golf. He was the world’s top-ranked player, the PGA Player of the Year, and the European Tour Golfer of the Year. He was young, artistic, and marketable, and he was itching to get his inaugural golf design off the drawing boards. But Donald quickly flamed out. By 2013, he was becoming an afterthought on the world tours, and today he’s ranked somewhere in the 80s. Nonetheless, Sun Group must still be hoping that his name can effectively help to promote its resort community on the outskirts of Đà Nẵng. Bà Nà Hills’ 7,858-yards track will be lighted, and Donald believes that it’ll both “solidify Đà Nẵng’s reputation as one of the best new golf destinations in Asia” and serve as “the ideal complement to the existing courses in the area.” It won’t be until sometime after April, when all 18 holes at Bà Nà Hills are scheduled to open, that Sun Group will be able to measure the amount of sizzle left in Donald’s “signature.”
The official banking partner of the Open Championship has run afoul of the law yet again. HSBC, one of the golf industry’s most magnanimous financial supporters, has agreed to pay what is for it a small fine -- $470 million -- for participating in what’s been described as “abusive mortgage practices” during the U.S. housing crisis in 2007, 2008, and 2009. It’s at least the second time that the shady British banking giant has been fined in connection with the collapse of the U.S. housing industry, for in the fall of 2014 it paid $550 million to settle a claim that it had misrepresented the quality of some mortgage bonds that it had sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These fines don’t seem to bother HSBC, which gets in trouble with financial-industry regulators so often that it’s hard to keep up. In 2012, in a case that really should have captured the attention of golf’s power elites, it admitted to laundering money for Mexican drug cartels, terrorist organizations, and rogue governments, including Iran. In 2014, it admitted to conspiring to rig foreign currency markets, and last year its Swiss subsidiary admitted that it schemed to help some of its customers hide assets from tax authorities and evade paying taxes. HSBC rarely, if ever, admits guilt when it’s accused of engaging in dishonest business practices, but in recent years it appears to have swept plenty of dirt under its rugs. Its continued impropriety begs a question: Has it swept any dirt under the golf industry’s rugs?
The fifth edition of the India Golf Expo, the nation’s largest golf-related trade show, is scheduled to take place on April 20-21, at DLF Club 5 in Gurgaon. The event, staged by the Indian Golf Industry Association, will offer the usual networking opportunities as well as a seminar titled “Shaping the Future of Golf in India.” The roster of speakers is expected to include Rishi Narain, a well-connected marketing consultant, and representatives from the China Golf Association and DLF, Ltd., India’s largest development group.
Now that Sun Group is about to open Bà Nà Hills Golf Club, I’m wondering if the company has ever questioned its investment in Luke Donald, the layout’s “signature” architect. In 2011, when he signed on to create what his co-designer, Brit Stenson of IMG Golf, said would be “one of the best courses in Vietnam,” Donald was among the brightest stars in professional golf. He was the world’s top-ranked player, the PGA Player of the Year, and the European Tour Golfer of the Year. He was young, artistic, and marketable, and he was itching to get his inaugural golf design off the drawing boards. But Donald quickly flamed out. By 2013, he was becoming an afterthought on the world tours, and today he’s ranked somewhere in the 80s. Nonetheless, Sun Group must still be hoping that his name can effectively help to promote its resort community on the outskirts of Đà Nẵng. Bà Nà Hills’ 7,858-yards track will be lighted, and Donald believes that it’ll both “solidify Đà Nẵng’s reputation as one of the best new golf destinations in Asia” and serve as “the ideal complement to the existing courses in the area.” It won’t be until sometime after April, when all 18 holes at Bà Nà Hills are scheduled to open, that Sun Group will be able to measure the amount of sizzle left in Donald’s “signature.”
The official banking partner of the Open Championship has run afoul of the law yet again. HSBC, one of the golf industry’s most magnanimous financial supporters, has agreed to pay what is for it a small fine -- $470 million -- for participating in what’s been described as “abusive mortgage practices” during the U.S. housing crisis in 2007, 2008, and 2009. It’s at least the second time that the shady British banking giant has been fined in connection with the collapse of the U.S. housing industry, for in the fall of 2014 it paid $550 million to settle a claim that it had misrepresented the quality of some mortgage bonds that it had sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These fines don’t seem to bother HSBC, which gets in trouble with financial-industry regulators so often that it’s hard to keep up. In 2012, in a case that really should have captured the attention of golf’s power elites, it admitted to laundering money for Mexican drug cartels, terrorist organizations, and rogue governments, including Iran. In 2014, it admitted to conspiring to rig foreign currency markets, and last year its Swiss subsidiary admitted that it schemed to help some of its customers hide assets from tax authorities and evade paying taxes. HSBC rarely, if ever, admits guilt when it’s accused of engaging in dishonest business practices, but in recent years it appears to have swept plenty of dirt under its rugs. Its continued impropriety begs a question: Has it swept any dirt under the golf industry’s rugs?
The fifth edition of the India Golf Expo, the nation’s largest golf-related trade show, is scheduled to take place on April 20-21, at DLF Club 5 in Gurgaon. The event, staged by the Indian Golf Industry Association, will offer the usual networking opportunities as well as a seminar titled “Shaping the Future of Golf in India.” The roster of speakers is expected to include Rishi Narain, a well-connected marketing consultant, and representatives from the China Golf Association and DLF, Ltd., India’s largest development group.
Friday, February 5, 2016
The Pipeline, february 5, 2016
Miches, Dominican Republic. Sometime this year, Tom Doak may finally break ground on his first golf course in the Caribbean. The delayed, destination-worthy track will be the centerpiece of Tropicalia, a 6,000-acre resort community outside Miches, along the southern coast of Samaná Bay. Tropicalia is being developed by entities controlled by Gustavo Cisneros, one of Latin America’s richest and most powerful businessmen (Forbes estimates that the Cisneros family is worth $3.6 billion), and it aims to become “an emblem of sustainable luxury tourism throughout the world.” Tropicalia was set in motion close to a decade ago, but Cisneros put it on the back burner in the wake of the Great Recession. Along with Doak’s 18-hole course, the community will feature vacation housing, hotels (the first two will be operated by the Four Seasons and Auberge chains), places to eat and drink, and other attractions.
Camiguin Island, Philippines. The biggest development group in the Philippines will locate its third golf course on a small island off the northern coast of Mindanao. Ayala Land, Inc. intends to build the to-be-named track on Camiguin Island, a place that Lonely Planet says is still “uncorrupted by large-scale tourism.” Camiguin’s tranquility doesn’t figure to last for long, because Ayala’s resort communities have proved to be popular with well-to-do buyers. Today, the publicly traded company owns a Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed layout at Ayala Greenfield Golf & Leisure Club in suburban Manila and a Kevin Ramsey-designed layout at Anvaya Cove Golf & Sports Club near Subic Bay Freeport. Ayala hasn’t identified a site for the course on Camiguin, but the island doesn’t appear to offer a lot of options, as it’s said to be the second-smallest island in the Philippines. It reportedly has one major claim to fame: It has more volcanoes per square kilometer than any other island on earth.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in October 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. By 2019, a Japanese management company hopes to open a golf course on a remote island near Taiwan. Unimat Precious Company intends to build the to-be-named 18-hole track on Ishigaki Island, which is located just 120 miles east of Taiwan and a long distance from Japan’s major cities. (Tokyo, for example, is a three-hour flight away.) But Unimat Precious and its parent company, Unimat Group, appear to know what they’re doing when it comes to golf. Various affiliates of Unimat Group have built resorts with golf courses on Miyako Island, northeast of Ishigaki, and Kohama Island, west of Ishigaki, and Unimat Precious operates several golf properties, among them Tokyo Birdie Club in Tokyo, Unimat Okinawa Golf Club on Okinawa Island, and Unimat Yamaguchi Golf Club in suburban Hiroshima. The company’s course on Ishigaki will take shape on 245 acres in Maesedake, a suburb of Ishigaki City, and it’ll be accompanied by a resort-style hotel.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the December 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Education City, Qatar. The government-sponsored foundation that created Qatar’s Education City wants to teach the world a thing or two about golf. The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science & Community Development has identified a site in Education City for Qatar International Golf Club, a “world-class” facility that will feature an 18-hole, José María Olazábal-designed layout that promises to be “one of the most technologically advanced, innovative, and sustainable golf courses in the world.” Olazábal’s track will be complemented by a lighted 6-hole championship-quality course, a lighted nine-hole, par-3 track, a practice center, and “female-centric practice facilities.” The foundation believes that Qatar International will revolutionize the way golf is taught -- it’ll offer what’s said to be “an entirely new way to learn, enjoy, and share the game” -- and, in the words of a Middle Eastern newspaper, provide “a blueprint for growing levels of golf participation globally.” Golf magazine reports that Qatar International will open “in phases” beginning later this year.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the November 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Zielona Góra, Poland. When the weather warms up, Hans-Georg Erhardt expects to officially unveil his third golf course in Poland, a nine-hole, links-like track at Przytok Golf & Resort, in Lubusz Province (Lubusz Voivodeship). Erhardt, an architect based in Steyr, Austria, has said that the track will have “holes with water and lots of sand, fescue roughs, and stunning greens,” and he hopes that it will help to turn Poland into “a high-standard golf destination.” Elsewhere in Poland, Erhardt has created Amber Baltic Golf Course in Międzyzdroje, along the nation’s northern coast, and Rosa Private Golf Club in suburban Czestochowa. He’s also designed courses in Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and other nations, and he serves as the “ghost” architect for José Maria Olazábal.
Safaga, Egypt. This year, a popular resort along the Red Sea coast expects to break ground on its second golf course. The 18-hole, Tim Lobb-designed track will join Somabay Resort’s Gary Player-designed Cascades layout, a venue that currently checks in at #2 on Golf Digest’s list of Egypt’s top courses. When it opened, in 1998, Player called it “the next Pebble Beach,” and Somabay’s owner, Abu Soma Development Company, believes it’s “the ultimate course for a comprehensive golfing experience.” Somabay is located on a peninsula roughly 40 miles south of Hurghada. It reportedly draws most of its customers from the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, with attractions that include five hotels, a spa, and a variety of recreational activities including scuba diving, kite surfing, and sailing. Lobb, a principal of Thomson Perrett & Lobb, has set out to create a course that “focuses on strategic and fun play, has family-friendly options, and is accessible to all.” It’ll anchor a forthcoming community that includes vacation houses and a hotel.
Andhra Pradesh, India. The people who control India’s largest privately owned seaport have broken ground on the nation’s fourth David Hemstock-designed golf course. The 18-hole layout, CVR Links, figures to play a prominent role in the marketing of Krishnapatnam Port, a 4,550-acre facility outside Nellore, along India’s eastern coast. The port’s majority owner, Hyderabad-based CVR Group, already sponsors an annual amateur golf tournament, and it’s signed Sharmila Nicollet, the only Indian on the Ladies European Tour, to serve as the port’s “brand ambassador.” Nicollet, who’s 24, writes on her website that she’s “potentially the most exciting woman athlete in the country.” Hemstock, a Derbyshire, England-based architect, has operations on four continents. Previously in India, he created Aamby Valley Golf Club in Pune, Kovai Hills Golf & Country Club in Coimbatore, and Palace Greens Golf Course in Chennai.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the December 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Motherwell, South Africa. If all goes according to plan, South Africa’s largest planned community will begin welcoming its first residents in 2018. Nu-Way Housing hopes to break ground on Coega Ridge, which is to include an “eco-estate” with an equestrian center and a golf course, in 2017. The community, to take shape on 8,000 acres just northeast of Port Elizabeth, will be the biggest and most ambitious development venture that Nu-Way has undertaken. It’s been master-planned to include roughly 40,000 houses of various types as well as an industrial park, office and commercial space, a hotel, a regional mall, shopping areas, a railway station, a university and other schools, a hospital, and recreation areas. Though it hasn’t yet been approved and permitted, it’s won the support of virtually every local elected official. The reason: The Port Elizabeth area needs almost 85,000 houses to satisfy near-term demand.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the November 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Buckinghamshire, England. In an effort to spark economic development, a member of Buckinghamshire County Council is trying to drum up support for a recreation and commercial center that would include an 18-hole golf course. The Aquatic & Sports Leisure Park, to take shape on 250 acres of farm land north of Aylesbury, has been master-planned to include recreational amenities, a soccer stadium that might serve as a home for Aylesbury United Football Club, two hotels, meeting space, a medical center, a shopping area, and places to eat and drink. It’s being promoted by an elected official named Phil Gomm, who’s working with a private-sector development partner. The proposal has been “broadly welcomed,” according to the Buckingham Advertiser & Review, in large part because the alternative, proposed by a home builder, is a subdivision with 200 houses.
Camiguin Island, Philippines. The biggest development group in the Philippines will locate its third golf course on a small island off the northern coast of Mindanao. Ayala Land, Inc. intends to build the to-be-named track on Camiguin Island, a place that Lonely Planet says is still “uncorrupted by large-scale tourism.” Camiguin’s tranquility doesn’t figure to last for long, because Ayala’s resort communities have proved to be popular with well-to-do buyers. Today, the publicly traded company owns a Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed layout at Ayala Greenfield Golf & Leisure Club in suburban Manila and a Kevin Ramsey-designed layout at Anvaya Cove Golf & Sports Club near Subic Bay Freeport. Ayala hasn’t identified a site for the course on Camiguin, but the island doesn’t appear to offer a lot of options, as it’s said to be the second-smallest island in the Philippines. It reportedly has one major claim to fame: It has more volcanoes per square kilometer than any other island on earth.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in October 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. By 2019, a Japanese management company hopes to open a golf course on a remote island near Taiwan. Unimat Precious Company intends to build the to-be-named 18-hole track on Ishigaki Island, which is located just 120 miles east of Taiwan and a long distance from Japan’s major cities. (Tokyo, for example, is a three-hour flight away.) But Unimat Precious and its parent company, Unimat Group, appear to know what they’re doing when it comes to golf. Various affiliates of Unimat Group have built resorts with golf courses on Miyako Island, northeast of Ishigaki, and Kohama Island, west of Ishigaki, and Unimat Precious operates several golf properties, among them Tokyo Birdie Club in Tokyo, Unimat Okinawa Golf Club on Okinawa Island, and Unimat Yamaguchi Golf Club in suburban Hiroshima. The company’s course on Ishigaki will take shape on 245 acres in Maesedake, a suburb of Ishigaki City, and it’ll be accompanied by a resort-style hotel.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the December 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Education City, Qatar. The government-sponsored foundation that created Qatar’s Education City wants to teach the world a thing or two about golf. The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science & Community Development has identified a site in Education City for Qatar International Golf Club, a “world-class” facility that will feature an 18-hole, José María Olazábal-designed layout that promises to be “one of the most technologically advanced, innovative, and sustainable golf courses in the world.” Olazábal’s track will be complemented by a lighted 6-hole championship-quality course, a lighted nine-hole, par-3 track, a practice center, and “female-centric practice facilities.” The foundation believes that Qatar International will revolutionize the way golf is taught -- it’ll offer what’s said to be “an entirely new way to learn, enjoy, and share the game” -- and, in the words of a Middle Eastern newspaper, provide “a blueprint for growing levels of golf participation globally.” Golf magazine reports that Qatar International will open “in phases” beginning later this year.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the November 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Zielona Góra, Poland. When the weather warms up, Hans-Georg Erhardt expects to officially unveil his third golf course in Poland, a nine-hole, links-like track at Przytok Golf & Resort, in Lubusz Province (Lubusz Voivodeship). Erhardt, an architect based in Steyr, Austria, has said that the track will have “holes with water and lots of sand, fescue roughs, and stunning greens,” and he hopes that it will help to turn Poland into “a high-standard golf destination.” Elsewhere in Poland, Erhardt has created Amber Baltic Golf Course in Międzyzdroje, along the nation’s northern coast, and Rosa Private Golf Club in suburban Czestochowa. He’s also designed courses in Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and other nations, and he serves as the “ghost” architect for José Maria Olazábal.
Safaga, Egypt. This year, a popular resort along the Red Sea coast expects to break ground on its second golf course. The 18-hole, Tim Lobb-designed track will join Somabay Resort’s Gary Player-designed Cascades layout, a venue that currently checks in at #2 on Golf Digest’s list of Egypt’s top courses. When it opened, in 1998, Player called it “the next Pebble Beach,” and Somabay’s owner, Abu Soma Development Company, believes it’s “the ultimate course for a comprehensive golfing experience.” Somabay is located on a peninsula roughly 40 miles south of Hurghada. It reportedly draws most of its customers from the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, with attractions that include five hotels, a spa, and a variety of recreational activities including scuba diving, kite surfing, and sailing. Lobb, a principal of Thomson Perrett & Lobb, has set out to create a course that “focuses on strategic and fun play, has family-friendly options, and is accessible to all.” It’ll anchor a forthcoming community that includes vacation houses and a hotel.
Andhra Pradesh, India. The people who control India’s largest privately owned seaport have broken ground on the nation’s fourth David Hemstock-designed golf course. The 18-hole layout, CVR Links, figures to play a prominent role in the marketing of Krishnapatnam Port, a 4,550-acre facility outside Nellore, along India’s eastern coast. The port’s majority owner, Hyderabad-based CVR Group, already sponsors an annual amateur golf tournament, and it’s signed Sharmila Nicollet, the only Indian on the Ladies European Tour, to serve as the port’s “brand ambassador.” Nicollet, who’s 24, writes on her website that she’s “potentially the most exciting woman athlete in the country.” Hemstock, a Derbyshire, England-based architect, has operations on four continents. Previously in India, he created Aamby Valley Golf Club in Pune, Kovai Hills Golf & Country Club in Coimbatore, and Palace Greens Golf Course in Chennai.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the December 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Motherwell, South Africa. If all goes according to plan, South Africa’s largest planned community will begin welcoming its first residents in 2018. Nu-Way Housing hopes to break ground on Coega Ridge, which is to include an “eco-estate” with an equestrian center and a golf course, in 2017. The community, to take shape on 8,000 acres just northeast of Port Elizabeth, will be the biggest and most ambitious development venture that Nu-Way has undertaken. It’s been master-planned to include roughly 40,000 houses of various types as well as an industrial park, office and commercial space, a hotel, a regional mall, shopping areas, a railway station, a university and other schools, a hospital, and recreation areas. Though it hasn’t yet been approved and permitted, it’s won the support of virtually every local elected official. The reason: The Port Elizabeth area needs almost 85,000 houses to satisfy near-term demand.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the November 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Buckinghamshire, England. In an effort to spark economic development, a member of Buckinghamshire County Council is trying to drum up support for a recreation and commercial center that would include an 18-hole golf course. The Aquatic & Sports Leisure Park, to take shape on 250 acres of farm land north of Aylesbury, has been master-planned to include recreational amenities, a soccer stadium that might serve as a home for Aylesbury United Football Club, two hotels, meeting space, a medical center, a shopping area, and places to eat and drink. It’s being promoted by an elected official named Phil Gomm, who’s working with a private-sector development partner. The proposal has been “broadly welcomed,” according to the Buckingham Advertiser & Review, in large part because the alternative, proposed by a home builder, is a subdivision with 200 houses.
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