The Pipeline, april 22, 2016

     Angus, Scotland. Along the eastern coast of Scotland, midway between Dundee and Aberdeen, the world’s fifth-oldest golf course is slowly being swallowed by the North Sea. Under constant stress from wind and water, the 18-hole Medal track at Montrose Golf Links has shrunk by an estimated 50 to 60 yards in recent years, and now the operators of the 454-year-old venue have set out to stem the tide. “We can’t just sit around and do nothing,” the club’s secretary has acknowledged. Martin Hawtree, an English architect who’s overseen improvements at classic, historic golf properties throughout Great Britain and beyond, has proposed changes that he believes will extend the life of the Medal course, a layout whose design is credited primarily to Old Tom Morris and Willie Park, Jr. Hawtree wants to redesign seven holes, shortening some and lengthening others, and generally moving play away from the course’s fast-disintegrating dunes. His plan is currently being debated. The proposed changes won’t impact Montrose’s 18-hole Broomfield course, which was laid out on inland property.

     Phú Quốc Island, Vietnam. Vietnam’s biggest and most ambitious golf venture, a 14-course complex, will take shape on Phú Quốc Island, off the nation’s southwestern coast. The Mission Hills-inspired venue doesn’t yet have a name -- it hasn’t even been formally announced -- but plans have been laid for a complex that, if fully realized, will almost certainly make Phú Quốc, Vietnam’s largest island, one of Asia’s top golf destinations. Vingroup’s complex will feature seven celebrity-created courses, among them a Nicklaus Design layout, and seven others that will likely be produced by IMG Golf. The “signature” architects in the mix are said to be Gary Player, Ernie Els, Annika Sorenstam, Nick Faldo, and Colin Montgomerie. “I didn’t even know that Phú Quốc Island existed until a couple of years ago,” says Brit Stenson, IMG’s director of design. “It already has a lot going for it, including an airport and beautiful beaches, and it’s going to have houses, casinos, and big hotels. It’s definitely a place that people will visit.” Indeed, some travel-industry observers believe that Phú Quốc will eventually compete for vacationers with Phuket in Thailand, Bali in Indonesia, and Hainan Island in China. The island attracted roughly 600,000 tourists in 2014, and government officials predict that it’ll get 2 million or more by 2030.

     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the January 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Tappahannock, Virginia. Diatomite Corporation of America has selected the architect for the golf course it plans to build on property where Captain John Smith once battled Virginia’s indigenous people. It’s Lester George, a Richmond-based designer whose portfolio includes two well-regarded layouts in the state, Ballyhack Golf Club and Kinloch Golf Club, and who now has an opportunity to create what’s been described as a “world-class” layout at Diatomite’s Fones Cliffs Resort. “Lester George has a proven, award-winning record of creating challenging, playable, beautiful, and environmentally sustainable destination golf courses,” a spokesperson for Diatomite said in a press release. Fones Cliffs, which will take shape on 1,000 acres along the Rappahannock River, will include 700 single-family houses and other housing types, a lodge with rooms for 116 overnight guests, retail and commercial areas, an equestrian center, and other attractions. George believes that the property is “one of the most fascinating and beautiful sites” he’s ever seen, and he’s promised to design the golf course with “a very soft hand.”

     Andros Island, Bahamas. Some U.S. investors aim to build what they think might be “the most important new development in the Western Hemisphere,” and they’re putting a familiar name on their golf complex. A group operating as Solar Verde Bahamas, Ltd. has reportedly secured government approval for “a self-sustaining community” that will be regarded as “the Jewel of the Bahamas” and “the Beacon of the Caribbean.” The community, to be called Solar Verde Bahamas, will take shape along Andros Island’s southeastern coast, and it’ll include a waterfront hotel, a marina capable of berthing yachts, a retail/commercial center, and a pair of 18-hole golf courses created by Tommy Fazio, the son of Jim Fazio and a nephew of Tom Fazio. Tommy, who’s out to make a name for himself, has designed Great River Golf Club in Milford, Connecticut and the New track at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, in New Jersey, and he’s overseen upgrades at several other Trump-branded properties. The CEO of the development group expects his course to take her community to “an entirely new level.”

     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     County Durham, England. The members of Darlington Golf Club, a venue that’s operated in northern England since 1908, have overwhelmingly accepted an offer to sell their property and make a fresh start with new facilities. A price hasn’t been announced, but the amount was previously described as a “substantial sum of money.” Darlington views the offer, made by Theakston Estates, Ltd., as “a win-win situation for us, the developer, and the town,” and one that it hopes will guarantee decades of financial viability. “Over the past few years, we and most other golf clubs have been struggling to make ends meet, and the signs indicate that things could and probably will get worse as we all fight for a limited number of members,” the club’s chairman, David Peat, told the Northern Echo. Darlington will be moving to Theakston-owned farmland just north of its current home. No date has been set for the relocation, but Peat told the Echo that it would happen “without any disruption to playing golf,” which suggests that the new course will be built before Theakston razes Darlington’s Alister MacKenzie-designed course and replaces it with houses.

     Cairo, Egypt. A well-known, Dubai-based conglomerate intends to make a “picturesque” golf course the centerpiece of an “all-encompassing” high-end community in the Middle East’s largest city. Al Habtoor Group believes its Al Habtoor City Cairo will be “a vibrant community” and “a new landmark” in the capital city. The 198-acre community has been master-planned to include 204 villas, three high-rise residential towers, six apartment buildings, three hotels, a shopping area, an international school, two polo fields, and the aforementioned golf course. “We have been studying the idea for some time,” Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, the company’s chairman and one of the richest people in the United Arab Emirates. “Egypt is ready for an investment of this scale.” Al Habtoor City Cairo has been modeled almost exactly on Al Habtoor City Dubai, which is expected to open in 2017. One big difference between the communities: The one in Dubai will reportedly feature a pair of penthouses priced at $250 million each.

     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     Baja California Sur, Mexico. Rees Jones has designed or redesigned dozens of golf courses in the United States, Canada, England, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Spain, and this month he unveils his first layout in Mexico. Jones’ Danzante Bay Golf Course is the centerpiece of Villa del Palmar at the Islands of Loreto, a tony resort community near Loreto, off the eastern coast of Baja California Sur. Jones made his reputation by preparing already difficult courses for the highest-caliber professional competitions, but he created the 18-hole track at Danzante Bay for casual golfers. “This golf course will have open entrances, pockets and sandy areas to capture the ball and keep it from going to the desert, and green contours that are manageable in the wind,” he said in a press release. “People will want to play it over and over again because the conditions will change with the wind.” Owen Perry and Luz Maria Torres sure hope he’s right, because they’re marketing Villa del Palmar as a “unique vacation experience.” At build-out, the community is expected to feature more than 300 vacation houses and condos, a spa, a beach club, and a golf practice center.