The Week That Was, december 18, 2016

     The President-Elect’s golf operation may be looking to buy a high-prestige golf resort in suburban London, England. The Daily Mail reports that Trump Golf has expressed an “interest” in Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel, a venue that features a 27-hole golf complex. The property, in Buckinghamshire, is said to be the first “country club” in the United Kingdom. It’s probably best known for serving as a location for scenes in two James Bond movies, Goldfinger and Tomorrow Never Dies, as well as Bridget Jones’s Diary. Top 100 Golf Courses believes that the resort’s original 18-hole track, a Harry Colt design that dates from 1908, is “surely one of the finest parkland golf courses in the South of England,” and its seventh hole, a 150-yard par-3, served as the inspiration for the 16th at Augusta National. Trump Golf hasn’t commented on the potential acquisition, but the resort’s owner, a family-controlled entity called International Group, has acknowledged that it’s received “unsolicited approaches from interested parties.”

     The President-Elect may not be familiar with Harry Colt’s work, but Mike Keiser sure is. In fact, the world’s foremost developer of neo-classic links is thinking about building a Colt “homage” course at Sand Valley, his naturalist-style resort in central Wisconsin. Keiser describes himself as a “big fan” of Colt’s work, and he’s been down the tribute road before, as he famously commissioned Tom Doak and Jim Urbina to honor C. B. Macdonald at Bandon Dunes. For those who may not be familiar with Colt, he’s one of the seminal figures in the history of golf architecture, as he designed, redesigned, or made crucial design improvements to many of the world’s most famous golf courses. The complete list is much too long for me to regurgitate, but the group includes Muirfield, Royal County Down, Pine Valley, the Dunluce course at Royal Portrush, Swinley Forest, Sunningdale, Royal Porthcawl, the West course at Wentworth Club, Toronto Golf Club, and, of course, Stoke Park. Sand Valley, which could eventually have as many as six courses, expects to open its first, a Coore & Crenshaw design, in the spring of next year, and its second, by David McLay Kidd, could enjoy a soft opening several months later. Keiser is currently weighing options for course number three, with the tribute track vying against proposals from Doak, Urbina, and Mike DeVries. If he opts to go the Colt route, he’ll likely give the commission to Coore & Crenshaw.

     One of the biggest names in golf has agreed to design the Chicago Park District’s highly anticipated, Barack Obama-endorsed golf complex. It’s Tiger Woods, who was nominated for the job by the First Golfer and who now has a chance to produce a career-defining layout. The to-be-named complex, which will take shape on property currently occupied by two financially challenged municipal tracks, will consist of an 18-hole course capable of hosting an elite PGA Tour event and an easier-to-play nine-hole course. “This is a really exciting time if you are a golf nut in Chicago,” the park district’s superintendent told the Chicago Tribune. “For far too long, you’ve watched droves of Chicagoans leave the city to play golf in the suburbs.” The complex will take shape along Lake Michigan, in the shadow of Obama’s forthcoming presidential library. The park district hopes to break ground in the spring, with play to begin in 2020. Woods, who needs good public relations to rehabilitate his image, has promised to deliver “a course that everyone will enjoy.”

     Though he’s no fan of “signature” golf, Mike Keiser has endorsed the Chicago Park District’s selection of Tiger Woods as the designer of its lakefront golf complex. “I like the choice,” says Keiser, who understands how valuable a brand-name architect’s salesmanship can be in potentially divisive development ventures. Keiser is serving as an adviser to Mark Rolfing, the project’s initial evangelist, and as a fundraiser for the park district, which may need $30 million or more to complete the construction. On the fundraising front, Keiser regards President Obama, a Chicagoan, as an ace in the hole. “When Obama became engaged, he galvanized the donor class of Chicago golfers,” he says. “He’s why the fundraising is going to be successful.”

     Concert Golf Partners is hoping to acquire a Philadelphia-area venue that claims to offer “a relaxed yet refined private club experience.” Peter Nanula’s Newport Beach, California-based investment group has offered to buy White Manor Country Club, a venue in Malvern with an 18-hole golf course that’s operated since the early 1960s. Concert has reportedly offered $46,000 an acre for the club, an amount that translates to somewhere between $7.36 million and $7.82 million. Such a price will certainly catch the attention of the club’s bondholders, but the sale is no sure thing for two reasons. First, although the club will lose money this year, a local newspaper reports that the deficit is “not alarming and could be handled without selling the club.” Second, other potential buyers have emerged since White Manor’s availability became known.

     The on-again, off-again sale of Accordia Golf is on again. MBK Partners, a South Korean private equity group, has offered $760 million for Accordia, Japan’s best-known golf operator, and the price has received a thumb’s up from Accordia’s ownership. The Financial Times reports that Japan’s golf industry has fallen on hard times -- the culprits are “shrinking corporate expense accounts and stagnant wages” that are “putting courses out of business” -- but it acknowledges that “Accordia has generally thrived.” For its part, MBK believes it can buck the prevailing negative trends by attracting golf tourists from nearby nations and persuading Japanese retirees to take up the sport. Accordia, which was established by Goldman Sachs, reportedly owns 43 golf properties and manages 93 others, which is roughly 5 percent of the 2,500 in Japan.