The Week That Was, january 22, 2017

     We’re only three weeks into 2017, and the International Golf Federation is already embroiled in what may be remembered as the blunder of the year. In what amounts to a gross failure of due diligence, the venue chosen by the IGF to host the golf competition in the 2020 Olympics, Kasumigaseki Country Club in suburban Tokyo, doesn’t admit women as full members. The club accepts women, but they receive a second-class membership. This is another black eye for golf, and right now members of the IGF and the International Olympic Committee are on their hands and knees, begging Kasumigaseki’s leadership to begin giving their female members the same privileges that the men get. “The restrictions on women at Kasumigaseki are certainly a problem,” an official of the Japan Golf Council told the Guardian. “It runs contrary to what the IOC stands for in spirit.” Ty Votaw of the IGF has acknowledged that his group was “not aware” of Kasumigaseki’s discriminatory membership policies, but he didn’t say why such an important issue was overlooked. Here’s the bottom line: This problem will soon be resolved, either by a change in Kasumigaseki’s membership policies or a change in venue. But when it comes to golf’s public image, the damage has been done. The IGF’s mistake sends an appalling message about our industry’s sensitivity to women’s issues.

     Congratulations to the First Tee of Greater Wilmington, North Carolina, which has become the primary beneficiary of charitable donations generated by the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. “We are proud to continue our support for The First Tee,” a spokesperson for Wells Fargo said in a press release. “They are making a real difference in our local communities, and their work connects directly with Wells Fargo’s vision and values.” Those are kind words, but does the First Tee really wish to be associated with Wells Fargo’s vision and values? Wells Fargo is, after all, the bank that defrauded so many of its customers by creating accounts that they didn’t ask for and then kept news of a federal investigation into the matter a secret from its shareholders. Where do such activities, as well as others initiated by Wells Fargo, fit on the list of the First Tee’s nine Core Values? Wells Fargo may be cynical enough to repair its shattered public image by exploiting the innocence of kids, as it does in its television commercials, but is golf so financially stressed that it has to serve as an accomplice? If our industry’s leaders really believed that the First Tee’s “inherently positive values” are so intimately “connected with the game of golf,” they’d cut ties with Wells Fargo and other shady financial institutions.

     If a published report is accurate, London + Regional didn’t go very far to find the architect for its golf course in Varadero, Cuba. Skift says that the 18-hole track at Carbonera will be designed by International Design Group, a British firm that was originally linked to the venture in 2008, when it operated as PGA Design Consulting, Ltd. Bob Hunt, IDG’s principal, was seemingly replaced in 2011, when Carbonera’s previous developers began working with Tony Jacklin, but now he’s apparently back in the picture. A spokesperson for L+R told the online news source that his company intended to break ground on Carbonera by the end of last year, with its first phase – 200 houses and a 150-room hotel – to open by 2020. As far as construction on the golf course goes, your guess is as good as mine.

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

     Without explaining why or offering any “alternative facts,” last week Trump International Golf Links Ireland canceled a long-planned “massive party” that was supposed to celebrate the inauguration of the 45th U.S. president. Instead, while gala inaugural balls were taking place in Washington, DC, TIGL Ireland chose to continue with what it called “business as usual.” It was a surprising about-face, seeing as how the event had reportedly been in the works since November, when the head of the resort’s ownership group won the presidential election. For context, however, let’s note that relations between Donald Trump and his property in Doonbeg have been strained of late. Last year, in the wake of what he described as an “unpleasant experience” with Irish planning authorities, Trump called his resort “small potatoes” and claimed that he “couldn’t care less” about it anymore. It’s no stretch to think that such dismissive comments might have killed the party mood.