The Pipeline, march 17, 2017

     Like a lot of golf-course architects, David Dale is impatiently waiting for China’s central government to issue long-overdue guidelines to regulate golf-course construction. The Golfplan principal offers no guidance on when the regulations will finally come, but in an essay published by Golf Course Industry he recognizes their importance, as he believes that they “will spur development and help squash corruption related to future development.” That being said, Dale also suggests that the dark cloud that hangs over development in the People’s Republic may already be lifting. “In the last three months,” he writes, “my office has been contacted about three new projects in China.” If those projects are actually built, they’ll add to the eight that Golfplan says it’s produced in the nation. Actually, the number is down to seven: Dale acknowledges that one of the firm’s courses, Qiandahou Country Club in Zhejiang Province, was among those that were closed in the most recent government crackdown.

     Hà Nam Province, Vietnam. Vietnam’s countdown to 96 golf courses is now near its midway point, and Hà Nam Province is poised to add two more tracks to the list.
     On Christmas Eve 2016, ground was ceremonially broken on an 18-hole layout at Stone Valley Golf Resort, which will occupy 500 acres in Kim Bang District. The course, the first of two in the master plan, has been designed by Brian Curley, and it’s scheduled to open in early 2018. Curley is, of course, a principal of Paradise Valley, Arizona-based Schmidt-Curley Design, the firm best known for its epic work at the massive Mission Hills resorts in China.
     Over the past year or so, Curley has made his presence felt in Vietnam in a major way, thanks to his association with FLC Group, one of the nation’s major golf developers. He recently wrapped up construction on a course at FLC Quy Nhơn Golf Links, in Bình Định Province, and later this year he expects to open FLC Hạ Long Bay Golf Club & Resort, in Quảng Ninh Province. In addition, FLC Group has enlisted him to design the first two courses at FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links, a 7,500-acre resort community in Quảng Bình Province.
     An official count hasn’t been released lately, but these days Vietnam has about 45 golf courses. If domestic and foreign developers achieve the government’s goal – 96 courses by 2020 – that means about 50 more courses are going to open in the socialist republic over the next four years.

     The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the January 2017 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

     South Island, New Zealand. A winery outside Queenstown has dusted off expansion plans that include the construction of an 18-hole golf course. Gibbston Valley Winery had hoped to start building the course, the centerpiece of a 1,000-acre wine-themed community originally called Gibbston Valley Station, in 2009. The Great Recession put an end to those plans, but today, with New Zealand’s economy improving and 140,000 visitors coming through its doors annually, the winery believes its time has come. The golf course has been designed by Greg Turner, who expects it to offer “incredible views and dynamic challenges” and provide “a rewarding and memorable playing experience.” Turner, who’s based in Queenstown, has said that the course will feature “some of the world’s most spectacular holes,” and at one time he was thinking that it might not include any bunkers.

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

     New South Wales, Australia. Road construction in suburban Sydney is going to force a long-established golf club to relocate. Kogarah Golf Club, a venue in Arncliffe that opened in the 1930s, will be moving to a site in nearby Barton Park. A time line hasn’t yet been set, but the news comes as no surprise to the club’s members, as the road has been in the works for more than a decade. In fact, the club isn’t reluctant to relocate, because it’s lost members in recent years and believes a new home, especially one with a freshly built, “international-standard” course, will help to attract new members and ensure its long-term economic viability.

     Argyll & Bute, Scotland. Within the next year or two, an ancient Scottish golf venue is expected to become the centerpiece of a 300-house subdivision. It’ll be a dramatic change of pace for Helensburgh Golf Club, a venue in suburban Glasgow that was established in 1893 with a nine-hole course (it was reportedly “approved” by Old Tom Morris) and got its second nine in 1905. Today, Helensburgh is negotiating with a home builder that wants 30 acres of the club’s property. In exchange, the home builder has agreed to relocate five of the course’s holes and build a new clubhouse, an amenity that the unpretentious, family-friendly club believes it needs to ensure its financial viability. The club’s members don’t appear to have any regrets, for Frank Riding, a Helensburgh official, told a local newspaper that they “voted overwhelmingly for the development to proceed.” The houses aren’t likely to arrive until 2019 at the earliest, and the home builder has promised to complete the work on the golf course before they do.

     Negri Sembilan, Malaysia. Last week, several months after its soft opening, Kota Seriemas Golf & Country Club celebrated its official debut. The club, in suburban Kuala Lumpur, features a tournament-worthy layout that was designed by Nigel B. Douglas, who aims to produce “the highest-quality result in an optimum timeframe, for a realistic price and in a manner that is sympathetic to nature and sustainable for the long term.” Douglas has produced a handful of courses in Malaysia, among them two others in metropolitan Kuala Lumpur, Seri Selangor Golf Club and Valencia Golf Club. His new course is the centerpiece of a 2,400-acre community that opened just after the turn of the century. The Star thinks the 18-hole track “should do wonders for the place.”