England Golf reports that the most “enterprising” and “innovative” clubs under its jurisdiction are “increasingly ready to evolve to meet their customers’ needs,” and as a result they’re enjoying “a great demand for golf.” According to data gathered in a recent questionnaire, today the average club in England has 484 members, up from 460 in 2016. The secret, says England Golf, lies in some combination of a welcoming atmosphere, flexible membership options, regular communications with members, new income streams, improved off-course experiences, and “fun golf formats.” Even better, golfers appear to be willing to shell out more for golf memberships nowadays. The average adult golfer in England pays £40 ($52) more than he or she did in 2016, while the average senior pays £50 ($65) more.
For the second time this year, an investment vehicle linked to Blackstone Group has acquired a prominent golf property in a desirable golf market. In early 2018, the huge, New York City-based investment company reportedly paid roughly $330 million for Turtle Bay Resort, a 1,300-acre spread with a 36-hole complex on the northern coast of O’ahu, Hawaii. And just weeks ago, an entity controlled by Blackstone’s top executives paid an undisclosed price for JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, a Texas property that’s home to TPC San Antonio. The TPC features a pair of 18-hole tracks, one designed by Greg “the Living Brand” Norman and the other by Pete Dye. The former hosts the Valero Texas Open, an annual event on the PGA Tour. But Blackstone doesn’t figure to be a permanent presence in San Antonio. Like other private-equity firms, it typically buys undervalued properties, puts them in a stronger financial position, and then sells them.
Surplus Transactions – David Cuthbertson, a home builder, has turned over Larkin Golf Club to Wingate University. Larkin, which has operated in Statesville, North Carolina since 1996 (it was originally known as Fox Den Golf Club), features an 18-hole, Clyde Johnston-designed golf course. It’s Wingate’s second golf property, as the university accepted Stonebridge Golf Club in Monroe as a gift in early 2018. . . . Signal Point Club, a 55-year-old venue in Niles, Michigan (it’s just north of South Bend, Indiana), has become the second golf property for an investment group led by Tim Firestone, Eric Haag, and Joe Herbert. Signal Point features a nine-hole layout that was designed by Robert Bruce Harris. Its new owners also own Blackthorn Golf Club, an 18-hole track in South Bend. . . . The city of Attleboro, Massachusetts has reportedly paid $3.3 million for Highland Country Club, a bankrupt nine-hole venue that’s been in business since 1901. The city hopes to find a private-sector management company that’s willing to operate the 93-acre venue, whose troubles have been blamed on a “declining membership and reduced interest in golf.”
Just three years after it opened, Adena Golf & Country Club has gone belly up. Frank Stronach, the Canadian billionaire who reportedly spent $50 million to create the club, his self-designed 18-hole golf course, and whatever else he managed to finish at his 420-acre property in Ocala, Florida, has decided that he can’t stomach any further financial losses. In a farewell address, Adena told its members that it had hoped to become “the finest private club in all of Florida,” and it apologized because it could “no longer bring you the first-class membership experience that you have come to enjoy.” Stronach made his money (Forbes says he’s worth $1.5 billion) in auto parts, and it seems that his true sports passion is thoroughbred horse racing.
Desolation Row Extended – Crane Creek Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Kilbourne, Illinois, didn’t open this year and has presumably breathed its final breath. Crane Creek’s owner, Joel Hirsch, attributed the 20-year-old course’s persistent financial losses in part to its location, as Kilbourne is “a long way” from Peoria and Springfield, the closest nearby population centers. . . . You can also say goodbye to Jones Creek Golf Club, a 32-year-old, Rees Jones-designed golf course outside Augusta, Georgia. The club’s owners blame the property’s demise on what’s been described as “issues of water runoff from a nearby lake.” . . . Pines Golf Course & Driving Range, an 18-hole, par-3 track in Groton, Connecticut, will soon be razed so its 34 acres can become farmland. The course, which had operated for more than a half-century, has at one time or another also been known as Birch Plain Golf Course and Trumbull Golf Course.
Are you wondering how much of a week’s golf news I cover in this blog? The answer, unfortunately, is just a fraction of what passes my way. The golf business, particularly the development side of the golf business, has unquestionably perked up over the past year or two, and there’s no way for me to address all of it. So if you require a more comprehensive news digest, contact me via e-mail at golfcoursereport@aol.com. I’ll send you a sample issue of either U.S. or International Construction Clips, depending on your needs.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Sunday, September 23, 2018
The Week That Was, september 23, 2018
In recent weeks, course owners and operators in Canada have been contemplating potential weed problems, and they aren’t talking crabgrass. Our neighbor to the north is on track to legalize recreational use of marijuana next month, and the nation’s courses are trying to figure out what it means to their business. According to a survey of nearly 5,500 Canadian golfers, about 14 percent expect to fire up while they play, and the number increases to about 50 percent for golfers under the age of 35. With such data in mind, more than one-quarter of the 56 golf facilities that were polled said that they might begin selling marijuana if they’re allowed to, just as they sell beer and liquor. It’s worth noting, of course, that golfers have long been getting high on fairways, and one respondent to the survey acknowledged that “I can’t remember the last time I heard a complaint.”
Can’t say how much pot golfers will soon be smoking at Osprey Valley Golf Club, but they’ll be doing it at Canada’s first Tournament Players Club. The freshly rebranded TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, in suburban Toronto, features a trio of 18-hole, Doug Carrick-designed golf courses, all of which are ranked among the top 100 on SCOREGolf’s list of the nation’s best tracks (at #48, #51, and #55). The TPC Network, which is licensed by the PGA Tour, now consists of 33 properties, five of them outside the United States.
The government of Romania has green-lighted a variety of potential economy-boosting projects, including a golf course that will take shape at a resort in Costinesti, a village along the Black Sea coast. The package of projects consists mostly of things like rail lines and hydroelectric power plants, but it includes a collection of what Romania Insider calls “luxury resorts” that will stretch across two miles of waterfront. In all, the four resorts will occupy 2,000 acres and offer more than 4,000 hotel rooms in addition to the usual assortment of tourist attractions. Assuming that any of them are actually built, they’ll be done in partnership with private-sector development groups.
Pipeline Overflow – The city of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, is thinking about turning one of its “golfing gems” into a track worthy of high-level professional events. The city has hired a team of consultants, including course designer Graham Marsh, to scope out the future of the South course at North Adelaide Golf Course. If the idea is approved, at least part of the course will be redesigned and the entirety of it will be upgraded to “international standard.” . . . Mixta Nigeria has apparently been directed to build a golf course and a “world-class golf resort” at an emerging mini-city outside Benin, the capital of Edo State in Nigeria. Details are scarce, unfortunately, but the state’s executive governor told the Daily Trust that “the same people who built Lakowe Golf Resort in Lagos” – that would be Mixta Nigeria – are behind the one in Benin. . . . Nothing is official, but community activists in greater Mumbai believe that India’s navy has set out to build a golf course at its station in Hamla. The navy denies the allegation, but India has a lot of courses at military bases.
The second-oldest golf course in Idaho is about to change hands. Just weeks after unloading a property outside Atlanta, Georgia, American Golf Corporation has found an as-yet unidentified buyer for Plantation Country Club, a venue that’s operated in Boise since 1917. A price hasn’t been announced, but the Idaho Statesman reports that the property has an assessed value of $2.6 million. Plantation was originally known as Boise Country Club, and it opened with a six-hole course. Today it has an 18-hole, Chandler Egan-designed layout. I can’t explain why American Golf has become such an active seller, but it’s worth noting that it’s also put Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course, in Irvine, California, on the market. It’s also worth noting that American Golf will continue to manage Plantation after it’s sold.
Surplus Transactions – Tony Soletti, a Florida-based insurance man, has reportedly paid $2.3 million for River Club, the centerpiece of a 30-year-old, 700-house community in Bradenton. The semiprivate club’s 18-hole course, a Ron Garl design, is said to be “one of the most challenging layouts in the area.” Soletti figures that River Club will complement his nearby Links at Greenfield Plantation, which he’s owned since 2012. . . . An unidentified buyer has paid an undisclosed price for Escalon Golf Course, a nine-hole, 34-year-old layout in Escalon, California. A spokesperson for the seller, a group led by the family of Tom and Betty Hagan, told the Escalon Times that the new owners plan to continue golf operations and have “really big plans.” . . . Gene Hoffman and Scott Covalt have acquired Fox Ridge Golf Club, a 19-year-old venue in suburban Waterloo, Iowa. The new owners told a local newspaper that they intend to improve the 18-hole layout “in every way, shape, and form.”
A high-end community in suburban Indianapolis, Indiana is going to lose its golf course. Gray Eagle Golf Course, which opened in 2001, will close next year, a victim of “decreased or stagnant golf participation over eight years,” according to the Indianapolis Star. “The older generation is dying, and the younger generation is not taking their place,” one of the course’s owners, Mark Thompson, told the newspaper. Gray Eagle’s 18-hole layout was designed by Art Kaser, who works for Thompson’s company. The company tried to persuade the homeowners in the accompanying community to buy the course, but they declined, and the city doesn’t want it either.
Desolation Row Extended – A Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course in Rio Rico, Arizona (it’s south of Tucson) is about to bite the dust. A date for the closing of the 47-year-old track at Rio Rico Golf Club hasn’t been announced, but the CEO of Heritage Hotels & Resorts, the club’s owner, told Nogales International that it’ll be “soon.” . . . Elected officials in Snohomish County, Washington hope to find a new operator for Kayak Point Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Stanwood that’s going to close next month if they aren’t successful. Though the Ron Fream design has been described as “one of Washington's most popular courses,” its current management company says it’s “struggled to remain viable in an increasingly challenging business environment.” . . . A year before he was expected to, Chuck Bennell has stuck a fork into his Tam O’Shanter Golf Course. Bennell had said that he expected to close the 36-hole complex in Canton, Ohio next year or perhaps in 2020, but it appears that last year’s successful rezoning pushed his plans for the property ahead.
Duly Noted – The Robb Report recently threw a few softball questions at Greg “the Living Brand” Norman, and he replied with a flurry of buzz words and phrases, among them “welcoming,” “connectivity,” “social media,” “streaming,” and “solar panels.” When he was asked about potential areas of growth, he nominated China and Cuba, though he made it clear that he doesn’t expect the growth to be imminent. . . . The increasing popularity of high-profile, easily marketable courses in Vietnam is taking its toll on golf tourism in Thailand. To boost its prospects, the nation’s tourism authority wants you to know that Thailand is a “World Class Golf Destination,” with a “vast choice of golf courses” (roughly 250) that attracted 400,000 international golf travelers in 2016, presumably the last year for which data is available. . . . Slovakia is home to an estimated 8,000 “registered” golfers, a number that the Slovak Spectator believes is “too few” to support “the number of golf courses that have been developed in the country.” As a result, the newspaper says, most of the nation’s golf resorts “are struggling financially.” (Sorry, I can’t find a link to this story.)
In compliance with new European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here it is: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t bake any cookies into your computer. All I do is write little stories and then post what I write. I don’t know your names or addresses or ages or income levels, and I have no interest in any of that information. That being said, the World Golf Report occupies a slice of cyberspace owned by Google, one of the world’s foremost data collectors, and I’ll willing to bet that Google collects whatever it can about you. Incidentally, Google has provided me with an official-looking statement that’s supposed to appear at the bottom of the blog, but I can’t figure out how to load it.
Can’t say how much pot golfers will soon be smoking at Osprey Valley Golf Club, but they’ll be doing it at Canada’s first Tournament Players Club. The freshly rebranded TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, in suburban Toronto, features a trio of 18-hole, Doug Carrick-designed golf courses, all of which are ranked among the top 100 on SCOREGolf’s list of the nation’s best tracks (at #48, #51, and #55). The TPC Network, which is licensed by the PGA Tour, now consists of 33 properties, five of them outside the United States.
The government of Romania has green-lighted a variety of potential economy-boosting projects, including a golf course that will take shape at a resort in Costinesti, a village along the Black Sea coast. The package of projects consists mostly of things like rail lines and hydroelectric power plants, but it includes a collection of what Romania Insider calls “luxury resorts” that will stretch across two miles of waterfront. In all, the four resorts will occupy 2,000 acres and offer more than 4,000 hotel rooms in addition to the usual assortment of tourist attractions. Assuming that any of them are actually built, they’ll be done in partnership with private-sector development groups.
Pipeline Overflow – The city of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, is thinking about turning one of its “golfing gems” into a track worthy of high-level professional events. The city has hired a team of consultants, including course designer Graham Marsh, to scope out the future of the South course at North Adelaide Golf Course. If the idea is approved, at least part of the course will be redesigned and the entirety of it will be upgraded to “international standard.” . . . Mixta Nigeria has apparently been directed to build a golf course and a “world-class golf resort” at an emerging mini-city outside Benin, the capital of Edo State in Nigeria. Details are scarce, unfortunately, but the state’s executive governor told the Daily Trust that “the same people who built Lakowe Golf Resort in Lagos” – that would be Mixta Nigeria – are behind the one in Benin. . . . Nothing is official, but community activists in greater Mumbai believe that India’s navy has set out to build a golf course at its station in Hamla. The navy denies the allegation, but India has a lot of courses at military bases.
The second-oldest golf course in Idaho is about to change hands. Just weeks after unloading a property outside Atlanta, Georgia, American Golf Corporation has found an as-yet unidentified buyer for Plantation Country Club, a venue that’s operated in Boise since 1917. A price hasn’t been announced, but the Idaho Statesman reports that the property has an assessed value of $2.6 million. Plantation was originally known as Boise Country Club, and it opened with a six-hole course. Today it has an 18-hole, Chandler Egan-designed layout. I can’t explain why American Golf has become such an active seller, but it’s worth noting that it’s also put Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course, in Irvine, California, on the market. It’s also worth noting that American Golf will continue to manage Plantation after it’s sold.
Surplus Transactions – Tony Soletti, a Florida-based insurance man, has reportedly paid $2.3 million for River Club, the centerpiece of a 30-year-old, 700-house community in Bradenton. The semiprivate club’s 18-hole course, a Ron Garl design, is said to be “one of the most challenging layouts in the area.” Soletti figures that River Club will complement his nearby Links at Greenfield Plantation, which he’s owned since 2012. . . . An unidentified buyer has paid an undisclosed price for Escalon Golf Course, a nine-hole, 34-year-old layout in Escalon, California. A spokesperson for the seller, a group led by the family of Tom and Betty Hagan, told the Escalon Times that the new owners plan to continue golf operations and have “really big plans.” . . . Gene Hoffman and Scott Covalt have acquired Fox Ridge Golf Club, a 19-year-old venue in suburban Waterloo, Iowa. The new owners told a local newspaper that they intend to improve the 18-hole layout “in every way, shape, and form.”
A high-end community in suburban Indianapolis, Indiana is going to lose its golf course. Gray Eagle Golf Course, which opened in 2001, will close next year, a victim of “decreased or stagnant golf participation over eight years,” according to the Indianapolis Star. “The older generation is dying, and the younger generation is not taking their place,” one of the course’s owners, Mark Thompson, told the newspaper. Gray Eagle’s 18-hole layout was designed by Art Kaser, who works for Thompson’s company. The company tried to persuade the homeowners in the accompanying community to buy the course, but they declined, and the city doesn’t want it either.
Desolation Row Extended – A Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course in Rio Rico, Arizona (it’s south of Tucson) is about to bite the dust. A date for the closing of the 47-year-old track at Rio Rico Golf Club hasn’t been announced, but the CEO of Heritage Hotels & Resorts, the club’s owner, told Nogales International that it’ll be “soon.” . . . Elected officials in Snohomish County, Washington hope to find a new operator for Kayak Point Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Stanwood that’s going to close next month if they aren’t successful. Though the Ron Fream design has been described as “one of Washington's most popular courses,” its current management company says it’s “struggled to remain viable in an increasingly challenging business environment.” . . . A year before he was expected to, Chuck Bennell has stuck a fork into his Tam O’Shanter Golf Course. Bennell had said that he expected to close the 36-hole complex in Canton, Ohio next year or perhaps in 2020, but it appears that last year’s successful rezoning pushed his plans for the property ahead.
Duly Noted – The Robb Report recently threw a few softball questions at Greg “the Living Brand” Norman, and he replied with a flurry of buzz words and phrases, among them “welcoming,” “connectivity,” “social media,” “streaming,” and “solar panels.” When he was asked about potential areas of growth, he nominated China and Cuba, though he made it clear that he doesn’t expect the growth to be imminent. . . . The increasing popularity of high-profile, easily marketable courses in Vietnam is taking its toll on golf tourism in Thailand. To boost its prospects, the nation’s tourism authority wants you to know that Thailand is a “World Class Golf Destination,” with a “vast choice of golf courses” (roughly 250) that attracted 400,000 international golf travelers in 2016, presumably the last year for which data is available. . . . Slovakia is home to an estimated 8,000 “registered” golfers, a number that the Slovak Spectator believes is “too few” to support “the number of golf courses that have been developed in the country.” As a result, the newspaper says, most of the nation’s golf resorts “are struggling financially.” (Sorry, I can’t find a link to this story.)
In compliance with new European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here it is: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t bake any cookies into your computer. All I do is write little stories and then post what I write. I don’t know your names or addresses or ages or income levels, and I have no interest in any of that information. That being said, the World Golf Report occupies a slice of cyberspace owned by Google, one of the world’s foremost data collectors, and I’ll willing to bet that Google collects whatever it can about you. Incidentally, Google has provided me with an official-looking statement that’s supposed to appear at the bottom of the blog, but I can’t figure out how to load it.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
The Week That Was, september 16, 2018
A date for the groundbreaking hasn’t yet been set, but Tom Doak has won the commission for the fourth course at Sand Valley, the neo-classic golf mecca envisioned by Mike Keiser in central Wisconsin. Doak told Golf Digest that he intends to design “a full golf course” but won’t “worry about par or distance,” and the magazine reports that the final product will likely play to about 6,100 yards. Sand Valley’s development is now in the hands of Keiser’s sons, who believe that Doak will be working with “some of the best golf land we have” and that he knows how to “unleash its best potential.” They’ve suggested that the course might resemble the one at Swinley Forest Golf Club in England, a world top-100 layout that’s been described as “frozen in time, exclusive, unusual, and totally eccentric.”
Pipeline Overflow – Tower Holdings has embraced a novel financing scheme for its long-overdue resort on Great Keppel Island: Cryptocurrency. With conventional options disappearing, Terry Agnew’s company intends to float a Security Token Offering (the digital-economy version of an initial public offering) for shares in the planned resort, which will include vacation houses, a hotel, a marina, and an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg “the Living Brand” Norman. . . . Speaking of overdue, it appears that the overhaul of Marco Simone Golf & Country Club will soon begin. European Golf Design and Tom Fazio II are teaming up to create what’s been called “an entirely new golf course” for Marco Simone, which will host the Ryder Cup competition in 2022. In a press release, the president of the Italian Golf Federation admitted to being happy that the project “is finally taking shape.” . . . Speaking once again of overdue, a development group in Mangalore, India has made some progress on a golf course it reportedly proposed to build six years ago. The Times of India says that the course will take shape on 135 acres “near the sea shore,” presuming, of course, that the developers can secure what appears to be a final approval.
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – As part of its continuing effort to reward customers and schmooze prospects, JCB, Ltd. has opened a high-quality golf course at its headquarters in Staffordshire, England. The 18-hole track was designed by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design, and JCB hopes it’ll eventually host events on the European Tour. . . . The initial 18 at FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links may not be the only track in Vietnam that Brian Curley debuts this year. Truong An Golf Company is putting the finishing touches on the first course (of a planned two) at Stone Valley Golf Resort, a 500-acre spread in Hà Nam Province, south of Hà Nội. Curley thinks the course will be “unlike most anything in the Hà Nội market.” . . . José María Olazábal’s golf course in Qatar – a layout that’s being marketed as “one of the most technologically advanced, innovative, and sustainable golf courses in the world” – will enjoy its “soft” opening next month. Besides its 18-hole track, Education City Golf Club will feature floodlit six- and nine-hole courses as well as “female-centric practice facilities,” all created to provide “a blueprint for growing levels of golf participation globally.”
The Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club, a waterfront property in St. Petersburg that’s been described as “one of the most recognizable resorts in all of Florida,” has been sold to an investment group controlled by the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bryan Glazer’s SCG Hospitality paid a so-far undisclosed amount for the Vinoy, which opened in 1925 and features a Marriott-managed 362-room hotel, a marina, and, a few miles distant, a golf course that was originally designed by Donald Ross. (The 18-hole layout was redesigned by Ron Garl in the early 1990s.) Glazer, who bought the Vinoy from RLJ Lodging Trust, characterizes his latest acquisition as “a crown jewel” and claims to be “committed to long-term ownership.”
Surplus Transactions – A handful of local investors operating as Arizona High Desert Golf Partners has acquired Verde Santa Fe Golf Course, an 18-hole track on the outskirts of Sedona. The 21-year-old venue, part of a 480-acre community, now operates as Agave Highlands Golf Course, and the new owners promise “a true golf experience.” . . . Gary and Kathie Vollmar have purchased Otsego Club & Resort, a four-season getaway in Gaylord, Michigan. The resort, which features a pair of 18-hole golf courses (including a Bill Diddle track that dates from the mid 1950s), had experienced what the Petoskey News calls “a summer full of questions and speculation.” The seller was Osprey Recreational Properties, which had owned Otsego since 2006. . . . Regarding the sale of Club West Golf Course, a near-lifeless track in Phoenix, Arizona: It’s been reversed. Wilson Gee is back at the helm of the 25-year-old venue, after his buyer stopped making payments on his $1.3 million loan. The course is currently closed, but Gee has indicated that he intends to re-open it before the snowbirds arrive.
Duly Noted – Pounding ocean waves continue to gnaw at Tralee Golf Club, which yet again has to shore up its coastal defenses. The club, in County Kerry, Ireland, is looking to prevent further erosion at holes #1 and #2 at its Arnold Palmer-designed course, and it says, somewhat melodramatically, that “whole stretches of the golf course would be lost to future generations” if the job isn’t done soon. . . . So far this year, 114 players on the PGA Tour – a number that Golf Digest believes is “an all-time high” – have won $1 million or more. Much of the credit should go to Tim Finchem, who sure knew how to make it rain. . . . Ever alert to emerging market trends, Nicklaus Design has unveiled its first miniature golf course. It’s a Chad Goetz-designed layout, created mostly to support the empire’s charitable endeavors, and Jack Nicklaus told the Palm Beach Post that “at least one of the holes reminded him of St. Andrews.”
Pipeline Overflow – Tower Holdings has embraced a novel financing scheme for its long-overdue resort on Great Keppel Island: Cryptocurrency. With conventional options disappearing, Terry Agnew’s company intends to float a Security Token Offering (the digital-economy version of an initial public offering) for shares in the planned resort, which will include vacation houses, a hotel, a marina, and an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg “the Living Brand” Norman. . . . Speaking of overdue, it appears that the overhaul of Marco Simone Golf & Country Club will soon begin. European Golf Design and Tom Fazio II are teaming up to create what’s been called “an entirely new golf course” for Marco Simone, which will host the Ryder Cup competition in 2022. In a press release, the president of the Italian Golf Federation admitted to being happy that the project “is finally taking shape.” . . . Speaking once again of overdue, a development group in Mangalore, India has made some progress on a golf course it reportedly proposed to build six years ago. The Times of India says that the course will take shape on 135 acres “near the sea shore,” presuming, of course, that the developers can secure what appears to be a final approval.
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – As part of its continuing effort to reward customers and schmooze prospects, JCB, Ltd. has opened a high-quality golf course at its headquarters in Staffordshire, England. The 18-hole track was designed by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design, and JCB hopes it’ll eventually host events on the European Tour. . . . The initial 18 at FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links may not be the only track in Vietnam that Brian Curley debuts this year. Truong An Golf Company is putting the finishing touches on the first course (of a planned two) at Stone Valley Golf Resort, a 500-acre spread in Hà Nam Province, south of Hà Nội. Curley thinks the course will be “unlike most anything in the Hà Nội market.” . . . José María Olazábal’s golf course in Qatar – a layout that’s being marketed as “one of the most technologically advanced, innovative, and sustainable golf courses in the world” – will enjoy its “soft” opening next month. Besides its 18-hole track, Education City Golf Club will feature floodlit six- and nine-hole courses as well as “female-centric practice facilities,” all created to provide “a blueprint for growing levels of golf participation globally.”
The Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club, a waterfront property in St. Petersburg that’s been described as “one of the most recognizable resorts in all of Florida,” has been sold to an investment group controlled by the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bryan Glazer’s SCG Hospitality paid a so-far undisclosed amount for the Vinoy, which opened in 1925 and features a Marriott-managed 362-room hotel, a marina, and, a few miles distant, a golf course that was originally designed by Donald Ross. (The 18-hole layout was redesigned by Ron Garl in the early 1990s.) Glazer, who bought the Vinoy from RLJ Lodging Trust, characterizes his latest acquisition as “a crown jewel” and claims to be “committed to long-term ownership.”
Surplus Transactions – A handful of local investors operating as Arizona High Desert Golf Partners has acquired Verde Santa Fe Golf Course, an 18-hole track on the outskirts of Sedona. The 21-year-old venue, part of a 480-acre community, now operates as Agave Highlands Golf Course, and the new owners promise “a true golf experience.” . . . Gary and Kathie Vollmar have purchased Otsego Club & Resort, a four-season getaway in Gaylord, Michigan. The resort, which features a pair of 18-hole golf courses (including a Bill Diddle track that dates from the mid 1950s), had experienced what the Petoskey News calls “a summer full of questions and speculation.” The seller was Osprey Recreational Properties, which had owned Otsego since 2006. . . . Regarding the sale of Club West Golf Course, a near-lifeless track in Phoenix, Arizona: It’s been reversed. Wilson Gee is back at the helm of the 25-year-old venue, after his buyer stopped making payments on his $1.3 million loan. The course is currently closed, but Gee has indicated that he intends to re-open it before the snowbirds arrive.
Duly Noted – Pounding ocean waves continue to gnaw at Tralee Golf Club, which yet again has to shore up its coastal defenses. The club, in County Kerry, Ireland, is looking to prevent further erosion at holes #1 and #2 at its Arnold Palmer-designed course, and it says, somewhat melodramatically, that “whole stretches of the golf course would be lost to future generations” if the job isn’t done soon. . . . So far this year, 114 players on the PGA Tour – a number that Golf Digest believes is “an all-time high” – have won $1 million or more. Much of the credit should go to Tim Finchem, who sure knew how to make it rain. . . . Ever alert to emerging market trends, Nicklaus Design has unveiled its first miniature golf course. It’s a Chad Goetz-designed layout, created mostly to support the empire’s charitable endeavors, and Jack Nicklaus told the Palm Beach Post that “at least one of the holes reminded him of St. Andrews.”
Sunday, September 2, 2018
The Week That Was, september 2, 2018
Not to wreck anyone’s Labor Day weekend, but the number of rounds played in the United States continues to fall. According to Golf Datatech, through the first six months of this year the number has declined by 3.3 percent, which suggests that all those grow-the-game initiatives that have been rolled out in recent years have yet to get any traction.
A Las Vegas, Nevada-based casino operator has set out to build what it calls a “regional destination resort,” including an 18-hole golf course, in a remote part of eastern New Mexico. Full House Resorts has optioned 520 acres outside Clovis, near the Texas state line, for La Posada del Llano, which has been master-planned to include a casino, a horse-racing track, a hotel, an RV park, a water park, and other attractions. Full House, which has five casino properties in four western states, believes that La Posada del Llano will turn Clovis, which is at least 100 miles from a city of any substantial size (we’re talking Lubbock and Amarillo, in Texas), into “a year-round tourist destination.” Assuming it’s built, the resort’s course will be designed by Todd Eckenrode of Origins Golf Design.
Pipeline Overflow – The people at Sandals Resorts International must be pleased with the renovation Greg Norman is doing for them on St. Lucia, because they’ve hired him to create a from-scratch course on nearby Tobago. Details are scarce, but it appears that the island’s golf association expects “the Living Brand” to deliver a track that will lure “international tournaments” and make Tobago “a golfing destination.” . . . A group of vacation spots, including at least one with a golf course, may someday take shape in the vicinity of Lake Charvak, in eastern Uzbekistan. The Uzbek government thinks that the area has natural advantages that would contribute to four-season tourism, so it’s laying plans to create the infrastructure and amenities necessary to make it happen. . . . The Bhavani Island Tourism Corporation, a government agency in Andhra Pradesh, India, is looking for a private-sector partner willing to build a golf course in suburban Visakhapatnam. The course will be accompanied by a convention center, a hotel, and other upscale attractions, including a helipad.
Only a few weeks after Golf Club of Vistoso died an unhappy death, plans have been laid to bring the 23-year-old venue in suburban Tucson, Arizona back to life. Alan Mishkin’s Parks Legacy Project has reportedly paid $3.5 million for the club and its 18-hole, Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course, a high-end, stand-alone facility that had previously operated with a business model that was said to be “just not sustainable.” To put the club on stronger financial footing, Mishkin’s group (which includes golf architect Forrest Richardson) plans to make the course “a more user-friendly layout” and invest in overdue upgrades, the bill for which could amount to $2.5 million. If all goes as planned, Golf Club of Vistoso will re-open in early 2019.
Surplus Transactions – The city of Henderson, Kentucky has agreed to pay $750,000 for Players Club of Henderson, a facility whose finances have been dicey for several years. The club opened in 1999, and its 18-hole course was designed by Danny McQueen, one of the principals of the current ownership group. The city’s offer is accompanied by several contingencies, and the purchase could lead the city to close its nine-hole course. . . . In what’s been described as a “steal of a deal” and “a win-win all around,” the city of Dearborn Heights, Michigan has bid $1.8 million for Warren Valley Golf Course. Warren Valley, which has operated since the early 1920s, features a pair of 18-hole courses that were designed by Donald Ross. Elected officials in Wayne County, the current owner, approved the sale late last year. . . . Windwood Hollow Golf Course, a 52-year-old venue in northwestern Ohio, changed hands in June. An entity called R&L Land Company LLC, which appears to be controlled by Richard Anderson, reportedly paid $300,000 for the 18-hole course.
Matrix Golf & Hospitality has turned out the lights at Woodlake Country Club, one of the three golf properties it owns in New Jersey. Matrix has said that the club, in Lakewood Township, is only closing “temporarily,” but in a statement to the Asbury Park Press it acknowledged that “demand for golf at the club has declined in recent years” and that it’s now trying to determine “the next best direction for the property.” Woodlake, which opened in 1972, features an 18-hole course that was designed by Larry Packard, and the newspaper reports that in recent months “rumors have spun through the fast-growing township” that the property “would be developed.” Matrix also owns Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune and Hanover Country Club in Wrightstown, as well as golf venues in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Desolation Row Extended – Later this week, the resort that operates on tribal property in Warm Springs, Oregon is expected to close. Kah-Nee-Ta Resort & Spa, which opened in the early 1970s, features an 18-hole, William F. Bell-designed golf course, and its other amenities include a lodge, a hotel, and an RV park. . . . Timber Terrace Golf Course, a nine-hole track in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, didn’t open this year and may not operate in the future. Terry Durch, the owner, pulled the plug on Timber Terrace, which had its debut in 1985. . . . The future of Pontoosuc Lake Country Club is uncertain, but it’s certainly not bright. Jeff Moxon, the owner of the nearly century-old club in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, hopes to build houses on nine of his 18 holes, but he’s acknowledged that he might end up razing all 18. Of course, in a best-case scenario, he could find a buyer who’ll commit to continued operations.
A Las Vegas, Nevada-based casino operator has set out to build what it calls a “regional destination resort,” including an 18-hole golf course, in a remote part of eastern New Mexico. Full House Resorts has optioned 520 acres outside Clovis, near the Texas state line, for La Posada del Llano, which has been master-planned to include a casino, a horse-racing track, a hotel, an RV park, a water park, and other attractions. Full House, which has five casino properties in four western states, believes that La Posada del Llano will turn Clovis, which is at least 100 miles from a city of any substantial size (we’re talking Lubbock and Amarillo, in Texas), into “a year-round tourist destination.” Assuming it’s built, the resort’s course will be designed by Todd Eckenrode of Origins Golf Design.
Pipeline Overflow – The people at Sandals Resorts International must be pleased with the renovation Greg Norman is doing for them on St. Lucia, because they’ve hired him to create a from-scratch course on nearby Tobago. Details are scarce, but it appears that the island’s golf association expects “the Living Brand” to deliver a track that will lure “international tournaments” and make Tobago “a golfing destination.” . . . A group of vacation spots, including at least one with a golf course, may someday take shape in the vicinity of Lake Charvak, in eastern Uzbekistan. The Uzbek government thinks that the area has natural advantages that would contribute to four-season tourism, so it’s laying plans to create the infrastructure and amenities necessary to make it happen. . . . The Bhavani Island Tourism Corporation, a government agency in Andhra Pradesh, India, is looking for a private-sector partner willing to build a golf course in suburban Visakhapatnam. The course will be accompanied by a convention center, a hotel, and other upscale attractions, including a helipad.
Only a few weeks after Golf Club of Vistoso died an unhappy death, plans have been laid to bring the 23-year-old venue in suburban Tucson, Arizona back to life. Alan Mishkin’s Parks Legacy Project has reportedly paid $3.5 million for the club and its 18-hole, Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course, a high-end, stand-alone facility that had previously operated with a business model that was said to be “just not sustainable.” To put the club on stronger financial footing, Mishkin’s group (which includes golf architect Forrest Richardson) plans to make the course “a more user-friendly layout” and invest in overdue upgrades, the bill for which could amount to $2.5 million. If all goes as planned, Golf Club of Vistoso will re-open in early 2019.
Surplus Transactions – The city of Henderson, Kentucky has agreed to pay $750,000 for Players Club of Henderson, a facility whose finances have been dicey for several years. The club opened in 1999, and its 18-hole course was designed by Danny McQueen, one of the principals of the current ownership group. The city’s offer is accompanied by several contingencies, and the purchase could lead the city to close its nine-hole course. . . . In what’s been described as a “steal of a deal” and “a win-win all around,” the city of Dearborn Heights, Michigan has bid $1.8 million for Warren Valley Golf Course. Warren Valley, which has operated since the early 1920s, features a pair of 18-hole courses that were designed by Donald Ross. Elected officials in Wayne County, the current owner, approved the sale late last year. . . . Windwood Hollow Golf Course, a 52-year-old venue in northwestern Ohio, changed hands in June. An entity called R&L Land Company LLC, which appears to be controlled by Richard Anderson, reportedly paid $300,000 for the 18-hole course.
Matrix Golf & Hospitality has turned out the lights at Woodlake Country Club, one of the three golf properties it owns in New Jersey. Matrix has said that the club, in Lakewood Township, is only closing “temporarily,” but in a statement to the Asbury Park Press it acknowledged that “demand for golf at the club has declined in recent years” and that it’s now trying to determine “the next best direction for the property.” Woodlake, which opened in 1972, features an 18-hole course that was designed by Larry Packard, and the newspaper reports that in recent months “rumors have spun through the fast-growing township” that the property “would be developed.” Matrix also owns Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune and Hanover Country Club in Wrightstown, as well as golf venues in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Desolation Row Extended – Later this week, the resort that operates on tribal property in Warm Springs, Oregon is expected to close. Kah-Nee-Ta Resort & Spa, which opened in the early 1970s, features an 18-hole, William F. Bell-designed golf course, and its other amenities include a lodge, a hotel, and an RV park. . . . Timber Terrace Golf Course, a nine-hole track in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, didn’t open this year and may not operate in the future. Terry Durch, the owner, pulled the plug on Timber Terrace, which had its debut in 1985. . . . The future of Pontoosuc Lake Country Club is uncertain, but it’s certainly not bright. Jeff Moxon, the owner of the nearly century-old club in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, hopes to build houses on nine of his 18 holes, but he’s acknowledged that he might end up razing all 18. Of course, in a best-case scenario, he could find a buyer who’ll commit to continued operations.
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