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.”