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Sunday, March 31, 2019

The Week That Was, march 31, 2019

     A 3,300-acre expanse in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, may soon become the home of what’s being billed as “the largest city park in the world,” one that will include an 18-hole, “international-standard” golf course. Arab News says that King Salman Park will be “four times larger than Central Park in New York,” but it doesn’t say anything about being four times better. When it’s fully completed, in 2024, the park is expected to feature not just the golf course but 12,000 housing units, 16 hotels, an office complex, an arts center with a half-dozen museums, water parks, parachuting and bungee-jumping areas, and, naturally, plenty of places to eat and drink. The park is a component in an image-improvement campaign that’s been orchestrated by the Kingdom’s leadership, which is being increasingly viewed as lawless, murderous, and corrupt. The European Tour doesn’t seem to mind, though, because earlier this year it played one of its events in King Abdullah Economic City. The event was welcomed by the royal family, which understands that golf conveys a sheen of respectability. It doesn’t really matter if the sheen is sometimes a sham.

     Pipeline Overflow – Emaar Properties, a prominent Middle Eastern developer, has broken ground on its fourth golf venue in Dubai. The 18-hole golf course, designed by Gary Johnson of European Golf Design, will serve as a drawing card for Emaar South, a mini city that’s expected to have 15,000 houses at build-out. The company’s other properties in the emirate are Arabian Ranches Golf Club, the Montgomerie, and Dubai Hills Golf Club. . . . The state of West Bengal, in eastern India, is looking for private-sector partners willing to build hotels, a campground, and a variety of recreational attractions, including a nine-hole golf course, on 208 acres outside Jalpaiguri. The venture, named Bhorer Alo, is said to be a “dream project” for the state’s chief minister. . . . Development activity, including the construction of a hotel and a shopping center, is expected to bring what’s been described as “a state-of-the-art” nine-hole golf course to Kasama Golf Club, in northern Zambia. Kasama’s main course is an 18-hole layout with sand greens.

     Brad Faxon, a player on the Champions Tour, is the public face of a group that’s agreed to buy Metacomet Golf Club, a venue in suburban Providence, Rhode Island that’s said to be in “financial distress.” A price hasn’t been announced, but the member-owned property was reportedly on the market for $3.5 million. The Met’s centerpiece is an 18-hole, Donald Ross-designed course that opened in 1926 and was once considered to be one of the state’s premier layouts. Faxon told the Providence Journal that he and his partners are “going to do everything we can to get back into the top five,” and to prove it he was recently seen sizing up the track with “members of Gil Hanse’s course-design team.” The newspaper reports that the Met is burdened with “substantial debt and sinking membership numbers,” but Faxon said he “couldn’t pass” on the opportunity to buy it, in part because he thinks it “can be a great golf course once again.”

     Surplus Transactions – In May or June, New Jersey’s West Orange Township expects to close on its $11.28 million purchase of Rock Spring Golf Course, an 18-hole track that was co-designed by Charles Banks and Seth Raynor. Rock Spring has operated since the mid 1920s, but it may be living on borrowed time, because the township has only promised to operate it for two years. . . . An unnamed entity hopes to buy Sundale Country Club, in Bakersfield, California, but apparently not with the intent of operating the property’s 18-hole golf course. The prospective owners, described by the Bakersfield Californian as “a group of investors active in San Jose's technology industry,” are exploring the idea of building houses on the club’s 167 acres. . . . Kirk Horton, who’s said to be a “businessman, rancher, investor, and pastor,” has agreed to buy Holiday Hills Country Club, a venue in Mineral Wells, Texas that the Mineral Wells Index says has experienced “several years of financial struggles.” Holiday, which will like have its name changed, features an 18-hole track that opened in the 1920s or 1930s, depending on which source you believe.

     Duly Noted – As the golf industry continues to struggle, the parent company of American Golf Corporation is following ClubCorp’s lead and transitioning from “a traditional golf company to a full-fledged entertainment business with great golf content.” In a press release, Drive Shack says it’s looking forward to “a transformative 2019,” with “expansion into dining and entertainment” being “our top priority.” . . . Steve Wolfard will soon be hanging out his own shingle. From an office in Dallas, Texas, under the banner of W Golf Design, D. A. Weibring’s longtime partner says he’s been “working towards this opportunity for a long time.” He plans to focus on new designs and renovations in the United States and Asia. . . . The Professional Golfers’ Association in England has licensed its brand to Argentario Golf Resort & Spa – make that “the luxurious and picturesque Argentario Golf Resort & Spa” – in Southern Tuscany. The property, now operating as PGA National Italy, is part of a portfolio that includes properties in Cyprus, the Czech Republic, England, Russia, Scotland, and Turkey.

     In compliance with recently issued 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’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”

Sunday, March 24, 2019

The Week That Was, march 24, 2019

     Lennar Corporation aims to build an 18-hole golf course at Greenbriar Downs, a seniors-only community that will take shape in an unincorporated area south of St. Johns, in the western part of St. Johns County, Florida. In addition to the golf course, the 784-acre community, which has been kicking around since 2016, has been master-planned to include 818 houses and retail and commercial space. According to the Jacksonville Daily Record, Lennar’s rezoning application promised that home buyers would enjoy “structured activities, socialization, and a sense of community.” The planned course will be private, and Lennar reportedly expects it to provide “a different kind of experience.” A designer hasn’t been identified, but Lennar is working on two other golf communities in Florida, both of which will feature tracks designed by Gordy Lewis.

     Pipeline Overflow – Hills Golf Club, arguably New Zealand’s premier tournament venue, has unveiled its Darius Oliver-designed, free-form golf course. Oliver says that the nine-hole track, known as the Farm and inspired by layouts such as Sheep Ranch at Bandon Dunes, is full of “fun holes” that will allow the Hills’ members to “make their round as easy or as difficult as they wish.” . . . Golfasian reports that Dagon Golf City, the centerpiece of an upscale community in Yangon, Myanmar, has unveiled its 18-hole, Phil Ryan-designed golf course. The Bangkok-based travel operator thinks the track is “worthy of a play for anyone interested in golf in Myanmar,” but it obviously has reservations, for it noted that “many holes look like they have been squeezed together to the point that landing areas are almost non-existent.” . . . Nor is Golfasian particularly keen on Blue Star Golf Course, a new, 18-hole track outside Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The company says that the course, designed by Blue Sapphire Construction, is “a bit tricked up in parts” and “hilly and challenging,” with greens that are “severely tapered to make scoring well even more difficult.”

     An LLC linked to Charles Staples, the CEO of Manassas, Virginia-based Fore Golf Partners, has agreed to sell Bardmoor Golf & Tennis Club, a venue in Seminole, Florida that once hosted men’s and women’s professional events. Though the club “appears to be thriving,” according to the Tampa Bay Times, the prospective owners, a pair of development groups, appear set to end its 48-year run. They aim to turn the club’s 150 acres into a master-planned community, provided that they can successfully negotiate the entitlement process. Bardmoor, which opened in 1971, features an 18-hole, Bill Diddle-designed golf course, and Staples’ Bayou Golf LCC reportedly paid $12.5 million for it in 2006.

     Duly Noted, Special Wall-to-Wall Greg Norman Edition. “The Living Brand,” who it’s said “now transcends the game of golf,” has affixed his name to what he insists is “the best jerky available,” one made of, in the words of a press release, “beautifully marbled, savory, authentic Australian Wagyu beef.” The product, which comes in two flavors, gets mixed reviews on Amazon, where it sells for $10.99 for 2.5 ounces. . . . The LB has also decided to compete with Starbucks. In partnership with a Vietnamese company, he intends to open a chain of coffee shops in Asia, with the hope of eventually bringing some Greg Norman NutiCafés to the United States. According to a newspaper in Hồ Chí Minh City, Norman believes that Vietnamese coffee is “much more tasty than the coffee in Western countries.” . . . Finally, the LB has unveiled the first house that he and his wife have designed for what’s being marketed as the “most exclusive address” at Rancho San Lucas, an oceanfront community in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The single-family houses, said to be “a natural continuation of Greg’s distinctive lifestyle,” will range in price from $3.5 million to $7 million, while the high-rise condos are expected to fetch $1.5 million to $4.3 million.

     In compliance with recently issued 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’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”

Sunday, March 17, 2019

The Week That Was, march 17, 2019

   Tara Iti, the acclaimed, Tom Doak-designed private layout on New Zealand’s North Island, may soon have some daily-fee company. The New Zealand Herald reports that Ric Kayne, the wealthy financier responsible for Tara Iti, aims to turn a nearby slice of paradise into what he believes will be a “world golfing destination.”
     “We intend to create a treasure unlike any other place in the world,” Kayne told the newspaper.
     Specifically, Kayne wants to build a pair of “beachfront links-style courses,” one by Doak and the other by Coore & Crenshaw, on part of a 1,900-acre spread located just south of his exclusive, high-priced club. The courses will serve as drawing cards for Mangawhai South Forest, which will also feature 60 houses, overnight accommodations for travelers, a campground, and a shopping area.
     The project has been percolating for several years. Mangawhai South Forest will take shape on land that Kayne intends to lease from the Ngāti Manuhiri people, a Māori tribe, outside the town of Leigh, some 80 miles north of Auckland. The tribe figures that Kayne’s idea will “realize the potential for the land” as well as “tribal aspirations, both commercial and cultural.” The lease has to be approved by several government agencies, but Kayne appears to have clear sailing ahead.
     Kayne has a net worth of $1.3 billion, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. He hasn’t announced the role that Tara Iti will play in his “world golfing destination,” but it’s hard to imagine bucket-list golfers making the trek to a remote part of New Zealand without having an opportunity to play the track that Golf Digest ranks as the sixth-best in the world.
     One last thing: As if the similarities weren’t obvious, Kayne has acknowledged that his venture in New Zealand has been inspired by Bandon Dunes, the impeccable golf destination on Oregon’s Pacific coast. There’s some mutual admiration involved here, because two years ago Mike Keiser, the developer of Bandon Dunes, told me that Doak’s track at Tara Iti was “the most beautiful golf course I’ve ever seen.”  

     Pipeline Overflow – Collier Enterprises aims to build an 18-hole golf course at Rivergrass Village, a forthcoming community in the mostly undeveloped eastern part of Collier County, Florida. Rivergrass Village, which has been master-planned for 2,500 houses, will be Collier Enterprises’ second golf community. The company also owns Old Collier Golf Club, a venue in Naples that features a Tom Fazio-designed track. . . . An entity affiliated with a Chinese development group has secured permission to build a resort community in Botum Sakor National Park, in southwestern Cambodia. According to the Phnom Penh Post, the community will feature houses, 800 hotel rooms, an amusement park, a water park, and other attractions, including a golf course. . . . Last fall, a group led by Marcos Malespin broke ground on Vistas del Pedregal Golf & Country Club, a venue outside Santo Domingo that will feature Greg Norman’s first course in the Dominican Republic. “The Living Brand” promises that the 18-hole track will offer “a unique experience for generations of golfers to come.”

     Sasada Sports International has reportedly paid $11.3 million for Willows Run Golf Course, a 45-hole complex in suburban Seattle, Washington. “My family shares a passion for golf,” Yuki Sasada said in a press release. “We’re looking forward to sharing the sport with generations to come at Willows Run.” Willows Run, which occupies 300 acres, features a pair of 18-hole regulation-length courses (both co-designed by Ted Locke and Lisa Maki), a “family-friendly” nine-hole track, and an 18-hole putting course. An affiliate of Vulcan, Inc., a holding company created by Paul Allen, the late co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, had owned Willows Run since 1993. Vulcan put the property on the market roughly a year ago.

     Surplus Transactions – The heirs of John G. Williams have sold their Liberty Forge Golf Course, in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, to their food-and-beverage provider. Altland House paid $1.5 million for Liberty Forge, an executive-length track that’s said to be “challenging for the serious golfer yet very playable for the ‘weekend warrior.’” . . . The brothers who own a Pittsburgh-area funeral home have sold their 50-percent interest in River Forest Country Club, which has operated in Freeport since 1964. R. Gary and J. Rodney Duster are out, and Robert and Jamy Rankin have become Steve Irwin’s new partners. . . . For a little more than $1 million, Mark Lovell has become the sole owner of Stonebridge Golf Course, an 18-hole, George Cobb-designed layout in suburban Memphis, Tennessee. Lovell had previously owned Stonebridge with his brother-in-law, with whom he reportedly has “legal disputes.”

     Phil “the Gambler” Mickelson apparently doesn’t want to make a bad bet on his kids’ college educations. For the past three years, he and his wife have been clients of Rick Singer’s criminally corrupt Edge College & Career Network, which secured admissions at elite schools for undeserving students by engaging in cheating and bribery. “He was highly recommended by numerous friends that checked out, so we ended up using him,” Mickelson acknowledged in comments published by Golf Channel. Mickelson emphasized, however, that he and his family were “probably more shocked than anyone” to learn of Singer’s illegal activities and were “obviously” not part of any fraud, despite the testimonial that they provided to Singer’s website. In an example of the privileges that come with wealth and fame, Mickelson said that “schools are like fighting to get” students like his children, due to their “grades and their outside activities, and their worldly views on things.” The Mickelsons’ daughter, Amanda, is reportedly a sophomore at Brown University, while their other two children are still in high school.

     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 your business requires a more comprehensive news digest – a weekly compendium of stories collected from newspapers, magazines, and other sources – 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, March 10, 2019

The Week That Was, march 10, 2019

     A 300-acre tract in Smith River, California, a town just south of the Oregon state line, may be developed as a resort with “a luxury retirement community” built around an 18-hole, par-3 golf course. Jason Roe and his wife, Julie Yim, expect their Resort & Residences at Pelican Heights to include 80 “private residences,” 30 condo/hotel suites, villas and bungalows for seniors, a 120-room hotel, an amphitheater, and other amenities. Smith River is way off the beaten track, but to attract home buyers Roe and Yim plan to run a shuttle bus to and from the nearby Lucky 7 Casino and offer transportation via a Porsche SUV to restaurants and other attractions in the area.

     Pipeline Overflow – An 18-hole, Tom Lehman-designed golf course will be the centerpiece of Chambers Creek Ranch, a 1,200-acre, seniors-only community in metropolitan Houston, Texas that’s scheduled to debut next year. Lehman’s track will be surrounded by 3,000 houses whose residents, the developers say, will enjoy “an unprecedented lifestyle.” . . . An update on the commission that Greg “the Living Brand” Norman has won from Novaland in Vietnam: The first course will take shape outside Phan Thiết, the capital of Bình Thuận Province, with construction expected to begin any day now. . . . Tony Cobb, one of Coore & Crenshaw’s longtime associates, is overseeing the construction of his first solo design venture. Golf Course Architecture reports that the 18-hole track is taking shape in greater Bangkok, Thailand, on property owned by Phornthep Phornprapha of Siam Country Club, and will take two years to build due to “the long rainy season and difficult soils.”

     Less than six months after it went looking for an investment partner, Loch Lomond Golf Club has found a buyer for its Dundonald Links. Darwin Leisure has reportedly paid £4.5 million (roughly $5.86 million) for Dundonald, a Kyle Phillips-designed layout that’s hosted several events on the European Tour, among them both the men’s and women’s Scottish Open championships. The track, a manufactured modern links, has an attractive location in Ayrshire, Scotland, as its neighbors include Royal Troon Golf Club, Prestwick Golf Club, and Western Gailes Golf Club. Perhaps more importantly, it’s said to operate in the black. Darwin Leisure aims to capitalize on the location by building overnight accommodations, a spa, a permanent clubhouse, and probably some houses on Dundonald’s 200-acre property. The company owns two golf properties in England, Springs Golf Club in Oxfordshire and KP Golf Club in Yorkshire, and it claims to be on the prowl for other golf-related acquisitions in Scotland.

     Surplus Transactions – For $12.5 million, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has purchased a 315-acre tract that includes General Old Golf Course, an 18-hole track that opened in 1955. The property is located on March Air Reserve Base, outside Moreno Valley, California, and at some point in the distant future – probably 10 years or more – the VA expects to extend its Riverside National Cemetery onto the golf course. . . . For $740,000, Jessica Blaska-Grady has acquired Kestrel Ridge Golf Course, a 17-year-old venue in suburban Madison, Wisconsin that she believes is “the perfect example of a destination course that can be a true community asset.” Kestrel Ridge, which features an 18-hole track that was co-designed by Dan Feick and Chad Eberhardt, will complement Blaska-Grady’s other golf property, Oaks Golf Course in nearby Cottage Grove. . . . Sometime this spring, Jim Kimball plans to flip his struggling, 80-year-old Osceola Country Club to the city of Osceola, Iowa. Kimball bought the club and its nine-hole golf course in January, confident that the city will clear its debt, make improvements, and continue its operation.

     Duly Noted – The final word has been rendered in Keith Foster’s federal court case. The painstakingly hands-on restorer of Golden Age courses has been sentenced to a 30-day jail term (plus one year of “supervised release”) for smuggling illegal goods into our country and selling them out of his antiques store in Middleburg, Virginia. Though Foster’s future in the golf industry is uncertain, Americans have a habit of quickly forgiving white-collar criminality. . . . Individual #1’s golf venue in Virginia, operating as Trump National Golf Club, Washington, DC, has been slapped with a trio of citations for clear-cutting a grove of trees along the Potomac River without permission. The property’s owner committed a similar breach of the public trust in 2009, shortly after he reportedly paid $13 million for what was then known as Lowes Island Club. . . . As told to Golf Digest: A guy came up to me in a hotel bar, some over-served sponsor. He squinted at me and said, “Aren’t you Dan Jenkins?” I nodded. He said, “I’ve read some of your stuff. Man, you’ve got a problem.” I said, “No, you’ve got the problem. I’ve got the typewriter.”

     In compliance with recently issued 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’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”

Sunday, March 3, 2019

The Week That Was, march 3, 2019

     The world is now home to 38,864 golf courses at 32,471 golf facilities, according to a count by the R&A and the National Golf Foundation. As of year-end 2018, the partners write in “Golf Around the World 2019,” golf could be played in 209 countries, although 78 percent of the total supply is located in just 10, a group led by the United States (16,752 courses, which translates to 43 percent of the world’s total). Two final notes: First, the vast majority of the world’s courses (29,288) are said to be “publicly accessible.” Second, 47 of the countries that offer golf have just one course.

     Ron Fream, who’s designed courses in more than five dozen countries, is part of the team behind what’s been called “the first major golf project” in Primorsky Krai, Russia.
     Fream and his partners, George Philpot and Jari Rasinkangas, expect to break ground next month on Vladivostok Golf Club, which will take shape on part of a 300-acre spread in greater Vladivostok, a port city in the extreme southeastern tip of Russia, across the Sea of Japan from Japan. (For what it’s worth, the area is said to have 199 days suitable for golf annually.) The club will serve as a drawing card for an emerging “smart eco-city” (a Russian translation calls it an “intellectual eco-city”) that’s been master-planned to include houses, a hotel, a campground, and other attractions, including both nine- and 18-hole golf courses. The city’s developers, a group operating as Golf-Park DV, hope to establish “a sustainable community oriented towards ecology, health, sports, and active lifestyle,” with their main target market being golfers from China, Japan, and South Korea.
     Fream, who’s arguably the world’s most traveled course architect, has been blazing new frontiers since the early 1970s, and he’s worked in most every country the average American can find on a map as well as others well off the beaten trails. He’s probably best known for Club at Nine Bridges in South Korea (#23 on Golf Digest’s list of the World 100 Greatest Golf Courses) and the Serapong layout at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore (#79 on the same list), but his greatest contribution to golf has been his never-ending enthusiasm for taking the sport to places it’s never been before.

     For an undisclosed price, South Street Partners has acquired what it views as “the premier collection of private mountain and lake communities in the Southeast.” The Charlotte, North Carolina-based real-estate investment group is talking about the Cliffs communities in North and South Carolina, all seven of them, which were developed by Jim Anthony, went bankrupt in the wake of the Great Recession, were sold to Carlile Group and other entities, and in 2014 fell into the hands of Arendale Holdings. The communities are gated (a feature that apparently makes their residents feel “more connected to yourself and the world around you”), and each one features a golf course, the majority of them layouts by “signature” and celebrity designers with a proven ability to spark home sales. South Street has some expertise is marketing the lifestyle of high-end golf communities, as it’s owned the tony Kiawah Island Club since 2013. It’s confident about the Cliffs’ future, as it is about Kiawah Island’s, for it believes that golf communities tailored to the upper crust will be able to sustain themselves over the near term. It’s a sensible bet.

      Surplus Transactions – The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians has agreed to buy Mountain Springs Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Sonora, California that closed late last year. The course, a Robert Muir Graves design, will reopen, but the tribe, which says it’s making the purchase as part of an effort to ensure “the long-term sustainability of the golf course,” hasn’t said when. . . . Elected officials in Walton County, Florida have voted to acquire the nearly century-old DeFuniak Springs Country Club and its 18-hole golf course. The price is certainly right, for the financially struggling club is willing to give up its assets for just $1. . . . Pending all-but-certain approval by its board of commissioners, Washoe County, Nevada will soon buy Wildcreek Golf Course, a 41-year-old track in Sparks. The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority has agreed to accept roughly $980,000 for the 212-acre course, whose centerpiece is an 18-hole layout that was co-designed by Brad Benz and Dick Phelps.

     Duly Noted – Despite all the optimism that floats across the golf industry these days, the number of rounds played in the United States last year fell by 4.8 percent from the number posted in 2017. The National Golf Foundation blames the decline on “a greater frequency of unfavorable golf weather” across most of the country, which is an excuse we’ve heard repeatedly of late. . . . Here’s a nugget that was buried in a mostly upbeat report on golf travel from the International Association of Golf Tour Operators: The pace of growth in international golf travel is slowing, at least in part due to “demand exceeding supply in the most popular golf destinations at the busiest times.” . . . As he was being roughed up by his former lawyer, the U.S. president lost another round in his long-running battle against the wind farm that’s now producing electrical power in the waters off his golf resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. A court has ruled that Trump International Golf Club Scotland, Ltd. must reimburse the Scottish government for the legal costs it incurred while fighting to preserve its sovereignty.

     In compliance with recently issued 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’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”