The Week That Was, june 23, 2019

     Mike Keiser has found what’s said to be a “spectacular property for golf” on Saint Lucia, and he’s going to ruin it by flanking his forthcoming layout with dozens of vacation houses, some of which will cost as much as $10 million. Keiser, who’s become internationally famous for developing stripped-down, stand-alone, destination-worthy golf venues, has hired Coore & Crenshaw to design the golf course for Cabot Point, which will take shape on a 375-acre tract along the island’s northern coast. Bill Coore has said that he and Ben Crenshaw will produce what “could become one of the Caribbean’s most sought-out courses,” but their challenge is to create a track isn’t too negatively impacted by the estate-style houses that will line virtually every one of their holes. Judging by the master plan, Cabot Point will be indistinguishable from predictable Caribbean communities with Jack Nicklaus- and Greg Norman-designed courses, and it’s hard to imagine Keiser’s most dedicated customers – the ones who beat a trail to Bandon Dunes, Sand Valley, Cabot Links, and Barnbougle Dunes – booking flights to St. Lucia for experience that isn’t unique. So far, Keiser and his development partner, Ben Cowan-Dewar, haven’t explained what will make Cabot Point special. Maybe they should do so.

     Pipeline Overflow – Any day now, Al Madina Real Estate Company aims to break ground on the first phase of an “integrated tourism complex” in Quriyat, Oman. Phase one of the project appears to consist solely of a hotel, but the 320-acre spread is expected to eventually include houses, more hotels, a water park, and a golf course. . . . As part of an ambitious initiative to generate tourism, government officials in Kazakhstan have set out to build “a major new tourist facility” outside Aktau, a vacation spot along the Caspian Sea. The 540-acre resort has been master-planned to include a 600-room hotel, villas, a casino, meeting space, a water park, and a variety of recreational attractions, including what’s variously been described as “a golf pitch,” a “golf zone,” and a “golf course.” . . . A military course in suburban Mandalay, Myanmar is slated to become a “truly world-class” layout that “could draw international golfers.” Kaung Myanmar Company has secured permission to redesign and rebuild No. 3 Tatmadaw Golf Course, the goal being “to nurture professional players.”

     Pipeline Overflow Overflow – Golfasian reports that the wraps have been taken off Nick Faldo’s second course in Cambodia, an 18-hole track at Vattanac Golf Resort in suburban Phnom Penh. When it got the commission for the job, in 2012, Faldo’s design firm promised to create “an iconic golf course.” If it delivers on its promise, Vattanac’s course will be regarded as an equal to Faldo’s layout at Angkor Golf Resort, which Golf Digest ranks as the nation’s best. . . . GolfLink Resorts Group has unveiled its third course, an 18-hole, Ron Fream-designed track that will serve as the centerpiece for the Black Rocks Hotel & Club, on the northwest coast of Indonesia’s Belitung Island. GolfLink, which also owns New Kuta Golf Course on Bali and Palm Hill Golf Club on West Java, says that vacationers to Belitung should expect “a challenging course for all players.” . . . Come this fall, IMG Golf Course Design expects to debut its 11th course in Vietnam, an 18-hole layout at Muong Thanh Resort Dien Lam in Nghệ An Province. In a press release, a spokesperson for IMG said that the track would be “enjoyable to play, fair, interesting, and a good test for players of all abilities.”

     Duly Noted – Can’t say if it’s a trend, a coincidence, or merely a curiosity, but the National Golf Foundation has determined that nearly half of the new 18-hole golf courses that have opened in the United States during the past five years are located more than 50 miles from a city with a population of 50,000 or more. . . . Citing a report by Agence France-Presse, Golf magazine says that the impact of last year’s Ryder Cup on golf participation in France “wasn’t as great as expected.” France has been building dozens of small golf facilities to generate interest in golf, but the French Golf Federation has so far seen only a 2.5 percent increase in membership and it isn’t likely to achieve its goal of registering 600,000 golfers by 2022. . . . The dream of building a supposed “world-class,” Lester George-designed track along the Rappahannock River in Tappahannock, Virginia has died. Virginia True, the New York City-based entity that wanted to develop the Fones Cliffs Resort, has declared for bankruptcy protection, and its partners have acknowledged that the golf course is a no-go even if they can get back on their financial feet.

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