The Week That Was, july 21, 2019

     The Philippine government, acting through the Bases Conversion & Development Authority, is looking for a developer eager to build a “luxury mountain resort” in Tarlac Province, roughly 80 miles north of Manila. Details haven’t been spelled out, but the first bidder for the lease on the 1,125-acre property intends to build what’s been described as a “luxury hotel” and an 18-hole “championship” golf course. The to-be-named, 1,125-acre resort is part of the master plan for New Clark City, a massive (more than 23,000 acres) spread that’s being billed as “the first smart, green, and sustainable metropolis in the Philippines.” A major sports complex is currently being built at New Clark City, which is expected to have more than 1 million residents at build-out.

     Pipeline Overflow – Ernest Moody, who’s said to be “one of the most influential figures in the gaming manufacturing industry,” has purchased a 400-acre site on Kaua’i Island, and he may build a golf course on it. “Nothing’s definite yet,” Moody’s attorney told the Garden Island, but the property’s previous owner, Amfac Sugar, had the same idea. . . . A government official in Tunisia has floated an idea to build a golf course outside Mahdia, a coastal city that Lonely Planet believes is “blessed with a truly spectacular setting.” A Tunisian news service says that the ministry of tourism and handicrafts thinks Mahdia has “real potential” to become a vacation destination. . . . Government officials in Himachal Pradesh, India have signed a memorandum of understanding with a private-sector group that intends to build what’s being billed as “a golf resort” in Kangra, a district that reportedly has a population of more than 1.5 million. CM Corps, which appears to be a Delhi-based entity, hopes to break ground on the resort early next year.

     WeaverRidge Golf Club, a venue that Top100GolfCourses.com says is “regarded as one of the best in the state of Illinois,” has changed hands. The 22-year-old club, which features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Mike Hurdzan and Dana Fry, was recently purchased by Jim and Carol Ring, the owners of the nearby Metamora Fields Golf Club. The Rings told the Woodford Times that they’ve seen “a little bit of a decline” in business at Metamora Fields, and they’re hoping “to give golfers from Chicago and other areas an opportunity to come and play two great and very different courses.” WeaverRidge’s previous owners, Jerry and Matt Weaver, had reportedly been looking to sell their property for “the past several years.”

     Surplus Transactions – Gulf County, Florida has paid $390,000 for St. Joseph Bay Golf Club, a venue in Port St. Joe that features an 18-hole, Bill Amick-designed golf course. The Panama City News Herald says that the club, which has operated for a half-century, “would likely have been forced to close if not for the county stepping in.” . . . While acknowledging that “it’s probably not the smartest investment I’ve ever made,” Bill MacCready has acquired Deer Run Golf Course, a nine-hole track in Horton, Michigan. MacCready told the Jackson Citizen Patriot that he bought the 55-year-old property because “you don’t live forever and there’s no banks in heaven.” . . . The unidentified entity that earlier this year agreed to buy Pendleton Country Club (“Eastern Oregon’s best-kept golfing secret”) is the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Assuming the transaction closes, Pendleton will complement the tribes’ Wildhorse Resort & Casino, which also has an 18-hole track.

     Duly Noted – We’re still more than two years from 2022’s PGA Championship, and voices in golf are encouraging the PGA of America to break its alliance with the Trump venue in Bedminster, New Jersey. You can add mine to the list. The PGA professes to steer clear of politics, but it’s likely to have a sobering public-relations moment on its hands if it doesn’t soon announce its intention to find an alternative site. There’s a reason why the R&A hasn’t committed to hosting an Open at Trump Turnberry. . . . Local governments in China pulled the plug on 14 golf courses in Hunan, Hainan, Sichuan, and eight other provinces last year, according to an official report. Since the crackdown on golf began, in 2011, 127 golf courses in the People’s Republic have closed, and authorities have pledged to continue rooting out various forms of misconduct in the nation’s golf industry. . . . The National Golf Foundation has crunched the numbers, and it’s determined that at year-end 2018 the United States was home to 16,693 golf courses at 14,613 facilities. Golf operations continues to be a shrinking business in the United States, as the Jupiter, Florida-based trade group says that both numbers represent a 1.2 percent decline from those posted in 2017.

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