It’s been a great year for Tiger Woods, who exactly a decade ago sunk as low as a legendary athlete can go, and he capped off 2019 by announcing that Pebble Beach Company has commissioned him to redesign its nine-hole Peter Hay course. Admitting to “giddiness,” Pebble Beach called its relationship with Woods “a match made in heaven” and welcomed the opportunity to let once-disgraced star create “a nice legacy” for himself on its revered grounds. Befitting Woods’ rise-fall-rise story, this contract is symbolic. All the doors that had once been closed to Woods are now wide open, and the former serial adulterer and painkiller abuser has been officially forgiven by the golf industry. A reputation that meant so much money to so many people has been fully restored. Make it rain, Tiger!
Pipeline Overflow – Beckwith Gilbert, a U.S. merchant banker, aims to develop as many as three golf courses on coastal property in Little Harbour, Nova Scotia. According to CBC News, Gilbert’s goal is to build “something similar to the Cabot resort or Bandon Dunes.” Controversies are already bubbling, as local elected officials support idea but environmentalists don't. . . . Wesley Group, a firm based in suburban Detroit, Michigan, has received a “letter of award” that gives it permission to build a 27-hole golf complex outside Bhopal, India. In addition to what’s been described as an “international-level” golf facility, Wesley’s master plan includes a hotel, meeting space, and a helipad, all of which may be difficult to squeeze onto the allotted 175 acres. . . . Widus Group, a Philippine hotelier, aims to build what the Manila Standard calls a “luxury mountain resort” on 1,125 acres in New Clark City. In addition to Banyan Tree, Westin, and Marriott hotels, the Hann Lux property has been master-planned to include a variety of housing types, retail and commercial areas, and three 18-hole, “championship” golf courses.
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – Golf architects nowadays always try to make the artificial look natural, and Clive Clark has by all accounts hit the nail on the head with Dumbarnie Links, his forthcoming layout in St. Andrews, Scotland. Clark and Paul Kimber reportedly moved 500,000 cubic yards of dirt to shape the 18-hole course, creating 600 man-made dunes in the process, but the result has been described as a course that “looks like it’s been there for 100 years.” Dumbarnie Links is scheduled to open in May. . . . Robert Trent Jones, Jr., has described his recently unveiled Costa Palmas Golf Club, on Mexico’s Baha California Sur, as “a golf symphony composed of three movements and two transitions.” Such comments are music to the ears of Irongate, the community’s developer, which promises that Jones’s course will offer “a one-of-a-kind golf experience.” Irongate, a firm that claims to create “one-of-a-kind opportunities” for upscale buyers, also says that Costa Palmas’s Four Seasons hotel will be accompanied by “one-of-a-kind amenities” and “one-of-a-kind” villas. . . . Barry Ehlert, the developer of the soon-to-open Mickelson National Golf Club, outside Calgary, Alberta, contends that “there’s not another golf course like this in Canada.” Strictly speaking, what he says is true, because all courses are unique, even the largely fabricated ones that anchor subdivisions. We’ll learn more about Phil Mickelson’s track this spring, when the 18-hole “signature” track is expected to make its debut.
At long last, it appears that we’re going to close the book on the sale of Southern Pines Golf Club, a more than century-old venue outside Pinehurst, North Carolina. A group whose partners include Kelly Miller, a co-owner of the nearby Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, has agreed to buy Southern Pines, the home of an 18-hole, Donald Ross course that’s said to rank “near the top of best courses to play in North Carolina.” A price hasn’t been disclosed, but Miller’s Kaveri Investments has presumably made an offer that the local Elks Lodge found more attractive than those made by John McConnell and anonymous others in 2017 and 2018. Assuming that the sale is consummated – the Elks have had trouble crossing the finish line – Miller, a member of the Elks club, will own a trio of Ross-designed tracks, as Pine Needles and his Mid-Pines Inn & Golf Club both feature Ross layouts. The transaction is expected to close in February.
Surplus Transactions – For an undisclosed price, Jared Brecher and Dan Klein have acquired Seawane Country Club, a 92-year-old facility on the South Shore of New York’s Long Island. The new owners hope to remake Seawane, which features an 18-hole Devereux Emmet-designed golf course, into a resort-style, family-focused club, and they’ll get an infusion of new members next year, when the nearby Woodmere Club closes. . . . Operating as Great Century, a pair of Hong Kong-based investors, Peter Lam and Cym Chan, have likewise paid an undisclosed price for the entity that owns the Fairmont St. Andrews resort in St. Andrews, Scotland. The 520-acre resort features a hotel, meeting space, bars and restaurants, and a pair of 18-hole golf courses, one co-designed by Gene Sarazen and Sam Torrance, the other by Sarazen and Bruce Devlin. . . . After more than 20 tumultuous years, Marise Cipriani no longer dreams of turning her ski area in Granby, Colorado into a destination-worthy venue. To avoid a foreclosure, the Brazilian developer has turned over the title to Granby Ranch to her lender, citing “many ups and downs” and admitting that it’s “time for a new chapter to be written.” Cipriani and her husband bought the 5,000-acre property in 1995, added an 18-hole, Mike Asmundson-designed golf course, and then sprung for a re-do by Nicklaus Design.
Duly Noted – They weren’t all golfers, but a record number of foreign tourists – 18 million of them – made their way to Vietnam last year, and tourism officials in the socialist republic estimate that the number will exceed 20 million in 2020. Last year’s visitors came mostly from Asia (14.3 million), in particular from China (5.8 million) and South Korea (4.3 million). . . . After losing control of his enviable golf portfolio and lying low for the better part of a decade, Lyle Anderson has resurfaced. The developer who set the bar for luxury golf communities in greater Phoenix has begun selling high-priced houses in Quivira Los Cabos, a tony spread in Mexico. And yes, it’s a happy coincidence that Quivira features a Jack Nicklaus “signature” golf course, seeing as how Nicklaus tracks were once Anderson’s bread and butter. . . . For those who believe that Barack Obama played too much golf – he reportedly averaged 38 rounds a year across his eight years in office – our current president is reportedly playing 83 rounds a year. According to research by the Washington, DC-based Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics, at his current pace Donald Trump will play more golf in one term than Obama played in two.
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 of late, 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, December 29, 2019
Sunday, December 15, 2019
The Week That Was, december 15, 2019
It won’t be operated by Universal Studios, but a long-overdue theme park in South Korea “looks set to go ahead,” according to a British news group. So while residents of suburban Seoul won’t be able to mingle with the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park or the great white shark from Jaws, they’ll get to enjoy what CladNews believes will be “a theme park unlike anything else in the world.” That’s a high bar, and few details are available, but the 1,050-acre Hwaseong International Theme Park figures to be the second-largest in Asia (after Shanghai Disney Resort), and it’ll include thrill rides, hotels, houses, stages for K-Poppers and other musical acts, shopping malls, lots of places to eat and drink, and an 18-hole golf course. The venue was originally proposed by Universal in 2007 but flattened by the Great Recession. The new version is being developed by Shinsegae Property Consortium, which consists of companies tied to Lee Myung-hee, the daughter of the fellow who founded Samsung and one of South Korea’s richest people. She owns a pair of golf properties in greater Seoul, Jayu Country Club and Trinity Country Club. If all goes as expected, Shinsegae will break ground on the theme park in 2021 and begin welcoming guests in 2026.
Pipeline Overflow – A groundbreaking hasn’t been announced, but David McLay Kidd will design a golf course in Saudi Arabia, at the Red Sea giga-project that’s expected to take shape along – you guessed it – the kingdom’s Red Sea coast. I mentioned the project many months ago in a story for Golf Inc., but Kidd couldn’t talk about it then and still won’t now, due to a non-disclosure agreement that he’s signed. For more on the future of golf in the kingdom, look for my story in an upcoming issue of Golf Inc. . . . The People’s Committee in DaNang, Vietnam hopes to secure permission to build a 36-hole golf complex on a 1,240-acre parcel southwest of the city’s international airport. The courses will be accompanied by 2,000 hotel rooms and a variety of tourist-friendly attractions, and a news service in the socialist republic says that construction is supposed to begin “this year.” . . . Fingers crossed, but elected officials in Brisbane, Australia expect a residential developer to break ground on Cannon Hill Community Links early next year. The 18-hole, Phil Ryan-designed track was supposed to be open by now, as its construction was tied to home-building that’s already taking place.
Bob Richards, the famous former Olympic pole-vaulter, has unloaded Twin Rivers Golf Club, a venue in Waco, Texas that he paid $1.1 million for in 2013. Twin Rivers, which opened in 2001 as Bear Ridge Golf Club, features an 18-hole, Peter Jacobson/Jim Hardy course that’s been a financial drain and is said to be in lousy shape. “I would sell in a heartbeat if we got the right price,” Richards told the Waco Tribune last year, his price guesstimated to be $3 million. The club’s new owner, Tommy Tompkins, hasn’t revealed what he paid for Twin Rivers, but he’s previously said that it isn’t worth $3 million. “Mr. Richards really wanted to do the right thing,” he told the Tribune upon closing the transaction, “but he didn’t have the means to do it.” Tompkins has restored the club’s original name, and he’s promised to restore its reputation.
Surplus Transactions – Luna Golf LLC, an entity led by Mark White, has purchased Pointe West Country Club, a 20-year-old venue in Vero Beach, Florida. Pointe West’s 18-hole course was designed by John Sanford, who reportedly “moved tons of earth to create a unique mix of elevation changes on an otherwise level piece of land.” . . . At a public auction in October, a pair of hoteliers agreed to buy Cave Valley Golf Club, one of the featured attractions of the Park Mammoth Resort outside Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Bowling Green Daily News reports that the resort is “financially ailing” but notes that David Chandler and Mike Simpson “have a history of finding opportunities.” . . . Speaking of hoteliers, Sameer Ailawadi has placed the winning bid for Lakeview Golf Resort, a 412-acre venue in Morgantown, West Virginia. Ailawadi, who owns at least a half-dozen hotels in the Washington, DC area, offered $2.25 million for Lakeview, which features a 187-room hotel, meeting space, restaurants, and a variety of recreational amenities, including a pair (one by James Harrison, one by Brian Ault) of 18-hole golf courses.
Duly Noted – The Telegraph, a British newspaper, says that Bali, the most popular vacation spot in Indonesia, is “on the brink of ecological collapse” due to drought. Conservationists put the blame on waves of water-guzzling tourists, but the government is nonetheless committed to increasing its visitor numbers. . . . This one falls into the category of credits we might have anticipated, but Roger Rulewich wants to set the record straight about who designed the golf venues on the Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. “I really have to let people know how that worked,” Jones’s former top assistant told the Morning Read. “Jones frankly had little to do with it, other than PR.” . . . In its latest newsletter, Golfasian reported that 40 courses are currently open for play in Vietnam, an unofficial and probably inaccurate count. Sadly, no official numbers are available – I found “somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 courses” in 2016 and published a claim of 58 by the socialist republic’s Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment in 2017 – but one fact seems clear: Vietnam isn’t going to meet its goal of having 96 courses by 2020. Nice try, though, and, as always, it’s the thought that counts.
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.”
Pipeline Overflow – A groundbreaking hasn’t been announced, but David McLay Kidd will design a golf course in Saudi Arabia, at the Red Sea giga-project that’s expected to take shape along – you guessed it – the kingdom’s Red Sea coast. I mentioned the project many months ago in a story for Golf Inc., but Kidd couldn’t talk about it then and still won’t now, due to a non-disclosure agreement that he’s signed. For more on the future of golf in the kingdom, look for my story in an upcoming issue of Golf Inc. . . . The People’s Committee in DaNang, Vietnam hopes to secure permission to build a 36-hole golf complex on a 1,240-acre parcel southwest of the city’s international airport. The courses will be accompanied by 2,000 hotel rooms and a variety of tourist-friendly attractions, and a news service in the socialist republic says that construction is supposed to begin “this year.” . . . Fingers crossed, but elected officials in Brisbane, Australia expect a residential developer to break ground on Cannon Hill Community Links early next year. The 18-hole, Phil Ryan-designed track was supposed to be open by now, as its construction was tied to home-building that’s already taking place.
Bob Richards, the famous former Olympic pole-vaulter, has unloaded Twin Rivers Golf Club, a venue in Waco, Texas that he paid $1.1 million for in 2013. Twin Rivers, which opened in 2001 as Bear Ridge Golf Club, features an 18-hole, Peter Jacobson/Jim Hardy course that’s been a financial drain and is said to be in lousy shape. “I would sell in a heartbeat if we got the right price,” Richards told the Waco Tribune last year, his price guesstimated to be $3 million. The club’s new owner, Tommy Tompkins, hasn’t revealed what he paid for Twin Rivers, but he’s previously said that it isn’t worth $3 million. “Mr. Richards really wanted to do the right thing,” he told the Tribune upon closing the transaction, “but he didn’t have the means to do it.” Tompkins has restored the club’s original name, and he’s promised to restore its reputation.
Surplus Transactions – Luna Golf LLC, an entity led by Mark White, has purchased Pointe West Country Club, a 20-year-old venue in Vero Beach, Florida. Pointe West’s 18-hole course was designed by John Sanford, who reportedly “moved tons of earth to create a unique mix of elevation changes on an otherwise level piece of land.” . . . At a public auction in October, a pair of hoteliers agreed to buy Cave Valley Golf Club, one of the featured attractions of the Park Mammoth Resort outside Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Bowling Green Daily News reports that the resort is “financially ailing” but notes that David Chandler and Mike Simpson “have a history of finding opportunities.” . . . Speaking of hoteliers, Sameer Ailawadi has placed the winning bid for Lakeview Golf Resort, a 412-acre venue in Morgantown, West Virginia. Ailawadi, who owns at least a half-dozen hotels in the Washington, DC area, offered $2.25 million for Lakeview, which features a 187-room hotel, meeting space, restaurants, and a variety of recreational amenities, including a pair (one by James Harrison, one by Brian Ault) of 18-hole golf courses.
Duly Noted – The Telegraph, a British newspaper, says that Bali, the most popular vacation spot in Indonesia, is “on the brink of ecological collapse” due to drought. Conservationists put the blame on waves of water-guzzling tourists, but the government is nonetheless committed to increasing its visitor numbers. . . . This one falls into the category of credits we might have anticipated, but Roger Rulewich wants to set the record straight about who designed the golf venues on the Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. “I really have to let people know how that worked,” Jones’s former top assistant told the Morning Read. “Jones frankly had little to do with it, other than PR.” . . . In its latest newsletter, Golfasian reported that 40 courses are currently open for play in Vietnam, an unofficial and probably inaccurate count. Sadly, no official numbers are available – I found “somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 courses” in 2016 and published a claim of 58 by the socialist republic’s Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment in 2017 – but one fact seems clear: Vietnam isn’t going to meet its goal of having 96 courses by 2020. Nice try, though, and, as always, it’s the thought that counts.
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, December 8, 2019
The Week That Was, december 8, 2019
Now that its Vooty Golf County has opened, Dream Valley Group is turning its attention to the other golf ventures on its to-do list. By 2025, the Hyderabad, India-based company aims to be working on three additional golf communities in the metropolis, with Haldi Golf Resort in Medchai likely to be the first to come on line. “We believe people in Hyderabad have the desire and affordability to play golf and buy properties in mixed development projects comprising of a golf course,” the company’s founder, Santoosh Reddy, told Telangana Today. Reddy hasn’t offered any details on his forthcoming communities, but they’ll likely be similar to Vooty, a 240-acre spread whose centerpiece is an 18-hole, Phil Ryan-designed golf course. Dream Valley markets Vooty as “a path-breaking venture that will complement your high-spirited lifestyle.”
Pipeline Overflow – In an effort to save some money, government officials in Boca Raton, Florida have decided to re-open their search for a course architect eager to redesign Ocean Breeze Golf Club. Nick Price and Tom Fazio II, who were chosen to oversee the project last spring, had proposed to spend $13 million, an amount now considered to be excessive. . . . Longtime readers of the World Golf Report will be pleased to learn that the development group that set out to build the third golf course in Serbia more than a decade ago “has not given up.” The commission for the all-but-forgotten track in suburban Belgrade, now being described as a tournament-worthy track, was originally given to Peter Harradine. The El Golf partnership now claims to have secured financing and expects construction to begin next year. . . . The slow-developing, 3,000-acre Mandalika resort on Indonesia’s increasingly water-challenged Lombok Island expects to open its racetrack (now a MotoGP track) in 2021, but it’s not made any announcements about its golf course (now appearing to be a single 27-hole complex) for nearly two years. Years ago, Nicklaus Design was angling for the golf commission, but a notice about a contract isn’t listed on the firm’s website.
When it comes to U.S. course closings, 2019 figures to be another banner year. Here’s the round-up for December, and let me remind you once again that many more of the dearly departed aren’t mentioned.
– Wesselman Par 3 Golf Course, a municipal track described by the Courier Press as “a place where young golfers can learn the game and where older ones maintain their love for it,” will close when elected officials in Evansville, Indiana decide that winter has officially arrived. A petition urging the city to keep the 18-hole, Ed Ault-designed layout open reportedly received just 75 signatures.
– Perhaps not surprisingly, Town Park Villas Golf Course, a venue in San Diego, California that’s said to have “brown greens with gopher holes in the middle of them,” has gone belly up. The track’s fate is reportedly uncertain, but here’s a clue: The nine-hole, par-3 layout is owned by an apartment developer.
– Time has run out on Rosemont Country Club, a venue in suburban Akron, Ohio that was established in 1920. The club, which features an 18-hole, Tom Bendelow-designed golf course, claims to have suffered losses of more than $500,000 over the past two years, and its board has decided to end operations at the end of 2019 “unless an unforeseen opportunity presents itself.”
– Pearl Golf Links, a 36-hole complex across the North Carolina state line from Myrtle Beach, will draw the curtains on nine of its holes before the end of the year. Odell Williamson, Jr., a member of the family that owns the Pearl’s Dan Maples-designed golf courses, told the Sun News that the lost holes will probably be developed.
– The final rounds have been played at Bridgewood Golf Course, a nine-hole track outside Appleton, Wisconsin. Citing comments from Bridgewood’s owner, the Appleton Post-Crescent says that the course, which once had 18 holes, closed as a result of “competition, unpredictable Wisconsin weather, and shortened playing seasons.”
– Citing losses of up to $300,000 annually, Washoe County, Nevada has pulled the plug on one of the two tracks at Wildcreek Golf Course, a venue in suburban Reno that opened in the 1970s. Wildcreek’s 18-hole, Dick Phelps/Brad Benz co-design will be razed to make way for a high school, but its nine-hole, executive-length course will continue to operate.
– Oak Shadows Golf Club, outside Canton, Ohio, is likely to soon become the site of new elementary and secondary schools. The New Philadelphia Board of Education has agreed to buy Oak Shadows’ 280 acres for $3 million, pending the passage of a bond issue that would finance the school construction.
– The fate of Weddington Golf & Tennis, a 60-year-old venue in Studio City, California, has been sealed. Harvard-Westlake School, which bought Weddington and its nine-hole course two years ago, plans to build what’s been described as “state-of-the-art athletic facilities” on the club’s 16-acre property. The course will operate until the school green-lights the redevelopment, which could be as long as two years.
– Hollydale Golf Course, an 18-hole, 55-year-old track outside Minneapolis, Minnesota, will close at the end of this year’s golf season. Hollydale’s owners, Rick and Lynette Deziel, will likely sell their 160 acres to a residential developer.
– The lights have been turned off at Eagle Crest Golf Course, a 22-year-old venue outside Fort Smith, Arkansas. The 18-hole track, described by a local television station as “one of the premier golf courses in the River Valley,” was designed by former professional golfer Mark Hays.
– Sinnissippi Park Golf Club, despite having been recommended for “permanent closure” by park district officials in Rockford, Illinois, will open for the 2020 season. Sinnissippi’s pending demise reportedly led to a show of ardent support that persuaded the board to give the course a one-year reprieve.
Duly Noted – Michael Featherston, described by the Irish Times as “a low-profile Dublin nursing homes operator and hotelier,” has agreed to acquire one of Ireland’s highest-profile golf properties. For a price believed to be in the vicinity of €70 million ($77.4 million), Featherston has agreed to buy the K Club, the site of the Ryder Cup competition in 2006. The property, currently owned by Michael Smurfit, features a pair of Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses. . . . Once again, there’s reason for me to say something nice about Tiger Woods. For the second consecutive year, he’s passed on a chance to play in the Saudi International and pocket an appearance fee of more than $3 million. . . . The bad news is that in 2018, for the fifth consecutive year, the slowly eroding Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg again failed to turn a profit, this time posting a loss of $1.7 million. The good news is that Doonbeg’s financial picture is improving, as it lost $2.1 million in 2017.
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.”
Pipeline Overflow – In an effort to save some money, government officials in Boca Raton, Florida have decided to re-open their search for a course architect eager to redesign Ocean Breeze Golf Club. Nick Price and Tom Fazio II, who were chosen to oversee the project last spring, had proposed to spend $13 million, an amount now considered to be excessive. . . . Longtime readers of the World Golf Report will be pleased to learn that the development group that set out to build the third golf course in Serbia more than a decade ago “has not given up.” The commission for the all-but-forgotten track in suburban Belgrade, now being described as a tournament-worthy track, was originally given to Peter Harradine. The El Golf partnership now claims to have secured financing and expects construction to begin next year. . . . The slow-developing, 3,000-acre Mandalika resort on Indonesia’s increasingly water-challenged Lombok Island expects to open its racetrack (now a MotoGP track) in 2021, but it’s not made any announcements about its golf course (now appearing to be a single 27-hole complex) for nearly two years. Years ago, Nicklaus Design was angling for the golf commission, but a notice about a contract isn’t listed on the firm’s website.
When it comes to U.S. course closings, 2019 figures to be another banner year. Here’s the round-up for December, and let me remind you once again that many more of the dearly departed aren’t mentioned.
– Wesselman Par 3 Golf Course, a municipal track described by the Courier Press as “a place where young golfers can learn the game and where older ones maintain their love for it,” will close when elected officials in Evansville, Indiana decide that winter has officially arrived. A petition urging the city to keep the 18-hole, Ed Ault-designed layout open reportedly received just 75 signatures.
– Perhaps not surprisingly, Town Park Villas Golf Course, a venue in San Diego, California that’s said to have “brown greens with gopher holes in the middle of them,” has gone belly up. The track’s fate is reportedly uncertain, but here’s a clue: The nine-hole, par-3 layout is owned by an apartment developer.
– Time has run out on Rosemont Country Club, a venue in suburban Akron, Ohio that was established in 1920. The club, which features an 18-hole, Tom Bendelow-designed golf course, claims to have suffered losses of more than $500,000 over the past two years, and its board has decided to end operations at the end of 2019 “unless an unforeseen opportunity presents itself.”
– Pearl Golf Links, a 36-hole complex across the North Carolina state line from Myrtle Beach, will draw the curtains on nine of its holes before the end of the year. Odell Williamson, Jr., a member of the family that owns the Pearl’s Dan Maples-designed golf courses, told the Sun News that the lost holes will probably be developed.
– The final rounds have been played at Bridgewood Golf Course, a nine-hole track outside Appleton, Wisconsin. Citing comments from Bridgewood’s owner, the Appleton Post-Crescent says that the course, which once had 18 holes, closed as a result of “competition, unpredictable Wisconsin weather, and shortened playing seasons.”
– Citing losses of up to $300,000 annually, Washoe County, Nevada has pulled the plug on one of the two tracks at Wildcreek Golf Course, a venue in suburban Reno that opened in the 1970s. Wildcreek’s 18-hole, Dick Phelps/Brad Benz co-design will be razed to make way for a high school, but its nine-hole, executive-length course will continue to operate.
– Oak Shadows Golf Club, outside Canton, Ohio, is likely to soon become the site of new elementary and secondary schools. The New Philadelphia Board of Education has agreed to buy Oak Shadows’ 280 acres for $3 million, pending the passage of a bond issue that would finance the school construction.
– The fate of Weddington Golf & Tennis, a 60-year-old venue in Studio City, California, has been sealed. Harvard-Westlake School, which bought Weddington and its nine-hole course two years ago, plans to build what’s been described as “state-of-the-art athletic facilities” on the club’s 16-acre property. The course will operate until the school green-lights the redevelopment, which could be as long as two years.
– Hollydale Golf Course, an 18-hole, 55-year-old track outside Minneapolis, Minnesota, will close at the end of this year’s golf season. Hollydale’s owners, Rick and Lynette Deziel, will likely sell their 160 acres to a residential developer.
– The lights have been turned off at Eagle Crest Golf Course, a 22-year-old venue outside Fort Smith, Arkansas. The 18-hole track, described by a local television station as “one of the premier golf courses in the River Valley,” was designed by former professional golfer Mark Hays.
– Sinnissippi Park Golf Club, despite having been recommended for “permanent closure” by park district officials in Rockford, Illinois, will open for the 2020 season. Sinnissippi’s pending demise reportedly led to a show of ardent support that persuaded the board to give the course a one-year reprieve.
Duly Noted – Michael Featherston, described by the Irish Times as “a low-profile Dublin nursing homes operator and hotelier,” has agreed to acquire one of Ireland’s highest-profile golf properties. For a price believed to be in the vicinity of €70 million ($77.4 million), Featherston has agreed to buy the K Club, the site of the Ryder Cup competition in 2006. The property, currently owned by Michael Smurfit, features a pair of Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses. . . . Once again, there’s reason for me to say something nice about Tiger Woods. For the second consecutive year, he’s passed on a chance to play in the Saudi International and pocket an appearance fee of more than $3 million. . . . The bad news is that in 2018, for the fifth consecutive year, the slowly eroding Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg again failed to turn a profit, this time posting a loss of $1.7 million. The good news is that Doonbeg’s financial picture is improving, as it lost $2.1 million in 2017.
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, November 24, 2019
The Week That Was, november 24, 2019
For at least the third consecutive year, KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice is using the word “stable” to characterize the state of the golf business in Europe. Translation: As of year-end 2018, the 46 countries surveyed by the big international accounting firm are essentially running in place, chasing growth but not catching it.
It's almost like Groundhog Day. The famous French proverb bears repeating: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
When it comes to the fundamental aspects of the golf economy, KPMG’s data indicates that nothing much changed in the Old World last year. Like the reports KPMG published in 2017 and in 2018, “Golf Participation Report for Europe (2019)” concludes that the overall European market is “still stable” regarding numbers of registered golfers and golf courses in operation and points out that there have been “no substantial changes in the overall supply and demand figures.”
Here’s the data: KPMG has determined that the number of registered golfers in Europe decreased slightly last year, by 0.6 percent (24,396 golfers), while the number of affiliated golf courses was essentially flat (a loss of three courses).
As far as the overall golf participation rate on the Continent goes, it’s a measly 0.5 percent, a number that KPMG acknowledges “has remained stable since 2015.” The report states that 45.5 percent of the surveyed countries registered a decline in participation last year while 31.8 percent registered an increase.
Notably, some of the declines took place in key markets, among them England, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Combined, those five countries lost nearly 31,300 golfers. The growth-rate winners, on the other hand, were the Netherlands, Austria, and Norway, which collectively added just over 17,000 registered golfers.
It’s impossible to predict what will happen in Europe’s golf industry in 2019, but I’m betting on more stability.
With their playoff hopes rapidly disappearing, the Carolina Panthers intend to make golf a part of their future. For an as-yet undisclosed price, North Carolina’s professional football team has agreed to buy Waterford Golf Club, a 22-year-old venue that was once part of Jeff Silverstein’s now-defunct Carolina Trail. The team hasn’t outlined any specific plans for Waterford, but one of its top executives has indicated that the idea is “to try to improve it over its current state” and put “a Panthers brand or something that’s even better for the community” on it. The purchase is part of a new beginning for the Panthers, who are currently based in Charlotte but plan to break ground on a new headquarters and training facilities in nearby Rock Hill, South Carolina next spring. Waterford is by happy coincidence located in Rock Hill, just a short drive from the site of the team’s forthcoming new digs. The club, which features an 18-hole, Hale Irwin-designed golf course, has been in the hands of the lender that foreclosed on it in 2014.
Surplus Transactions – Preserve Communities has paid an undisclosed amount for Bay Creek Golf Club, a venue in Cape Charles, Virginia that features a pair of 18-hole “signature” golf courses, one designed by Arnold Palmer and the other by Jack Nicklaus. The purchase is bad news for the Nicklaus track, which will lose nine holes in order to deliver, in Preserve’s words, “the best golf experience for the membership.” . . . Roger Penske will likely soon own one of Pete Dye’s best-known golf courses. An entity tied to the auto-racing legend has agreed to buy the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and other assets, one of which is Brickyard Crossing Golf Course, the 18-hole track that famously features four holes within the racetrack’s 2.5-mile oval. The transaction is expected to close early next year. . . . SJS Tomorrow LLC, a Korean company, has acquired Bermuda Dunes Country Club, a venue outside Palm Desert, California that reportedly “helped define the Coachella Valley as a golfing paradise in the 1950s.” Bermuda Dunes, which features a 27-hole complex designed by William F. Bell, is the fifth golf property in SJS’s Southern California collection, joining Bear Creek Golf Club, Dove Canyon Golf Club, Pauma Valley Country Club, and Steele Canyon Golf Club.
Surplus Surplus Transactions – Regarding ClubCorp’s recent purchase of seven “exceptional lifestyle clubs” from Toll Brothers: The Real Deal reports that the Dallas, Texas-based owner/operator paid $8 million for one of the properties, Jupiter Country Club in Jupiter, Florida. The 12-year-old venue features an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course that it believes is “a dream come true.” . . . A historic golf club in Schenectady, New York has changed hands. An LLC led by Mike Rutherford has reportedly paid $2.16 million for Mohawk Golf Club, a venue that was founded in 1898 and now features an 18-hole Devereux Emmet-designed golf course. The club says that the course is “feared by a few, respected by most, and adored by all who truly love the game.” . . . Alterra Mountain Company, one of the nation’s top four-season resort operators, has agreed to buy Sugarbush, a popular vacation spot in Vermont whose attractions include a Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course. Alterra owns 14 similar properties, several of which have golf courses.
Duly Noted – In the mid 2000s, presumably before he realized its pervasive corruption, the current U.S. president tried to build a golf course in Ukraine. According to Politico, Donald Trump secured permission to build the course, in Kyiv, but for unexplained reasons the venture went nowhere. . . . Bob Moore’s recently opened course in Indonesia, Parahyangan Golf Bandung, has been recognized as the best new track in the Asia Pacific. The Jakarta Post says that he 18-hole course delivers “an unforgettable experience” and “challenges like no other,” while Moore, a principal of JMP Golf Design Group, has described it as “a highly strategic layout” that features “incomparable visual drama.” . . . Speaking of notable accomplishments, a tourism group has named Madeira, an island nation with three golf venues, the newest of which is 15 years old, as the “world’s best emerging golf destination.” Madeira, which most people couldn’t find if their lives depended on it (it’s in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Morocco), claimed the crown over Paris, Portugal, Sicily, Tasmania, Zanzibar, and the state of Missouri.
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.”
It's almost like Groundhog Day. The famous French proverb bears repeating: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
When it comes to the fundamental aspects of the golf economy, KPMG’s data indicates that nothing much changed in the Old World last year. Like the reports KPMG published in 2017 and in 2018, “Golf Participation Report for Europe (2019)” concludes that the overall European market is “still stable” regarding numbers of registered golfers and golf courses in operation and points out that there have been “no substantial changes in the overall supply and demand figures.”
Here’s the data: KPMG has determined that the number of registered golfers in Europe decreased slightly last year, by 0.6 percent (24,396 golfers), while the number of affiliated golf courses was essentially flat (a loss of three courses).
As far as the overall golf participation rate on the Continent goes, it’s a measly 0.5 percent, a number that KPMG acknowledges “has remained stable since 2015.” The report states that 45.5 percent of the surveyed countries registered a decline in participation last year while 31.8 percent registered an increase.
Notably, some of the declines took place in key markets, among them England, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Combined, those five countries lost nearly 31,300 golfers. The growth-rate winners, on the other hand, were the Netherlands, Austria, and Norway, which collectively added just over 17,000 registered golfers.
It’s impossible to predict what will happen in Europe’s golf industry in 2019, but I’m betting on more stability.
With their playoff hopes rapidly disappearing, the Carolina Panthers intend to make golf a part of their future. For an as-yet undisclosed price, North Carolina’s professional football team has agreed to buy Waterford Golf Club, a 22-year-old venue that was once part of Jeff Silverstein’s now-defunct Carolina Trail. The team hasn’t outlined any specific plans for Waterford, but one of its top executives has indicated that the idea is “to try to improve it over its current state” and put “a Panthers brand or something that’s even better for the community” on it. The purchase is part of a new beginning for the Panthers, who are currently based in Charlotte but plan to break ground on a new headquarters and training facilities in nearby Rock Hill, South Carolina next spring. Waterford is by happy coincidence located in Rock Hill, just a short drive from the site of the team’s forthcoming new digs. The club, which features an 18-hole, Hale Irwin-designed golf course, has been in the hands of the lender that foreclosed on it in 2014.
Surplus Transactions – Preserve Communities has paid an undisclosed amount for Bay Creek Golf Club, a venue in Cape Charles, Virginia that features a pair of 18-hole “signature” golf courses, one designed by Arnold Palmer and the other by Jack Nicklaus. The purchase is bad news for the Nicklaus track, which will lose nine holes in order to deliver, in Preserve’s words, “the best golf experience for the membership.” . . . Roger Penske will likely soon own one of Pete Dye’s best-known golf courses. An entity tied to the auto-racing legend has agreed to buy the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and other assets, one of which is Brickyard Crossing Golf Course, the 18-hole track that famously features four holes within the racetrack’s 2.5-mile oval. The transaction is expected to close early next year. . . . SJS Tomorrow LLC, a Korean company, has acquired Bermuda Dunes Country Club, a venue outside Palm Desert, California that reportedly “helped define the Coachella Valley as a golfing paradise in the 1950s.” Bermuda Dunes, which features a 27-hole complex designed by William F. Bell, is the fifth golf property in SJS’s Southern California collection, joining Bear Creek Golf Club, Dove Canyon Golf Club, Pauma Valley Country Club, and Steele Canyon Golf Club.
Surplus Surplus Transactions – Regarding ClubCorp’s recent purchase of seven “exceptional lifestyle clubs” from Toll Brothers: The Real Deal reports that the Dallas, Texas-based owner/operator paid $8 million for one of the properties, Jupiter Country Club in Jupiter, Florida. The 12-year-old venue features an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course that it believes is “a dream come true.” . . . A historic golf club in Schenectady, New York has changed hands. An LLC led by Mike Rutherford has reportedly paid $2.16 million for Mohawk Golf Club, a venue that was founded in 1898 and now features an 18-hole Devereux Emmet-designed golf course. The club says that the course is “feared by a few, respected by most, and adored by all who truly love the game.” . . . Alterra Mountain Company, one of the nation’s top four-season resort operators, has agreed to buy Sugarbush, a popular vacation spot in Vermont whose attractions include a Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course. Alterra owns 14 similar properties, several of which have golf courses.
Duly Noted – In the mid 2000s, presumably before he realized its pervasive corruption, the current U.S. president tried to build a golf course in Ukraine. According to Politico, Donald Trump secured permission to build the course, in Kyiv, but for unexplained reasons the venture went nowhere. . . . Bob Moore’s recently opened course in Indonesia, Parahyangan Golf Bandung, has been recognized as the best new track in the Asia Pacific. The Jakarta Post says that he 18-hole course delivers “an unforgettable experience” and “challenges like no other,” while Moore, a principal of JMP Golf Design Group, has described it as “a highly strategic layout” that features “incomparable visual drama.” . . . Speaking of notable accomplishments, a tourism group has named Madeira, an island nation with three golf venues, the newest of which is 15 years old, as the “world’s best emerging golf destination.” Madeira, which most people couldn’t find if their lives depended on it (it’s in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Morocco), claimed the crown over Paris, Portugal, Sicily, Tasmania, Zanzibar, and the state of Missouri.
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, November 17, 2019
The Week That Was, november 17, 2019
One of the 13 (or maybe 20) golf courses planned to open over the next decade in Saudi Arabia will take shape at a so-called giga-project called Qiddiya that’s conceived to be the arid kingdom’s “capital of entertainment, sports, and the arts.” Qiddiya, which will sprawl across 85,000 acres of desert roughly 30 miles west of Riyadh, has been master-planned to include – take a deep breath – a variety of housing types, a slew of hotels, several concert and entertainment venues, skiing and ice-skating facilities (summer recreation!), a Six Flags theme park, a water park, a motorsports-themed park, a wildlife park, an equestrian center, large indoor and outdoor sports stadiums, an aquatic center, a grand mosque, schools, shopping areas, a hospital, and places to eat and drink. A press release doesn’t say where the water for these attractions (including an 18-hole, “ecologically sensitive” golf course) will come from, but its safe to assume that desalination plants will also be part of the mix. Qiddiya is being developed by an entity owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Company and led by Michael Reininger, who previously had stints with Walt Disney Company and St. Joe Company. Reininger expects to debut phase one of Qiddiya in 2022.
Pipeline Overflow – It’s taken something like 15 years, but FM Group seems to finally be ready to break ground on its Jack Nicklaus golf course in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Aberdeen Evening Express reports that the developers “hope to begin construction” on the 18-hole “signaure” layout at the Ury Estate “by the end of the year.” . . . The owners of Quicksand Golf Course, an 18-hole venue in San Angelo, Texas, will reportedly add nine holes and perhaps a hotel with meeting space. The new nine will complement Quicksand’s 23-year-old, Michael Hurdzan-designed track, which bills itself as “one of the toughest courses in Texas.” . . . Jeff and Patricia Hoops have hired Terry LaGree, a principal of Harmony Links Golf, to design the golf course for their Grand Patrician resort in Milton, West Virginia. LaGree, whose motto is “Delivering Next Generation Golf Today,” intends to produce a “tribute” course whose nine par-3 holes and synthetic greens have been “inspired by the most famous golf holes in the world.”
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – Delhi Golf Club, one of India’s oldest and most exclusive golf venues, is about to debut its Gary Player-redesigned golf complex. The club believes that the re-do will provide “more challenging playing conditions,” serve as “a nurturing ground for budding golfers,” and ultimately be regarded as “one of the best golf courses in the country.” . . . Sometime next spring, Tim Lobb expects to unveil his fourth course in Turkey. The track, which is said to be the first 18-hole course in the nation’s capital city, will be the centerpiece of Regnum Ankara Golf Estate, a 500-acre community with houses tailored to first-time buyers. . . . Come next summer, Johnny Morris’ Big Cedar Lodge expects to open its 18-hole Payne’s Valley course, which Forbes is generously hyping as “a fun, playable, and visually impressive” layout with “great holes throughout.” In addition to Payne’s Valley, the first public venue designed by Tiger Woods, Big Cedar offers golf travelers brand-name work by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Fazio, Tom Watson, and Coore & Crenshaw.
Duly Noted – Topgolf Entertainment Group will soon blaze new frontiers in Asia, as the Dallas, Texas-based company has struck a deal with partners who aim to open 70 Topgolf-branded venues in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Philippines. “We’ve done a fairly thorough analysis of cities across the world in which a Topgolf venue could be successful,” the company’s CEO acknowledged in a statement published by Fortune, “and we realized there’s twice the opportunity internationally than exists domestically.” . . . A company that bills itself as “the leading manufacturer of custom needlepoint accessories” is going to put Jack Nicklaus’ good name on “a special Nicklaus Collection” of belts, bar wear, key fobs, and god knows what else. Sadly, a spokesperson for the empire has called such products “the perfect fit for our brand.” . . . When he isn’t stripping naked for photos or protesting against the injustice of the U.S. tax code, Greg “the Living Brand” Norman complains about Tiger Woods’ manners, dreams of living until he’s 110, and draws a direct line between “a pure golf shot” and “having an orgasm.”
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.”
Pipeline Overflow – It’s taken something like 15 years, but FM Group seems to finally be ready to break ground on its Jack Nicklaus golf course in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Aberdeen Evening Express reports that the developers “hope to begin construction” on the 18-hole “signaure” layout at the Ury Estate “by the end of the year.” . . . The owners of Quicksand Golf Course, an 18-hole venue in San Angelo, Texas, will reportedly add nine holes and perhaps a hotel with meeting space. The new nine will complement Quicksand’s 23-year-old, Michael Hurdzan-designed track, which bills itself as “one of the toughest courses in Texas.” . . . Jeff and Patricia Hoops have hired Terry LaGree, a principal of Harmony Links Golf, to design the golf course for their Grand Patrician resort in Milton, West Virginia. LaGree, whose motto is “Delivering Next Generation Golf Today,” intends to produce a “tribute” course whose nine par-3 holes and synthetic greens have been “inspired by the most famous golf holes in the world.”
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – Delhi Golf Club, one of India’s oldest and most exclusive golf venues, is about to debut its Gary Player-redesigned golf complex. The club believes that the re-do will provide “more challenging playing conditions,” serve as “a nurturing ground for budding golfers,” and ultimately be regarded as “one of the best golf courses in the country.” . . . Sometime next spring, Tim Lobb expects to unveil his fourth course in Turkey. The track, which is said to be the first 18-hole course in the nation’s capital city, will be the centerpiece of Regnum Ankara Golf Estate, a 500-acre community with houses tailored to first-time buyers. . . . Come next summer, Johnny Morris’ Big Cedar Lodge expects to open its 18-hole Payne’s Valley course, which Forbes is generously hyping as “a fun, playable, and visually impressive” layout with “great holes throughout.” In addition to Payne’s Valley, the first public venue designed by Tiger Woods, Big Cedar offers golf travelers brand-name work by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Fazio, Tom Watson, and Coore & Crenshaw.
Duly Noted – Topgolf Entertainment Group will soon blaze new frontiers in Asia, as the Dallas, Texas-based company has struck a deal with partners who aim to open 70 Topgolf-branded venues in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Philippines. “We’ve done a fairly thorough analysis of cities across the world in which a Topgolf venue could be successful,” the company’s CEO acknowledged in a statement published by Fortune, “and we realized there’s twice the opportunity internationally than exists domestically.” . . . A company that bills itself as “the leading manufacturer of custom needlepoint accessories” is going to put Jack Nicklaus’ good name on “a special Nicklaus Collection” of belts, bar wear, key fobs, and god knows what else. Sadly, a spokesperson for the empire has called such products “the perfect fit for our brand.” . . . When he isn’t stripping naked for photos or protesting against the injustice of the U.S. tax code, Greg “the Living Brand” Norman complains about Tiger Woods’ manners, dreams of living until he’s 110, and draws a direct line between “a pure golf shot” and “having an orgasm.”
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, November 10, 2019
The Week That Was, november 10, 2019
In what amounts to a fire sale, an entity controlled by HNA Group, a financially besieged Chinese conglomerate, has agreed to sell its golf holdings in the Pacific Northwest. Citing “negative market circumstances,” and noting that it’s been “searching for interested buyers for quite some time,” CWT International Ltd. has announced that it’ll accept $86.5 million for the eight Seattle, Washington-area properties that it purchased from Scott Oki for $137.5 million in 2016. The sale has been triggered by the plight of HNA Group, which is being pressured by Chinese authorities to relieve the massive debt it’s carrying. The prospective purchaser is Magic Radiance, Ltd., a Samoan-registered group led by Elaine Bai, who hasn’t made any public statements about the transaction. For its money, Magic Radiance is getting two 36-hole complexes, Golf Club at Newcastle and Golf Club at Hawks Prairie, and six 18-hole facilities, among them Trophy Lake Golf & Casting Club, Indian Summer Golf & Country Club, Washington National Golf Club, and Golf Club at Redmond Ridge. In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, CWT International asserted that it’s been “a challenge” to “identify suitable buyers” and claimed that the golf courses “do not have significant investment appeal.”
Surplus Transactions – A little more than a year after paying “nearly $1 million” for Red Hawk Run Golf Club, in Findlay, Ohio, Nick Reinhart has agreed to sell the 21-year-old venue and its 18-hole, Arthur Hills-designed course to the homeowners’ association in the surrounding community. A local radio station says that Reinhart cited “a significant drop in the number of rounds of golf being played across the country” as his reason for making the sale. . . . For a reported $600,000, Greg and Heather Norsby have purchased Hickory Grove Golf Course, a nine-hole track outside Waterloo, Iowa. The seller, Larry Bomkamp, marketed Hickory Grove, which dates from the mid 1960s, as “the best nine-hole course in Iowa.” . . . Forest Hills Golf Course, a nine-hole, Jack Kidwell-designed layout in suburban Columbus, Ohio, has changed hands. A pair of local couples, operating as Compound Enterprises LLC, paid an undisclosed price the 50-year-old facility, which reportedly has an assessed value of $538,800. The property now operates as Forest Hills Grill & Golf.
The long, slow drain of U.S. golf properties shows no sign of letting up. Here are some recent closings:
– Gulf Hills Golf Club, a venue on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast whose lounge was once frequented by “movie stars, gangsters, and even Elvis Presley,” bit the dust last month. “If you don’t have people walking through the door, you can’t pay the bills,” a board member told WLOX-TV. Gulf Hills, which is for sale for $2.5 million, features an 18-hole, Jack Daray-designed course that dates from 1927.
– Reames Golf & Country Club, a private venue in Klamath Falls, Oregon, is scheduled to end its 94-year run this month. The Herald & News says that the club, which has an 18-hole golf course (the original nine was designed by Chandler Egan), blames its demise on “declining membership and other economic factors.”
– Oak Lake Golf Course, a 34-year-old track in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has closed because its owners reportedly “wanted to do something else with their time.” The owners, the heirs of the late Bernie Conley, have been trying to sell their 18-hole, Fred Garbin-designed course for more than a year.
– Willow Creek Golf Course, a 27-hole, Jim Spear-designed complex in Rochester, Minnesota, is now controlled by a local bank. “After four years of terrible weather, we just couldn’t sustain it any longer,” Wendell Pittenger, the venue’s owner, told the Rochester Post Bulletin. In 2013, financial struggles forced Pittenger to give up his lease on a municipal course in Red Wing, Minnesota.
– Norton Knolls Golf Course, a nine-hole track in that’s operated in Oakland, Illinois since 1969. The course’s owners view golf as being on a “downhill slide” and expect to grow hemp for CBD products on about half their 65 acres.
– Spuyten Duyval, which is said to be “one of the oldest golf courses in the [Toledo, Ohio] area” (it dates from the late 1920s), closed on Halloween. The complex, featuring 27 regulation-length holes and a nine-hole executive-length layout, has been purchased by Metroparks Toledo and will be converted to parkland.
– Rogala Public Links, a nine-hole course in Mattoon, Illinois, will draw its curtains on New Year’s Eve. “We felt we hung on as long as we could,” confessed Donna Meaker, who’s owned the property since 1974.
– Locust Valley Golf Course, a 101-acre facility outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, will soon be the site of a 125-unit, seniors-only community. Robert Ashford says that his 18-hole course, designed by William and David Gordon and opened in 1954, will remain open at least through April of next year.
– Aztec Municipal Golf Course, outside Farmington, New Mexico, will be shuttered by the end of the year unless the city can find a buyer. The 18-hole track, opened in 1950 as Hidden Valley Golf Club, has been struggling financially for years.
– Willowbrook Country Club, in Connersville, Indiana, has hosted its last rounds under the ownership of Rob Fitzgerald and his siblings. “Nobody ever closes down a money-making business,” said Fitzgerald, who hopes to find a buyer. Willowbrook, now with an 18-hole, Bill Diddel-designed course, was established (as Connersville Country Club) in 1902.
Duly Noted – The sad decline of Phil Mickelson continues: “The Gambler,” no longer a factor on the professional tours, has decided to cash checks from a beer company. A light beer company. Hard to see how this boosts the value of his name. . . . Newsweek reports that the tap water at Individual #1’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey is “contaminated with toxic ‘forever chemicals.’” No surprise, seeing as how he’s already poisoned our body politic. . . . From the Department of Oddities Discovered While Doing Golf Research: The New York Times says that the king of Thailand, a man who lords over one of Southeast Asia’s major golf destinations, has “owned a number of pet poodles, one of which was granted the military rank of air chief marshal.”
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 of late, 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.
Surplus Transactions – A little more than a year after paying “nearly $1 million” for Red Hawk Run Golf Club, in Findlay, Ohio, Nick Reinhart has agreed to sell the 21-year-old venue and its 18-hole, Arthur Hills-designed course to the homeowners’ association in the surrounding community. A local radio station says that Reinhart cited “a significant drop in the number of rounds of golf being played across the country” as his reason for making the sale. . . . For a reported $600,000, Greg and Heather Norsby have purchased Hickory Grove Golf Course, a nine-hole track outside Waterloo, Iowa. The seller, Larry Bomkamp, marketed Hickory Grove, which dates from the mid 1960s, as “the best nine-hole course in Iowa.” . . . Forest Hills Golf Course, a nine-hole, Jack Kidwell-designed layout in suburban Columbus, Ohio, has changed hands. A pair of local couples, operating as Compound Enterprises LLC, paid an undisclosed price the 50-year-old facility, which reportedly has an assessed value of $538,800. The property now operates as Forest Hills Grill & Golf.
The long, slow drain of U.S. golf properties shows no sign of letting up. Here are some recent closings:
– Gulf Hills Golf Club, a venue on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast whose lounge was once frequented by “movie stars, gangsters, and even Elvis Presley,” bit the dust last month. “If you don’t have people walking through the door, you can’t pay the bills,” a board member told WLOX-TV. Gulf Hills, which is for sale for $2.5 million, features an 18-hole, Jack Daray-designed course that dates from 1927.
– Reames Golf & Country Club, a private venue in Klamath Falls, Oregon, is scheduled to end its 94-year run this month. The Herald & News says that the club, which has an 18-hole golf course (the original nine was designed by Chandler Egan), blames its demise on “declining membership and other economic factors.”
– Oak Lake Golf Course, a 34-year-old track in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has closed because its owners reportedly “wanted to do something else with their time.” The owners, the heirs of the late Bernie Conley, have been trying to sell their 18-hole, Fred Garbin-designed course for more than a year.
– Willow Creek Golf Course, a 27-hole, Jim Spear-designed complex in Rochester, Minnesota, is now controlled by a local bank. “After four years of terrible weather, we just couldn’t sustain it any longer,” Wendell Pittenger, the venue’s owner, told the Rochester Post Bulletin. In 2013, financial struggles forced Pittenger to give up his lease on a municipal course in Red Wing, Minnesota.
– Norton Knolls Golf Course, a nine-hole track in that’s operated in Oakland, Illinois since 1969. The course’s owners view golf as being on a “downhill slide” and expect to grow hemp for CBD products on about half their 65 acres.
– Spuyten Duyval, which is said to be “one of the oldest golf courses in the [Toledo, Ohio] area” (it dates from the late 1920s), closed on Halloween. The complex, featuring 27 regulation-length holes and a nine-hole executive-length layout, has been purchased by Metroparks Toledo and will be converted to parkland.
– Rogala Public Links, a nine-hole course in Mattoon, Illinois, will draw its curtains on New Year’s Eve. “We felt we hung on as long as we could,” confessed Donna Meaker, who’s owned the property since 1974.
– Locust Valley Golf Course, a 101-acre facility outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, will soon be the site of a 125-unit, seniors-only community. Robert Ashford says that his 18-hole course, designed by William and David Gordon and opened in 1954, will remain open at least through April of next year.
– Aztec Municipal Golf Course, outside Farmington, New Mexico, will be shuttered by the end of the year unless the city can find a buyer. The 18-hole track, opened in 1950 as Hidden Valley Golf Club, has been struggling financially for years.
– Willowbrook Country Club, in Connersville, Indiana, has hosted its last rounds under the ownership of Rob Fitzgerald and his siblings. “Nobody ever closes down a money-making business,” said Fitzgerald, who hopes to find a buyer. Willowbrook, now with an 18-hole, Bill Diddel-designed course, was established (as Connersville Country Club) in 1902.
Duly Noted – The sad decline of Phil Mickelson continues: “The Gambler,” no longer a factor on the professional tours, has decided to cash checks from a beer company. A light beer company. Hard to see how this boosts the value of his name. . . . Newsweek reports that the tap water at Individual #1’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey is “contaminated with toxic ‘forever chemicals.’” No surprise, seeing as how he’s already poisoned our body politic. . . . From the Department of Oddities Discovered While Doing Golf Research: The New York Times says that the king of Thailand, a man who lords over one of Southeast Asia’s major golf destinations, has “owned a number of pet poodles, one of which was granted the military rank of air chief marshal.”
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 of late, 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, November 3, 2019
The Week That Was, november 3, 2019
It turns out that ClubCorp’s prospective purchase of two golf properties from Toll Brothers was just a taste of what was to come.
Last week, the giant owner/operator acquired seven venues from the big national homebuilder, all of them on the East Coast and in what ClubCorp calls “ideal locations near some of our key markets.” As the Philadelphia Business Journal reported last month, two of the facilities are Hasentree Club and Brier Creek Country Club, which are located in and around Raleigh, North Carolina. The rest of the collection, says a press release, consists of Oak Creek Golf Club in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, Jupiter Country Club in Jupiter, Florida, and three properties in Northern Virginia: Belmont Country Club, Dominion Valley Country Club, and Regency at Dominion Valley Country Club.
ClubCorp describes the properties, its first acquisitions of 2019, as “exceptional lifestyle clubs” and promises to help their members “achieve the life and lifestyle to which they aspire.” All but one of them features signature golf – four courses by Arnold Palmer and one each by Tom Fazio and Greg Norman. The exception, Oak Creek, has an Ed Ault-designed layout.
Toll hasn’t said why it relieved itself of these clubs, but a lighter corporate load will certainly enable it to concentrate on its core operations. Let’s face it: For Toll, golf has always been a side business. According to its website, the company has just one remaining venue in its golf portfolio, Parkland Golf & Country Club in greater Miami, Florida.
Surplus Transactions – A homeowners’ association in Bend, Oregon has agreed to pay $6.4 million for the primary recreational asset in their gated community. The 26-year-old Broken Top Club features an 18-hole course, co-designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, that an online reviewer says “will not only flatter your game but also lift your spirits.” . . . Kennedy Wilson, a U.S. real-estate investment group, has sold its golf venue in Dublin, Ireland to a big Canadian hotel company. Northland Properties Group reportedly paid “about €50 million” (almost $56 million) for Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links, a 160-acre spread that features a Bernhard Langer “signature” course that was co-designed by Stan Eby of European Golf Design. . . . Regarding the recent sale of Cape Fear National at Brunswick Forest, a recently upgraded (new greens, renovated bunkers), 10-year-old club outside Wilmington, North Carolina: Atlantic Golf Management reportedly paid a measly $400,000 for the club and its 18-hole, Tim Cate-designed course. No wonder Atlantic calls its purchase “maybe the best acquisition we’ve made with the most possibilities.”
Castle Stuart, the home of a true world-class golf course that’s hosted the Scottish Open four times, has renewed its desire to build a second championship-worthy layout, an idea originally floated years ago. The Press & Journal reports that the bucket-list property in Inverness, created a decade ago by a team led by the late Mark Parsinen, recently submitted a development application and has been for several months “in discussions with a number of potential investors.”
One of those potential investors is the Arnold Palmer Group, which in 2015 had an agreement to design Castle Stuart’s second course and become an equity partner in Parsinen’s ownership group. The status of that agreement hasn’t been discussed by either party, but it’s evident that Castle Stuart is now weighing its options.
Parsinen died earlier this year, and Castle Stuart’s future appears to be in the hands of Grant Sword, a hotelier and a longtime investor in the property. If he sticks to Parsinen’s master plan, Sword will build a pair of hotels, the obligatory spa, and a short course of some kind.
The forthcoming course will complement Castle Stuart’s existing layout, which was co-designed by Parsinen and Gil Hanse and checks in at #53 on Golf Digest’s list of the World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. One suspects that Sword wants the new track to be of comparable quality.
Pipeline Overflow – Forrest Richardson, an evangelist for short, fun-to-play courses, has been tabbed to design a 12-hole track for an upscale RV park in suburban Phoenix, Arizona. The course, scheduled to open in 2021, is tentatively being called On the Rocks, and it’ll be accompanied by “innovative playgrounds,” “meditation trails,” and, most importantly, 800 spaces for land yachts. . . . Truong An Golf Company, a Vietnamese developer, has green-lighted the second 18-hole course at Stone Valley Golf Resort, a 500-acre community in Hà Nam Province. Brian Curley, who believes that his first course at Stone Valley is “unlike most anything in the Hà Nội market,” reports that the venue’s third nine is now under construction. . . . A convention center, an amphitheater, a hotel, and an 18-hole golf course are among the attractions planned for Kisumu, a city located along Lake Victoria is southwestern Kenya. Local government officials believe that a revitalized waterfront in Kisumu will boost the area’s economy and attract tourists.
Duly Noted – Another sign of growing stability in U.S. private-club operations: Wilderness Ridge Country Club, which has catered to daily-fee golfers since it opened in Lincoln, Nebraska in 2001, expects to become a members-only venue in 2021. “Golf is a popular sport in this part of the city,” the club’s general manager told a local newspaper, “and we're a good location to provide what people are looking for.” . . . The seven resident-owned golf courses in Sun City West, a place that markets itself as “Arizona’s finest golf retirement community,” ring up, on average, almost 289,600 rounds a year – nearly 41,400 apiece. Still, the community’s golf operation lost more than $1.4 million last year, a deficit that was covered by the dues that residents pay. . . . Australia’s golf-design business has experienced another merger. Karrie Webb, an LPGA star and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has joined forces with Ross Perrett, who had a long association with the late Peter Thomson.
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.”
Last week, the giant owner/operator acquired seven venues from the big national homebuilder, all of them on the East Coast and in what ClubCorp calls “ideal locations near some of our key markets.” As the Philadelphia Business Journal reported last month, two of the facilities are Hasentree Club and Brier Creek Country Club, which are located in and around Raleigh, North Carolina. The rest of the collection, says a press release, consists of Oak Creek Golf Club in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, Jupiter Country Club in Jupiter, Florida, and three properties in Northern Virginia: Belmont Country Club, Dominion Valley Country Club, and Regency at Dominion Valley Country Club.
ClubCorp describes the properties, its first acquisitions of 2019, as “exceptional lifestyle clubs” and promises to help their members “achieve the life and lifestyle to which they aspire.” All but one of them features signature golf – four courses by Arnold Palmer and one each by Tom Fazio and Greg Norman. The exception, Oak Creek, has an Ed Ault-designed layout.
Toll hasn’t said why it relieved itself of these clubs, but a lighter corporate load will certainly enable it to concentrate on its core operations. Let’s face it: For Toll, golf has always been a side business. According to its website, the company has just one remaining venue in its golf portfolio, Parkland Golf & Country Club in greater Miami, Florida.
Surplus Transactions – A homeowners’ association in Bend, Oregon has agreed to pay $6.4 million for the primary recreational asset in their gated community. The 26-year-old Broken Top Club features an 18-hole course, co-designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, that an online reviewer says “will not only flatter your game but also lift your spirits.” . . . Kennedy Wilson, a U.S. real-estate investment group, has sold its golf venue in Dublin, Ireland to a big Canadian hotel company. Northland Properties Group reportedly paid “about €50 million” (almost $56 million) for Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links, a 160-acre spread that features a Bernhard Langer “signature” course that was co-designed by Stan Eby of European Golf Design. . . . Regarding the recent sale of Cape Fear National at Brunswick Forest, a recently upgraded (new greens, renovated bunkers), 10-year-old club outside Wilmington, North Carolina: Atlantic Golf Management reportedly paid a measly $400,000 for the club and its 18-hole, Tim Cate-designed course. No wonder Atlantic calls its purchase “maybe the best acquisition we’ve made with the most possibilities.”
Castle Stuart, the home of a true world-class golf course that’s hosted the Scottish Open four times, has renewed its desire to build a second championship-worthy layout, an idea originally floated years ago. The Press & Journal reports that the bucket-list property in Inverness, created a decade ago by a team led by the late Mark Parsinen, recently submitted a development application and has been for several months “in discussions with a number of potential investors.”
One of those potential investors is the Arnold Palmer Group, which in 2015 had an agreement to design Castle Stuart’s second course and become an equity partner in Parsinen’s ownership group. The status of that agreement hasn’t been discussed by either party, but it’s evident that Castle Stuart is now weighing its options.
Parsinen died earlier this year, and Castle Stuart’s future appears to be in the hands of Grant Sword, a hotelier and a longtime investor in the property. If he sticks to Parsinen’s master plan, Sword will build a pair of hotels, the obligatory spa, and a short course of some kind.
The forthcoming course will complement Castle Stuart’s existing layout, which was co-designed by Parsinen and Gil Hanse and checks in at #53 on Golf Digest’s list of the World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. One suspects that Sword wants the new track to be of comparable quality.
Pipeline Overflow – Forrest Richardson, an evangelist for short, fun-to-play courses, has been tabbed to design a 12-hole track for an upscale RV park in suburban Phoenix, Arizona. The course, scheduled to open in 2021, is tentatively being called On the Rocks, and it’ll be accompanied by “innovative playgrounds,” “meditation trails,” and, most importantly, 800 spaces for land yachts. . . . Truong An Golf Company, a Vietnamese developer, has green-lighted the second 18-hole course at Stone Valley Golf Resort, a 500-acre community in Hà Nam Province. Brian Curley, who believes that his first course at Stone Valley is “unlike most anything in the Hà Nội market,” reports that the venue’s third nine is now under construction. . . . A convention center, an amphitheater, a hotel, and an 18-hole golf course are among the attractions planned for Kisumu, a city located along Lake Victoria is southwestern Kenya. Local government officials believe that a revitalized waterfront in Kisumu will boost the area’s economy and attract tourists.
Duly Noted – Another sign of growing stability in U.S. private-club operations: Wilderness Ridge Country Club, which has catered to daily-fee golfers since it opened in Lincoln, Nebraska in 2001, expects to become a members-only venue in 2021. “Golf is a popular sport in this part of the city,” the club’s general manager told a local newspaper, “and we're a good location to provide what people are looking for.” . . . The seven resident-owned golf courses in Sun City West, a place that markets itself as “Arizona’s finest golf retirement community,” ring up, on average, almost 289,600 rounds a year – nearly 41,400 apiece. Still, the community’s golf operation lost more than $1.4 million last year, a deficit that was covered by the dues that residents pay. . . . Australia’s golf-design business has experienced another merger. Karrie Webb, an LPGA star and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has joined forces with Ross Perrett, who had a long association with the late Peter Thomson.
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, October 27, 2019
The Week That Was, october 27, 2019
Just weeks after an anticipated sale fell through, LPGA International has been sold to Charlie Staples’ Fore Golf Partners. The prominent but financially challenged golf venue in Daytona Beach, Florida – it’s “bled money for decades,” according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal – changed hands for $3.45 million, which the newspaper helpfully notes was “more than double” the $1.5 million that Consolidated-Tomoka Land Company paid for the property in 2017. The price is what Consolidated-Tomoka expected to receive from C-Bons International Golf Group Inc., an entity with Chinese roots that had hoped to buy LPGA International in July. For its money, Manassas, Virginia-based Fore Golf gets a pair of 18-hole golf courses (one designed by Rees Jones, the other by Arthur Hills) and related golf and recreational amenities. (Not the headquarters of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, however.) LPGA International is now the premier property in Fore Golf’s portfolio, which consists of eight other properties in Florida and one each in Maryland and Virginia. Staples’ company, which describes itself as “an experienced boutique company that specializes in challenging turnarounds,” reportedly has “big plans” for its latest acquisition, beginning with overdue capital improvements.
Surplus Transactions, All-Florida Edition – Speaking of Fore Golf Partners, the firm has accepted $2.9 million for River Hills Country Club, a 20-year-old venue in suburban Tampa. River Hills, which features an 18-hole, Joe Lee-designed course, now belongs to the homeowners in the accompanying community, who plan to invest more than $2 million more in upgrades. . . . A judge has ruled that homeowners in University Park Country Club, outside Sarasota, are within their rights to spend $16.75 million on the 27-hole, Ron Garl-designed complex in their community. The homeowners, who enjoy “the quintessential country club lifestyle,” are also getting about 100 acres of undeveloped land as part of the purchase. . . . Two local businessmen figure to assume the ground lease on Amelia River Golf Course, an 18-hole, Tom Jackson-designed layout on Amelia Island. If all proceeds as expected, the main goals for Tom Miller and Steve Pickett will be “making some improvements and getting the locals back.”
Once again, the 370 members of Rolling Road Golf Club, a century-old venue outside Baltimore, are considering a possible relocation – one that would, in the words of their president, “re-establish Rolling Road as a premier facility in Maryland.” No timetables have been set, and many obstacles still need to be overcome, but the club, the home of a course designed by Willie Park, Jr., could move to new digs on 206 nearby acres owned by the state’s department of natural resources. The club is working with a company that would presumably fund the relocation in exchange for the opportunity to develop the club’s 90 acres outside Ellicott City, a popular suburb. Rolling Road has been down this road before, as the Baltimore Sun reports that it’s been “weighing options to relocate since the early 2000s,” mostly because its current property is so cramped. The proposed new location is roomy enough to accommodate a driving range, a swimming pool, a bigger clubhouse, and other amenities, all of which would presumably enable it to attract new members. The fact that a piece of golf history would be lost doesn’t appear to be a concern at this time.
Pipeline Overflow, All-British Edition – City officials in Blackpool, a place once described as “England’s unhealthiest town,” are weighing a development plan that would raze nine holes from their 18-hole, Alister MacKenzie-designed golf course. The lost half of Blackpool Golf Course, which has operated since 1925, would be replaced with houses and a recreational attraction. . . . In response to what a local newspaper calls “societal lifestyle changes and the changing needs of their customers,” an events center outside Waterford City, Ireland (County Kilkenny) plans to halve the size of its golf course. Mountain View, which opened it 18-hole layout in 1996, promises to create “a superb nine-hole course.” . . . In a search for financial sustainability, elected officials in Birmingham, England may chop their Hilltop Golf Course in half. The existing 18-hole track, which is said to be “failing due to its design, location, competition from other golf courses as well as competition from other leisure activities,” was designed by one of the Hawtrees, probably Martin, and opened in 1979.
Duly Noted – While the mainstream golf media may be excited by the prospect of architects Michael Clayton, Mike DeVries, and Frank Pont teaming up to create exquisite new golf courses, it’s worth noting that, throughout history, the golf industry’s biggest design stars have been solo practitioners. So I’m wondering: Is the newly unveiled CDP Golf Design a show of strength or a sign of weakness? . . . If you’re wondering why Clublink is so eager to redevelop some of its golf properties (currently Glen Abbey Golf Club in suburban Toronto and Kanata Golf & Country Club in suburban Ottawa), it’s because its membership base is eroding. The company, which owns roughly 40 venues in Ontario, Quebec, and Florida, nowadays has fewer than 15,000 members (down from a peak of 17,500), and the pre-tax profits from its Canadian operations are said to be down by 25 percent. . . . The hype machine has been rolled out in service of the PGA of America’s partly taxpayer-funded golf complex in Frisco, Texas. The city’s mayor thinks it’ll “transform the entire sport of golf,” while Beau Welling, one of the architects, believes it’ll have “a major impact on our wonderful game not only here in Texas but across the country.” Not to be outdone, the group’s CEO declares that the venue will become both “the modern home of American golf” and the “Silicon Valley of golf.”
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.”
Surplus Transactions, All-Florida Edition – Speaking of Fore Golf Partners, the firm has accepted $2.9 million for River Hills Country Club, a 20-year-old venue in suburban Tampa. River Hills, which features an 18-hole, Joe Lee-designed course, now belongs to the homeowners in the accompanying community, who plan to invest more than $2 million more in upgrades. . . . A judge has ruled that homeowners in University Park Country Club, outside Sarasota, are within their rights to spend $16.75 million on the 27-hole, Ron Garl-designed complex in their community. The homeowners, who enjoy “the quintessential country club lifestyle,” are also getting about 100 acres of undeveloped land as part of the purchase. . . . Two local businessmen figure to assume the ground lease on Amelia River Golf Course, an 18-hole, Tom Jackson-designed layout on Amelia Island. If all proceeds as expected, the main goals for Tom Miller and Steve Pickett will be “making some improvements and getting the locals back.”
Once again, the 370 members of Rolling Road Golf Club, a century-old venue outside Baltimore, are considering a possible relocation – one that would, in the words of their president, “re-establish Rolling Road as a premier facility in Maryland.” No timetables have been set, and many obstacles still need to be overcome, but the club, the home of a course designed by Willie Park, Jr., could move to new digs on 206 nearby acres owned by the state’s department of natural resources. The club is working with a company that would presumably fund the relocation in exchange for the opportunity to develop the club’s 90 acres outside Ellicott City, a popular suburb. Rolling Road has been down this road before, as the Baltimore Sun reports that it’s been “weighing options to relocate since the early 2000s,” mostly because its current property is so cramped. The proposed new location is roomy enough to accommodate a driving range, a swimming pool, a bigger clubhouse, and other amenities, all of which would presumably enable it to attract new members. The fact that a piece of golf history would be lost doesn’t appear to be a concern at this time.
Pipeline Overflow, All-British Edition – City officials in Blackpool, a place once described as “England’s unhealthiest town,” are weighing a development plan that would raze nine holes from their 18-hole, Alister MacKenzie-designed golf course. The lost half of Blackpool Golf Course, which has operated since 1925, would be replaced with houses and a recreational attraction. . . . In response to what a local newspaper calls “societal lifestyle changes and the changing needs of their customers,” an events center outside Waterford City, Ireland (County Kilkenny) plans to halve the size of its golf course. Mountain View, which opened it 18-hole layout in 1996, promises to create “a superb nine-hole course.” . . . In a search for financial sustainability, elected officials in Birmingham, England may chop their Hilltop Golf Course in half. The existing 18-hole track, which is said to be “failing due to its design, location, competition from other golf courses as well as competition from other leisure activities,” was designed by one of the Hawtrees, probably Martin, and opened in 1979.
Duly Noted – While the mainstream golf media may be excited by the prospect of architects Michael Clayton, Mike DeVries, and Frank Pont teaming up to create exquisite new golf courses, it’s worth noting that, throughout history, the golf industry’s biggest design stars have been solo practitioners. So I’m wondering: Is the newly unveiled CDP Golf Design a show of strength or a sign of weakness? . . . If you’re wondering why Clublink is so eager to redevelop some of its golf properties (currently Glen Abbey Golf Club in suburban Toronto and Kanata Golf & Country Club in suburban Ottawa), it’s because its membership base is eroding. The company, which owns roughly 40 venues in Ontario, Quebec, and Florida, nowadays has fewer than 15,000 members (down from a peak of 17,500), and the pre-tax profits from its Canadian operations are said to be down by 25 percent. . . . The hype machine has been rolled out in service of the PGA of America’s partly taxpayer-funded golf complex in Frisco, Texas. The city’s mayor thinks it’ll “transform the entire sport of golf,” while Beau Welling, one of the architects, believes it’ll have “a major impact on our wonderful game not only here in Texas but across the country.” Not to be outdone, the group’s CEO declares that the venue will become both “the modern home of American golf” and the “Silicon Valley of golf.”
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, October 20, 2019
The Week That Was, october 20, 2019
The groundbreaking may still be in the distant future, but elected officials in Orange County, California have found a replacement developer willing to build an 18-hole golf course and related attractions on the capped Coyote Canyon landfill in Newport Beach. Tait Development, a group led by a former mayor of Anaheim, has agreed to sign a 75-year lease on the 375-acre landfill, with the promise of creating a boutique hotel, meeting space, a restaurant, a “beer garden,” hiking and biking trails, and the aforementioned golf course. Tait is getting what it called “a tremendous opportunity” because the county’s deal with Chapman Investment Company, which had intended to complement its golf course with a PGA Tour-branded practice center, dropped out of the picture last year. Tait hasn’t yet provided any specifics about its plans, but it aims to establish “a national model of how to sustainably re-purpose landfill sites.” Such models apparently aren’t easy to formulate, because Tait reportedly has nine years to complete its feasibility studies and secure the necessary approvals and entitlements.
Pipeline Overflow – Brian Curley reports that FLC Group will “soon” break ground on the third course at FLC Quảng Bình, its 7,500-acre resort community Vietnam’s Quảng Bình Province, and Golfasian says that the 18-hole track is expected to open in 2021 or 2022. An adept marketer, Curley has labeled Quảng Bình (once known as FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links) as “Pine Valley at the beach” and “one of the greatest year-round destination golf projects in Asia.” . . . On 120 acres outside New Delhi, India, the Noida Authority wants to build an “entertainment hub” that will include a golf course. The 90-acre course, to be developed by a private-sector partner, will be flanked by a helipad and an “adventure club.” . . . Pending a successful sale of its current property to a home builder, Bearsden Golf Club aims to reinvent itself with a new, 18-hole, Graeme Webster-designed golf course. A spokesperson for the club, outside Glasgow, Scotland, acknowledged that Bearsden’s future is currently “highly uncertain.”
ClubCorp hasn’t yet added to its portfolio this year, but the giant Dallas-based course operator is said to be on the cusp of buying a pair of golf properties in and around Raleigh, North Carolina. The properties, both currently owned by Toll Brothers, are Hasentree Club, which features a 12-year-old, Tom Fazio-designed course, and Brier Creek Country Club, whose centerpiece is a 19-year-old, Arnold Palmer-designed course. The purchases are expected to close before the end of the month, and they’ll give ClubCorp five venues in the Raleigh area and 11 in total in the Tar Heel State.
Surplus Transactions – The city of Mission Viejo, California has agreed to pay $13 million for a 104-acre parcel that includes Casta del Sol Golf Course, an 18-hole, executive-length track designed by Ted Robinson. The seller, American Golf Corporation, has generously agreed to manage the property for up to three years. . . . Lakeview Golf Resort & Spa, a 412-acre spread in Morgantown, West Virginia, has reportedly changed hands for $2.25 million. The buyers haven’t yet been identified, but they’ve purchased a 187-room hotel, a restaurant, meeting space, a fitness center, swimming pools, and a pair of 18-hole golf courses, one co-designed by James Harrison and Fred Garbin and the other by Tom Clark and Brian Ault. . . . Eric Wilber has found a buyer for his 18-hole, 22-year-old golf course in suburban La Crosse, Wisconsin. The prospective new owners of Trempealeau Mountain Golf Course are Chad and Amy Landis, who hope to make the track “a destination golf course for golfers throughout the Midwest for years to come.”
Duly Noted – Answer: The Jack Nicklaus course, the José María Olazábal course, and the Greg Norman course. Question: What are the three most-played tracks at the Mission Hills resort in Shenzhen, China? . . . Answer: Interlachen Country Club, Minikahda Club, and Edina Country Club. Question: What are the top three revenue-producing clubs in the Twin Cities? . . . Answer: Three. Question: How many site visits has Tiger Woods so far made to the mostly completed Payne’s Valley track he’s designed for the Big Cedar Lodge?
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.”
Pipeline Overflow – Brian Curley reports that FLC Group will “soon” break ground on the third course at FLC Quảng Bình, its 7,500-acre resort community Vietnam’s Quảng Bình Province, and Golfasian says that the 18-hole track is expected to open in 2021 or 2022. An adept marketer, Curley has labeled Quảng Bình (once known as FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links) as “Pine Valley at the beach” and “one of the greatest year-round destination golf projects in Asia.” . . . On 120 acres outside New Delhi, India, the Noida Authority wants to build an “entertainment hub” that will include a golf course. The 90-acre course, to be developed by a private-sector partner, will be flanked by a helipad and an “adventure club.” . . . Pending a successful sale of its current property to a home builder, Bearsden Golf Club aims to reinvent itself with a new, 18-hole, Graeme Webster-designed golf course. A spokesperson for the club, outside Glasgow, Scotland, acknowledged that Bearsden’s future is currently “highly uncertain.”
ClubCorp hasn’t yet added to its portfolio this year, but the giant Dallas-based course operator is said to be on the cusp of buying a pair of golf properties in and around Raleigh, North Carolina. The properties, both currently owned by Toll Brothers, are Hasentree Club, which features a 12-year-old, Tom Fazio-designed course, and Brier Creek Country Club, whose centerpiece is a 19-year-old, Arnold Palmer-designed course. The purchases are expected to close before the end of the month, and they’ll give ClubCorp five venues in the Raleigh area and 11 in total in the Tar Heel State.
Surplus Transactions – The city of Mission Viejo, California has agreed to pay $13 million for a 104-acre parcel that includes Casta del Sol Golf Course, an 18-hole, executive-length track designed by Ted Robinson. The seller, American Golf Corporation, has generously agreed to manage the property for up to three years. . . . Lakeview Golf Resort & Spa, a 412-acre spread in Morgantown, West Virginia, has reportedly changed hands for $2.25 million. The buyers haven’t yet been identified, but they’ve purchased a 187-room hotel, a restaurant, meeting space, a fitness center, swimming pools, and a pair of 18-hole golf courses, one co-designed by James Harrison and Fred Garbin and the other by Tom Clark and Brian Ault. . . . Eric Wilber has found a buyer for his 18-hole, 22-year-old golf course in suburban La Crosse, Wisconsin. The prospective new owners of Trempealeau Mountain Golf Course are Chad and Amy Landis, who hope to make the track “a destination golf course for golfers throughout the Midwest for years to come.”
Duly Noted – Answer: The Jack Nicklaus course, the José María Olazábal course, and the Greg Norman course. Question: What are the three most-played tracks at the Mission Hills resort in Shenzhen, China? . . . Answer: Interlachen Country Club, Minikahda Club, and Edina Country Club. Question: What are the top three revenue-producing clubs in the Twin Cities? . . . Answer: Three. Question: How many site visits has Tiger Woods so far made to the mostly completed Payne’s Valley track he’s designed for the Big Cedar Lodge?
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, October 13, 2019
The Week That Was, october 13, 2019
Earth won’t likely be moved for several years, but David McLay Kidd has been directed to bring what’s been described as “a destination golf experience” to Westport, Washington, a town along the Pacific coast west of Olympia. Assuming that an LLC led by Ryann Day can persuade enough hearts and minds, Kidd’s “artisanal,” world-class track will take shape in Westport Light State Park, a 600-acre spread, and be accompanied by a 40-room inn. At a recent public meeting, Kidd drew comparisons to St. Andrews in Scotland and Bandon Dunes in Oregon, both of which feature his work, and promised “to find a way to wind a course through [the park].” Local residents appear to be warm to Day’s proposal, and the state has set out to do “a deep dive to find out what we know, what we don’t know, and what we need to know.”
Pipeline Overflow – The translation leaves much to be desired, but it appears that the city of Belgrade, Serbia may enlist private-sector investors to build an 18-hole golf course. The track would be part of a 180-acre indoor/outdoor recreation complex, and if it’s actually built, it would be Serbia’s third. . . . Sun Group, the company responsible for the popular, award-winning Bà Nà Hills Golf Club in greater Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, has hired IMG Golf to design a course in the nation’s Lào Cai Province, which borders China’s Yunnan Province. Golfasian reports that the course, appropriately named Lào Cai Golf Club, is expected to debut in late 2020. It’ll be one of nearly a dozen that IMG has done in the socialist republic. . . . Johncorp, a home builder in Northern Ireland, has set out to downsize the 18-hole track at Mount Ober Golf & Country Club, in suburban Belfast, to create space for 65 single-family houses. The property’s forthcoming nine-hole course, accompanied by a new clubhouse, will complement the practice facilities at the existing Knockbracken Golf Centre.
Courses continue to drop like flies, and my backlog of recent course closings has reached historic proportions. Here are the ones I can document this month:
– Northwood Country Club, a ClubCorp-owned property in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, will go dark unless a buyer emerges to save it. ClubCorp called the Northwood’s demise a “business decision.” The 60-year-old venue features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Willard Byrd and George Cobb.
– Inverrary Country Club and its 36-hole, Robert Trent Jones-designed golf complex will go belly up in June 2020. The club, once the host of PGA Tour events, is reportedly being financially squeezed by the “oversupply of golf courses in Florida,” and its ownership group intends to develop its 292-acre property.
– Valley Green Golf & Country Club, in suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will end its 55-year run at the end of the current golf season. Linda Rusnock, the club’s owner, told a local newspaper that she and her 18-hole, X. G. Hassenplug-designed golf course “had a great run.”
– Indian Wells Golf Club, a 35-year-old venue outside Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that’s owned by Chinese investors, will shut its doors by the end of the year. Founders Group aims to develop the club’s 150 acres, currently the home of an 18-hole, Gene Hamm-designed course.
– South Grove Golf Course, an 18-hole municipal track in Indianapolis, Indiana, will drop dead at a to-be-determined date in the future, probably after the 2024 golf season. The city pulled the plug on its nine-hole Riverside course earlier this year, and its entire golf portfolio is suffering from what the Indianapolis Business Journal called “steady declines in revenue, less interest in playing the sport, and millions of dollars in needed facility upgrades.”
– Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club, having lost its Jack Nicklaus-designed course in 2014, is about to lose its remaining Denis Griffiths/Gene Sarazen-designed layout. Citing “financial challenges” and “reasons beyond our control,” the owners of the club, outside Modesto, California, called the closing “temporary,” presumably because they hope to find a buyer.
– VanderView Golf Course, a nine-hole, executive-length layout in southwestern New York that’s said to be “a great place for beginners, a great place for women, a great place for seniors,” will close later this year. Tony Galeazzo, who’s owned VanderView since 1999, wants to retire, and he’s likewise hoping to find a buyer.
– Silver Lake Country Club, a 95-year-old venue outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, was expected to close last month. A local television station reports that the club’s owners are negotiating a sale of their property to a developer.
– Shawnee State Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Friendship, Ohio that was co-designed by Jack Kidwell and Michael Hurdzan, will host its final rounds at the end of the 2019 golf season. The state agencies that oversee the 40-year-old property believe it can no longer operate profitably and figure to replace it with recreational amenities.
– Westpark Golf Club, a long-threatened 130-acre property in Leesburg, Virginia, will be sold to a home builder and replaced with housing. The club, which had been in business since 1968, features an 18-hole, Ed Ault-designed golf course.
– Sinnissippi Park Golf Club has been recommended for what’s been called “permanent closure” by park district officials in Rockford, Illinois. The club, which features a nine-hole, Tom Bendelow-designed course that’s operated since 1912, will reportedly lose $100,000 this season.
– Deer Ridge Golf Club, a 15-year-old venue in Brentwood, California that’s said to have experienced “huge losses through the years,” has now experienced “a permanent closure.” The owners of Deer Ridge, which features an 18-hole, Andy Raugust-designed golf course, blamed the club’s passing on “ever-increasing maintenance, operational cost, and lower revenues.”
Duly Noted – Bandon Dunes has opened the first nine holes of its Coore & Crenshaw-designed Sheep Ranch course, and Golf magazine is already convinced that the full 18, which debuts next summer, will surpass Pacific Dunes as the resort’s number-one track. Sometimes I wonder why Mike Keiser would spend even a nickel on marketing. . . . It appears that the U.S. military needs to book a lot more troops for overnight stays at Trump Turnberry. The historic Scottish golf resort lost more than £10.7 million ($13.5 million) last year, and its balance sheet is roughly £43 million ($54.4 million) in the red since our nation’s businessman/president bought it in 2014. . . . Forever in search of a fresh income stream, Tiger Woods has set out to design putting courses for what’s being billed as a “technology-infused golf-entertainment concept.” Translation: Upmarket mini-golf with pricey food and drinks. In a press release, Woods calls the new venture “a natural extension of my golf course design philosophy and my TGR Design business.”
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 recently, 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.
Pipeline Overflow – The translation leaves much to be desired, but it appears that the city of Belgrade, Serbia may enlist private-sector investors to build an 18-hole golf course. The track would be part of a 180-acre indoor/outdoor recreation complex, and if it’s actually built, it would be Serbia’s third. . . . Sun Group, the company responsible for the popular, award-winning Bà Nà Hills Golf Club in greater Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, has hired IMG Golf to design a course in the nation’s Lào Cai Province, which borders China’s Yunnan Province. Golfasian reports that the course, appropriately named Lào Cai Golf Club, is expected to debut in late 2020. It’ll be one of nearly a dozen that IMG has done in the socialist republic. . . . Johncorp, a home builder in Northern Ireland, has set out to downsize the 18-hole track at Mount Ober Golf & Country Club, in suburban Belfast, to create space for 65 single-family houses. The property’s forthcoming nine-hole course, accompanied by a new clubhouse, will complement the practice facilities at the existing Knockbracken Golf Centre.
Courses continue to drop like flies, and my backlog of recent course closings has reached historic proportions. Here are the ones I can document this month:
– Northwood Country Club, a ClubCorp-owned property in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, will go dark unless a buyer emerges to save it. ClubCorp called the Northwood’s demise a “business decision.” The 60-year-old venue features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Willard Byrd and George Cobb.
– Inverrary Country Club and its 36-hole, Robert Trent Jones-designed golf complex will go belly up in June 2020. The club, once the host of PGA Tour events, is reportedly being financially squeezed by the “oversupply of golf courses in Florida,” and its ownership group intends to develop its 292-acre property.
– Valley Green Golf & Country Club, in suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will end its 55-year run at the end of the current golf season. Linda Rusnock, the club’s owner, told a local newspaper that she and her 18-hole, X. G. Hassenplug-designed golf course “had a great run.”
– Indian Wells Golf Club, a 35-year-old venue outside Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that’s owned by Chinese investors, will shut its doors by the end of the year. Founders Group aims to develop the club’s 150 acres, currently the home of an 18-hole, Gene Hamm-designed course.
– South Grove Golf Course, an 18-hole municipal track in Indianapolis, Indiana, will drop dead at a to-be-determined date in the future, probably after the 2024 golf season. The city pulled the plug on its nine-hole Riverside course earlier this year, and its entire golf portfolio is suffering from what the Indianapolis Business Journal called “steady declines in revenue, less interest in playing the sport, and millions of dollars in needed facility upgrades.”
– Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club, having lost its Jack Nicklaus-designed course in 2014, is about to lose its remaining Denis Griffiths/Gene Sarazen-designed layout. Citing “financial challenges” and “reasons beyond our control,” the owners of the club, outside Modesto, California, called the closing “temporary,” presumably because they hope to find a buyer.
– VanderView Golf Course, a nine-hole, executive-length layout in southwestern New York that’s said to be “a great place for beginners, a great place for women, a great place for seniors,” will close later this year. Tony Galeazzo, who’s owned VanderView since 1999, wants to retire, and he’s likewise hoping to find a buyer.
– Silver Lake Country Club, a 95-year-old venue outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, was expected to close last month. A local television station reports that the club’s owners are negotiating a sale of their property to a developer.
– Shawnee State Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Friendship, Ohio that was co-designed by Jack Kidwell and Michael Hurdzan, will host its final rounds at the end of the 2019 golf season. The state agencies that oversee the 40-year-old property believe it can no longer operate profitably and figure to replace it with recreational amenities.
– Westpark Golf Club, a long-threatened 130-acre property in Leesburg, Virginia, will be sold to a home builder and replaced with housing. The club, which had been in business since 1968, features an 18-hole, Ed Ault-designed golf course.
– Sinnissippi Park Golf Club has been recommended for what’s been called “permanent closure” by park district officials in Rockford, Illinois. The club, which features a nine-hole, Tom Bendelow-designed course that’s operated since 1912, will reportedly lose $100,000 this season.
– Deer Ridge Golf Club, a 15-year-old venue in Brentwood, California that’s said to have experienced “huge losses through the years,” has now experienced “a permanent closure.” The owners of Deer Ridge, which features an 18-hole, Andy Raugust-designed golf course, blamed the club’s passing on “ever-increasing maintenance, operational cost, and lower revenues.”
Duly Noted – Bandon Dunes has opened the first nine holes of its Coore & Crenshaw-designed Sheep Ranch course, and Golf magazine is already convinced that the full 18, which debuts next summer, will surpass Pacific Dunes as the resort’s number-one track. Sometimes I wonder why Mike Keiser would spend even a nickel on marketing. . . . It appears that the U.S. military needs to book a lot more troops for overnight stays at Trump Turnberry. The historic Scottish golf resort lost more than £10.7 million ($13.5 million) last year, and its balance sheet is roughly £43 million ($54.4 million) in the red since our nation’s businessman/president bought it in 2014. . . . Forever in search of a fresh income stream, Tiger Woods has set out to design putting courses for what’s being billed as a “technology-infused golf-entertainment concept.” Translation: Upmarket mini-golf with pricey food and drinks. In a press release, Woods calls the new venture “a natural extension of my golf course design philosophy and my TGR Design business.”
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 recently, 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, October 6, 2019
The Week That Was, october 6, 2019
He may serve as Vietnam’s tourism ambassador, but Greg Norman also wants to turn Saudi Arabia into a bustling vacation destination. Turning a blind eye to the country’s human-rights abuses and government-sanctioned murder, and following in the footsteps of the European Tour, “the Living Brand” has agreed to design a 27-hole complex for a golf community that’s expected to take shape outside Riyadh. Norman’s Wadi Safar Golf Course will be the centerpiece of Diriyah Gate, an historic area (it’s been described as “the birthplace of the Saudi nation”) that aims to become the “pillar of Saudi Arabia's new era of openness,” “the Arabian peninsula’s must-visit destination,” and, perhaps most importantly, the “Beverly Hills of Riyadh.” A construction schedule hasn’t been announced, but Saudi Arabia is intent on legitimizing itself as fast as humanly possible.
Pipeline Overflow – Details are scarce, but Kris Spence reports via Twitter that he and Jack Nicklaus II will re-do Sunset Country Club, a venue in Sumter, South Carolina that dates from the early 1920s. A “motivated” new owner is, says Spence, giving the designers the “latitude to create something truly special.” Sunset’s existing 18-hole layout was designed by Donald Ross. . . . The city of Chaska, Minnesota and a partner have hired Benjamin Warren, a graduate of Tom Doak’s finishing school, to design a short course that a local newspaper says “will be welcoming to just about anyone,” including players with disabilities. The course, which will take shape on the site of a struggling, Robert Trent Jones-created muni, is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021. . . . After a delay, Dana Fry and Jason Straka have broken ground on the first nine holes of their first golf course in the Middle East, a track that the Dublin, Ohio-based partners say will have “memorable golf holes.” It’s the Yas Acres layout in Abu Dhabi, which is planned to eventually grow to 18 holes and serve as a complement to Kyle Phillips’s Yas Links, the top layout in the emirate.
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – The Ladies Professional Golf Association has unveiled its first international property, a branded, 27-hole venue in Busan, South Korea. The new complex, a re-do of the Perry Dye/Joe Jemsek-designed tracks at Asiad Country Club, was created by Rees Jones and Bryce Swanson, and Busan’s mayor expects it to become “a landmark for culture and tourism beyond just golf.” . . . Henrik Stenson has taken the wraps off his first “signature” layout, a re-do of the Sven Tumba-designed Österled layout at Österåkers Golfklubb in suburban Stockholm, Sweden. Golf Course Architecture reports that Stenson and Christian Lundin have turned Österled into “a stadium-like layout,” in part by importing more than 600,000 cubic meters of fill to create “a rolling landscape on the previously flat area.” Next year, the architects will begin to overhaul Österåkers’ Västerled track. . . . Vermilion Country Club, a venue in Abbeville, Louisiana that opened in 1929 and went belly up in 2017, is about to be reborn. Rhett Hebert has leased the property, which will henceforth operate as Southern Oaks Country Club, his aim being to establish “an atmosphere that is family-friendly and fun.”
Duly Noted – The PGA of America is about to put its stamp on the golf business in Vietnam. The Florida-based institution has struck a deal to establish branded practice facilities at venues created by Novaland Group, with the first one to come at Novaland’s forthcoming resort community in Bình Thuận Province. The PGA has a similar partnership in South Korea, and it hopes to ink others elsewhere in Asia and Southeast Asia. . . . Vietnam attracted 15.6 million international visitors last year, a record number, and believes it’s on pace to meet its tourism goals, which are to attract 32 million by 2025 and 47 million by 2030. Only a fraction of the world travelers are golfers, of course, but a mere 3 percent of last year’s number translates to 468,000 golfers. . . . In a week that saw the president’s pending impeachment warm to a slow boil and his nuclear talks with North Korea distintegrate, the Trump Organization announced that its resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland has lost money for the seventh consecutive year. The property hasn’t turned a profit even once since it opened, which must be an embarrassment for someone who so often touts himself as a brilliant businessman.
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.”
Pipeline Overflow – Details are scarce, but Kris Spence reports via Twitter that he and Jack Nicklaus II will re-do Sunset Country Club, a venue in Sumter, South Carolina that dates from the early 1920s. A “motivated” new owner is, says Spence, giving the designers the “latitude to create something truly special.” Sunset’s existing 18-hole layout was designed by Donald Ross. . . . The city of Chaska, Minnesota and a partner have hired Benjamin Warren, a graduate of Tom Doak’s finishing school, to design a short course that a local newspaper says “will be welcoming to just about anyone,” including players with disabilities. The course, which will take shape on the site of a struggling, Robert Trent Jones-created muni, is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021. . . . After a delay, Dana Fry and Jason Straka have broken ground on the first nine holes of their first golf course in the Middle East, a track that the Dublin, Ohio-based partners say will have “memorable golf holes.” It’s the Yas Acres layout in Abu Dhabi, which is planned to eventually grow to 18 holes and serve as a complement to Kyle Phillips’s Yas Links, the top layout in the emirate.
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – The Ladies Professional Golf Association has unveiled its first international property, a branded, 27-hole venue in Busan, South Korea. The new complex, a re-do of the Perry Dye/Joe Jemsek-designed tracks at Asiad Country Club, was created by Rees Jones and Bryce Swanson, and Busan’s mayor expects it to become “a landmark for culture and tourism beyond just golf.” . . . Henrik Stenson has taken the wraps off his first “signature” layout, a re-do of the Sven Tumba-designed Österled layout at Österåkers Golfklubb in suburban Stockholm, Sweden. Golf Course Architecture reports that Stenson and Christian Lundin have turned Österled into “a stadium-like layout,” in part by importing more than 600,000 cubic meters of fill to create “a rolling landscape on the previously flat area.” Next year, the architects will begin to overhaul Österåkers’ Västerled track. . . . Vermilion Country Club, a venue in Abbeville, Louisiana that opened in 1929 and went belly up in 2017, is about to be reborn. Rhett Hebert has leased the property, which will henceforth operate as Southern Oaks Country Club, his aim being to establish “an atmosphere that is family-friendly and fun.”
Duly Noted – The PGA of America is about to put its stamp on the golf business in Vietnam. The Florida-based institution has struck a deal to establish branded practice facilities at venues created by Novaland Group, with the first one to come at Novaland’s forthcoming resort community in Bình Thuận Province. The PGA has a similar partnership in South Korea, and it hopes to ink others elsewhere in Asia and Southeast Asia. . . . Vietnam attracted 15.6 million international visitors last year, a record number, and believes it’s on pace to meet its tourism goals, which are to attract 32 million by 2025 and 47 million by 2030. Only a fraction of the world travelers are golfers, of course, but a mere 3 percent of last year’s number translates to 468,000 golfers. . . . In a week that saw the president’s pending impeachment warm to a slow boil and his nuclear talks with North Korea distintegrate, the Trump Organization announced that its resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland has lost money for the seventh consecutive year. The property hasn’t turned a profit even once since it opened, which must be an embarrassment for someone who so often touts himself as a brilliant businessman.
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, September 29, 2019
The Week That Was, september 29, 2019
Three years after rejecting proposal number one, Royal Sydney Golf Club has green-lit Gil Hanse’s redesign of its Championship layout. The track, which dates from the late 1890s, has hosted the Australian Open 15 times, but it’s showing its age. Top100GolfCourses.com currently views it as the #37 track Down Under. False starts aside, the club figures to get a marketing rush from its association with one of the world’s most in-demand designers, and it’s already predicting that the re-imagined track “will stand among the finest heath courses and be contemporary, playable, and sustainable.” Hanse expects to get started in the spring of 2021, and the course will presumably re-open in late 2022.
Pipeline Overflow – Robert Trent Jones, Jr. has picked up his first commission in Switzerland. The 80-year-old designer, who’s worked in close to a dozen European countries, will redesign the 18-hole, 26-year-old course at Golf Resort La Gruyère, outside Fribourg. The resort, which half owned by Chinese interests, will use Jones’s good name to sell what it calls “prestigious” housing, a hotel, an “unprecedented” spa, a beach club, and other attractions. . . . As he fends off calls for his impeachment, the U.S. president has secured a thumbs-up for his long-desired second golf course at Trump International Scotland. The new MacLeod layout, like the property’s existing 18, will be designed by Martin Hawtree, and it’ll be accompanied by 550 over-priced houses. If you’re looking for the business angle on the story, the Guardian helpfully reports that “the existing course and boutique hotel at MacLeod House have consistently lost money since they opened.” . . . Charles Xue, who’s said to be “one of the richest men” in China, aims to build what amounts to a new city outside Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The U.S.-educated developer, who claims to control 12,500 acres, aims to build a variety of housing types, a casino, an industrial park, entertainment venues, a safari park, and a golf course.
A new owner hopes to relieve Forest Oaks Country Club, for 30 years the home of a PGA Tour event, of its financial misery. Guilford Development Group LLC, an entity led by Terry Lee, has reportedly paid $1.2 million for Forest Oaks, a venue in Greensboro, North Carolina that’s been in business, originally as a private club but more recently as a semiprivate facility, since 1962. Nisshin Corporation, the seller, was presumably hoping to get a lot more for the 224-acre property, which reportedly had an appraised value of more than $5 million. Forest Oaks closed briefly in 2014, when its operator filed for bankruptcy protection, and it’s had gone through several other management companies since. The club opened with an Ellis Maples-designed course that remained in place until 2002, when a redesign by Davis Love III was unveiled.
Surplus Transactions – For an undisclosed price, Atlantic Golf Management has agreed to buy Cape Fear National at Brunswick Forest, a 10-year-old club outside Wilmington, North Carolina. The club features an 18-hole, Tim Cate-designed golf course. AGM reportedly also owns Brunswick Plantation in Calabash, North Carolina, and it manages Whispering Pines Golf Course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. . . . With a promise of “a great new future,” an entity led by Fred Layman has acquired Windermere Club, a 30-year-old venue in suburban Columbia, South Carolina. The club, which features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Pete and P. B. Dye, now operates as Blythewood Country Club. . . . For $990,000, Rich and Denise Walker have turned the page on Oaksridge Golf Course, a venue in the far western suburbs of Olympia, Washington that they’d reportedly owned for 38 years. Oaksridge, an 18-hole track that opened in 1951, now belongs to the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and will presumably serve as an attraction for the Chehalis’ nearby casino.
Duly Noted – Golfzon, which claims to operate 6,200 “screen” (or “simulator”) golf facilities in 62 countries around the world, is finding a receptive market in Vietnam. The company expects to soon have a dozen outlets in the socialist republic, and it told the Korea Times expects to have “huge business opportunities” in the future because 60 percent of Vietnam’s population is under 35. . . . The Swiss Golf Association predicts that as many as 10 rural courses in the small mountain nation will close over the next five to 10 years. Switzerland’s golf operators aren’t facing “a crisis,” according to a spokesperson for the group, but they are evidently experiencing a decline in play. . . . The Scotsman reports that the Trump Organization’s helicopter-based charter service has “failed to take off.” The organization aimed to shuttle wealthy vacationers to and fro between what it branded as “the Trump Triangle” – the company’s two golf resorts in Scotland and Doonbeg in Ireland – but the operation reportedly lost too much money to stay in business. It’s worth noting that the organization gave passengers the option of flying with or without the Trump logo.
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.”
Pipeline Overflow – Robert Trent Jones, Jr. has picked up his first commission in Switzerland. The 80-year-old designer, who’s worked in close to a dozen European countries, will redesign the 18-hole, 26-year-old course at Golf Resort La Gruyère, outside Fribourg. The resort, which half owned by Chinese interests, will use Jones’s good name to sell what it calls “prestigious” housing, a hotel, an “unprecedented” spa, a beach club, and other attractions. . . . As he fends off calls for his impeachment, the U.S. president has secured a thumbs-up for his long-desired second golf course at Trump International Scotland. The new MacLeod layout, like the property’s existing 18, will be designed by Martin Hawtree, and it’ll be accompanied by 550 over-priced houses. If you’re looking for the business angle on the story, the Guardian helpfully reports that “the existing course and boutique hotel at MacLeod House have consistently lost money since they opened.” . . . Charles Xue, who’s said to be “one of the richest men” in China, aims to build what amounts to a new city outside Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The U.S.-educated developer, who claims to control 12,500 acres, aims to build a variety of housing types, a casino, an industrial park, entertainment venues, a safari park, and a golf course.
A new owner hopes to relieve Forest Oaks Country Club, for 30 years the home of a PGA Tour event, of its financial misery. Guilford Development Group LLC, an entity led by Terry Lee, has reportedly paid $1.2 million for Forest Oaks, a venue in Greensboro, North Carolina that’s been in business, originally as a private club but more recently as a semiprivate facility, since 1962. Nisshin Corporation, the seller, was presumably hoping to get a lot more for the 224-acre property, which reportedly had an appraised value of more than $5 million. Forest Oaks closed briefly in 2014, when its operator filed for bankruptcy protection, and it’s had gone through several other management companies since. The club opened with an Ellis Maples-designed course that remained in place until 2002, when a redesign by Davis Love III was unveiled.
Surplus Transactions – For an undisclosed price, Atlantic Golf Management has agreed to buy Cape Fear National at Brunswick Forest, a 10-year-old club outside Wilmington, North Carolina. The club features an 18-hole, Tim Cate-designed golf course. AGM reportedly also owns Brunswick Plantation in Calabash, North Carolina, and it manages Whispering Pines Golf Course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. . . . With a promise of “a great new future,” an entity led by Fred Layman has acquired Windermere Club, a 30-year-old venue in suburban Columbia, South Carolina. The club, which features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Pete and P. B. Dye, now operates as Blythewood Country Club. . . . For $990,000, Rich and Denise Walker have turned the page on Oaksridge Golf Course, a venue in the far western suburbs of Olympia, Washington that they’d reportedly owned for 38 years. Oaksridge, an 18-hole track that opened in 1951, now belongs to the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and will presumably serve as an attraction for the Chehalis’ nearby casino.
Duly Noted – Golfzon, which claims to operate 6,200 “screen” (or “simulator”) golf facilities in 62 countries around the world, is finding a receptive market in Vietnam. The company expects to soon have a dozen outlets in the socialist republic, and it told the Korea Times expects to have “huge business opportunities” in the future because 60 percent of Vietnam’s population is under 35. . . . The Swiss Golf Association predicts that as many as 10 rural courses in the small mountain nation will close over the next five to 10 years. Switzerland’s golf operators aren’t facing “a crisis,” according to a spokesperson for the group, but they are evidently experiencing a decline in play. . . . The Scotsman reports that the Trump Organization’s helicopter-based charter service has “failed to take off.” The organization aimed to shuttle wealthy vacationers to and fro between what it branded as “the Trump Triangle” – the company’s two golf resorts in Scotland and Doonbeg in Ireland – but the operation reportedly lost too much money to stay in business. It’s worth noting that the organization gave passengers the option of flying with or without the Trump logo.
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.”
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