If you lose something that you never officially had, does it still count as a loss? The question is top of mind this week, because the PGA Tour has apparently reversed its decision to award a pair of upcoming Barclays championships to Trump Ferry Point Golf Links, a venue managed by Donald Trump’s golf operation. Last year, citing sources “close to Donald Trump” -- a small circle if there ever was one -- Golf magazine reported that the parties had what amounted to a done deal: “An agreement” that “will move the tournament” to Ferry Point “in 2017, with a return engagement set for 2020.” Today, the tour says that Golf’s story “was never accurate,” a statement that begs another question: Why didn’t the tour object when the story was originally published? Be that as it may, ever since he made his insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants, Trump has boasted that his golf division hasn’t lost any money or prestige. He may be somewhat humbled now, however, because it’s evident that both he and the course’s owner, the city of New York, have been denied a golf event of substance. Trump can legitimately claim that he never truly had the Barclays, but clearly, it was his to lose. And now it’s gone, to a club on Long Island.
Ever wonder how the CEOs of equipment manufacturers view the future of golf? Would it surprise you to learn that they pretend to be optimistic, because that’s how sales are made? At a recent Golfweek-sponsored get-together, a few CEOs had their say. Your job is to match the boss and his comments. I’ll list the correct answers at the end of today’s blog.
1. David Abeles of TaylorMade Golf
2. Chip Brewer of Callaway Golf
3. Jason Jenne of True Temper Sports
4. Robert J. Lamkin of Lamkin Grips
5. Bob Philion of Cobra-Puma Golf
6. Dave Schnider of Fujikura USA
7. John A. Solheim of Ping
A. “I remain bullish about golf in the years and decades ahead.”
B. “I think the game’s at a pivotal time. We have to invite people to the game through sharing. I think as an industry we’re not very good at sharing.”
C. “The golf industry is going to be just fine. It will be bright well into the future. The dialogue is shifting back to all the great things that are happening. I see consumers getting excited about clubs, balls, and accessories. And don’t forget shoes and apparel.”
D. “I think kids will [eventually] come to the game of golf. I think it will have another resurgence because it’s a fabulous game that can be played for a lifetime. I truly believe this in my heart.”
E. “Golf has a way of becoming part of the fabric of people’s lives, and I don’t think that is going to change.”
F. “Some people seem to think golf should always be going up. I don’t think so.... There will always be ups and downs in the golf business.”
G. “Custom-fitting is the future of the game.”
To ease housing crunches, elected officials in two of the biggest metropolitan areas Down Under are thinking about selling golf courses to residential developers. Pressure is building in Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand, both of which have an under-supply of housing and an over-supply of golf properties. It’ll be months before any decisions are made, but some likely targets have already emerged: Facilities that have for decades been paying rents that are far below market value, in some cases as little as $1 a year. Such venues are effectively being subsidized by taxpayers, a situation that won’t be tolerated for long.
In China, government officials who get caught golfing may find their careers in jeopardy. But the president of South Korea has encouraged her cabinet members to play golf, in the hope of perking up a low-energy economy. “We should make efforts to revitalize the golf industry,” said Park Geun-hye, who also supports cuts in taxes on greens fees. Park may be fighting an uphill battle, however, because the Korea Times reports that South Koreans generally have “negative sentiments” about golf and believe that private clubs are dens of corruption.
Here are the answers to the quiz: 1-C, 2-E, 3-G, 4-A, 5-B, 6-D, 7-F.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
Vital Signs, august 28, 2015
Golfers dedicated to playing on impeccable links aren’t the only people looking forward to the opening of the Sand Valley resort in Rome, Wisconsin. The town’s elected officials are anticipating a significant increase in revenues from property taxes, as Mike Keiser’s forthcoming five-course complex is projected to boost local property values by more than $42 million. The extra income will help to offset the $140 million decline in real-estate values that Rome has experienced as a result of the still-lingering Great Recession. What’s more, the jobs created by Sand Valley -- roughly 100 per course, it’s said -- will also inject a little more life into the area’s economy. According to the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, the resort’s first course, a Coore & Crenshaw design, is expected to debut in 2017.
Donald Trump’s insulting mischaracterizations of Mexican immigrants haven’t affected his popularity among Republican voters, but they’ve undoubtedly affected the Trump Organization’s bottom line. The Huffington Post has calculated the losses that the Organization has suffered in recent weeks, and they add up to a whopping $68.8 million. Nearly half of the loss -- $32.5 million -- came as a result of Trump being dismissed as the host of NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.” The rest comes in what the super-wealthy view as rounding errors: $13.5 million from Univision, $10.5 million from Macy’s, $3 million from Serta, $2.7 million from Univision, and lesser amounts from canceled events at Trump-owned properties. Some of the Post’s numbers are clearly speculative, but generally they seem to be in the ball park. And let’s not forget that the financial sting of Trump’s comments will also hurt the Organization in the future, as it’ll miss out on licensing opportunities that many viable potential partners won’t be willing to risk.
North of the border, the golf business appears to have perked up. Citing figures provided by the National Allied Golf Associations, the Aurora Banner reports that the number of rounds played in Canada through the first six months of this year increased by 27 percent from those posted during the same period in 2014. The full-year figures are what really matters, of course, but the gains registered so far have certainly given many operators a reason to believe.
Like so many other nations, Thailand has set out to lure a larger share of the world’s free-spending golf travelers. At last count, in 2013, “the Land of Smiles” welcomed roughly 460,000 people who, according to the nation’s tourism authority, arrived either specifically to play golf or as “part of a wider package of leisure activities.” The authority believes that many more are ripe for the picking, and it’s embarked on a marketing campaign that will highlight the many delights that Thailand offers, not least among them female caddies who, in the words of Sport 360, “bring a warm friendliness and hospitality that enhances any round.” Yes, sex still sells.
Donald Trump’s insulting mischaracterizations of Mexican immigrants haven’t affected his popularity among Republican voters, but they’ve undoubtedly affected the Trump Organization’s bottom line. The Huffington Post has calculated the losses that the Organization has suffered in recent weeks, and they add up to a whopping $68.8 million. Nearly half of the loss -- $32.5 million -- came as a result of Trump being dismissed as the host of NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.” The rest comes in what the super-wealthy view as rounding errors: $13.5 million from Univision, $10.5 million from Macy’s, $3 million from Serta, $2.7 million from Univision, and lesser amounts from canceled events at Trump-owned properties. Some of the Post’s numbers are clearly speculative, but generally they seem to be in the ball park. And let’s not forget that the financial sting of Trump’s comments will also hurt the Organization in the future, as it’ll miss out on licensing opportunities that many viable potential partners won’t be willing to risk.
North of the border, the golf business appears to have perked up. Citing figures provided by the National Allied Golf Associations, the Aurora Banner reports that the number of rounds played in Canada through the first six months of this year increased by 27 percent from those posted during the same period in 2014. The full-year figures are what really matters, of course, but the gains registered so far have certainly given many operators a reason to believe.
Like so many other nations, Thailand has set out to lure a larger share of the world’s free-spending golf travelers. At last count, in 2013, “the Land of Smiles” welcomed roughly 460,000 people who, according to the nation’s tourism authority, arrived either specifically to play golf or as “part of a wider package of leisure activities.” The authority believes that many more are ripe for the picking, and it’s embarked on a marketing campaign that will highlight the many delights that Thailand offers, not least among them female caddies who, in the words of Sport 360, “bring a warm friendliness and hospitality that enhances any round.” Yes, sex still sells.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
The Week That Was, august 23, 2015
Greg Nash, a prolific but relatively unknown U.S. golf architect, has died in the Phoenix, Arizona area, where his practice was based. As best I can determine, an obituary hasn’t been published. Nash credits himself with more than 80 course designs for a variety of clients, but his work was best known among retirees in the West and Southwest, for he produced dozens of tracks (some of them collaborations with Billy Casper) for Del Webb-developed communities in Arizona (Sun City, Sun City West, Sun City Grand, Anthem), California (Sun City Palm Desert, Sun City Lincoln Hills, Sun City Roseville), Nevada (Sun City Summerlin, Revere Golf Club), and other states. Unlike most “signature,” celebrity, and brand-name architects, Nash didn’t view himself primarily as an artist, stylist, or pioneer. He took pride in delivering what he called “a quality golf experience,” with courses that satisfy “the owner’s perception and project economics,” have “a high resale value,” and “maximize real estate values.” He got his start as an architect in Red Lawrence’s firm and later became a member of the Golf Course Architects Association of America. He was 66.
The European and Asian professional golf tours have agreed to the framework of a merger that will become official once they work out the details of the arrangement and win the approval of the players who participate in their events. “This is the first step on the journey,” said Keith Pelley, the CEO of the struggling European Tour, who noted that “Asia is a very important market for us.” The tours are longtime partners -- they’ve been co-sanctioning events since the late 1990s -- and they’re justifying their seemingly inevitable association by emphasizing the benefits that will accrue to all the beneficiaries involved, particularly to their corporate and television sponsors and the touring pros. In Pelley’s words, “There is no question that combining the business entities of these respective tours will see global commercial opportunities significantly increase, and for elite players that will translate into higher prize purses.” The tours haven’t set a time line for the remaining steps in the merger process.
One of Australia’s richest individuals has sold one of the nation’s most prominent golf properties to what’s been described as “a consortium of Chinese and Chinese-Australian businessmen.” Paddy Handbury has reportedly accepted $18.5 million (U.S. $13.4 million) for Moonah Links, a nearly 600-acre resort community on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula that bills itself as “the home of Australian golf.” Jeff Blunden, Australia’s most prominent golf-industry consultant, considers Moonah Links to be “the highest-profile golf asset on the peninsula.” The buyers, operating as Peninsula International Group, expect to capitalize on further development opportunities at Moonah Links, which has existing vacation houses and condos, an 88-room Peppers-operated hotel, a conference center, and a pair of 18-hole, Thomson Perrett-designed golf courses. The property’s flagship track, the Open course, was designed to host the Australian Open (it’s had the pleasure just twice, however, the last time in 2005), while the Legends track is said to be “a friendly and inviting course for players of all levels of abilities and ages.” Handbury, a nephew of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has owned Moonah Links since 2004. He owns one other golf property, Sands Torquay on Victoria’s southwestern coast, a venue that he’s also trying to sell.
The European and Asian professional golf tours have agreed to the framework of a merger that will become official once they work out the details of the arrangement and win the approval of the players who participate in their events. “This is the first step on the journey,” said Keith Pelley, the CEO of the struggling European Tour, who noted that “Asia is a very important market for us.” The tours are longtime partners -- they’ve been co-sanctioning events since the late 1990s -- and they’re justifying their seemingly inevitable association by emphasizing the benefits that will accrue to all the beneficiaries involved, particularly to their corporate and television sponsors and the touring pros. In Pelley’s words, “There is no question that combining the business entities of these respective tours will see global commercial opportunities significantly increase, and for elite players that will translate into higher prize purses.” The tours haven’t set a time line for the remaining steps in the merger process.
One of Australia’s richest individuals has sold one of the nation’s most prominent golf properties to what’s been described as “a consortium of Chinese and Chinese-Australian businessmen.” Paddy Handbury has reportedly accepted $18.5 million (U.S. $13.4 million) for Moonah Links, a nearly 600-acre resort community on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula that bills itself as “the home of Australian golf.” Jeff Blunden, Australia’s most prominent golf-industry consultant, considers Moonah Links to be “the highest-profile golf asset on the peninsula.” The buyers, operating as Peninsula International Group, expect to capitalize on further development opportunities at Moonah Links, which has existing vacation houses and condos, an 88-room Peppers-operated hotel, a conference center, and a pair of 18-hole, Thomson Perrett-designed golf courses. The property’s flagship track, the Open course, was designed to host the Australian Open (it’s had the pleasure just twice, however, the last time in 2005), while the Legends track is said to be “a friendly and inviting course for players of all levels of abilities and ages.” Handbury, a nephew of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has owned Moonah Links since 2004. He owns one other golf property, Sands Torquay on Victoria’s southwestern coast, a venue that he’s also trying to sell.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
The Week That Was, august 16, 2015
Fresh off the opening of his sports bar in Jupiter, Florida, Tiger Woods appears to be closing in on a design contract in India. “We’re looking at designing a golf course there,” he acknowledged during a press conference at the PGA Championship. “There’s a lot of different things that are going on for me positively in India.” The Times of India reports that the track will take shape somewhere in the Delhi/National Capital Region, and International Business Times has heard that a Guragaon-based developer is Woods’ client.
The PGA of America has decided that Donald Trump has been punished enough. Trump, you’ll remember, made some mean-spirited comments about Mexican immigrants, and then he declared that he was getting “tremendous support from the golf world” because “they all know I’m right.” It turns out that the presidential candidate knows our business very well. Trump’s mischaracterizations have had virtually no deleterious effect on his golf operations, and this week the PGA of America announced that two of its showcase events -- the 2022 PGA Championship and the 2017 Senior PGA Championship -- will be staged, as planned, at Trump-owned venues. “Presidential politics,” the group’s CEO said, “is something we don’t want to get involved in.” No word yet on whether the group still wishes to be involved in outreach programs to Hispanic communities.
Phil “the Gambler” Mickelson’s M Club Holdings, Inc., the owner of five golf properties in Arizona, wants to buy an old, socially backward golf club in Spokane, Washington. Mickelson’s group has offered $2.8 million for Spokane Country Club, which was founded in 1898 but is today bankrupt and in desperate need of a financial bailout. M Club has made a low bid for Spokane -- three other suitors would pay more -- but it’s in the driver’s seat because it’s promised to keep the club private. “The only way to maintain the principles upon which this club was founded is to keep it private,” a board member told the Spokane Spokesman-Review. It’s safe to assume that the principles worth maintaining will no longer include gender discrimination, as Spokane is broke in part because it lost a court battle against four of its female members who proved that they were denied privileges that male members got. Their mistreatment has cost the club $1.4 million and done untold damage to its public image.
One more thing regarding Spokane Country Club: M Club’s purchase offer comes with a catch. Mickelson’s group will buy Spokane only if it can sell 250 memberships, each with a $2,000 initiation fee plus $475 in monthly dues for 36 months. Under those terms, the club would generate $4.775 million in income over the next three years, plus additional money from its golf and clubhouse operations. If I were a prospective member, I’d like to know exactly what M Club is bringing to the table.
The Nicklaus empire’s first golf course in Vietnam, promising “a world-class golf experience of the highest standards,” has opened for play. The 18-hole, Nicklaus Design track is the centerpiece of Legend Hill Golf Resort, a 710-acre spread in Vinh Phuc Province, roughly 45 miles northwest of Hanoi. The course is different, for it allows golfers to choose between one of two greens on every hole, a setup that Legend Hill’s developer, Hanoi-based BRG Group, believes is “irresistible.” BRG, one of Vietnam’s premier golf operators, aims to make Vietnam “a major force in international golf.” The company owns Kings Island Golf Resort, a 36-hole venue in the Son Tay District of Hanoi, and Do Son Seaside Golf Resort outside Hai Phong. Next, it plans to build Nicklaus-branded learning centers in Hanoi, Hai Phong City, Đà Nẵng, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the July 2015 and December 2011 issues of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
The PGA of America has decided that Donald Trump has been punished enough. Trump, you’ll remember, made some mean-spirited comments about Mexican immigrants, and then he declared that he was getting “tremendous support from the golf world” because “they all know I’m right.” It turns out that the presidential candidate knows our business very well. Trump’s mischaracterizations have had virtually no deleterious effect on his golf operations, and this week the PGA of America announced that two of its showcase events -- the 2022 PGA Championship and the 2017 Senior PGA Championship -- will be staged, as planned, at Trump-owned venues. “Presidential politics,” the group’s CEO said, “is something we don’t want to get involved in.” No word yet on whether the group still wishes to be involved in outreach programs to Hispanic communities.
Phil “the Gambler” Mickelson’s M Club Holdings, Inc., the owner of five golf properties in Arizona, wants to buy an old, socially backward golf club in Spokane, Washington. Mickelson’s group has offered $2.8 million for Spokane Country Club, which was founded in 1898 but is today bankrupt and in desperate need of a financial bailout. M Club has made a low bid for Spokane -- three other suitors would pay more -- but it’s in the driver’s seat because it’s promised to keep the club private. “The only way to maintain the principles upon which this club was founded is to keep it private,” a board member told the Spokane Spokesman-Review. It’s safe to assume that the principles worth maintaining will no longer include gender discrimination, as Spokane is broke in part because it lost a court battle against four of its female members who proved that they were denied privileges that male members got. Their mistreatment has cost the club $1.4 million and done untold damage to its public image.
One more thing regarding Spokane Country Club: M Club’s purchase offer comes with a catch. Mickelson’s group will buy Spokane only if it can sell 250 memberships, each with a $2,000 initiation fee plus $475 in monthly dues for 36 months. Under those terms, the club would generate $4.775 million in income over the next three years, plus additional money from its golf and clubhouse operations. If I were a prospective member, I’d like to know exactly what M Club is bringing to the table.
The Nicklaus empire’s first golf course in Vietnam, promising “a world-class golf experience of the highest standards,” has opened for play. The 18-hole, Nicklaus Design track is the centerpiece of Legend Hill Golf Resort, a 710-acre spread in Vinh Phuc Province, roughly 45 miles northwest of Hanoi. The course is different, for it allows golfers to choose between one of two greens on every hole, a setup that Legend Hill’s developer, Hanoi-based BRG Group, believes is “irresistible.” BRG, one of Vietnam’s premier golf operators, aims to make Vietnam “a major force in international golf.” The company owns Kings Island Golf Resort, a 36-hole venue in the Son Tay District of Hanoi, and Do Son Seaside Golf Resort outside Hai Phong. Next, it plans to build Nicklaus-branded learning centers in Hanoi, Hai Phong City, Đà Nẵng, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the July 2015 and December 2011 issues of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Friday, August 14, 2015
The Pipeline, august 14, 2015
Dickinson, North Dakota. Jim Engh has been tabbed to design a golf course in the city where he was born and raised. “I’m a Dickinson boy, and I want to do something right for my home town,” he told the Dickinson Press. Now the Castle Rock, Colorado-based architect has to figure out who he’s working for, because two home builders -- Meyer Real Estate Group of Dickinson and Roers of Fargo -- have proposed to develop communities featuring 18-hole courses with his name on them. Dickinson is, thanks to the oil boom, one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, but local elected officials don’t expect to approve any golf-related development for several years. Still, Engh knows what he aims to create. “I think golf courses have become somewhat one-dimensional,” he said, “and they don’t always touch the emotions of people. But that’s what we’re trying to do. We want to make it interesting and fun.” Dickinson currently has one course, an 18-hole layout at Heart River Golf Club.
Tozeur, Morocco. Graham Marsh and Vijay Singh have been commissioned to co-design a “signature” golf course for what’s been described as “the most opulent and stylish resort in Morocco.” The 18-hole track will be the centerpiece of Al Houara Tangier, a resort community that Qatari Diar, the development arm of Qatar’s government, is building on 580 acres southwest of Tunisia. The community will occupy nearly two miles’ worth of beachfront along the Atlantic Ocean and will feature “ultra-luxurious” single-family houses, villas, and townhouses, several hotels, a convention center, retail and commercial areas, a spa, a wellness center, an equestrian center, “a variety of fantastic restaurants,” and a golf practice center with a nine-hole pitch-’n’-putt layout. A website dedicated to Middle Eastern real estate says that Qatari Diar aims to show the world “what Qatar can do” and will “spare no expense to ensure this happens.”
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the May 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Doncaster, England. Some hoteliers in South Yorkshire plan to create the second European Tour-branded community in England. The community will take shape on roughly 500 acres surrounding Rossington Hall in Doncaster, and it’ll reportedly become one of the European Tour’s “destination” communities, a group of maybe a dozen high-prestige spreads in Austria, Dubai, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. A course designer hasn’t been identified, but it would be a shock if a company other than European Golf Design is given the commission. EGD is co-owned by the European Tour and IMG, which has a stable of internationally known golf stars who are eager to show off their design chops. EGD’s work isn’t universally admired -- Darius Oliver of Planet Golf describes the company as a “factory” that typically produces “unremarkable” work -- but it’s nonetheless created more than 50 courses on four continents, among them the Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, Antalya Golf Club in Turkey, Kittitian Hill Golf Club on St. Kitts, and PGA National Golf Club in Russia. Gary and Michelle Gee, the owners of Rossington Hall, believe that the tour’s involvement will help them create a golf venue “of national repute” and the type of high-priced housing “not previously seen in Doncaster.”
Tappahannock, Virginia. A Miami, Florida-based company has won a rezoning for a controversial golf community that may eventually take shape in a small town along the Rappahannock River. Diatomite Corporation of America’s to-be-named community will feature more than 700 houses, a lodge with more than 100 rooms for overnight guests, and an 18-hole, championship-caliber golf course. But the company may have trouble securing final approvals, for its property is a nesting area for eagles and its proposal has sparked protests from an assortment of environmental and conservationist groups.
Greater Havana, Cuba. It took Cuba many years to officially ink its first two golf-development contracts, but the next one could be right around the corner. Last year, according to the Wall Street Journal, the nation’s tourism ministry “quietly established a joint venture” to create a resort, including an 18-hole golf course, with London & Regional Properties, Ltd., a British development group. The newspaper didn’t publish a complete profile of L&R’s to-be-named venture, but it said that the resort will take shape on a site “less than two hour’s drive east of Havana” and include up to 1,000 villas, townhouses, and apartments, a boutique hotel, and a tennis academy. Like other international companies that wish to do business in Cuba, L&R is working with Grupo Extrahotelero Palmares SA, the government-controlled entity that oversees development in the nation. Palmares doesn’t always complete negotiations with private-sector groups successfully -- Cuba’s golf landscape is littered with failed projects -- but over the past two years it’s completed agreements for two golf resorts, Carbonera Club in Varadero and Bellomonte Golf & Country Club in Guanabo.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the May 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Vladivostok, Russia. A big Japanese home builder aims to build a four-season resort, including a golf course, on an island along the coast of southeastern Russia. Iida Group Holdings’ to-be-named, 75-acre resort will feature houses, an entertainment venue, a ski area, and what will likely be a nine-hole golf course. It’ll emerge on Russky Island, the largest of a cluster of small islands in the waters off Vladivostok, the largest city in Primorsky Krai. Iida hasn’t explained what attracted it to Russky Island, but it was drawn to the krai because it also wants to buy a pair of wood-processing plants there. Wood is important to Iida’s business back home, because it reportedly builds one-quarter of Japan’s houses.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the June 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Bhiwadi, India. One of India’s industrial centers may soon sprout a golf course. The Rajasthan Industrial Development & Investment Corporation has identified a site for a golf course in Bhiwadi, a southwestern suburb of Gurgaon. Bhiwadi is reportedly home to several thousand Indian and international corporations, including a trio of the world’s top auto manufacturers -- Honda, Jaguar, and General Motors -- and, as would be expected, its factories and manufacturing centers have sparked the construction of housing, office space, shopping areas, and entertainment venues. RIICO hasn’t set a construction schedule for the golf course, but at least one home builder is already using it in its marketing campaign.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Shellharbour, Australia. Can a substantive makeover reverse the financial fortunes of a deeply troubled golf course on the South Coast of New South Wales? Elected officials in Shellharbour sure hope so, because their 18-hole track, the Links Shell Cove, has cost the city’s residents $7 million over the past decade. Its prospects are so bleak that no private-sector operator is willing to take on the challenge of running it. “The only way the Links has value is if the land is to be sold and used for a purpose other than golfing,” a councilmember groused to the Illawarra Mercury last year. Nonetheless, the city is making an effort to put its biggest recreational asset on a path toward profitability. It plans to sell part of the course to a residential developer, and with the proceeds it’ll redesign as many as seven holes and overhaul the venue’s clubhouse. Richard Chamberlain, an architect based in Robina, Queensland, will oversee the makeover.
Omaha, Nebraska. After lying low for several years, a group of turn-back-the-clock golfers are again trying to drum up support for their dream venture: A destination-worthy course for aficionados of hickory golf. “In a sense, Omaha right now is a little bit like what St. Andrews was in the 1860s or 1870s,” said Randy Jensen, who’s been trying to get the project off the drawing board since 2010. “It’s kind of a hot spot for hickory golf.” The group’s proposed Riverfront Golf Center will feature an 18-hole, Tom Doak-designed course and a museum that displays vintage equipment and memorabilia. Not surprisingly, the center has been a hard sell. These days, it’s hard enough to find investors willing to build conventional courses.
Tozeur, Morocco. Graham Marsh and Vijay Singh have been commissioned to co-design a “signature” golf course for what’s been described as “the most opulent and stylish resort in Morocco.” The 18-hole track will be the centerpiece of Al Houara Tangier, a resort community that Qatari Diar, the development arm of Qatar’s government, is building on 580 acres southwest of Tunisia. The community will occupy nearly two miles’ worth of beachfront along the Atlantic Ocean and will feature “ultra-luxurious” single-family houses, villas, and townhouses, several hotels, a convention center, retail and commercial areas, a spa, a wellness center, an equestrian center, “a variety of fantastic restaurants,” and a golf practice center with a nine-hole pitch-’n’-putt layout. A website dedicated to Middle Eastern real estate says that Qatari Diar aims to show the world “what Qatar can do” and will “spare no expense to ensure this happens.”
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the May 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Doncaster, England. Some hoteliers in South Yorkshire plan to create the second European Tour-branded community in England. The community will take shape on roughly 500 acres surrounding Rossington Hall in Doncaster, and it’ll reportedly become one of the European Tour’s “destination” communities, a group of maybe a dozen high-prestige spreads in Austria, Dubai, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. A course designer hasn’t been identified, but it would be a shock if a company other than European Golf Design is given the commission. EGD is co-owned by the European Tour and IMG, which has a stable of internationally known golf stars who are eager to show off their design chops. EGD’s work isn’t universally admired -- Darius Oliver of Planet Golf describes the company as a “factory” that typically produces “unremarkable” work -- but it’s nonetheless created more than 50 courses on four continents, among them the Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, Antalya Golf Club in Turkey, Kittitian Hill Golf Club on St. Kitts, and PGA National Golf Club in Russia. Gary and Michelle Gee, the owners of Rossington Hall, believe that the tour’s involvement will help them create a golf venue “of national repute” and the type of high-priced housing “not previously seen in Doncaster.”
Tappahannock, Virginia. A Miami, Florida-based company has won a rezoning for a controversial golf community that may eventually take shape in a small town along the Rappahannock River. Diatomite Corporation of America’s to-be-named community will feature more than 700 houses, a lodge with more than 100 rooms for overnight guests, and an 18-hole, championship-caliber golf course. But the company may have trouble securing final approvals, for its property is a nesting area for eagles and its proposal has sparked protests from an assortment of environmental and conservationist groups.
Greater Havana, Cuba. It took Cuba many years to officially ink its first two golf-development contracts, but the next one could be right around the corner. Last year, according to the Wall Street Journal, the nation’s tourism ministry “quietly established a joint venture” to create a resort, including an 18-hole golf course, with London & Regional Properties, Ltd., a British development group. The newspaper didn’t publish a complete profile of L&R’s to-be-named venture, but it said that the resort will take shape on a site “less than two hour’s drive east of Havana” and include up to 1,000 villas, townhouses, and apartments, a boutique hotel, and a tennis academy. Like other international companies that wish to do business in Cuba, L&R is working with Grupo Extrahotelero Palmares SA, the government-controlled entity that oversees development in the nation. Palmares doesn’t always complete negotiations with private-sector groups successfully -- Cuba’s golf landscape is littered with failed projects -- but over the past two years it’s completed agreements for two golf resorts, Carbonera Club in Varadero and Bellomonte Golf & Country Club in Guanabo.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the May 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Vladivostok, Russia. A big Japanese home builder aims to build a four-season resort, including a golf course, on an island along the coast of southeastern Russia. Iida Group Holdings’ to-be-named, 75-acre resort will feature houses, an entertainment venue, a ski area, and what will likely be a nine-hole golf course. It’ll emerge on Russky Island, the largest of a cluster of small islands in the waters off Vladivostok, the largest city in Primorsky Krai. Iida hasn’t explained what attracted it to Russky Island, but it was drawn to the krai because it also wants to buy a pair of wood-processing plants there. Wood is important to Iida’s business back home, because it reportedly builds one-quarter of Japan’s houses.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the June 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Bhiwadi, India. One of India’s industrial centers may soon sprout a golf course. The Rajasthan Industrial Development & Investment Corporation has identified a site for a golf course in Bhiwadi, a southwestern suburb of Gurgaon. Bhiwadi is reportedly home to several thousand Indian and international corporations, including a trio of the world’s top auto manufacturers -- Honda, Jaguar, and General Motors -- and, as would be expected, its factories and manufacturing centers have sparked the construction of housing, office space, shopping areas, and entertainment venues. RIICO hasn’t set a construction schedule for the golf course, but at least one home builder is already using it in its marketing campaign.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Shellharbour, Australia. Can a substantive makeover reverse the financial fortunes of a deeply troubled golf course on the South Coast of New South Wales? Elected officials in Shellharbour sure hope so, because their 18-hole track, the Links Shell Cove, has cost the city’s residents $7 million over the past decade. Its prospects are so bleak that no private-sector operator is willing to take on the challenge of running it. “The only way the Links has value is if the land is to be sold and used for a purpose other than golfing,” a councilmember groused to the Illawarra Mercury last year. Nonetheless, the city is making an effort to put its biggest recreational asset on a path toward profitability. It plans to sell part of the course to a residential developer, and with the proceeds it’ll redesign as many as seven holes and overhaul the venue’s clubhouse. Richard Chamberlain, an architect based in Robina, Queensland, will oversee the makeover.
Omaha, Nebraska. After lying low for several years, a group of turn-back-the-clock golfers are again trying to drum up support for their dream venture: A destination-worthy course for aficionados of hickory golf. “In a sense, Omaha right now is a little bit like what St. Andrews was in the 1860s or 1870s,” said Randy Jensen, who’s been trying to get the project off the drawing board since 2010. “It’s kind of a hot spot for hickory golf.” The group’s proposed Riverfront Golf Center will feature an 18-hole, Tom Doak-designed course and a museum that displays vintage equipment and memorabilia. Not surprisingly, the center has been a hard sell. These days, it’s hard enough to find investors willing to build conventional courses.
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