Greg “the Living Brand” Norman often brags about his business acumen, but is Great White Shark Enterprises underperforming? Golf World reports that Norman is “trying to rejuvenate” his company with a group of new staffers, and he intends to introduce a new company -- one that will be “a game changer” -- sometime this summer. The golf industry expects nothing less, especially now that the always modest celebrity architect has described the new hires as “younger, energetic personnel that are visionaries, like I am.”
It appears that part of Great White Shark Enterprise’s makeover will include legal fees. Greg Norman has fired and sued his corporate attorney and chief financial officer for allegedly “copying and deleting proprietary, confidential, and trade secret information.” Norman’s aim: He wants to ensure that Jack Schneider, who reportedly worked for GWSE for 14 years, to promise that he’ll never use whatever knowledge he’s gleaned about the company. And here’s an interesting side note: The lawsuit says that Schneider was fired for “blatant disregard of his duties,” “insubordination,” and “other gross failures.” It’s worth noting that those can be serious charges when they’re leveled against a CFO.
Donald “the Candidate” Trump has officially received a vote of no confidence from the R&A. For the time being, at least, the golf industry’s most self-righteous institutional power has formally passed on an opportunity to award the Open Championship to Trump Turnberry anytime before 2022 at the earliest. The decision is a slap in the face for Trump, who acquired the historic Scottish resort in part because it’s long held a spot in the Open rotation and promised to help him realize his greatest golf dream, which is to host a major championship. Martin “Golden” Slumbers, the R&A’s CEO, avoided discussing the snub in much detail and didn’t raise the specter of a permanent ban, but in a conversation with reporters he noted that his organization is “very focused on the macro-environment” and believes that golf “should be open to all regardless of gender, race, nationality, or religion.”
Pacific Links International is about to lighten its golf portfolio. The Chinese/Canadian company’s Hawaiian subsidiary has agreed to sell Olomana Golf Links, an 18-hole track on O’ahu, to a freshly minted entity called JNC USA, Inc. JNC USA is led by Jim Hwang, who’s reportedly been involved in golf development -- for IMG Golf, it appears -- in Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. Neither the buyer nor the seller has revealed the sales price, but the transaction is expected to close next month. Olomana features a Bob Baldock-designed course that opened in the late 1960s. If the sale goes through, the 130-acre layout will be the second course on O’ahu that PLI has sold in the past year. In March 2015, it sold Kapolei Golf Course to Daito U.S., Inc., an affiliate of a Japanese company.
Is Steve Wynn thinking about getting out of the golf business? A columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, working off a tip from Siegfried & Roy (no, I’m not making this up) reports that Wynn is looking to build a 1,000-room hotel, a convention center, and a lake on property currently occupied by Wynn Golf Club. For its part, Wynn Resorts admits only that it’s “studying an expansion of the golf course.” Assuming that Wynn’s board okays the venture, however, the loss would be significant, as the track -- it’s the former Desert Inn Golf Course -- was redesigned by Tom Fazio, who rarely, if ever, loses any of his work.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Friday, February 26, 2016
Desolation Row, february 26, 2016
Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. If local government officials don’t mind looking at more rooftops, Bloody Point Golf Club will soon be history. Brian McCarthy, who’s owned Bloody Point since 2011, has proposed to replace the layout’s greens and fairways with houses, an inn, and commercial space. “You hate to see it go, but you can’t run it if you’re not making money,” one of McCarthy’s representatives told Beaufort County’s planning commission. He added: “It’s under-performing as golf, and they’re trying to position the property in a way that can respond to today’s market.” Bloody Point’s 18-hole golf course, originally part of Daufuskie Island Resort, was co-designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and opened in 1991. It went bankrupt and was abandoned before McCarthy bought it, and he reportedly spent $2 million on upgrades that didn’t increase play. If you’re wondering if any tears are being shed, McCarthy’s proposal has been unanimously endorsed by Bloody Point’s property owners association.
Naples, Florida. Robert Vocisano has been reading the writing on the wall, so he’s proposed an alternative use for Golden Gate Country Club, a venue he and his brother have owned since 1972. “Golf is falling off,” he told the Naples News. “Young people aren't taking to it. To spend four hours hitting a ball around is just not their thing.” Golden Gate’s 18-hole, Dick Wilson-designed course was “among the first in Collier County,” according to the newspaper, and “one of the go-to spots for golfers lacking the resources to buy into a private club.” But Vocisano says that the club nowadays loses about $600,000 a year and is, in the newspaper’s words, “unable to compete.” Vocisano does, however, believe that Golden Gate can compete as a subdivision, and he’s petitioned local planning officials to let him make the change.
Hamilton, Ohio. Time has run out on Vista Verde Golf Course. A home builder has purchased the 103-acre property, which it believes is “a great location” for 145 single-family houses. Vista Verde’s 18-hole, Eldon Smith-designed track opened in 1988.
Bloomington, Indiana. Presuming that Mark and Bobby Thompson kept their promise, Eagle Pointe Golf Course closed at the end of 2015. Perhaps not permanently, however. Though Eagle Pointe has reportedly been “struggling to stay open for some time,” the Thompsons believe they can sell the 18-hole, 43-year-old layout in time for a reopening this spring. The asking price: $2.5 million. “The recession has been hard on golf courses because golf is an expensive sport and it’s easy to give up when things get tight,” the president of Eagle Pointe’s “umbrella” homeowners association told the Bloomington Herald-Times. “Some have moved on to bigger and better things, and others have had less appealing things happening to them.” And though it pains me to say it, this story comes with a sad postscript: A local radio station says that the resort’s employees were notified of the course’s closing not in person or even via a phone call, but by mail. One saving grace: A letter is preferable to a text message.
Shelburne, Vermont. Come 2018 or maybe 2019, Kwiniaska Golf Course is going to lose half of its holes. Bonnie Caldwell, responding to what the Shelburne News describes as “shifts in golf trends,” has agreed to sell nine of Kwiniaska’s holes to a residential developer who’ll eventually populate the acreage with as many as 102 housing units. Kwiniaska opened in 1964, and it was designed by A. B. Caldwell, who appears to be Caldwell’s father. As an 18-hole track, it hosted Vermont’s men’s amateur championship in 1994 and 2009.
Bluffton, South Carolina. For the second time, United Company has set out to close and redevelop Hilton Head National Golf Club. Acting through Scratch Golf, United has requested a zoning change that, if approved, will enable it to convert the club’s 18-hole course into something more profitable. United last made such a proposal in 2013, but its request was denied. Hilton Head National, which occupies 310 acres, once had a 27-hole complex. Half of its existing layout was designed by Gary Player, half by Bobby Weed.
Windermere, Florida. The clock is ticking on Windermere Country Club. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the club will close in April, so its owner, Canadian developer Bryan DeCunha, can replace its 18-hole, Ward Northrup-designed course with houses. Residents in the area have voiced their objections, but DeCunha is counting on support from Orange County’s elected officials. He owns a golf course in suburban Hamilton, Ontario, and he claims to have an “entrepreneurial spirit” and a “passion for the game of golf.”
Naples, Florida. Robert Vocisano has been reading the writing on the wall, so he’s proposed an alternative use for Golden Gate Country Club, a venue he and his brother have owned since 1972. “Golf is falling off,” he told the Naples News. “Young people aren't taking to it. To spend four hours hitting a ball around is just not their thing.” Golden Gate’s 18-hole, Dick Wilson-designed course was “among the first in Collier County,” according to the newspaper, and “one of the go-to spots for golfers lacking the resources to buy into a private club.” But Vocisano says that the club nowadays loses about $600,000 a year and is, in the newspaper’s words, “unable to compete.” Vocisano does, however, believe that Golden Gate can compete as a subdivision, and he’s petitioned local planning officials to let him make the change.
Hamilton, Ohio. Time has run out on Vista Verde Golf Course. A home builder has purchased the 103-acre property, which it believes is “a great location” for 145 single-family houses. Vista Verde’s 18-hole, Eldon Smith-designed track opened in 1988.
Bloomington, Indiana. Presuming that Mark and Bobby Thompson kept their promise, Eagle Pointe Golf Course closed at the end of 2015. Perhaps not permanently, however. Though Eagle Pointe has reportedly been “struggling to stay open for some time,” the Thompsons believe they can sell the 18-hole, 43-year-old layout in time for a reopening this spring. The asking price: $2.5 million. “The recession has been hard on golf courses because golf is an expensive sport and it’s easy to give up when things get tight,” the president of Eagle Pointe’s “umbrella” homeowners association told the Bloomington Herald-Times. “Some have moved on to bigger and better things, and others have had less appealing things happening to them.” And though it pains me to say it, this story comes with a sad postscript: A local radio station says that the resort’s employees were notified of the course’s closing not in person or even via a phone call, but by mail. One saving grace: A letter is preferable to a text message.
Shelburne, Vermont. Come 2018 or maybe 2019, Kwiniaska Golf Course is going to lose half of its holes. Bonnie Caldwell, responding to what the Shelburne News describes as “shifts in golf trends,” has agreed to sell nine of Kwiniaska’s holes to a residential developer who’ll eventually populate the acreage with as many as 102 housing units. Kwiniaska opened in 1964, and it was designed by A. B. Caldwell, who appears to be Caldwell’s father. As an 18-hole track, it hosted Vermont’s men’s amateur championship in 1994 and 2009.
Bluffton, South Carolina. For the second time, United Company has set out to close and redevelop Hilton Head National Golf Club. Acting through Scratch Golf, United has requested a zoning change that, if approved, will enable it to convert the club’s 18-hole course into something more profitable. United last made such a proposal in 2013, but its request was denied. Hilton Head National, which occupies 310 acres, once had a 27-hole complex. Half of its existing layout was designed by Gary Player, half by Bobby Weed.
Windermere, Florida. The clock is ticking on Windermere Country Club. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the club will close in April, so its owner, Canadian developer Bryan DeCunha, can replace its 18-hole, Ward Northrup-designed course with houses. Residents in the area have voiced their objections, but DeCunha is counting on support from Orange County’s elected officials. He owns a golf course in suburban Hamilton, Ontario, and he claims to have an “entrepreneurial spirit” and a “passion for the game of golf.”
Sunday, February 21, 2016
The Week That Was, february 21, 2016
ClubCorp has added a third property to its holdings in greater Jacksonville, Florida. The publicly traded relationship builder and life enricher -- that’s how it describes itself -- shelled out $4.5 million for Marsh Creek Country Club, a 30-year-old venue in St. Augustine. The seller was an investment group led by Roger O’Steen, the developer of the club’s accompanying gated community. In a press release, O’Steen called ClubCorp “an ideal fit for the members and community,” and Eric Affeldt, ClubCorp’s president, called Marsh Creek as “a perfect complement to our nearby clubs and to the rest of the ClubCorp Network.” ClubCorp’s other Jacksonville-area properties are Deercreek Country Club and Queen’s Harbour Yacht & Country Club. The company has nine other golf properties in Florida, all of them, curiously, in the northern and central parts of the state. When it comes to golf, ClubCorp has no presence in or around Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Naples, and other southern population centers.
A New York City-based real estate investment trust has acquired a historic golf getaway in Vermont that opened (as a tavern and inn) before the Declaration of Independence was written. Carey Watermark Investors paid an undisclosed price for the Equinox Resort & Spa, a 1,300-acre mountain property in Manchester that’s been around, in one form or another, since 1769 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Teddy Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Mary Todd Lincoln all reportedly slept there. (Not together, of course.) The purchase includes Golf Club at Equinox, which opened (with an 18-hole, Walter Travis-designed golf course) on July 4, 1927. (Rees Jones redesigned the track in the early 1990s.) In a press release, Carey Watermark’s CEO describes the Equinox as a “high-yielding and stable, cash-flow generating asset” and a welcome addition to the company’s portfolio of “assets that are positioned to generate attractive, near-term cash flow and increase in value over time.” Among the resort’s other attractions are nearly 200 overnight accommodations, meeting space, a spa, and fly-fishing, shooting, and falconry schools.
Any day now, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. will reportedly break ground on his eighth golf course in China, an 18-hole track at Blue Bay International Golf Club. Details about the venture are scarce, perhaps because of the well-publicized moratorium on golf construction in the People’s Republic. Nonetheless, Blue Bay International’s unidentified developers recently opened their first course, an 18-hole layout created by Don Knott, one of Jones’ former associates. The golf complex and associated development -- houses, hotels, a marina, a theme park -- are taking shape at Gulei Port, a fast-growing area outside Zhanghou, in Fujian Province. (I suspect that the developer is Zhangzhou City Gulei Port Development Company, Ltd., but I can’t verify it.) Jones, who’s based in Palo Alto, California, has designed one other course in Fujian, Trans Strait Golf Club in Changle. The remainder of his Chinese portfolio includes a course at Spring City Golf & Lake Resort in Kunming (in Yunnan Province), Yalong Bay Golf Club on Hainan Island, and Enhance Anting Golf Club in Shanghai.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
China Daily reports that the vast majority of the 74 golf courses on Hainan Island are “struggling financially in a new era of frugality” and, taking the advice of a provincial tourism official, recommends that they “make the cost of play more affordable for the average person.” The director-general of the Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission told the state-run newspaper that roughly 70 percent of the courses on the island, a vacation spot that often likens itself to Hawaii, are losing money. The problem, he contends, is that too many of the courses are “focusing on high-end clients.” His advice: “There should be more golf courses open for regular tourists and white-collar workers.”
Not surprisingly, those “talks” that McConnell Golf was having with Providence Country Club have led to a sale. Without disclosing a price, John McConnell’s fast-growing company has announced that it’s acquired Providence, a 27-year-old venue that describes itself as “one of Charlotte’s premier family country clubs.” In a press release, McConnell called his most recent purchase “a truly outstanding club” and committed $4 million to making it, presumably, even more outstanding. McConnell Golf’s portfolio now consists of seven golf properties in North Carolina, two in South Carolina, and one in Tennessee.
A New York City-based real estate investment trust has acquired a historic golf getaway in Vermont that opened (as a tavern and inn) before the Declaration of Independence was written. Carey Watermark Investors paid an undisclosed price for the Equinox Resort & Spa, a 1,300-acre mountain property in Manchester that’s been around, in one form or another, since 1769 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Teddy Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Mary Todd Lincoln all reportedly slept there. (Not together, of course.) The purchase includes Golf Club at Equinox, which opened (with an 18-hole, Walter Travis-designed golf course) on July 4, 1927. (Rees Jones redesigned the track in the early 1990s.) In a press release, Carey Watermark’s CEO describes the Equinox as a “high-yielding and stable, cash-flow generating asset” and a welcome addition to the company’s portfolio of “assets that are positioned to generate attractive, near-term cash flow and increase in value over time.” Among the resort’s other attractions are nearly 200 overnight accommodations, meeting space, a spa, and fly-fishing, shooting, and falconry schools.
Any day now, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. will reportedly break ground on his eighth golf course in China, an 18-hole track at Blue Bay International Golf Club. Details about the venture are scarce, perhaps because of the well-publicized moratorium on golf construction in the People’s Republic. Nonetheless, Blue Bay International’s unidentified developers recently opened their first course, an 18-hole layout created by Don Knott, one of Jones’ former associates. The golf complex and associated development -- houses, hotels, a marina, a theme park -- are taking shape at Gulei Port, a fast-growing area outside Zhanghou, in Fujian Province. (I suspect that the developer is Zhangzhou City Gulei Port Development Company, Ltd., but I can’t verify it.) Jones, who’s based in Palo Alto, California, has designed one other course in Fujian, Trans Strait Golf Club in Changle. The remainder of his Chinese portfolio includes a course at Spring City Golf & Lake Resort in Kunming (in Yunnan Province), Yalong Bay Golf Club on Hainan Island, and Enhance Anting Golf Club in Shanghai.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
China Daily reports that the vast majority of the 74 golf courses on Hainan Island are “struggling financially in a new era of frugality” and, taking the advice of a provincial tourism official, recommends that they “make the cost of play more affordable for the average person.” The director-general of the Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission told the state-run newspaper that roughly 70 percent of the courses on the island, a vacation spot that often likens itself to Hawaii, are losing money. The problem, he contends, is that too many of the courses are “focusing on high-end clients.” His advice: “There should be more golf courses open for regular tourists and white-collar workers.”
Not surprisingly, those “talks” that McConnell Golf was having with Providence Country Club have led to a sale. Without disclosing a price, John McConnell’s fast-growing company has announced that it’s acquired Providence, a 27-year-old venue that describes itself as “one of Charlotte’s premier family country clubs.” In a press release, McConnell called his most recent purchase “a truly outstanding club” and committed $4 million to making it, presumably, even more outstanding. McConnell Golf’s portfolio now consists of seven golf properties in North Carolina, two in South Carolina, and one in Tennessee.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Transactions, february 19, 2016
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii County, Hawaii. An investment group from California has purchased a controlling interest in Big Island Country Club, a 403-acre community on -- where else? -- the Big Island. UNIVA Resort LLC, an entity related to Hong Kong-based UNIVA Capital Holdings, Ltd., paid an undisclosed amount for Moshe Silagi’s stake in Big Island, which features a 19-year-old, Perry Dye-designed layout. Dye’s 18-hole course -- “one of the most unique Hawaii golf courses,” the club says, and “the perfect course for a Hawaii golf vacation” -- rang up more than 40,000 rounds last year, according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Silagi, who’s based in Thousand Oaks, California, had controlled Big Island since 2010. The community has been master-planned for 99 single-family houses.
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The first golf property to open in the Sawgrass master-planned community (now TPC Sawgrass) has a new owner. A local investment group, Alta Mar Holdings LLC, paid who knows what for Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club, a venue whose facilities have reportedly “suffered from neglect for many, many years.” Alta Mar has promised to “right the ship.” The club opened in the early 1970s, and its 18-hole golf course was later redesigned by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay. The seller was Jamey Golf LLC, an entity controlled by James Salmon, who reportedly paid $3.7 million for the property in 2003.
East Falmouth, Massachusetts. Golf Club of Cape Cod has new owners and a new name. Sacconnesset Golf Society LLC paid an undisclosed amount for the 152-acre property, which is now known simply as TGC (The Golf Club). Links magazine says that TGC’s nine-year-old course “looks as though it has been there for decades,” and the track’s architect, Rees Jones, thinks that “all 18 holes fit the land like a glove.” The new owners bought TGC from a group led by Martin Shaevel. They believe the club is “unquestionably the best in the region,” and they describe their mission as “competition, tradition, and camaraderie.”
Spokane, Washington. Spokane Country Club, a venue that was forced to declare for bankruptcy protection after a court determined that it had discriminated against some of its female members, has accepted $3 million for its 118-year-old property. The offer came from the Kalispel Tribe, which operates a nearby casino and is looking to add amenities that might extend its customers’ visits. “We’re always looking at diversifying our businesses,” the casino’s general manager told KXLY-TV. Spokane had hoped to sell itself to Phil “the Gambler” Mickelson’s investment group and remain in business as a private club, but M Club Holdings lost interest when it decided that “it was unable to make the numbers work.” Because Spokane’s public image is in shambles, the tribe has changed its name to Kalispel Golf & Country Club.
Poughkeepsie, New York. It took three years, but Rhinebeck Bank has finally found a buyer for one of the nation’s oldest golf properties. In November, the bank accepted an offer for Dutchess Golf Club from Anthony Bacchi, the owner of Lazy Swan Golf & Country Club in Saugerties, New York. Bacchi intends to operate Dutchess, a private club that was founded in 1897, as a semi-private venue. The club has one major claim to fame: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was once one of its members.
Stanford, Kentucky. Lester and Carla Newsome are the new owners of Dix River Golf Course, a property in suburban Lexington that will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017. The Newsomes bought Dix River from Danny McQueen, a member of the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame and the owner of several golf properties in the state, among them two in Nicholasville, Keene Trace Golf Club and Golf Club of the Bluegrass. McQueen bought Dix River in 2012, a time when it was said to be “struggling.” Perhaps it still is.
Yanceyville, North Carolina. A group led by Bob Greear has acquired Caswell Pines Golf Club, a 23-year-old venue that features an 18-hole, Gene Hamm-designed golf course. “I fell in love with it the first time I ever walked on it,” Greear told the Caswell Messenger. The newspaper reports that the new owners aim to make Caswell Pines “a destination golf course,” and Greear has promised to make it “one of the best golf courses in the area, if not the best golf course in the area.” Greear is also reportedly a part owner of Draper Valley Golf Club in Draper, Virginia.
Auburn, New York. The troubled Owasco Country Club has been sold to one of its members, reportedly for $883,023. Gerald Crowley, operating via Owasco Golf & Tennis Club LLC, bought the 86-acre club and its nine-hole golf course late last year. Though the Auburn Citizen says that the club “had been struggling financially in recent years,” the newspaper reports that Crowley has “no plans to make any significant changes to the club’s daily operation.” Owasco was founded in 1896, as Auburn Golf Club, and it relocated to its current location in 1901, with a John Van Kleek-designed course.
Crosby, Texas. To preserve the value of their homes, the members of the Newport Property Owners Association have purchased their community’s golf course. The POA paid an undisclosed price for Newport Golf Course & Country Club, a venue in suburban Houston that opened in 1970 and was once a stop on the LPGA Tour. The POA made the acquisition to prevent the club’s former owner, an entity called Newport Golf Club Partners, from selling part of the course to a residential developer. It’s committed to making upgrades to both the clubhouse and the golf course, which have, according to the club’s pro, “kind of gone downhill” in recent years. To signal a fresh start, the property has been given a new name: Stonebridge Golf & Event Center.
Waukegan, Illinois. In mid November 2015, Glen Flora Country Club changed hands. The relevant information about the transaction is, at least for now, being kept under wraps, but Golf Digest indicates that the seller was hoping to get $2.75 million. Glen Flora was founded in 1911 and moved to its current location in the early 1920s. It had its moment in the sun in 1963, when it persuaded Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus to play a two-day, winner-take-all match for $50,000. (If you must know, Player went home with the prize.) Glen Flora believes its 18-hole golf course offers “incomparable charm and challenge” and credits the layout’s design to its first pro, Austin Clayssens. (A “preeminent architect,” it calls him.) A local history says that Alex Perry, who was affiliated with Old Elm Club in nearby Highland Park, contributed to the layout’s design.
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The first golf property to open in the Sawgrass master-planned community (now TPC Sawgrass) has a new owner. A local investment group, Alta Mar Holdings LLC, paid who knows what for Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club, a venue whose facilities have reportedly “suffered from neglect for many, many years.” Alta Mar has promised to “right the ship.” The club opened in the early 1970s, and its 18-hole golf course was later redesigned by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay. The seller was Jamey Golf LLC, an entity controlled by James Salmon, who reportedly paid $3.7 million for the property in 2003.
East Falmouth, Massachusetts. Golf Club of Cape Cod has new owners and a new name. Sacconnesset Golf Society LLC paid an undisclosed amount for the 152-acre property, which is now known simply as TGC (The Golf Club). Links magazine says that TGC’s nine-year-old course “looks as though it has been there for decades,” and the track’s architect, Rees Jones, thinks that “all 18 holes fit the land like a glove.” The new owners bought TGC from a group led by Martin Shaevel. They believe the club is “unquestionably the best in the region,” and they describe their mission as “competition, tradition, and camaraderie.”
Spokane, Washington. Spokane Country Club, a venue that was forced to declare for bankruptcy protection after a court determined that it had discriminated against some of its female members, has accepted $3 million for its 118-year-old property. The offer came from the Kalispel Tribe, which operates a nearby casino and is looking to add amenities that might extend its customers’ visits. “We’re always looking at diversifying our businesses,” the casino’s general manager told KXLY-TV. Spokane had hoped to sell itself to Phil “the Gambler” Mickelson’s investment group and remain in business as a private club, but M Club Holdings lost interest when it decided that “it was unable to make the numbers work.” Because Spokane’s public image is in shambles, the tribe has changed its name to Kalispel Golf & Country Club.
Poughkeepsie, New York. It took three years, but Rhinebeck Bank has finally found a buyer for one of the nation’s oldest golf properties. In November, the bank accepted an offer for Dutchess Golf Club from Anthony Bacchi, the owner of Lazy Swan Golf & Country Club in Saugerties, New York. Bacchi intends to operate Dutchess, a private club that was founded in 1897, as a semi-private venue. The club has one major claim to fame: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was once one of its members.
Stanford, Kentucky. Lester and Carla Newsome are the new owners of Dix River Golf Course, a property in suburban Lexington that will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017. The Newsomes bought Dix River from Danny McQueen, a member of the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame and the owner of several golf properties in the state, among them two in Nicholasville, Keene Trace Golf Club and Golf Club of the Bluegrass. McQueen bought Dix River in 2012, a time when it was said to be “struggling.” Perhaps it still is.
Yanceyville, North Carolina. A group led by Bob Greear has acquired Caswell Pines Golf Club, a 23-year-old venue that features an 18-hole, Gene Hamm-designed golf course. “I fell in love with it the first time I ever walked on it,” Greear told the Caswell Messenger. The newspaper reports that the new owners aim to make Caswell Pines “a destination golf course,” and Greear has promised to make it “one of the best golf courses in the area, if not the best golf course in the area.” Greear is also reportedly a part owner of Draper Valley Golf Club in Draper, Virginia.
Auburn, New York. The troubled Owasco Country Club has been sold to one of its members, reportedly for $883,023. Gerald Crowley, operating via Owasco Golf & Tennis Club LLC, bought the 86-acre club and its nine-hole golf course late last year. Though the Auburn Citizen says that the club “had been struggling financially in recent years,” the newspaper reports that Crowley has “no plans to make any significant changes to the club’s daily operation.” Owasco was founded in 1896, as Auburn Golf Club, and it relocated to its current location in 1901, with a John Van Kleek-designed course.
Crosby, Texas. To preserve the value of their homes, the members of the Newport Property Owners Association have purchased their community’s golf course. The POA paid an undisclosed price for Newport Golf Course & Country Club, a venue in suburban Houston that opened in 1970 and was once a stop on the LPGA Tour. The POA made the acquisition to prevent the club’s former owner, an entity called Newport Golf Club Partners, from selling part of the course to a residential developer. It’s committed to making upgrades to both the clubhouse and the golf course, which have, according to the club’s pro, “kind of gone downhill” in recent years. To signal a fresh start, the property has been given a new name: Stonebridge Golf & Event Center.
Waukegan, Illinois. In mid November 2015, Glen Flora Country Club changed hands. The relevant information about the transaction is, at least for now, being kept under wraps, but Golf Digest indicates that the seller was hoping to get $2.75 million. Glen Flora was founded in 1911 and moved to its current location in the early 1920s. It had its moment in the sun in 1963, when it persuaded Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus to play a two-day, winner-take-all match for $50,000. (If you must know, Player went home with the prize.) Glen Flora believes its 18-hole golf course offers “incomparable charm and challenge” and credits the layout’s design to its first pro, Austin Clayssens. (A “preeminent architect,” it calls him.) A local history says that Alex Perry, who was affiliated with Old Elm Club in nearby Highland Park, contributed to the layout’s design.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
The Week That Was, february 14, 2016
The developers of Pacific Gales, the forthcoming au naturel track near Port Orford, Oregon, are enjoying what they believe is a long-overdue “whoopee moment.” The state’s land-use board of appeals has rejected the latest and probably the last in a string of arguments against Pacific Gales, thereby giving Elk River Property Development LLC a seemingly clear path to development. “It’s like someone took a 50-pound slab off my shoulders, finally,” Jim Haley, one of the developers, told the Coos Bay World. Haley and his partners proposed Pacific Gales, an 18-hole layout that they’ve suggested might be ranked ahead of those at nearby Bandon Dunes, two years ago, and they’ve been fighting battles against critics ever since. They hope to break ground on their Dave Esler-designed golf course this summer, provided they can find enough investors to realize their dream.
Just three years short of its 100th anniversary, one of Scotland’s most famous golf courses will be made over to more faithfully resemble its designer’s original intentions. I’m talking about the James Braid-designed King’s course at Gleneagles, the celebrated resort -- “a national institution,” BBC News calls it -- that’s hosted, among other things, the Ryder Cup matches of 2014 and the G8 summit of 2005. Beginning any day now, Gleneagles’ new owners intend to restore some of the track’s lost design elements in an attempt to bring it “closer to Braid’s original vision” and give golfers “a more authentic playing experience.” The King’s course, which opened in 1919, is one of three regulation-length courses at Gleneagles. The rest of the 850-acre spread in Perthshire includes a 232-room hotel, a Michelin-starred restaurant, an equestrian center, a shooting range, and the British School of Falconry. For more than three decades, Gleneagles had been owned by Diageo, the world’s largest producer of spirits, but last year Diageo sold the property (reportedly for roughly $215 million) to Ennismore, an investment company that owns several boutique hotels. At the time of the sale, Ennismore promised to invest “significant sums” into improvements at Gleneagles. The upgrades at the King’s course are the first evidence of its commitment to the historic resort’s golf business.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
A decision has been made regarding the lawsuit filed last year by caddies on the PGA Tour: They fought the law, and the law won. The caddies have failed in their attempt to win a share of the sponsorship money that corporations pay to players on the tour and will therefore continue to wear advertising on their bibs. “Caddies have been required to wear the bibs for decades, so caddies know when they enter the profession that wearing a bib during tournaments is part of the job,” a judge in U.S. District Court concluded. The ruling aside, it’s worth noting that the caddies aren’t impoverished. Some have their own sponsorship agreements, and Forbes has determined that each of the 10 top earners in 2014 made at least $600,000. If the caddies have the will to muster another fight, it may be over health care and a retirement plan.
As we approach the date of a court hearing in the case of Vijay Singh versus the PGA Tour, Pete Madden of Golf magazine contends that professional golf’s drug-testing program is “riddled with holes,” “all but unenforceable,” and designed “not so much to catch cheaters as to reassure sponsors that there are no cheaters to catch.” Singh, you’ll no doubt remember, confessed to using deer-antler spray, a banned substance, in 2013. He received a short suspension that was later rescinded, but he sued the tour anyway, claiming that he’d lost a sponsor and was exposed to “public humiliation and ridicule.” His case is scheduled to be heard in early April, but Madden doesn’t expect it to shine any light on the way the tour polices the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The tour, he writes, has “argued for and won a sweeping protective order that made sure anything controversial remained confidential.”
The first nine holes have opened at what may eventually be Uganda’s top-rated golf course. The Kevin Ramsey-designed, tournament-worthy layout at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa opened late last year, after nearly six years of construction. Ramsey, one of the principals of Santa Rosa, California-based Golfplan/Dale & Ramsey, hopes to open the second nine by 2018, but he isn’t betting his house on it. “Construction slow and challenging for many reasons,” he writes in an e-mail. Among the challenges: The course is taking shape upon a marsh that must be solidified, a painstaking process. The resort is located on Africa’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria, midway between Kampala and Entebbe. It has a Roman-style hotel and a partially completed marina, and it’ll eventually have a “luxury residential complex,” meeting space, and a helipad. Golf Digest counts 15 golf properties in Uganda, and it rates Uganda Golf Club in Kampala as the nation’s best. But Serena Hotels believes it’s got the first “professional golf course” in Uganda, and it’s planning to implement a major marketing campaign to prove it.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Just three years short of its 100th anniversary, one of Scotland’s most famous golf courses will be made over to more faithfully resemble its designer’s original intentions. I’m talking about the James Braid-designed King’s course at Gleneagles, the celebrated resort -- “a national institution,” BBC News calls it -- that’s hosted, among other things, the Ryder Cup matches of 2014 and the G8 summit of 2005. Beginning any day now, Gleneagles’ new owners intend to restore some of the track’s lost design elements in an attempt to bring it “closer to Braid’s original vision” and give golfers “a more authentic playing experience.” The King’s course, which opened in 1919, is one of three regulation-length courses at Gleneagles. The rest of the 850-acre spread in Perthshire includes a 232-room hotel, a Michelin-starred restaurant, an equestrian center, a shooting range, and the British School of Falconry. For more than three decades, Gleneagles had been owned by Diageo, the world’s largest producer of spirits, but last year Diageo sold the property (reportedly for roughly $215 million) to Ennismore, an investment company that owns several boutique hotels. At the time of the sale, Ennismore promised to invest “significant sums” into improvements at Gleneagles. The upgrades at the King’s course are the first evidence of its commitment to the historic resort’s golf business.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
A decision has been made regarding the lawsuit filed last year by caddies on the PGA Tour: They fought the law, and the law won. The caddies have failed in their attempt to win a share of the sponsorship money that corporations pay to players on the tour and will therefore continue to wear advertising on their bibs. “Caddies have been required to wear the bibs for decades, so caddies know when they enter the profession that wearing a bib during tournaments is part of the job,” a judge in U.S. District Court concluded. The ruling aside, it’s worth noting that the caddies aren’t impoverished. Some have their own sponsorship agreements, and Forbes has determined that each of the 10 top earners in 2014 made at least $600,000. If the caddies have the will to muster another fight, it may be over health care and a retirement plan.
As we approach the date of a court hearing in the case of Vijay Singh versus the PGA Tour, Pete Madden of Golf magazine contends that professional golf’s drug-testing program is “riddled with holes,” “all but unenforceable,” and designed “not so much to catch cheaters as to reassure sponsors that there are no cheaters to catch.” Singh, you’ll no doubt remember, confessed to using deer-antler spray, a banned substance, in 2013. He received a short suspension that was later rescinded, but he sued the tour anyway, claiming that he’d lost a sponsor and was exposed to “public humiliation and ridicule.” His case is scheduled to be heard in early April, but Madden doesn’t expect it to shine any light on the way the tour polices the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The tour, he writes, has “argued for and won a sweeping protective order that made sure anything controversial remained confidential.”
The first nine holes have opened at what may eventually be Uganda’s top-rated golf course. The Kevin Ramsey-designed, tournament-worthy layout at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa opened late last year, after nearly six years of construction. Ramsey, one of the principals of Santa Rosa, California-based Golfplan/Dale & Ramsey, hopes to open the second nine by 2018, but he isn’t betting his house on it. “Construction slow and challenging for many reasons,” he writes in an e-mail. Among the challenges: The course is taking shape upon a marsh that must be solidified, a painstaking process. The resort is located on Africa’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria, midway between Kampala and Entebbe. It has a Roman-style hotel and a partially completed marina, and it’ll eventually have a “luxury residential complex,” meeting space, and a helipad. Golf Digest counts 15 golf properties in Uganda, and it rates Uganda Golf Club in Kampala as the nation’s best. But Serena Hotels believes it’s got the first “professional golf course” in Uganda, and it’s planning to implement a major marketing campaign to prove it.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the February 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
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