In recent weeks, course owners and operators in Canada have been contemplating potential weed problems, and they aren’t talking crabgrass. Our neighbor to the north is on track to legalize recreational use of marijuana next month, and the nation’s courses are trying to figure out what it means to their business. According to a survey of nearly 5,500 Canadian golfers, about 14 percent expect to fire up while they play, and the number increases to about 50 percent for golfers under the age of 35. With such data in mind, more than one-quarter of the 56 golf facilities that were polled said that they might begin selling marijuana if they’re allowed to, just as they sell beer and liquor. It’s worth noting, of course, that golfers have long been getting high on fairways, and one respondent to the survey acknowledged that “I can’t remember the last time I heard a complaint.”
Can’t say how much pot golfers will soon be smoking at Osprey Valley Golf Club, but they’ll be doing it at Canada’s first Tournament Players Club. The freshly rebranded TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, in suburban Toronto, features a trio of 18-hole, Doug Carrick-designed golf courses, all of which are ranked among the top 100 on SCOREGolf’s list of the nation’s best tracks (at #48, #51, and #55). The TPC Network, which is licensed by the PGA Tour, now consists of 33 properties, five of them outside the United States.
The government of Romania has green-lighted a variety of potential economy-boosting projects, including a golf course that will take shape at a resort in Costinesti, a village along the Black Sea coast. The package of projects consists mostly of things like rail lines and hydroelectric power plants, but it includes a collection of what Romania Insider calls “luxury resorts” that will stretch across two miles of waterfront. In all, the four resorts will occupy 2,000 acres and offer more than 4,000 hotel rooms in addition to the usual assortment of tourist attractions. Assuming that any of them are actually built, they’ll be done in partnership with private-sector development groups.
Pipeline Overflow – The city of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, is thinking about turning one of its “golfing gems” into a track worthy of high-level professional events. The city has hired a team of consultants, including course designer Graham Marsh, to scope out the future of the South course at North Adelaide Golf Course. If the idea is approved, at least part of the course will be redesigned and the entirety of it will be upgraded to “international standard.” . . . Mixta Nigeria has apparently been directed to build a golf course and a “world-class golf resort” at an emerging mini-city outside Benin, the capital of Edo State in Nigeria. Details are scarce, unfortunately, but the state’s executive governor told the Daily Trust that “the same people who built Lakowe Golf Resort in Lagos” – that would be Mixta Nigeria – are behind the one in Benin. . . . Nothing is official, but community activists in greater Mumbai believe that India’s navy has set out to build a golf course at its station in Hamla. The navy denies the allegation, but India has a lot of courses at military bases.
The second-oldest golf course in Idaho is about to change hands. Just weeks after unloading a property outside Atlanta, Georgia, American Golf Corporation has found an as-yet unidentified buyer for Plantation Country Club, a venue that’s operated in Boise since 1917. A price hasn’t been announced, but the Idaho Statesman reports that the property has an assessed value of $2.6 million. Plantation was originally known as Boise Country Club, and it opened with a six-hole course. Today it has an 18-hole, Chandler Egan-designed layout. I can’t explain why American Golf has become such an active seller, but it’s worth noting that it’s also put Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course, in Irvine, California, on the market. It’s also worth noting that American Golf will continue to manage Plantation after it’s sold.
Surplus Transactions – Tony Soletti, a Florida-based insurance man, has reportedly paid $2.3 million for River Club, the centerpiece of a 30-year-old, 700-house community in Bradenton. The semiprivate club’s 18-hole course, a Ron Garl design, is said to be “one of the most challenging layouts in the area.” Soletti figures that River Club will complement his nearby Links at Greenfield Plantation, which he’s owned since 2012. . . . An unidentified buyer has paid an undisclosed price for Escalon Golf Course, a nine-hole, 34-year-old layout in Escalon, California. A spokesperson for the seller, a group led by the family of Tom and Betty Hagan, told the Escalon Times that the new owners plan to continue golf operations and have “really big plans.” . . . Gene Hoffman and Scott Covalt have acquired Fox Ridge Golf Club, a 19-year-old venue in suburban Waterloo, Iowa. The new owners told a local newspaper that they intend to improve the 18-hole layout “in every way, shape, and form.”
A high-end community in suburban Indianapolis, Indiana is going to lose its golf course. Gray Eagle Golf Course, which opened in 2001, will close next year, a victim of “decreased or stagnant golf participation over eight years,” according to the Indianapolis Star. “The older generation is dying, and the younger generation is not taking their place,” one of the course’s owners, Mark Thompson, told the newspaper. Gray Eagle’s 18-hole layout was designed by Art Kaser, who works for Thompson’s company. The company tried to persuade the homeowners in the accompanying community to buy the course, but they declined, and the city doesn’t want it either.
Desolation Row Extended – A Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course in Rio Rico, Arizona (it’s south of Tucson) is about to bite the dust. A date for the closing of the 47-year-old track at Rio Rico Golf Club hasn’t been announced, but the CEO of Heritage Hotels & Resorts, the club’s owner, told Nogales International that it’ll be “soon.” . . . Elected officials in Snohomish County, Washington hope to find a new operator for Kayak Point Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Stanwood that’s going to close next month if they aren’t successful. Though the Ron Fream design has been described as “one of Washington's most popular courses,” its current management company says it’s “struggled to remain viable in an increasingly challenging business environment.” . . . A year before he was expected to, Chuck Bennell has stuck a fork into his Tam O’Shanter Golf Course. Bennell had said that he expected to close the 36-hole complex in Canton, Ohio next year or perhaps in 2020, but it appears that last year’s successful rezoning pushed his plans for the property ahead.
Duly Noted – The Robb Report recently threw a few softball questions at Greg “the Living Brand” Norman, and he replied with a flurry of buzz words and phrases, among them “welcoming,” “connectivity,” “social media,” “streaming,” and “solar panels.” When he was asked about potential areas of growth, he nominated China and Cuba, though he made it clear that he doesn’t expect the growth to be imminent. . . . The increasing popularity of high-profile, easily marketable courses in Vietnam is taking its toll on golf tourism in Thailand. To boost its prospects, the nation’s tourism authority wants you to know that Thailand is a “World Class Golf Destination,” with a “vast choice of golf courses” (roughly 250) that attracted 400,000 international golf travelers in 2016, presumably the last year for which data is available. . . . Slovakia is home to an estimated 8,000 “registered” golfers, a number that the Slovak Spectator believes is “too few” to support “the number of golf courses that have been developed in the country.” As a result, the newspaper says, most of the nation’s golf resorts “are struggling financially.” (Sorry, I can’t find a link to this story.)
In compliance with new 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 it is: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t bake any cookies into your computer. All I do is write little stories and then post what I write. I don’t know your names or addresses or ages or income levels, and I have no interest in any of that information. That being said, the World Golf Report occupies a slice of cyberspace owned by Google, one of the world’s foremost data collectors, and I’ll willing to bet that Google collects whatever it can about you. Incidentally, Google has provided me with an official-looking statement that’s supposed to appear at the bottom of the blog, but I can’t figure out how to load it.
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Sunday, September 16, 2018
The Week That Was, september 16, 2018
A date for the groundbreaking hasn’t yet been set, but Tom Doak has won the commission for the fourth course at Sand Valley, the neo-classic golf mecca envisioned by Mike Keiser in central Wisconsin. Doak told Golf Digest that he intends to design “a full golf course” but won’t “worry about par or distance,” and the magazine reports that the final product will likely play to about 6,100 yards. Sand Valley’s development is now in the hands of Keiser’s sons, who believe that Doak will be working with “some of the best golf land we have” and that he knows how to “unleash its best potential.” They’ve suggested that the course might resemble the one at Swinley Forest Golf Club in England, a world top-100 layout that’s been described as “frozen in time, exclusive, unusual, and totally eccentric.”
Pipeline Overflow – Tower Holdings has embraced a novel financing scheme for its long-overdue resort on Great Keppel Island: Cryptocurrency. With conventional options disappearing, Terry Agnew’s company intends to float a Security Token Offering (the digital-economy version of an initial public offering) for shares in the planned resort, which will include vacation houses, a hotel, a marina, and an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg “the Living Brand” Norman. . . . Speaking of overdue, it appears that the overhaul of Marco Simone Golf & Country Club will soon begin. European Golf Design and Tom Fazio II are teaming up to create what’s been called “an entirely new golf course” for Marco Simone, which will host the Ryder Cup competition in 2022. In a press release, the president of the Italian Golf Federation admitted to being happy that the project “is finally taking shape.” . . . Speaking once again of overdue, a development group in Mangalore, India has made some progress on a golf course it reportedly proposed to build six years ago. The Times of India says that the course will take shape on 135 acres “near the sea shore,” presuming, of course, that the developers can secure what appears to be a final approval.
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – As part of its continuing effort to reward customers and schmooze prospects, JCB, Ltd. has opened a high-quality golf course at its headquarters in Staffordshire, England. The 18-hole track was designed by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design, and JCB hopes it’ll eventually host events on the European Tour. . . . The initial 18 at FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links may not be the only track in Vietnam that Brian Curley debuts this year. Truong An Golf Company is putting the finishing touches on the first course (of a planned two) at Stone Valley Golf Resort, a 500-acre spread in Hà Nam Province, south of Hà Nội. Curley thinks the course will be “unlike most anything in the Hà Nội market.” . . . José María Olazábal’s golf course in Qatar – a layout that’s being marketed as “one of the most technologically advanced, innovative, and sustainable golf courses in the world” – will enjoy its “soft” opening next month. Besides its 18-hole track, Education City Golf Club will feature floodlit six- and nine-hole courses as well as “female-centric practice facilities,” all created to provide “a blueprint for growing levels of golf participation globally.”
The Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club, a waterfront property in St. Petersburg that’s been described as “one of the most recognizable resorts in all of Florida,” has been sold to an investment group controlled by the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bryan Glazer’s SCG Hospitality paid a so-far undisclosed amount for the Vinoy, which opened in 1925 and features a Marriott-managed 362-room hotel, a marina, and, a few miles distant, a golf course that was originally designed by Donald Ross. (The 18-hole layout was redesigned by Ron Garl in the early 1990s.) Glazer, who bought the Vinoy from RLJ Lodging Trust, characterizes his latest acquisition as “a crown jewel” and claims to be “committed to long-term ownership.”
Surplus Transactions – A handful of local investors operating as Arizona High Desert Golf Partners has acquired Verde Santa Fe Golf Course, an 18-hole track on the outskirts of Sedona. The 21-year-old venue, part of a 480-acre community, now operates as Agave Highlands Golf Course, and the new owners promise “a true golf experience.” . . . Gary and Kathie Vollmar have purchased Otsego Club & Resort, a four-season getaway in Gaylord, Michigan. The resort, which features a pair of 18-hole golf courses (including a Bill Diddle track that dates from the mid 1950s), had experienced what the Petoskey News calls “a summer full of questions and speculation.” The seller was Osprey Recreational Properties, which had owned Otsego since 2006. . . . Regarding the sale of Club West Golf Course, a near-lifeless track in Phoenix, Arizona: It’s been reversed. Wilson Gee is back at the helm of the 25-year-old venue, after his buyer stopped making payments on his $1.3 million loan. The course is currently closed, but Gee has indicated that he intends to re-open it before the snowbirds arrive.
Duly Noted – Pounding ocean waves continue to gnaw at Tralee Golf Club, which yet again has to shore up its coastal defenses. The club, in County Kerry, Ireland, is looking to prevent further erosion at holes #1 and #2 at its Arnold Palmer-designed course, and it says, somewhat melodramatically, that “whole stretches of the golf course would be lost to future generations” if the job isn’t done soon. . . . So far this year, 114 players on the PGA Tour – a number that Golf Digest believes is “an all-time high” – have won $1 million or more. Much of the credit should go to Tim Finchem, who sure knew how to make it rain. . . . Ever alert to emerging market trends, Nicklaus Design has unveiled its first miniature golf course. It’s a Chad Goetz-designed layout, created mostly to support the empire’s charitable endeavors, and Jack Nicklaus told the Palm Beach Post that “at least one of the holes reminded him of St. Andrews.”
Pipeline Overflow – Tower Holdings has embraced a novel financing scheme for its long-overdue resort on Great Keppel Island: Cryptocurrency. With conventional options disappearing, Terry Agnew’s company intends to float a Security Token Offering (the digital-economy version of an initial public offering) for shares in the planned resort, which will include vacation houses, a hotel, a marina, and an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg “the Living Brand” Norman. . . . Speaking of overdue, it appears that the overhaul of Marco Simone Golf & Country Club will soon begin. European Golf Design and Tom Fazio II are teaming up to create what’s been called “an entirely new golf course” for Marco Simone, which will host the Ryder Cup competition in 2022. In a press release, the president of the Italian Golf Federation admitted to being happy that the project “is finally taking shape.” . . . Speaking once again of overdue, a development group in Mangalore, India has made some progress on a golf course it reportedly proposed to build six years ago. The Times of India says that the course will take shape on 135 acres “near the sea shore,” presuming, of course, that the developers can secure what appears to be a final approval.
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – As part of its continuing effort to reward customers and schmooze prospects, JCB, Ltd. has opened a high-quality golf course at its headquarters in Staffordshire, England. The 18-hole track was designed by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design, and JCB hopes it’ll eventually host events on the European Tour. . . . The initial 18 at FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links may not be the only track in Vietnam that Brian Curley debuts this year. Truong An Golf Company is putting the finishing touches on the first course (of a planned two) at Stone Valley Golf Resort, a 500-acre spread in Hà Nam Province, south of Hà Nội. Curley thinks the course will be “unlike most anything in the Hà Nội market.” . . . José María Olazábal’s golf course in Qatar – a layout that’s being marketed as “one of the most technologically advanced, innovative, and sustainable golf courses in the world” – will enjoy its “soft” opening next month. Besides its 18-hole track, Education City Golf Club will feature floodlit six- and nine-hole courses as well as “female-centric practice facilities,” all created to provide “a blueprint for growing levels of golf participation globally.”
The Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club, a waterfront property in St. Petersburg that’s been described as “one of the most recognizable resorts in all of Florida,” has been sold to an investment group controlled by the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bryan Glazer’s SCG Hospitality paid a so-far undisclosed amount for the Vinoy, which opened in 1925 and features a Marriott-managed 362-room hotel, a marina, and, a few miles distant, a golf course that was originally designed by Donald Ross. (The 18-hole layout was redesigned by Ron Garl in the early 1990s.) Glazer, who bought the Vinoy from RLJ Lodging Trust, characterizes his latest acquisition as “a crown jewel” and claims to be “committed to long-term ownership.”
Surplus Transactions – A handful of local investors operating as Arizona High Desert Golf Partners has acquired Verde Santa Fe Golf Course, an 18-hole track on the outskirts of Sedona. The 21-year-old venue, part of a 480-acre community, now operates as Agave Highlands Golf Course, and the new owners promise “a true golf experience.” . . . Gary and Kathie Vollmar have purchased Otsego Club & Resort, a four-season getaway in Gaylord, Michigan. The resort, which features a pair of 18-hole golf courses (including a Bill Diddle track that dates from the mid 1950s), had experienced what the Petoskey News calls “a summer full of questions and speculation.” The seller was Osprey Recreational Properties, which had owned Otsego since 2006. . . . Regarding the sale of Club West Golf Course, a near-lifeless track in Phoenix, Arizona: It’s been reversed. Wilson Gee is back at the helm of the 25-year-old venue, after his buyer stopped making payments on his $1.3 million loan. The course is currently closed, but Gee has indicated that he intends to re-open it before the snowbirds arrive.
Duly Noted – Pounding ocean waves continue to gnaw at Tralee Golf Club, which yet again has to shore up its coastal defenses. The club, in County Kerry, Ireland, is looking to prevent further erosion at holes #1 and #2 at its Arnold Palmer-designed course, and it says, somewhat melodramatically, that “whole stretches of the golf course would be lost to future generations” if the job isn’t done soon. . . . So far this year, 114 players on the PGA Tour – a number that Golf Digest believes is “an all-time high” – have won $1 million or more. Much of the credit should go to Tim Finchem, who sure knew how to make it rain. . . . Ever alert to emerging market trends, Nicklaus Design has unveiled its first miniature golf course. It’s a Chad Goetz-designed layout, created mostly to support the empire’s charitable endeavors, and Jack Nicklaus told the Palm Beach Post that “at least one of the holes reminded him of St. Andrews.”
Sunday, September 2, 2018
The Week That Was, september 2, 2018
Not to wreck anyone’s Labor Day weekend, but the number of rounds played in the United States continues to fall. According to Golf Datatech, through the first six months of this year the number has declined by 3.3 percent, which suggests that all those grow-the-game initiatives that have been rolled out in recent years have yet to get any traction.
A Las Vegas, Nevada-based casino operator has set out to build what it calls a “regional destination resort,” including an 18-hole golf course, in a remote part of eastern New Mexico. Full House Resorts has optioned 520 acres outside Clovis, near the Texas state line, for La Posada del Llano, which has been master-planned to include a casino, a horse-racing track, a hotel, an RV park, a water park, and other attractions. Full House, which has five casino properties in four western states, believes that La Posada del Llano will turn Clovis, which is at least 100 miles from a city of any substantial size (we’re talking Lubbock and Amarillo, in Texas), into “a year-round tourist destination.” Assuming it’s built, the resort’s course will be designed by Todd Eckenrode of Origins Golf Design.
Pipeline Overflow – The people at Sandals Resorts International must be pleased with the renovation Greg Norman is doing for them on St. Lucia, because they’ve hired him to create a from-scratch course on nearby Tobago. Details are scarce, but it appears that the island’s golf association expects “the Living Brand” to deliver a track that will lure “international tournaments” and make Tobago “a golfing destination.” . . . A group of vacation spots, including at least one with a golf course, may someday take shape in the vicinity of Lake Charvak, in eastern Uzbekistan. The Uzbek government thinks that the area has natural advantages that would contribute to four-season tourism, so it’s laying plans to create the infrastructure and amenities necessary to make it happen. . . . The Bhavani Island Tourism Corporation, a government agency in Andhra Pradesh, India, is looking for a private-sector partner willing to build a golf course in suburban Visakhapatnam. The course will be accompanied by a convention center, a hotel, and other upscale attractions, including a helipad.
Only a few weeks after Golf Club of Vistoso died an unhappy death, plans have been laid to bring the 23-year-old venue in suburban Tucson, Arizona back to life. Alan Mishkin’s Parks Legacy Project has reportedly paid $3.5 million for the club and its 18-hole, Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course, a high-end, stand-alone facility that had previously operated with a business model that was said to be “just not sustainable.” To put the club on stronger financial footing, Mishkin’s group (which includes golf architect Forrest Richardson) plans to make the course “a more user-friendly layout” and invest in overdue upgrades, the bill for which could amount to $2.5 million. If all goes as planned, Golf Club of Vistoso will re-open in early 2019.
Surplus Transactions – The city of Henderson, Kentucky has agreed to pay $750,000 for Players Club of Henderson, a facility whose finances have been dicey for several years. The club opened in 1999, and its 18-hole course was designed by Danny McQueen, one of the principals of the current ownership group. The city’s offer is accompanied by several contingencies, and the purchase could lead the city to close its nine-hole course. . . . In what’s been described as a “steal of a deal” and “a win-win all around,” the city of Dearborn Heights, Michigan has bid $1.8 million for Warren Valley Golf Course. Warren Valley, which has operated since the early 1920s, features a pair of 18-hole courses that were designed by Donald Ross. Elected officials in Wayne County, the current owner, approved the sale late last year. . . . Windwood Hollow Golf Course, a 52-year-old venue in northwestern Ohio, changed hands in June. An entity called R&L Land Company LLC, which appears to be controlled by Richard Anderson, reportedly paid $300,000 for the 18-hole course.
Matrix Golf & Hospitality has turned out the lights at Woodlake Country Club, one of the three golf properties it owns in New Jersey. Matrix has said that the club, in Lakewood Township, is only closing “temporarily,” but in a statement to the Asbury Park Press it acknowledged that “demand for golf at the club has declined in recent years” and that it’s now trying to determine “the next best direction for the property.” Woodlake, which opened in 1972, features an 18-hole course that was designed by Larry Packard, and the newspaper reports that in recent months “rumors have spun through the fast-growing township” that the property “would be developed.” Matrix also owns Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune and Hanover Country Club in Wrightstown, as well as golf venues in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Desolation Row Extended – Later this week, the resort that operates on tribal property in Warm Springs, Oregon is expected to close. Kah-Nee-Ta Resort & Spa, which opened in the early 1970s, features an 18-hole, William F. Bell-designed golf course, and its other amenities include a lodge, a hotel, and an RV park. . . . Timber Terrace Golf Course, a nine-hole track in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, didn’t open this year and may not operate in the future. Terry Durch, the owner, pulled the plug on Timber Terrace, which had its debut in 1985. . . . The future of Pontoosuc Lake Country Club is uncertain, but it’s certainly not bright. Jeff Moxon, the owner of the nearly century-old club in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, hopes to build houses on nine of his 18 holes, but he’s acknowledged that he might end up razing all 18. Of course, in a best-case scenario, he could find a buyer who’ll commit to continued operations.
A Las Vegas, Nevada-based casino operator has set out to build what it calls a “regional destination resort,” including an 18-hole golf course, in a remote part of eastern New Mexico. Full House Resorts has optioned 520 acres outside Clovis, near the Texas state line, for La Posada del Llano, which has been master-planned to include a casino, a horse-racing track, a hotel, an RV park, a water park, and other attractions. Full House, which has five casino properties in four western states, believes that La Posada del Llano will turn Clovis, which is at least 100 miles from a city of any substantial size (we’re talking Lubbock and Amarillo, in Texas), into “a year-round tourist destination.” Assuming it’s built, the resort’s course will be designed by Todd Eckenrode of Origins Golf Design.
Pipeline Overflow – The people at Sandals Resorts International must be pleased with the renovation Greg Norman is doing for them on St. Lucia, because they’ve hired him to create a from-scratch course on nearby Tobago. Details are scarce, but it appears that the island’s golf association expects “the Living Brand” to deliver a track that will lure “international tournaments” and make Tobago “a golfing destination.” . . . A group of vacation spots, including at least one with a golf course, may someday take shape in the vicinity of Lake Charvak, in eastern Uzbekistan. The Uzbek government thinks that the area has natural advantages that would contribute to four-season tourism, so it’s laying plans to create the infrastructure and amenities necessary to make it happen. . . . The Bhavani Island Tourism Corporation, a government agency in Andhra Pradesh, India, is looking for a private-sector partner willing to build a golf course in suburban Visakhapatnam. The course will be accompanied by a convention center, a hotel, and other upscale attractions, including a helipad.
Only a few weeks after Golf Club of Vistoso died an unhappy death, plans have been laid to bring the 23-year-old venue in suburban Tucson, Arizona back to life. Alan Mishkin’s Parks Legacy Project has reportedly paid $3.5 million for the club and its 18-hole, Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course, a high-end, stand-alone facility that had previously operated with a business model that was said to be “just not sustainable.” To put the club on stronger financial footing, Mishkin’s group (which includes golf architect Forrest Richardson) plans to make the course “a more user-friendly layout” and invest in overdue upgrades, the bill for which could amount to $2.5 million. If all goes as planned, Golf Club of Vistoso will re-open in early 2019.
Surplus Transactions – The city of Henderson, Kentucky has agreed to pay $750,000 for Players Club of Henderson, a facility whose finances have been dicey for several years. The club opened in 1999, and its 18-hole course was designed by Danny McQueen, one of the principals of the current ownership group. The city’s offer is accompanied by several contingencies, and the purchase could lead the city to close its nine-hole course. . . . In what’s been described as a “steal of a deal” and “a win-win all around,” the city of Dearborn Heights, Michigan has bid $1.8 million for Warren Valley Golf Course. Warren Valley, which has operated since the early 1920s, features a pair of 18-hole courses that were designed by Donald Ross. Elected officials in Wayne County, the current owner, approved the sale late last year. . . . Windwood Hollow Golf Course, a 52-year-old venue in northwestern Ohio, changed hands in June. An entity called R&L Land Company LLC, which appears to be controlled by Richard Anderson, reportedly paid $300,000 for the 18-hole course.
Matrix Golf & Hospitality has turned out the lights at Woodlake Country Club, one of the three golf properties it owns in New Jersey. Matrix has said that the club, in Lakewood Township, is only closing “temporarily,” but in a statement to the Asbury Park Press it acknowledged that “demand for golf at the club has declined in recent years” and that it’s now trying to determine “the next best direction for the property.” Woodlake, which opened in 1972, features an 18-hole course that was designed by Larry Packard, and the newspaper reports that in recent months “rumors have spun through the fast-growing township” that the property “would be developed.” Matrix also owns Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune and Hanover Country Club in Wrightstown, as well as golf venues in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Desolation Row Extended – Later this week, the resort that operates on tribal property in Warm Springs, Oregon is expected to close. Kah-Nee-Ta Resort & Spa, which opened in the early 1970s, features an 18-hole, William F. Bell-designed golf course, and its other amenities include a lodge, a hotel, and an RV park. . . . Timber Terrace Golf Course, a nine-hole track in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, didn’t open this year and may not operate in the future. Terry Durch, the owner, pulled the plug on Timber Terrace, which had its debut in 1985. . . . The future of Pontoosuc Lake Country Club is uncertain, but it’s certainly not bright. Jeff Moxon, the owner of the nearly century-old club in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, hopes to build houses on nine of his 18 holes, but he’s acknowledged that he might end up razing all 18. Of course, in a best-case scenario, he could find a buyer who’ll commit to continued operations.
Sunday, August 26, 2018
The Week That Was, august 26, 2018
Just weeks ago, it seemed as if Mike Keiser’s golf venture in the Scottish Highlands had been signed, sealed, and delivered. Keiser and his development partner, Todd Warnock, were celebrating, for Coul Links had, after three years of trying, finally received a thumbs-up from local elected officials. Warnock had joyfully announced that it was “now time to build a golf course.” But an anti-Coul Links campaign that often resembled an anti-Donald Trump campaign ultimately bore fruit, and last week Scotland’s top planning minister “called in” the proposal for the Coore & Crenshaw-designed, stand-alone golf course. As a result, the proposal will be examined by supposedly independent people at the national level, for who knows how long. Warnock has stated that he and Keiser “welcome the opportunity” to plead their case once again, but this is unquestionably a setback for Coul Links. Trump’s course in Aberdeenshire went through the same process and was ultimately approved, but public opinion in Scotland has turned squarely against golf construction on rare, environmentally sensitive dunes. Keiser is no Trump, but Coul Links’ fate now rests in the hands of decision-makers who may not wish to make the same mistake twice.
SouthWood Golf Club, the featured attraction of a planned community in Tallahassee, Florida that professes to offer “an extraordinary way of life,” has changed hands. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Chip Chaney and nearly two dozen other investors have coughed up “around $1 million” for SouthWood, which was established by St. Joe Company in 2002. The club features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Fred Couples and Gene Bates, and a course official told the newspaper that the goal now is to make it “the premier golf course it once was not all that long ago.” In a comment that doesn’t reflect well on St. Joe, one of the new owners said that “the course hasn’t been shown any love” in recent years.
Surplus Transactions – The days appear to be numbered for what’s said to be “the oldest 18-hole public golf course” in Traverse City, Michigan. Wes Nelson and Carolyn Olsen have accepted an offer for Elmbrook Golf Course, a venue that was designed by their father and has been in business since 1964. The offer came from a development group that will, sooner or later, build houses on Elmbrook’s 223 acres. . . . The residents of Ledgeview, Wisconsin have voted to spend $3.4 million to preserve the 18-hole layout at Ledgeview Golf Course, a facility that opened in 1965. The seller, Greg Runnoe, plans to build condos on Ledgeview’s nine-hole, executive-length track. . . . For an undisclosed price, Concert Golf Partners has reportedly closed on Club at 12 Oaks, the centerpiece of a 1,700-house community in suburban Raleigh, North Carolina. The seller was Landeavor LLC, the developer of the 12 Oaks community and its 18-hole, Nicklaus Design layout.
Surplus Surplus Transactions – Jerry Morris has sold Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, a nine-hole track that’s operated in Chickasha, Oklahoma since 1915. Cottonwood Creek’s new owner, Max Stewart, hasn’t offered any detailed plans for the property, but he told a local newspaper that he aims to “bring some of the Oklahoma City vibes down to Chickasha.” . . . Joe Rivellino has acquired Club on Silver Lake, a venue that’s said to be “one of Western New York’s premier golf course, restaurant, and wedding venues.” The club, which features an 18-hole course that’s operated for nearly a century, had been owned by Rick Fish. In a press release, Rivellino said that he intends to provide “great hospitality and a relaxing, fun experience.” . . . Lakeshore Management, an Ohio-based company that claims to have “extensive experience” in “repositioning real estate assets,” has acquired Pine Mountain Ski & Golf Resort, on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The resort has a hotel, meeting space, and other attractions, including an 18-hole, Jerry Matthews-designed layout that operates as TimberStone Golf Course.
King Carter Golf Club, an 18-year-old venue named after a Virginia politician and businessman who was among the most influential men in the American colonies in the early 1700s, has gone belly up. The club, located on what’s known as the state’s Northern Neck, was purchased on the first day of this month by another fellow named Carter, James N. “Jimmie” Carter, Jr., who immediately closed it. I can’t determine if the Carters are somehow related, but I wouldn’t bet against it. The namesake Carter, Robert Carter, was nicknamed “King,” due in part to his tremendous wealth, his vast landholdings, his 1,000 slaves, and what’s been described as his “autocratic business methods.” The club that bears his name is the centerpiece of a not quite built-out 330-acre community, and it features an 18-hole, Joel Weiman-designed golf course. Jimmie Carter bought the club and the surrounding property from a local bank that had foreclosed on a previous owner in 2010.
Desolation Row Extended – A year after he purchased it, Brad West has decided to pull the plug on Sun Dance Golf Course, an 18-hole track that’s been called one of the “hidden gems” of suburban Spokane, Washington. West, a developer, told the Spokane Spokesman-Review that he’d hoped to continue golf operations on the property but couldn’t because the course “isn’t viable economically, and hasn’t been viable for a while.” . . . It appears that Golf Club of South Carolina at Crickentree, a 31-year-old venue in suburban Columbia, may soon be razed and replaced with houses. The firm that controls the mortgage on the property has declared that the owner is bankrupt, and a foreclosure is imminent. A resident of the accompanying community told the State that the club’s 18-hole course, co-designed by Ken Killian and Dick Nugent, had been “neglected.” . . . Schlitterbahn Riverpark & Resort, a family-oriented venue in Corpus Christi, Texas, has pulled the plug on its golf course. The nine-hole track was designed by Bruce Littell and opened in 1970.
SouthWood Golf Club, the featured attraction of a planned community in Tallahassee, Florida that professes to offer “an extraordinary way of life,” has changed hands. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Chip Chaney and nearly two dozen other investors have coughed up “around $1 million” for SouthWood, which was established by St. Joe Company in 2002. The club features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Fred Couples and Gene Bates, and a course official told the newspaper that the goal now is to make it “the premier golf course it once was not all that long ago.” In a comment that doesn’t reflect well on St. Joe, one of the new owners said that “the course hasn’t been shown any love” in recent years.
Surplus Transactions – The days appear to be numbered for what’s said to be “the oldest 18-hole public golf course” in Traverse City, Michigan. Wes Nelson and Carolyn Olsen have accepted an offer for Elmbrook Golf Course, a venue that was designed by their father and has been in business since 1964. The offer came from a development group that will, sooner or later, build houses on Elmbrook’s 223 acres. . . . The residents of Ledgeview, Wisconsin have voted to spend $3.4 million to preserve the 18-hole layout at Ledgeview Golf Course, a facility that opened in 1965. The seller, Greg Runnoe, plans to build condos on Ledgeview’s nine-hole, executive-length track. . . . For an undisclosed price, Concert Golf Partners has reportedly closed on Club at 12 Oaks, the centerpiece of a 1,700-house community in suburban Raleigh, North Carolina. The seller was Landeavor LLC, the developer of the 12 Oaks community and its 18-hole, Nicklaus Design layout.
Surplus Surplus Transactions – Jerry Morris has sold Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, a nine-hole track that’s operated in Chickasha, Oklahoma since 1915. Cottonwood Creek’s new owner, Max Stewart, hasn’t offered any detailed plans for the property, but he told a local newspaper that he aims to “bring some of the Oklahoma City vibes down to Chickasha.” . . . Joe Rivellino has acquired Club on Silver Lake, a venue that’s said to be “one of Western New York’s premier golf course, restaurant, and wedding venues.” The club, which features an 18-hole course that’s operated for nearly a century, had been owned by Rick Fish. In a press release, Rivellino said that he intends to provide “great hospitality and a relaxing, fun experience.” . . . Lakeshore Management, an Ohio-based company that claims to have “extensive experience” in “repositioning real estate assets,” has acquired Pine Mountain Ski & Golf Resort, on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The resort has a hotel, meeting space, and other attractions, including an 18-hole, Jerry Matthews-designed layout that operates as TimberStone Golf Course.
King Carter Golf Club, an 18-year-old venue named after a Virginia politician and businessman who was among the most influential men in the American colonies in the early 1700s, has gone belly up. The club, located on what’s known as the state’s Northern Neck, was purchased on the first day of this month by another fellow named Carter, James N. “Jimmie” Carter, Jr., who immediately closed it. I can’t determine if the Carters are somehow related, but I wouldn’t bet against it. The namesake Carter, Robert Carter, was nicknamed “King,” due in part to his tremendous wealth, his vast landholdings, his 1,000 slaves, and what’s been described as his “autocratic business methods.” The club that bears his name is the centerpiece of a not quite built-out 330-acre community, and it features an 18-hole, Joel Weiman-designed golf course. Jimmie Carter bought the club and the surrounding property from a local bank that had foreclosed on a previous owner in 2010.
Desolation Row Extended – A year after he purchased it, Brad West has decided to pull the plug on Sun Dance Golf Course, an 18-hole track that’s been called one of the “hidden gems” of suburban Spokane, Washington. West, a developer, told the Spokane Spokesman-Review that he’d hoped to continue golf operations on the property but couldn’t because the course “isn’t viable economically, and hasn’t been viable for a while.” . . . It appears that Golf Club of South Carolina at Crickentree, a 31-year-old venue in suburban Columbia, may soon be razed and replaced with houses. The firm that controls the mortgage on the property has declared that the owner is bankrupt, and a foreclosure is imminent. A resident of the accompanying community told the State that the club’s 18-hole course, co-designed by Ken Killian and Dick Nugent, had been “neglected.” . . . Schlitterbahn Riverpark & Resort, a family-oriented venue in Corpus Christi, Texas, has pulled the plug on its golf course. The nine-hole track was designed by Bruce Littell and opened in 1970.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
The Week That Was, august 19, 2018
The people who opened the first Seve Ballesteros-designed golf course in the United Kingdom are pressing ahead with their plans to build what they call “the first U.K. golf course designed from scratch by Dye Designs.” Tony and Anne Menai-Davis, the owners of Shire London, recently secured permission to build Dye London, an 18-hole track in the suburbs of England’s capital city that they believe will “attract golfers from all over the globe.” The course, to be co-designed by Perry Dye and Cynthia Dye-McGarey, is scheduled to open in 2023. It’ll complement the Menai-Davis family’s nearby West London Links, “a modern vision of links golf” that was created by other architects at Dye Designs. West London Links is expected to debut in 2020. According to a press release, both of the forthcoming courses will “echo the sort of golfing tests which Tour superstars face in major championships” but nonetheless offer “player-friendly family golf for all lovers of the sport.”
Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the January 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Pipeline Overflow – By year’s end Brian Curley, now flying solo as a golf architect, expects to open the first of what could be as many as 10 courses at FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links. The Paradise Valley, Arizona-based designer says that the course, part of a 7,500-acre resort community in Vietnam’s Quảng Bình Province, “looks like Tara Iti” and will be “the most natural-looking golf course in Vietnam and maybe all of Asia.” Curley’s second course at Đồng Hới is ready to be grassed and figures to open in 2019. . . . A Spanish leisure company and tour operator has set out to build La Finca, a mega-resort community outside La Romana, in the Dominican Republic. Globalia Corporación Empresarial SA, the parent company of Air Europa, Be Live Hotels, and some travel agencies, has master-planned La Finca to include houses, an estimated 1,000 hotel rooms, a golf course, and other attractions. . . . Golf courses sometimes die forever, but sometimes they die and then come back to life. A case in point: Iron Oaks Golf Course in Beaumont, Texas, which went belly up last year but is expected to re-open sometime this year, after renovations are completed. Brent Coon, a local lawyer, has assumed a lease on Iron Oaks, which features a Johnny Barlow-designed course that opened in 2005.
Monte Ahuja has acquired a struggling private club in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, and with it a pair of 18-hole golf courses. Ahuja’s Areco Golf LLC has reportedly paid $3.6 million for Mayfield Sand Ridge Club, a member-owned facility that offers play at both Mayfield Country Club in South Euclid and Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon. Ahuja views golf as “more a passion than a business,” but he also owns Barrington Golf Club in Aurora, so he made his recent purchase with eyes wide open. “I’m not in golf to make money,” he told Crain’s Cleveland Business. “No one would be in golf to make money.” Mayfield features a Bert Way-designed track that opened in 1911, while Sand Ridge has a 20-year-old Tom Fazio-designed layout. Ahuja has promised to continue offering golf at both facilities for at least 10 years.
Surplus Transactions – At an auction in July, an investor from Corpus Christi, Texas bid roughly $1.3 million for Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, a 167-acre vacation spot in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. John Lamb has about a month to complete the purchase, which will bring him a collection of cottages and a nine-hole golf course, all of which were built during the Great Depression to inject some life into the local economy. . . . To bolster their home values, the property owners in the Stonebridge community outside New Orleans, Louisiana have purchased their most valuable amenity. They bought Golf Course at Stonebridge, a track that opened in 1984, from Duininck Brothers, the golf construction company. . . . Because he got “tired of working the hours I work now,” 71-year-old David Puckett has sold Portland Golf Club, a nearly century-old venue in Portland, Indiana. The club, which is now owned by Daniel Carr and Jeremy Kunkler, features a “difficult but friendly” 18-hole course.
Surplus Surplus Transactions – Acting through an LLC, Clinton M. Holcomb and Lucas G. James have reportedly paid $2.58 million for Arrowhead Golf Club, a 158-acre spread in metropolitan Buffalo, New York. The club, which opened in 2003, features an 18-hole, Scott Witter-designed golf course that the Buffalo News describes as “a combination of a links and parkland-style course.” . . . To energize a retirement that reportedly “got boring,” Ernest and Kathy Dunn have paid an undisclosed amount for Carthage Country Club, in Carthage, Texas. The new owners told the Panola Watchman that they aim to “improve the atmosphere” and “create a family environment” at the 53-year-old facility, whose centerpiece is a nine-hole course. . . . On the first day of 2018, Leif Knudsen and Nick Lesar closed on their purchase of the former Whitewater Country Club, a venue that’s operated in Whitewater, Wisconsin since 1934. The property, which features a nine-hole course, now calls itself Willow Brook Golf Course.
Some information in the preceding post first appeared in the January 2013 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Pipeline Overflow – By year’s end Brian Curley, now flying solo as a golf architect, expects to open the first of what could be as many as 10 courses at FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links. The Paradise Valley, Arizona-based designer says that the course, part of a 7,500-acre resort community in Vietnam’s Quảng Bình Province, “looks like Tara Iti” and will be “the most natural-looking golf course in Vietnam and maybe all of Asia.” Curley’s second course at Đồng Hới is ready to be grassed and figures to open in 2019. . . . A Spanish leisure company and tour operator has set out to build La Finca, a mega-resort community outside La Romana, in the Dominican Republic. Globalia Corporación Empresarial SA, the parent company of Air Europa, Be Live Hotels, and some travel agencies, has master-planned La Finca to include houses, an estimated 1,000 hotel rooms, a golf course, and other attractions. . . . Golf courses sometimes die forever, but sometimes they die and then come back to life. A case in point: Iron Oaks Golf Course in Beaumont, Texas, which went belly up last year but is expected to re-open sometime this year, after renovations are completed. Brent Coon, a local lawyer, has assumed a lease on Iron Oaks, which features a Johnny Barlow-designed course that opened in 2005.
Monte Ahuja has acquired a struggling private club in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, and with it a pair of 18-hole golf courses. Ahuja’s Areco Golf LLC has reportedly paid $3.6 million for Mayfield Sand Ridge Club, a member-owned facility that offers play at both Mayfield Country Club in South Euclid and Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon. Ahuja views golf as “more a passion than a business,” but he also owns Barrington Golf Club in Aurora, so he made his recent purchase with eyes wide open. “I’m not in golf to make money,” he told Crain’s Cleveland Business. “No one would be in golf to make money.” Mayfield features a Bert Way-designed track that opened in 1911, while Sand Ridge has a 20-year-old Tom Fazio-designed layout. Ahuja has promised to continue offering golf at both facilities for at least 10 years.
Surplus Transactions – At an auction in July, an investor from Corpus Christi, Texas bid roughly $1.3 million for Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, a 167-acre vacation spot in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. John Lamb has about a month to complete the purchase, which will bring him a collection of cottages and a nine-hole golf course, all of which were built during the Great Depression to inject some life into the local economy. . . . To bolster their home values, the property owners in the Stonebridge community outside New Orleans, Louisiana have purchased their most valuable amenity. They bought Golf Course at Stonebridge, a track that opened in 1984, from Duininck Brothers, the golf construction company. . . . Because he got “tired of working the hours I work now,” 71-year-old David Puckett has sold Portland Golf Club, a nearly century-old venue in Portland, Indiana. The club, which is now owned by Daniel Carr and Jeremy Kunkler, features a “difficult but friendly” 18-hole course.
Surplus Surplus Transactions – Acting through an LLC, Clinton M. Holcomb and Lucas G. James have reportedly paid $2.58 million for Arrowhead Golf Club, a 158-acre spread in metropolitan Buffalo, New York. The club, which opened in 2003, features an 18-hole, Scott Witter-designed golf course that the Buffalo News describes as “a combination of a links and parkland-style course.” . . . To energize a retirement that reportedly “got boring,” Ernest and Kathy Dunn have paid an undisclosed amount for Carthage Country Club, in Carthage, Texas. The new owners told the Panola Watchman that they aim to “improve the atmosphere” and “create a family environment” at the 53-year-old facility, whose centerpiece is a nine-hole course. . . . On the first day of 2018, Leif Knudsen and Nick Lesar closed on their purchase of the former Whitewater Country Club, a venue that’s operated in Whitewater, Wisconsin since 1934. The property, which features a nine-hole course, now calls itself Willow Brook Golf Course.
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