Just weeks after an anticipated sale fell through, LPGA International has been sold to Charlie Staples’ Fore Golf Partners. The prominent but financially challenged golf venue in Daytona Beach, Florida – it’s “bled money for decades,” according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal – changed hands for $3.45 million, which the newspaper helpfully notes was “more than double” the $1.5 million that Consolidated-Tomoka Land Company paid for the property in 2017. The price is what Consolidated-Tomoka expected to receive from C-Bons International Golf Group Inc., an entity with Chinese roots that had hoped to buy LPGA International in July. For its money, Manassas, Virginia-based Fore Golf gets a pair of 18-hole golf courses (one designed by Rees Jones, the other by Arthur Hills) and related golf and recreational amenities. (Not the headquarters of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, however.) LPGA International is now the premier property in Fore Golf’s portfolio, which consists of eight other properties in Florida and one each in Maryland and Virginia. Staples’ company, which describes itself as “an experienced boutique company that specializes in challenging turnarounds,” reportedly has “big plans” for its latest acquisition, beginning with overdue capital improvements.
Surplus Transactions, All-Florida Edition – Speaking of Fore Golf Partners, the firm has accepted $2.9 million for River Hills Country Club, a 20-year-old venue in suburban Tampa. River Hills, which features an 18-hole, Joe Lee-designed course, now belongs to the homeowners in the accompanying community, who plan to invest more than $2 million more in upgrades. . . . A judge has ruled that homeowners in University Park Country Club, outside Sarasota, are within their rights to spend $16.75 million on the 27-hole, Ron Garl-designed complex in their community. The homeowners, who enjoy “the quintessential country club lifestyle,” are also getting about 100 acres of undeveloped land as part of the purchase. . . . Two local businessmen figure to assume the ground lease on Amelia River Golf Course, an 18-hole, Tom Jackson-designed layout on Amelia Island. If all proceeds as expected, the main goals for Tom Miller and Steve Pickett will be “making some improvements and getting the locals back.”
Once again, the 370 members of Rolling Road Golf Club, a century-old venue outside Baltimore, are considering a possible relocation – one that would, in the words of their president, “re-establish Rolling Road as a premier facility in Maryland.” No timetables have been set, and many obstacles still need to be overcome, but the club, the home of a course designed by Willie Park, Jr., could move to new digs on 206 nearby acres owned by the state’s department of natural resources. The club is working with a company that would presumably fund the relocation in exchange for the opportunity to develop the club’s 90 acres outside Ellicott City, a popular suburb. Rolling Road has been down this road before, as the Baltimore Sun reports that it’s been “weighing options to relocate since the early 2000s,” mostly because its current property is so cramped. The proposed new location is roomy enough to accommodate a driving range, a swimming pool, a bigger clubhouse, and other amenities, all of which would presumably enable it to attract new members. The fact that a piece of golf history would be lost doesn’t appear to be a concern at this time.
Pipeline Overflow, All-British Edition – City officials in Blackpool, a place once described as “England’s unhealthiest town,” are weighing a development plan that would raze nine holes from their 18-hole, Alister MacKenzie-designed golf course. The lost half of Blackpool Golf Course, which has operated since 1925, would be replaced with houses and a recreational attraction. . . . In response to what a local newspaper calls “societal lifestyle changes and the changing needs of their customers,” an events center outside Waterford City, Ireland (County Kilkenny) plans to halve the size of its golf course. Mountain View, which opened it 18-hole layout in 1996, promises to create “a superb nine-hole course.” . . . In a search for financial sustainability, elected officials in Birmingham, England may chop their Hilltop Golf Course in half. The existing 18-hole track, which is said to be “failing due to its design, location, competition from other golf courses as well as competition from other leisure activities,” was designed by one of the Hawtrees, probably Martin, and opened in 1979.
Duly Noted – While the mainstream golf media may be excited by the prospect of architects Michael Clayton, Mike DeVries, and Frank Pont teaming up to create exquisite new golf courses, it’s worth noting that, throughout history, the golf industry’s biggest design stars have been solo practitioners. So I’m wondering: Is the newly unveiled CDP Golf Design a show of strength or a sign of weakness? . . . If you’re wondering why Clublink is so eager to redevelop some of its golf properties (currently Glen Abbey Golf Club in suburban Toronto and Kanata Golf & Country Club in suburban Ottawa), it’s because its membership base is eroding. The company, which owns roughly 40 venues in Ontario, Quebec, and Florida, nowadays has fewer than 15,000 members (down from a peak of 17,500), and the pre-tax profits from its Canadian operations are said to be down by 25 percent. . . . The hype machine has been rolled out in service of the PGA of America’s partly taxpayer-funded golf complex in Frisco, Texas. The city’s mayor thinks it’ll “transform the entire sport of golf,” while Beau Welling, one of the architects, believes it’ll have “a major impact on our wonderful game not only here in Texas but across the country.” Not to be outdone, the group’s CEO declares that the venue will become both “the modern home of American golf” and the “Silicon Valley of golf.”
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Sunday, October 20, 2019
The Week That Was, october 20, 2019
The groundbreaking may still be in the distant future, but elected officials in Orange County, California have found a replacement developer willing to build an 18-hole golf course and related attractions on the capped Coyote Canyon landfill in Newport Beach. Tait Development, a group led by a former mayor of Anaheim, has agreed to sign a 75-year lease on the 375-acre landfill, with the promise of creating a boutique hotel, meeting space, a restaurant, a “beer garden,” hiking and biking trails, and the aforementioned golf course. Tait is getting what it called “a tremendous opportunity” because the county’s deal with Chapman Investment Company, which had intended to complement its golf course with a PGA Tour-branded practice center, dropped out of the picture last year. Tait hasn’t yet provided any specifics about its plans, but it aims to establish “a national model of how to sustainably re-purpose landfill sites.” Such models apparently aren’t easy to formulate, because Tait reportedly has nine years to complete its feasibility studies and secure the necessary approvals and entitlements.
Pipeline Overflow – Brian Curley reports that FLC Group will “soon” break ground on the third course at FLC Quảng Bình, its 7,500-acre resort community Vietnam’s Quảng Bình Province, and Golfasian says that the 18-hole track is expected to open in 2021 or 2022. An adept marketer, Curley has labeled Quảng Bình (once known as FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links) as “Pine Valley at the beach” and “one of the greatest year-round destination golf projects in Asia.” . . . On 120 acres outside New Delhi, India, the Noida Authority wants to build an “entertainment hub” that will include a golf course. The 90-acre course, to be developed by a private-sector partner, will be flanked by a helipad and an “adventure club.” . . . Pending a successful sale of its current property to a home builder, Bearsden Golf Club aims to reinvent itself with a new, 18-hole, Graeme Webster-designed golf course. A spokesperson for the club, outside Glasgow, Scotland, acknowledged that Bearsden’s future is currently “highly uncertain.”
ClubCorp hasn’t yet added to its portfolio this year, but the giant Dallas-based course operator is said to be on the cusp of buying a pair of golf properties in and around Raleigh, North Carolina. The properties, both currently owned by Toll Brothers, are Hasentree Club, which features a 12-year-old, Tom Fazio-designed course, and Brier Creek Country Club, whose centerpiece is a 19-year-old, Arnold Palmer-designed course. The purchases are expected to close before the end of the month, and they’ll give ClubCorp five venues in the Raleigh area and 11 in total in the Tar Heel State.
Surplus Transactions – The city of Mission Viejo, California has agreed to pay $13 million for a 104-acre parcel that includes Casta del Sol Golf Course, an 18-hole, executive-length track designed by Ted Robinson. The seller, American Golf Corporation, has generously agreed to manage the property for up to three years. . . . Lakeview Golf Resort & Spa, a 412-acre spread in Morgantown, West Virginia, has reportedly changed hands for $2.25 million. The buyers haven’t yet been identified, but they’ve purchased a 187-room hotel, a restaurant, meeting space, a fitness center, swimming pools, and a pair of 18-hole golf courses, one co-designed by James Harrison and Fred Garbin and the other by Tom Clark and Brian Ault. . . . Eric Wilber has found a buyer for his 18-hole, 22-year-old golf course in suburban La Crosse, Wisconsin. The prospective new owners of Trempealeau Mountain Golf Course are Chad and Amy Landis, who hope to make the track “a destination golf course for golfers throughout the Midwest for years to come.”
Duly Noted – Answer: The Jack Nicklaus course, the José María Olazábal course, and the Greg Norman course. Question: What are the three most-played tracks at the Mission Hills resort in Shenzhen, China? . . . Answer: Interlachen Country Club, Minikahda Club, and Edina Country Club. Question: What are the top three revenue-producing clubs in the Twin Cities? . . . Answer: Three. Question: How many site visits has Tiger Woods so far made to the mostly completed Payne’s Valley track he’s designed for the Big Cedar Lodge?
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Pipeline Overflow – Brian Curley reports that FLC Group will “soon” break ground on the third course at FLC Quảng Bình, its 7,500-acre resort community Vietnam’s Quảng Bình Province, and Golfasian says that the 18-hole track is expected to open in 2021 or 2022. An adept marketer, Curley has labeled Quảng Bình (once known as FLC Đồng Hới Golf Links) as “Pine Valley at the beach” and “one of the greatest year-round destination golf projects in Asia.” . . . On 120 acres outside New Delhi, India, the Noida Authority wants to build an “entertainment hub” that will include a golf course. The 90-acre course, to be developed by a private-sector partner, will be flanked by a helipad and an “adventure club.” . . . Pending a successful sale of its current property to a home builder, Bearsden Golf Club aims to reinvent itself with a new, 18-hole, Graeme Webster-designed golf course. A spokesperson for the club, outside Glasgow, Scotland, acknowledged that Bearsden’s future is currently “highly uncertain.”
ClubCorp hasn’t yet added to its portfolio this year, but the giant Dallas-based course operator is said to be on the cusp of buying a pair of golf properties in and around Raleigh, North Carolina. The properties, both currently owned by Toll Brothers, are Hasentree Club, which features a 12-year-old, Tom Fazio-designed course, and Brier Creek Country Club, whose centerpiece is a 19-year-old, Arnold Palmer-designed course. The purchases are expected to close before the end of the month, and they’ll give ClubCorp five venues in the Raleigh area and 11 in total in the Tar Heel State.
Surplus Transactions – The city of Mission Viejo, California has agreed to pay $13 million for a 104-acre parcel that includes Casta del Sol Golf Course, an 18-hole, executive-length track designed by Ted Robinson. The seller, American Golf Corporation, has generously agreed to manage the property for up to three years. . . . Lakeview Golf Resort & Spa, a 412-acre spread in Morgantown, West Virginia, has reportedly changed hands for $2.25 million. The buyers haven’t yet been identified, but they’ve purchased a 187-room hotel, a restaurant, meeting space, a fitness center, swimming pools, and a pair of 18-hole golf courses, one co-designed by James Harrison and Fred Garbin and the other by Tom Clark and Brian Ault. . . . Eric Wilber has found a buyer for his 18-hole, 22-year-old golf course in suburban La Crosse, Wisconsin. The prospective new owners of Trempealeau Mountain Golf Course are Chad and Amy Landis, who hope to make the track “a destination golf course for golfers throughout the Midwest for years to come.”
Duly Noted – Answer: The Jack Nicklaus course, the José María Olazábal course, and the Greg Norman course. Question: What are the three most-played tracks at the Mission Hills resort in Shenzhen, China? . . . Answer: Interlachen Country Club, Minikahda Club, and Edina Country Club. Question: What are the top three revenue-producing clubs in the Twin Cities? . . . Answer: Three. Question: How many site visits has Tiger Woods so far made to the mostly completed Payne’s Valley track he’s designed for the Big Cedar Lodge?
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Sunday, October 13, 2019
The Week That Was, october 13, 2019
Earth won’t likely be moved for several years, but David McLay Kidd has been directed to bring what’s been described as “a destination golf experience” to Westport, Washington, a town along the Pacific coast west of Olympia. Assuming that an LLC led by Ryann Day can persuade enough hearts and minds, Kidd’s “artisanal,” world-class track will take shape in Westport Light State Park, a 600-acre spread, and be accompanied by a 40-room inn. At a recent public meeting, Kidd drew comparisons to St. Andrews in Scotland and Bandon Dunes in Oregon, both of which feature his work, and promised “to find a way to wind a course through [the park].” Local residents appear to be warm to Day’s proposal, and the state has set out to do “a deep dive to find out what we know, what we don’t know, and what we need to know.”
Pipeline Overflow – The translation leaves much to be desired, but it appears that the city of Belgrade, Serbia may enlist private-sector investors to build an 18-hole golf course. The track would be part of a 180-acre indoor/outdoor recreation complex, and if it’s actually built, it would be Serbia’s third. . . . Sun Group, the company responsible for the popular, award-winning Bà Nà Hills Golf Club in greater Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, has hired IMG Golf to design a course in the nation’s Lào Cai Province, which borders China’s Yunnan Province. Golfasian reports that the course, appropriately named Lào Cai Golf Club, is expected to debut in late 2020. It’ll be one of nearly a dozen that IMG has done in the socialist republic. . . . Johncorp, a home builder in Northern Ireland, has set out to downsize the 18-hole track at Mount Ober Golf & Country Club, in suburban Belfast, to create space for 65 single-family houses. The property’s forthcoming nine-hole course, accompanied by a new clubhouse, will complement the practice facilities at the existing Knockbracken Golf Centre.
Courses continue to drop like flies, and my backlog of recent course closings has reached historic proportions. Here are the ones I can document this month:
– Northwood Country Club, a ClubCorp-owned property in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, will go dark unless a buyer emerges to save it. ClubCorp called the Northwood’s demise a “business decision.” The 60-year-old venue features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Willard Byrd and George Cobb.
– Inverrary Country Club and its 36-hole, Robert Trent Jones-designed golf complex will go belly up in June 2020. The club, once the host of PGA Tour events, is reportedly being financially squeezed by the “oversupply of golf courses in Florida,” and its ownership group intends to develop its 292-acre property.
– Valley Green Golf & Country Club, in suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will end its 55-year run at the end of the current golf season. Linda Rusnock, the club’s owner, told a local newspaper that she and her 18-hole, X. G. Hassenplug-designed golf course “had a great run.”
– Indian Wells Golf Club, a 35-year-old venue outside Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that’s owned by Chinese investors, will shut its doors by the end of the year. Founders Group aims to develop the club’s 150 acres, currently the home of an 18-hole, Gene Hamm-designed course.
– South Grove Golf Course, an 18-hole municipal track in Indianapolis, Indiana, will drop dead at a to-be-determined date in the future, probably after the 2024 golf season. The city pulled the plug on its nine-hole Riverside course earlier this year, and its entire golf portfolio is suffering from what the Indianapolis Business Journal called “steady declines in revenue, less interest in playing the sport, and millions of dollars in needed facility upgrades.”
– Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club, having lost its Jack Nicklaus-designed course in 2014, is about to lose its remaining Denis Griffiths/Gene Sarazen-designed layout. Citing “financial challenges” and “reasons beyond our control,” the owners of the club, outside Modesto, California, called the closing “temporary,” presumably because they hope to find a buyer.
– VanderView Golf Course, a nine-hole, executive-length layout in southwestern New York that’s said to be “a great place for beginners, a great place for women, a great place for seniors,” will close later this year. Tony Galeazzo, who’s owned VanderView since 1999, wants to retire, and he’s likewise hoping to find a buyer.
– Silver Lake Country Club, a 95-year-old venue outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, was expected to close last month. A local television station reports that the club’s owners are negotiating a sale of their property to a developer.
– Shawnee State Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Friendship, Ohio that was co-designed by Jack Kidwell and Michael Hurdzan, will host its final rounds at the end of the 2019 golf season. The state agencies that oversee the 40-year-old property believe it can no longer operate profitably and figure to replace it with recreational amenities.
– Westpark Golf Club, a long-threatened 130-acre property in Leesburg, Virginia, will be sold to a home builder and replaced with housing. The club, which had been in business since 1968, features an 18-hole, Ed Ault-designed golf course.
– Sinnissippi Park Golf Club has been recommended for what’s been called “permanent closure” by park district officials in Rockford, Illinois. The club, which features a nine-hole, Tom Bendelow-designed course that’s operated since 1912, will reportedly lose $100,000 this season.
– Deer Ridge Golf Club, a 15-year-old venue in Brentwood, California that’s said to have experienced “huge losses through the years,” has now experienced “a permanent closure.” The owners of Deer Ridge, which features an 18-hole, Andy Raugust-designed golf course, blamed the club’s passing on “ever-increasing maintenance, operational cost, and lower revenues.”
Duly Noted – Bandon Dunes has opened the first nine holes of its Coore & Crenshaw-designed Sheep Ranch course, and Golf magazine is already convinced that the full 18, which debuts next summer, will surpass Pacific Dunes as the resort’s number-one track. Sometimes I wonder why Mike Keiser would spend even a nickel on marketing. . . . It appears that the U.S. military needs to book a lot more troops for overnight stays at Trump Turnberry. The historic Scottish golf resort lost more than £10.7 million ($13.5 million) last year, and its balance sheet is roughly £43 million ($54.4 million) in the red since our nation’s businessman/president bought it in 2014. . . . Forever in search of a fresh income stream, Tiger Woods has set out to design putting courses for what’s being billed as a “technology-infused golf-entertainment concept.” Translation: Upmarket mini-golf with pricey food and drinks. In a press release, Woods calls the new venture “a natural extension of my golf course design philosophy and my TGR Design business.”
Are you wondering how much of a week’s golf news I cover in this blog? The answer, unfortunately, is just a fraction of what passes my way. The golf business, particularly the development side of the golf business, has unquestionably perked up recently, and there’s no way for me to address all of it. So if your business requires a more comprehensive news digest – a weekly compendium of stories collected from newspapers, magazines, and other sources – contact me via e-mail at golfcoursereport@aol.com. I’ll send you a sample issue of either U.S. or International Construction Clips, depending on your needs.
Pipeline Overflow – The translation leaves much to be desired, but it appears that the city of Belgrade, Serbia may enlist private-sector investors to build an 18-hole golf course. The track would be part of a 180-acre indoor/outdoor recreation complex, and if it’s actually built, it would be Serbia’s third. . . . Sun Group, the company responsible for the popular, award-winning Bà Nà Hills Golf Club in greater Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, has hired IMG Golf to design a course in the nation’s Lào Cai Province, which borders China’s Yunnan Province. Golfasian reports that the course, appropriately named Lào Cai Golf Club, is expected to debut in late 2020. It’ll be one of nearly a dozen that IMG has done in the socialist republic. . . . Johncorp, a home builder in Northern Ireland, has set out to downsize the 18-hole track at Mount Ober Golf & Country Club, in suburban Belfast, to create space for 65 single-family houses. The property’s forthcoming nine-hole course, accompanied by a new clubhouse, will complement the practice facilities at the existing Knockbracken Golf Centre.
Courses continue to drop like flies, and my backlog of recent course closings has reached historic proportions. Here are the ones I can document this month:
– Northwood Country Club, a ClubCorp-owned property in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, will go dark unless a buyer emerges to save it. ClubCorp called the Northwood’s demise a “business decision.” The 60-year-old venue features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Willard Byrd and George Cobb.
– Inverrary Country Club and its 36-hole, Robert Trent Jones-designed golf complex will go belly up in June 2020. The club, once the host of PGA Tour events, is reportedly being financially squeezed by the “oversupply of golf courses in Florida,” and its ownership group intends to develop its 292-acre property.
– Valley Green Golf & Country Club, in suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will end its 55-year run at the end of the current golf season. Linda Rusnock, the club’s owner, told a local newspaper that she and her 18-hole, X. G. Hassenplug-designed golf course “had a great run.”
– Indian Wells Golf Club, a 35-year-old venue outside Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that’s owned by Chinese investors, will shut its doors by the end of the year. Founders Group aims to develop the club’s 150 acres, currently the home of an 18-hole, Gene Hamm-designed course.
– South Grove Golf Course, an 18-hole municipal track in Indianapolis, Indiana, will drop dead at a to-be-determined date in the future, probably after the 2024 golf season. The city pulled the plug on its nine-hole Riverside course earlier this year, and its entire golf portfolio is suffering from what the Indianapolis Business Journal called “steady declines in revenue, less interest in playing the sport, and millions of dollars in needed facility upgrades.”
– Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club, having lost its Jack Nicklaus-designed course in 2014, is about to lose its remaining Denis Griffiths/Gene Sarazen-designed layout. Citing “financial challenges” and “reasons beyond our control,” the owners of the club, outside Modesto, California, called the closing “temporary,” presumably because they hope to find a buyer.
– VanderView Golf Course, a nine-hole, executive-length layout in southwestern New York that’s said to be “a great place for beginners, a great place for women, a great place for seniors,” will close later this year. Tony Galeazzo, who’s owned VanderView since 1999, wants to retire, and he’s likewise hoping to find a buyer.
– Silver Lake Country Club, a 95-year-old venue outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, was expected to close last month. A local television station reports that the club’s owners are negotiating a sale of their property to a developer.
– Shawnee State Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Friendship, Ohio that was co-designed by Jack Kidwell and Michael Hurdzan, will host its final rounds at the end of the 2019 golf season. The state agencies that oversee the 40-year-old property believe it can no longer operate profitably and figure to replace it with recreational amenities.
– Westpark Golf Club, a long-threatened 130-acre property in Leesburg, Virginia, will be sold to a home builder and replaced with housing. The club, which had been in business since 1968, features an 18-hole, Ed Ault-designed golf course.
– Sinnissippi Park Golf Club has been recommended for what’s been called “permanent closure” by park district officials in Rockford, Illinois. The club, which features a nine-hole, Tom Bendelow-designed course that’s operated since 1912, will reportedly lose $100,000 this season.
– Deer Ridge Golf Club, a 15-year-old venue in Brentwood, California that’s said to have experienced “huge losses through the years,” has now experienced “a permanent closure.” The owners of Deer Ridge, which features an 18-hole, Andy Raugust-designed golf course, blamed the club’s passing on “ever-increasing maintenance, operational cost, and lower revenues.”
Duly Noted – Bandon Dunes has opened the first nine holes of its Coore & Crenshaw-designed Sheep Ranch course, and Golf magazine is already convinced that the full 18, which debuts next summer, will surpass Pacific Dunes as the resort’s number-one track. Sometimes I wonder why Mike Keiser would spend even a nickel on marketing. . . . It appears that the U.S. military needs to book a lot more troops for overnight stays at Trump Turnberry. The historic Scottish golf resort lost more than £10.7 million ($13.5 million) last year, and its balance sheet is roughly £43 million ($54.4 million) in the red since our nation’s businessman/president bought it in 2014. . . . Forever in search of a fresh income stream, Tiger Woods has set out to design putting courses for what’s being billed as a “technology-infused golf-entertainment concept.” Translation: Upmarket mini-golf with pricey food and drinks. In a press release, Woods calls the new venture “a natural extension of my golf course design philosophy and my TGR Design business.”
Are you wondering how much of a week’s golf news I cover in this blog? The answer, unfortunately, is just a fraction of what passes my way. The golf business, particularly the development side of the golf business, has unquestionably perked up recently, and there’s no way for me to address all of it. So if your business requires a more comprehensive news digest – a weekly compendium of stories collected from newspapers, magazines, and other sources – contact me via e-mail at golfcoursereport@aol.com. I’ll send you a sample issue of either U.S. or International Construction Clips, depending on your needs.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
The Week That Was, october 6, 2019
He may serve as Vietnam’s tourism ambassador, but Greg Norman also wants to turn Saudi Arabia into a bustling vacation destination. Turning a blind eye to the country’s human-rights abuses and government-sanctioned murder, and following in the footsteps of the European Tour, “the Living Brand” has agreed to design a 27-hole complex for a golf community that’s expected to take shape outside Riyadh. Norman’s Wadi Safar Golf Course will be the centerpiece of Diriyah Gate, an historic area (it’s been described as “the birthplace of the Saudi nation”) that aims to become the “pillar of Saudi Arabia's new era of openness,” “the Arabian peninsula’s must-visit destination,” and, perhaps most importantly, the “Beverly Hills of Riyadh.” A construction schedule hasn’t been announced, but Saudi Arabia is intent on legitimizing itself as fast as humanly possible.
Pipeline Overflow – Details are scarce, but Kris Spence reports via Twitter that he and Jack Nicklaus II will re-do Sunset Country Club, a venue in Sumter, South Carolina that dates from the early 1920s. A “motivated” new owner is, says Spence, giving the designers the “latitude to create something truly special.” Sunset’s existing 18-hole layout was designed by Donald Ross. . . . The city of Chaska, Minnesota and a partner have hired Benjamin Warren, a graduate of Tom Doak’s finishing school, to design a short course that a local newspaper says “will be welcoming to just about anyone,” including players with disabilities. The course, which will take shape on the site of a struggling, Robert Trent Jones-created muni, is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021. . . . After a delay, Dana Fry and Jason Straka have broken ground on the first nine holes of their first golf course in the Middle East, a track that the Dublin, Ohio-based partners say will have “memorable golf holes.” It’s the Yas Acres layout in Abu Dhabi, which is planned to eventually grow to 18 holes and serve as a complement to Kyle Phillips’s Yas Links, the top layout in the emirate.
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – The Ladies Professional Golf Association has unveiled its first international property, a branded, 27-hole venue in Busan, South Korea. The new complex, a re-do of the Perry Dye/Joe Jemsek-designed tracks at Asiad Country Club, was created by Rees Jones and Bryce Swanson, and Busan’s mayor expects it to become “a landmark for culture and tourism beyond just golf.” . . . Henrik Stenson has taken the wraps off his first “signature” layout, a re-do of the Sven Tumba-designed Österled layout at Österåkers Golfklubb in suburban Stockholm, Sweden. Golf Course Architecture reports that Stenson and Christian Lundin have turned Österled into “a stadium-like layout,” in part by importing more than 600,000 cubic meters of fill to create “a rolling landscape on the previously flat area.” Next year, the architects will begin to overhaul Österåkers’ Västerled track. . . . Vermilion Country Club, a venue in Abbeville, Louisiana that opened in 1929 and went belly up in 2017, is about to be reborn. Rhett Hebert has leased the property, which will henceforth operate as Southern Oaks Country Club, his aim being to establish “an atmosphere that is family-friendly and fun.”
Duly Noted – The PGA of America is about to put its stamp on the golf business in Vietnam. The Florida-based institution has struck a deal to establish branded practice facilities at venues created by Novaland Group, with the first one to come at Novaland’s forthcoming resort community in Bình Thuận Province. The PGA has a similar partnership in South Korea, and it hopes to ink others elsewhere in Asia and Southeast Asia. . . . Vietnam attracted 15.6 million international visitors last year, a record number, and believes it’s on pace to meet its tourism goals, which are to attract 32 million by 2025 and 47 million by 2030. Only a fraction of the world travelers are golfers, of course, but a mere 3 percent of last year’s number translates to 468,000 golfers. . . . In a week that saw the president’s pending impeachment warm to a slow boil and his nuclear talks with North Korea distintegrate, the Trump Organization announced that its resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland has lost money for the seventh consecutive year. The property hasn’t turned a profit even once since it opened, which must be an embarrassment for someone who so often touts himself as a brilliant businessman.
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Pipeline Overflow – Details are scarce, but Kris Spence reports via Twitter that he and Jack Nicklaus II will re-do Sunset Country Club, a venue in Sumter, South Carolina that dates from the early 1920s. A “motivated” new owner is, says Spence, giving the designers the “latitude to create something truly special.” Sunset’s existing 18-hole layout was designed by Donald Ross. . . . The city of Chaska, Minnesota and a partner have hired Benjamin Warren, a graduate of Tom Doak’s finishing school, to design a short course that a local newspaper says “will be welcoming to just about anyone,” including players with disabilities. The course, which will take shape on the site of a struggling, Robert Trent Jones-created muni, is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021. . . . After a delay, Dana Fry and Jason Straka have broken ground on the first nine holes of their first golf course in the Middle East, a track that the Dublin, Ohio-based partners say will have “memorable golf holes.” It’s the Yas Acres layout in Abu Dhabi, which is planned to eventually grow to 18 holes and serve as a complement to Kyle Phillips’s Yas Links, the top layout in the emirate.
Pipeline Overflow Overflow – The Ladies Professional Golf Association has unveiled its first international property, a branded, 27-hole venue in Busan, South Korea. The new complex, a re-do of the Perry Dye/Joe Jemsek-designed tracks at Asiad Country Club, was created by Rees Jones and Bryce Swanson, and Busan’s mayor expects it to become “a landmark for culture and tourism beyond just golf.” . . . Henrik Stenson has taken the wraps off his first “signature” layout, a re-do of the Sven Tumba-designed Österled layout at Österåkers Golfklubb in suburban Stockholm, Sweden. Golf Course Architecture reports that Stenson and Christian Lundin have turned Österled into “a stadium-like layout,” in part by importing more than 600,000 cubic meters of fill to create “a rolling landscape on the previously flat area.” Next year, the architects will begin to overhaul Österåkers’ Västerled track. . . . Vermilion Country Club, a venue in Abbeville, Louisiana that opened in 1929 and went belly up in 2017, is about to be reborn. Rhett Hebert has leased the property, which will henceforth operate as Southern Oaks Country Club, his aim being to establish “an atmosphere that is family-friendly and fun.”
Duly Noted – The PGA of America is about to put its stamp on the golf business in Vietnam. The Florida-based institution has struck a deal to establish branded practice facilities at venues created by Novaland Group, with the first one to come at Novaland’s forthcoming resort community in Bình Thuận Province. The PGA has a similar partnership in South Korea, and it hopes to ink others elsewhere in Asia and Southeast Asia. . . . Vietnam attracted 15.6 million international visitors last year, a record number, and believes it’s on pace to meet its tourism goals, which are to attract 32 million by 2025 and 47 million by 2030. Only a fraction of the world travelers are golfers, of course, but a mere 3 percent of last year’s number translates to 468,000 golfers. . . . In a week that saw the president’s pending impeachment warm to a slow boil and his nuclear talks with North Korea distintegrate, the Trump Organization announced that its resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland has lost money for the seventh consecutive year. The property hasn’t turned a profit even once since it opened, which must be an embarrassment for someone who so often touts himself as a brilliant businessman.
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Sunday, September 29, 2019
The Week That Was, september 29, 2019
Three years after rejecting proposal number one, Royal Sydney Golf Club has green-lit Gil Hanse’s redesign of its Championship layout. The track, which dates from the late 1890s, has hosted the Australian Open 15 times, but it’s showing its age. Top100GolfCourses.com currently views it as the #37 track Down Under. False starts aside, the club figures to get a marketing rush from its association with one of the world’s most in-demand designers, and it’s already predicting that the re-imagined track “will stand among the finest heath courses and be contemporary, playable, and sustainable.” Hanse expects to get started in the spring of 2021, and the course will presumably re-open in late 2022.
Pipeline Overflow – Robert Trent Jones, Jr. has picked up his first commission in Switzerland. The 80-year-old designer, who’s worked in close to a dozen European countries, will redesign the 18-hole, 26-year-old course at Golf Resort La Gruyère, outside Fribourg. The resort, which half owned by Chinese interests, will use Jones’s good name to sell what it calls “prestigious” housing, a hotel, an “unprecedented” spa, a beach club, and other attractions. . . . As he fends off calls for his impeachment, the U.S. president has secured a thumbs-up for his long-desired second golf course at Trump International Scotland. The new MacLeod layout, like the property’s existing 18, will be designed by Martin Hawtree, and it’ll be accompanied by 550 over-priced houses. If you’re looking for the business angle on the story, the Guardian helpfully reports that “the existing course and boutique hotel at MacLeod House have consistently lost money since they opened.” . . . Charles Xue, who’s said to be “one of the richest men” in China, aims to build what amounts to a new city outside Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The U.S.-educated developer, who claims to control 12,500 acres, aims to build a variety of housing types, a casino, an industrial park, entertainment venues, a safari park, and a golf course.
A new owner hopes to relieve Forest Oaks Country Club, for 30 years the home of a PGA Tour event, of its financial misery. Guilford Development Group LLC, an entity led by Terry Lee, has reportedly paid $1.2 million for Forest Oaks, a venue in Greensboro, North Carolina that’s been in business, originally as a private club but more recently as a semiprivate facility, since 1962. Nisshin Corporation, the seller, was presumably hoping to get a lot more for the 224-acre property, which reportedly had an appraised value of more than $5 million. Forest Oaks closed briefly in 2014, when its operator filed for bankruptcy protection, and it’s had gone through several other management companies since. The club opened with an Ellis Maples-designed course that remained in place until 2002, when a redesign by Davis Love III was unveiled.
Surplus Transactions – For an undisclosed price, Atlantic Golf Management has agreed to buy Cape Fear National at Brunswick Forest, a 10-year-old club outside Wilmington, North Carolina. The club features an 18-hole, Tim Cate-designed golf course. AGM reportedly also owns Brunswick Plantation in Calabash, North Carolina, and it manages Whispering Pines Golf Course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. . . . With a promise of “a great new future,” an entity led by Fred Layman has acquired Windermere Club, a 30-year-old venue in suburban Columbia, South Carolina. The club, which features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Pete and P. B. Dye, now operates as Blythewood Country Club. . . . For $990,000, Rich and Denise Walker have turned the page on Oaksridge Golf Course, a venue in the far western suburbs of Olympia, Washington that they’d reportedly owned for 38 years. Oaksridge, an 18-hole track that opened in 1951, now belongs to the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and will presumably serve as an attraction for the Chehalis’ nearby casino.
Duly Noted – Golfzon, which claims to operate 6,200 “screen” (or “simulator”) golf facilities in 62 countries around the world, is finding a receptive market in Vietnam. The company expects to soon have a dozen outlets in the socialist republic, and it told the Korea Times expects to have “huge business opportunities” in the future because 60 percent of Vietnam’s population is under 35. . . . The Swiss Golf Association predicts that as many as 10 rural courses in the small mountain nation will close over the next five to 10 years. Switzerland’s golf operators aren’t facing “a crisis,” according to a spokesperson for the group, but they are evidently experiencing a decline in play. . . . The Scotsman reports that the Trump Organization’s helicopter-based charter service has “failed to take off.” The organization aimed to shuttle wealthy vacationers to and fro between what it branded as “the Trump Triangle” – the company’s two golf resorts in Scotland and Doonbeg in Ireland – but the operation reportedly lost too much money to stay in business. It’s worth noting that the organization gave passengers the option of flying with or without the Trump logo.
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Pipeline Overflow – Robert Trent Jones, Jr. has picked up his first commission in Switzerland. The 80-year-old designer, who’s worked in close to a dozen European countries, will redesign the 18-hole, 26-year-old course at Golf Resort La Gruyère, outside Fribourg. The resort, which half owned by Chinese interests, will use Jones’s good name to sell what it calls “prestigious” housing, a hotel, an “unprecedented” spa, a beach club, and other attractions. . . . As he fends off calls for his impeachment, the U.S. president has secured a thumbs-up for his long-desired second golf course at Trump International Scotland. The new MacLeod layout, like the property’s existing 18, will be designed by Martin Hawtree, and it’ll be accompanied by 550 over-priced houses. If you’re looking for the business angle on the story, the Guardian helpfully reports that “the existing course and boutique hotel at MacLeod House have consistently lost money since they opened.” . . . Charles Xue, who’s said to be “one of the richest men” in China, aims to build what amounts to a new city outside Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The U.S.-educated developer, who claims to control 12,500 acres, aims to build a variety of housing types, a casino, an industrial park, entertainment venues, a safari park, and a golf course.
A new owner hopes to relieve Forest Oaks Country Club, for 30 years the home of a PGA Tour event, of its financial misery. Guilford Development Group LLC, an entity led by Terry Lee, has reportedly paid $1.2 million for Forest Oaks, a venue in Greensboro, North Carolina that’s been in business, originally as a private club but more recently as a semiprivate facility, since 1962. Nisshin Corporation, the seller, was presumably hoping to get a lot more for the 224-acre property, which reportedly had an appraised value of more than $5 million. Forest Oaks closed briefly in 2014, when its operator filed for bankruptcy protection, and it’s had gone through several other management companies since. The club opened with an Ellis Maples-designed course that remained in place until 2002, when a redesign by Davis Love III was unveiled.
Surplus Transactions – For an undisclosed price, Atlantic Golf Management has agreed to buy Cape Fear National at Brunswick Forest, a 10-year-old club outside Wilmington, North Carolina. The club features an 18-hole, Tim Cate-designed golf course. AGM reportedly also owns Brunswick Plantation in Calabash, North Carolina, and it manages Whispering Pines Golf Course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. . . . With a promise of “a great new future,” an entity led by Fred Layman has acquired Windermere Club, a 30-year-old venue in suburban Columbia, South Carolina. The club, which features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Pete and P. B. Dye, now operates as Blythewood Country Club. . . . For $990,000, Rich and Denise Walker have turned the page on Oaksridge Golf Course, a venue in the far western suburbs of Olympia, Washington that they’d reportedly owned for 38 years. Oaksridge, an 18-hole track that opened in 1951, now belongs to the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and will presumably serve as an attraction for the Chehalis’ nearby casino.
Duly Noted – Golfzon, which claims to operate 6,200 “screen” (or “simulator”) golf facilities in 62 countries around the world, is finding a receptive market in Vietnam. The company expects to soon have a dozen outlets in the socialist republic, and it told the Korea Times expects to have “huge business opportunities” in the future because 60 percent of Vietnam’s population is under 35. . . . The Swiss Golf Association predicts that as many as 10 rural courses in the small mountain nation will close over the next five to 10 years. Switzerland’s golf operators aren’t facing “a crisis,” according to a spokesperson for the group, but they are evidently experiencing a decline in play. . . . The Scotsman reports that the Trump Organization’s helicopter-based charter service has “failed to take off.” The organization aimed to shuttle wealthy vacationers to and fro between what it branded as “the Trump Triangle” – the company’s two golf resorts in Scotland and Doonbeg in Ireland – but the operation reportedly lost too much money to stay in business. It’s worth noting that the organization gave passengers the option of flying with or without the Trump logo.
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
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