Believe it or not, everything that Donald “the Candidate” Trump touches doesn’t immediately turn to gold. Two of the financial drains in Trump’s golf portfolio are his properties in Scotland, Trump Turnberry and Trump International Golf Links Scotland, which combined to lose more than £2.2 million (almost $3.4 million) last year. Each one lost roughly £1.1 million, with Turnberry generating revenues of £13.1 million ($20 million) and the resort in Aberdeenshire generating revenues of £2.8 million (almost $4.3 million).
The speculation has ended: According to a company accounting, the Trump Organization paid £39.5 million ($60.5 million) for what is now its flagship property, the Turnberry resort in Ayrshire, Scotland. The organization bought the property, which now operates as Trump Turnberry, last year, from Dubai-based Leisurecorp.
The United Kingdom is by far the world’s most active golf market, according to new research commissioned by the European Tour. Sports Marketing Surveys’ “Golf Actives Study,” ostensibly “a complete picture of golf activity and engagement in the U.K.,” has determined that almost 20 percent of the U.K.’s population -- 11 million people overall, 9.3 million of them adults -- are “actively engaged in the game of golf,” though not always by playing traditional 18-hole rounds. Without specifically saying so, the tour’s findings are a response to KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice, which earlier this year announced that the golf population in Great Britain and Ireland fell by 4.4 percent in 2014, a loss of nearly 52,000 golfers. One important difference between the groups: KPMG focuses on “registered” golfers and on the number of rounds played at traditional nine- and 18-hole venues, while the European Tour has decided that “playing 18 holes shouldn’t be the sole yardstick we use to measure participation.” The tour’s less restrictive yardstick takes a measure of every live body that visits any kind of golf facility, including driving ranges, putting greens, and miniature golf courses. To keep things in perspective, KPMG says that Great Britain and Ireland have, in addition to “registered” golfers, an estimated 2.84 million “casual” golfers and an overall participation rate somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 percent.
Gifts of Gab: Greg “the Living Brand” Norman has good news for the development side of the U.S. golf industry: The hard times are over. “People are building golf courses again,” Norman reports in an interview with Today’s Golfer. “The negative trend we’ve had in the U.S., of courses shutting down, is flat-lining. Next year, more courses will open than close.” For the record, the National Golf Foundation, as part of its continuing effort to complicate and confuse, says that 11 new courses opened in the United States last year, with “a reduction in total inventory” of 128 18-hole “equivalent” courses.
A team of investment bankers in Lexington, Kentucky is helping to make Norman’s prediction come true. John Loudon and Byron Holley, the principals of Legacy Point Capital, have hired Jack Nicklaus to produce a “signature” layout for their Legacy Point community in suburban Lexington, a spread they promise will be “an exceptional master-planned development.” In a press release, Nicklaus says that the site he’s been given offers “enormous potential to create something unique and special” and that he aims to deliver “an exceptional golf experience.” Nicklaus is familiar with the Legacy Point property, because roughly a decade ago another development group hired him to design a golf course for it. Back then, the developers were calling their community Forest Creek.
For the world’s golf tour operators, happy days are here once again. In the first six months of this year, golf properties with memberships in the International Association of Golf Tour Operators saw a 7.2 percent increase in visits from traveling golfers. “We can now confidently assert that 2015 will be the fourth year of consecutive growth for global golf tour operators,” said the IAGTO’s chief executive, “which is extremely positive for the industry.” According to the IAGTO, its network of golf tour operators registered sales increases of 9.3 percent in 2012, 11.1 percent in 2013, and 8.9 percent in 2014.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Sunday, October 4, 2015
The Week That Was, october 4, 2015
The great dream of Bandon Muni is dead. After years of fruitlessly trying to placate distrustful conservationists and negotiate a complicated land swap with bewildered government officials, Mike Keiser has canceled his plans to build a 27-hole, municipally owned golf complex on property south of his Bandon Dunes resort on Oregon’s Pacific coast. Keiser had initiated the venture in 2008 and spent who knows how much trying to make it a reality, and he’s going to continue running a tab until an accountant somewhere tallies every nickel that every public agency believes it’s owed. Keiser’s decision, which he says was made “with great regret,” came just days after he discovered that federal officials had imposed new rules that would’ve have cost him an additional $450,000 for land acquisition and made it impossible to operate the venue the way he wanted to, with dirt-cheap greens fees for local residents and college scholarships for brainy caddies. The moral of the story: On occasion, people will indeed look a gift horse in the mouth.
For the time being, at least, Keiser’s decision to pull the plug on Bandon Muni ends Gil Hanse’s opportunity to join the elite group of architects who’ve put their talents on display at Bandon Dunes. However, it probably makes him one of the favorites to win a commission for course #3 or #4 at Keiser’s forthcoming Sand Valley complex in Wisconsin.
Gifts of Gab: Donald Trump’s insults and mischaracterizations continue to echo across the U.S. electoral landscape, but they haven’t negatively impacted Turnberry’s chances of hosting golf’s greatest professional tournament. “To think that we are going to determine where an Open Championship is held because of something somebody said on the political trail in America is absurd,” said Peter Dawson, the R&A’s retiring chief executive. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Dawson’s comment offers insight into how golf’s power brokers operate: All that really matters is what’s said behind closed doors.
For the past three-plus years, Phil Mickelson has been working on a redesign of the North course at Torrey Pines and acting as a friendly persuader to get it done. Now, thanks to a technicality in the bidding process, he and his design team won’t be allowed to compete for the final contract. “I’m deeply disappointed with this entire process,” said Mickelson, who lives not far from Torrey Pines, in Rancho Santa Fe. The city of San Diego, which expects to spend $12.6 million on the overhaul, aims to select the primary vendors for the project by the end of the year, so the construction can begin in early 2016.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail has spawned many imitators, but the 11-property, 26-course chain is, financially speaking, an under-performer. Over the past three years, the trail has delivered a return of only 1.59 percent on investments made by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, far below the hoped-for target of 8 percent. But the trail wasn’t created to be a major money-maker, says the RSA’s CEO, and its true value can’t be measured by focusing exclusively on the bottom line. “I always expected the trail to be a loss leader,” David Bronner told the Alabama Media Group. “In order to pull you into the hotels that make money or the spas that make money or the bars that make money, I had to have a vehicle. I could have the best hotels in the world, but if I didn’t have great golf, there’s no reason to come here.”
Come January 1, there will be no more Joy in England Golf. I refer to David Joy, who’s moving on to his next career challenge after serving as England Golf’s executive director for just 30 months. Curiously, a press release announcing Joy’s resignation includes no comments from Joy. In what may be viewed as a signal of which sport has the greener pastures, beginning next year Joy will become the CEO of British Canoeing.
For the time being, at least, Keiser’s decision to pull the plug on Bandon Muni ends Gil Hanse’s opportunity to join the elite group of architects who’ve put their talents on display at Bandon Dunes. However, it probably makes him one of the favorites to win a commission for course #3 or #4 at Keiser’s forthcoming Sand Valley complex in Wisconsin.
Gifts of Gab: Donald Trump’s insults and mischaracterizations continue to echo across the U.S. electoral landscape, but they haven’t negatively impacted Turnberry’s chances of hosting golf’s greatest professional tournament. “To think that we are going to determine where an Open Championship is held because of something somebody said on the political trail in America is absurd,” said Peter Dawson, the R&A’s retiring chief executive. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Dawson’s comment offers insight into how golf’s power brokers operate: All that really matters is what’s said behind closed doors.
For the past three-plus years, Phil Mickelson has been working on a redesign of the North course at Torrey Pines and acting as a friendly persuader to get it done. Now, thanks to a technicality in the bidding process, he and his design team won’t be allowed to compete for the final contract. “I’m deeply disappointed with this entire process,” said Mickelson, who lives not far from Torrey Pines, in Rancho Santa Fe. The city of San Diego, which expects to spend $12.6 million on the overhaul, aims to select the primary vendors for the project by the end of the year, so the construction can begin in early 2016.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail has spawned many imitators, but the 11-property, 26-course chain is, financially speaking, an under-performer. Over the past three years, the trail has delivered a return of only 1.59 percent on investments made by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, far below the hoped-for target of 8 percent. But the trail wasn’t created to be a major money-maker, says the RSA’s CEO, and its true value can’t be measured by focusing exclusively on the bottom line. “I always expected the trail to be a loss leader,” David Bronner told the Alabama Media Group. “In order to pull you into the hotels that make money or the spas that make money or the bars that make money, I had to have a vehicle. I could have the best hotels in the world, but if I didn’t have great golf, there’s no reason to come here.”
Come January 1, there will be no more Joy in England Golf. I refer to David Joy, who’s moving on to his next career challenge after serving as England Golf’s executive director for just 30 months. Curiously, a press release announcing Joy’s resignation includes no comments from Joy. In what may be viewed as a signal of which sport has the greener pastures, beginning next year Joy will become the CEO of British Canoeing.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Vital Signs, october 2, 2015
Economic contraction is putting the squeeze on China’s golf operations. The Globe & Mail, a Canadian newspaper, reports that the number of rounds played in the People’s Republic fell “for the first time” last year, by 2.1 percent. “The economic situation is not good,” a former official of the China Golf Association told the newspaper. “And when the economy is bad, the first thing people do is to cut luxury or unnecessary expenses.” The newspaper didn’t say it, but government antipathy may also be contributing to the downturn.
It’s getting harder to characterize U.S. golf operations as a mom-and-pop industry. In the August issue of the Pellucid Perspective, Steven Ekovich of Marcus & Millichap reckons that at least 20 percent of our nation’s golf properties are now either owned or managed by “professionals,” a group that presumably consists of people who attended business school. Pellucid believes that the estimate “may be a trifle high when all golf facilities are included,” but it acknowledges that consolidation in the golf industry is likely at “an all-time high” and “almost certain to continue.”
One of the nation’s best-known seniors-only communities may soon begin to phase out of the golf business. These days only one-quarter of the roughly 30,000 retirees who live in Sun City West play golf, and budget-minded officials have reportedly begun to worry that the majority of residents “could rise up and become resentful if they continue to subsidize something they aren’t using.” The community, in suburban Phoenix, Arizona, has seven 18-hole courses -- it “was built around the sport,” the Sun City West Independent notes -- but long-range planners are now contemplating a future with forms of recreation that would be more attractive to prospective home buyers.
Although course operators continue to struggle in many of parts of our nation, golf’s prospects have brightened in Minnesota, where the industry is said to be headed toward “perhaps the fastest year-over-year rebound in the nation.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune has found evidence indicating that “a seeming decade-long death spiral is being reversed” and that both public and private venues are beginning “to punch their way out of the rough.” The newspaper credits this year’s increased play primarily to “sensational” weather, cheaper greens fees, and course closings that have eliminated competition. “It’s just a different world,” said Kevin Norby, a golf architect whose firm is apparently having “its best two years in a quarter-century.” Citing data provided by PGA PerformanceTrak, the newspaper reports that the number of rounds played per 18-hole course in Minnesota has increased by 16 percent since 2011, when they presumably bottomed out.
It appears that course operators in British Columbia, Canada may also ring up significantly more sales in 2015. Full-season figures aren’t yet in, but this summer the Vancouver Sun reported that business at the province’s courses was “brisk,” with many properties posting double-digit increases in the number of rounds played. “There is something of a buzz in the air around golf,” said an official with the province’s largest golf operator. “I think people are gravitating toward playing a little bit more golf and getting out there and enjoying themselves.” The newspaper credits the uptick to “marvelous weather,” discounts on greens fees, and the popularity of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and other young stars on the professional circuit.
What’s the economic value of a country-club member in southwestern Ohio? About $38,000, according to the Miami Valley Golf Association. The association has determined that private golf clubs in its operating area -- Dayton and surrounding counties -- have since 2006 lost more than 3,600 members and $136 million. The math works out to $37,777 per departed member.
It’s getting harder to characterize U.S. golf operations as a mom-and-pop industry. In the August issue of the Pellucid Perspective, Steven Ekovich of Marcus & Millichap reckons that at least 20 percent of our nation’s golf properties are now either owned or managed by “professionals,” a group that presumably consists of people who attended business school. Pellucid believes that the estimate “may be a trifle high when all golf facilities are included,” but it acknowledges that consolidation in the golf industry is likely at “an all-time high” and “almost certain to continue.”
One of the nation’s best-known seniors-only communities may soon begin to phase out of the golf business. These days only one-quarter of the roughly 30,000 retirees who live in Sun City West play golf, and budget-minded officials have reportedly begun to worry that the majority of residents “could rise up and become resentful if they continue to subsidize something they aren’t using.” The community, in suburban Phoenix, Arizona, has seven 18-hole courses -- it “was built around the sport,” the Sun City West Independent notes -- but long-range planners are now contemplating a future with forms of recreation that would be more attractive to prospective home buyers.
Although course operators continue to struggle in many of parts of our nation, golf’s prospects have brightened in Minnesota, where the industry is said to be headed toward “perhaps the fastest year-over-year rebound in the nation.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune has found evidence indicating that “a seeming decade-long death spiral is being reversed” and that both public and private venues are beginning “to punch their way out of the rough.” The newspaper credits this year’s increased play primarily to “sensational” weather, cheaper greens fees, and course closings that have eliminated competition. “It’s just a different world,” said Kevin Norby, a golf architect whose firm is apparently having “its best two years in a quarter-century.” Citing data provided by PGA PerformanceTrak, the newspaper reports that the number of rounds played per 18-hole course in Minnesota has increased by 16 percent since 2011, when they presumably bottomed out.
It appears that course operators in British Columbia, Canada may also ring up significantly more sales in 2015. Full-season figures aren’t yet in, but this summer the Vancouver Sun reported that business at the province’s courses was “brisk,” with many properties posting double-digit increases in the number of rounds played. “There is something of a buzz in the air around golf,” said an official with the province’s largest golf operator. “I think people are gravitating toward playing a little bit more golf and getting out there and enjoying themselves.” The newspaper credits the uptick to “marvelous weather,” discounts on greens fees, and the popularity of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and other young stars on the professional circuit.
What’s the economic value of a country-club member in southwestern Ohio? About $38,000, according to the Miami Valley Golf Association. The association has determined that private golf clubs in its operating area -- Dayton and surrounding counties -- have since 2006 lost more than 3,600 members and $136 million. The math works out to $37,777 per departed member.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
The Week That Was, september 27, 2015
Mike Keiser is lending his name -- and, more importantly, his money -- to a world-class golf venture that’s been proposed by a commentator for the Golf Channel. The famed developer of Bandon Dunes and other destination-worthy golf venues has joined Mark Rolfing, who’s set out to create a 27-hole complex along Chicago’s lakefront, on property currently occupied by a pair of municipal tracks. The proposal is unquestionably a long shot, but Rolfing has won the support of some particularly effective persuaders in the city’s golf scene, among them Jerry Rich of Rich Harvest Farms, Josh Lesnick of KemperSports, and John Kaczkowski of the Western Golf Association. “It’s easy to envision the end result,” Keiser told the Chicago Tribune. “But it’s hard to envision all the ins and outs.” The end result is a course capable of hosting the BMW Championship and an easy-to-play nine-hole layout. The ins and outs are largely political, as the developers appear to be intent on seeking government approval to fill in a bit of Lake Michigan. “I’m dubbing this as the future of urban golf in America,” said Rolfing, who believes that Chicago is “arguably the greatest golf town in America.” A possible ace in the hole: Barack Obama, a golf nut who could lobby to have his presidential library built overlooking the complex.
John McConnell is looking to acquire his 11th golf property. The Triad Business Journal reports that McConnell Golf is “in talks” to pick up Providence Country Club, a venue in Charlotte, North Carolina that describes itself as “one of Charlotte’s premier family country clubs.” Providence’s centerpiece is an 18-hole, Dan Maples-designed track that opened in 1989. McConnell Golf’s portfolio consists of seven golf properties in North Carolina and three in South Carolina. Providence would be the company’s second property in the Charlotte area, joining Old North State Club in New London.
Donald “the Candidate” Trump may also be looking to add to his golf inventory. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump Organization “is considering making a play” for Trump International Golf Club Puerto Rico, a venue on the nation’s northeastern coast that declared for bankruptcy protection in July. (The Organization manages the club but doesn’t own it.) Before it took to wearing the Trump brand, the club -- the centerpiece of a 700-acre resort -- was known as Coco Beach Golf & Country Club. It features a pair of 18-hole, Tom Kite-designed golf courses and a well-appointed, 46,000-square-foot clubhouse. At this time, U.S. Bankruptcy Court has received just one offer, a low-ball $2 million bid from a San Juan-based group, OHorizons Global LLC. If Trump ends up trying to strike a deal, remember this: He knows an opportunity when he sees one.
Two years shy of its 125th anniversary, an all-male club in suburban Glasgow, Scotland has opened its doors to women. The members of Pollock Golf Club, described by the Herald as “one of Scotland’s most exclusive clubs,” voted overwhelmingly (89 to 11 percent) in favor of the overdue change and almost immediately welcomed four female juniors. With the decision, the club can make good on its stated aim, which is “to consistently achieve the highest standards of professionalism and hospitality in golf.”
Question: How does a presidential candidate know when the nomination will never be his? Answer: When he earns an endorsement from the American Neo-Nazi Party.
John McConnell is looking to acquire his 11th golf property. The Triad Business Journal reports that McConnell Golf is “in talks” to pick up Providence Country Club, a venue in Charlotte, North Carolina that describes itself as “one of Charlotte’s premier family country clubs.” Providence’s centerpiece is an 18-hole, Dan Maples-designed track that opened in 1989. McConnell Golf’s portfolio consists of seven golf properties in North Carolina and three in South Carolina. Providence would be the company’s second property in the Charlotte area, joining Old North State Club in New London.
Donald “the Candidate” Trump may also be looking to add to his golf inventory. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump Organization “is considering making a play” for Trump International Golf Club Puerto Rico, a venue on the nation’s northeastern coast that declared for bankruptcy protection in July. (The Organization manages the club but doesn’t own it.) Before it took to wearing the Trump brand, the club -- the centerpiece of a 700-acre resort -- was known as Coco Beach Golf & Country Club. It features a pair of 18-hole, Tom Kite-designed golf courses and a well-appointed, 46,000-square-foot clubhouse. At this time, U.S. Bankruptcy Court has received just one offer, a low-ball $2 million bid from a San Juan-based group, OHorizons Global LLC. If Trump ends up trying to strike a deal, remember this: He knows an opportunity when he sees one.
Two years shy of its 125th anniversary, an all-male club in suburban Glasgow, Scotland has opened its doors to women. The members of Pollock Golf Club, described by the Herald as “one of Scotland’s most exclusive clubs,” voted overwhelmingly (89 to 11 percent) in favor of the overdue change and almost immediately welcomed four female juniors. With the decision, the club can make good on its stated aim, which is “to consistently achieve the highest standards of professionalism and hospitality in golf.”
Question: How does a presidential candidate know when the nomination will never be his? Answer: When he earns an endorsement from the American Neo-Nazi Party.
Friday, September 25, 2015
The Pipeline, september 25, 2015
Tucson, Arizona. Thanks to an improving local housing market, a long-delayed master-planned community in the desert southeast of Tucson has begun to show signs of life. Of course, post-recession life will only hint at what was originally promised for Rocking K, a 5,600-acre spread that was supposed to have 10,000 houses and four golf courses. Assuming it eventually takes shape, the new, downsized Rocking K will have a mere 3,000 houses and just one golf course. As sad as it is to admit, such is the new normal for golf development. Nobody said recovery would be easy.
Wollongong, Australia. An infusion of Chinese money has revived a comatose golf community on the southern coast of New South Wales. Visionary Investment Group, an Australian company that claims to tap “a broad network of mainly Chinese investors” to fund its development ventures, has taken control of Huntley, a 1,050-acre community outside Wollongong. At build-out, Huntley is expected to include 500 houses, 65 apartments, a shopping area, and an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course. Huntley has been kicking around since the mid 2000s. Norman, who’s based in West Palm Beach, Florida, was hired by its s original developers, a group called HTT Huntley Heritage. At the time, he promised to create a layout that would rank among the state’s best. “You’re lucky when you get hold of a piece of land like this,” he said, noting that course architects sometimes “get some really crappy sites.” VIG expects Norman’s track to attract events on the Australian PGA Tour.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the July 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Soccer may be “the beautiful game,” but before long some of England’s finest “football” players will also be spending time on a golf course. The nine-hole track will take shape at St. George’s Park, the Football Association’s three-year-old national development center in Staffordshire. The 330-acre facility, where the nation’s elite players and coaches gather to train and practice, currently features a dozen world-class soccer pitches, a regulation-sized indoor pitch, state-of-the-art medical facilities, fitness centers, and a Hilton hotel, but earlier this year one of the nation’s star players called the place “boring.” So the FA sprung to action, announcing that it’s got plans for further development, including a lodge for younger players. The older players stay at the Hilton, naturally.
Yalta, Crimea. These days Crimea is attracting a wide variety of investments from China, and a golf course may eventually be among them. A few weeks ago, a delegation of Chinese businessmen visited Crimea, and they floated proposals to build factories, entertainment venues, shopping malls, and leisure-time attractions, including a golf resort somewhere along the peninsula’s southern coast, within a short drive of Yalta. “If we build a golf club here, we can draw a lot of Chinese tourists to Crimea,” said Chen Zhijun, the leader of the delegation, in a comment published by Radio Free Europe. No deals have so far been struck, but Chinese investors obviously view Crimea as a land of opportunity. How much opportunity? As best I can determine, there are no golf courses anywhere on the Crimean peninsula.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the July 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Yalta, Crimea. When it comes to golf construction in Crimea, Chinese developers may need to stand in line. Just days after Russia’s army rolled across the Crimean peninsula, a Chechen businessman, Ruslan Baisarov, proposed to build a resort that would include 500 hotel rooms, an amusement park, a water park, a marina capable of berthing yachts, a spa, and a golf course. A specific location wasn’t mentioned, but Kommersant located it “in the southeast part of Crimea.”
Lake Charles, Louisiana. Sometimes an unfortunate end leads to a new beginning. Such is the case in southwestern Louisiana, where the expansion of Chennault International Airport will lead to the demise of Mallard Cove Golf Course, a nearly 40-year-old municipal track. The area’s golfers won’t be hung out to dry, however, as the city of Lake Charles has vowed to build a replacement 18-hole layout that will be, in the words of the American Press, “as good as or better than Mallard Cove.” The city is searching for a site, and the newspaper reports that Mallard Cove will continue to operate until the new course opens.
Odry, Czech Republic. One of Europe’s up-and-coming golf architects has broken ground on his first course in the Czech Republic, at a four-season resort that’s looking to boost its summertime revenues. Jonathan Davison of Bratislava, Slovakia-based Create Golf plans to create a pair of nine-hole tracks at the Heipark resort in Odry, a vacation spot in the eastern part of the nation. Heipark, which is owned by an Odry-based stove manufacturing company, currently has a ski area, a hotel, places to eat and drink, and a golf driving range. Its “academy” course is expected to open next summer, with a regulation-length track to follow in 2017. Like many architects these days, Davison believes that “a truly great golf course is discovered and created in the ground and not designed on a piece of paper or a computer screen.” With that philosophy, he’s produced a track in Slovakia, the Heritage course at Penati Golf Resort in Senica, and one in Poland, Sobienie Królewskie Golf & Country Club in suburban Warsaw.
Urla, Turkey. A freshly minted golf group has floated a plan to build the first golf course in Urla, a town in western Turkey. İzmir Golf Club, which was established last year, hopes to open the course in 2017. The club hasn’t announced any details about its plans, but it appears that the members wish to create an easy-to-play, community-oriented layout. “We want to increase the number of golfers in İzmir, especially among children and teens, and create a place that families can enjoy together,” the club’s president, Heval Savaş Kaya, told the Hurriyet Daily News. The course will take shape on property that the club has leased.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the May 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Mysore, India. Before he died, in the summer of 2013, Ashok Kumar set out to create what he felt would be “one of the finest courses in India.” Later this year, the nation’s golfers will determine whether he achieved his goal. Kumar, who understood the economic value of golf courses, created a template for India’s private golf communities in the late 1990s with Eagleton Golf Village, which has been described as the “most sought-over residential enclave in Bangalore.” Using Eagleton as a model -- high-end houses, a hotel, a golf academy -- Kumar created a master plan for Eagleburg Golf Resort in Mysore, in the state of Karnataka, which is being marketed as “the pinnacle of the ultimate luxury golfing experience.” Like Eagleton, Eagleburg will feature an 18-hole track designed by Phil Ryan of Pacific Coast Design, who thinks the forthcoming layout will be “great fun for all golfers” and ensure that the community becomes “a great place to live and play.” Eagleburg’s development is being overseen by Kumar’s sons, Kiran and Chetan. Like their father, they’re attempting to tap into the tastes of the area’s corporate executives, especially those who desire to live in “a picturesque, lush green retreat from everyday life.”
Wollongong, Australia. An infusion of Chinese money has revived a comatose golf community on the southern coast of New South Wales. Visionary Investment Group, an Australian company that claims to tap “a broad network of mainly Chinese investors” to fund its development ventures, has taken control of Huntley, a 1,050-acre community outside Wollongong. At build-out, Huntley is expected to include 500 houses, 65 apartments, a shopping area, and an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course. Huntley has been kicking around since the mid 2000s. Norman, who’s based in West Palm Beach, Florida, was hired by its s original developers, a group called HTT Huntley Heritage. At the time, he promised to create a layout that would rank among the state’s best. “You’re lucky when you get hold of a piece of land like this,” he said, noting that course architects sometimes “get some really crappy sites.” VIG expects Norman’s track to attract events on the Australian PGA Tour.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the July 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Soccer may be “the beautiful game,” but before long some of England’s finest “football” players will also be spending time on a golf course. The nine-hole track will take shape at St. George’s Park, the Football Association’s three-year-old national development center in Staffordshire. The 330-acre facility, where the nation’s elite players and coaches gather to train and practice, currently features a dozen world-class soccer pitches, a regulation-sized indoor pitch, state-of-the-art medical facilities, fitness centers, and a Hilton hotel, but earlier this year one of the nation’s star players called the place “boring.” So the FA sprung to action, announcing that it’s got plans for further development, including a lodge for younger players. The older players stay at the Hilton, naturally.
Yalta, Crimea. These days Crimea is attracting a wide variety of investments from China, and a golf course may eventually be among them. A few weeks ago, a delegation of Chinese businessmen visited Crimea, and they floated proposals to build factories, entertainment venues, shopping malls, and leisure-time attractions, including a golf resort somewhere along the peninsula’s southern coast, within a short drive of Yalta. “If we build a golf club here, we can draw a lot of Chinese tourists to Crimea,” said Chen Zhijun, the leader of the delegation, in a comment published by Radio Free Europe. No deals have so far been struck, but Chinese investors obviously view Crimea as a land of opportunity. How much opportunity? As best I can determine, there are no golf courses anywhere on the Crimean peninsula.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the July 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Yalta, Crimea. When it comes to golf construction in Crimea, Chinese developers may need to stand in line. Just days after Russia’s army rolled across the Crimean peninsula, a Chechen businessman, Ruslan Baisarov, proposed to build a resort that would include 500 hotel rooms, an amusement park, a water park, a marina capable of berthing yachts, a spa, and a golf course. A specific location wasn’t mentioned, but Kommersant located it “in the southeast part of Crimea.”
Lake Charles, Louisiana. Sometimes an unfortunate end leads to a new beginning. Such is the case in southwestern Louisiana, where the expansion of Chennault International Airport will lead to the demise of Mallard Cove Golf Course, a nearly 40-year-old municipal track. The area’s golfers won’t be hung out to dry, however, as the city of Lake Charles has vowed to build a replacement 18-hole layout that will be, in the words of the American Press, “as good as or better than Mallard Cove.” The city is searching for a site, and the newspaper reports that Mallard Cove will continue to operate until the new course opens.
Odry, Czech Republic. One of Europe’s up-and-coming golf architects has broken ground on his first course in the Czech Republic, at a four-season resort that’s looking to boost its summertime revenues. Jonathan Davison of Bratislava, Slovakia-based Create Golf plans to create a pair of nine-hole tracks at the Heipark resort in Odry, a vacation spot in the eastern part of the nation. Heipark, which is owned by an Odry-based stove manufacturing company, currently has a ski area, a hotel, places to eat and drink, and a golf driving range. Its “academy” course is expected to open next summer, with a regulation-length track to follow in 2017. Like many architects these days, Davison believes that “a truly great golf course is discovered and created in the ground and not designed on a piece of paper or a computer screen.” With that philosophy, he’s produced a track in Slovakia, the Heritage course at Penati Golf Resort in Senica, and one in Poland, Sobienie Królewskie Golf & Country Club in suburban Warsaw.
Urla, Turkey. A freshly minted golf group has floated a plan to build the first golf course in Urla, a town in western Turkey. İzmir Golf Club, which was established last year, hopes to open the course in 2017. The club hasn’t announced any details about its plans, but it appears that the members wish to create an easy-to-play, community-oriented layout. “We want to increase the number of golfers in İzmir, especially among children and teens, and create a place that families can enjoy together,” the club’s president, Heval Savaş Kaya, told the Hurriyet Daily News. The course will take shape on property that the club has leased.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the May 2015 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Mysore, India. Before he died, in the summer of 2013, Ashok Kumar set out to create what he felt would be “one of the finest courses in India.” Later this year, the nation’s golfers will determine whether he achieved his goal. Kumar, who understood the economic value of golf courses, created a template for India’s private golf communities in the late 1990s with Eagleton Golf Village, which has been described as the “most sought-over residential enclave in Bangalore.” Using Eagleton as a model -- high-end houses, a hotel, a golf academy -- Kumar created a master plan for Eagleburg Golf Resort in Mysore, in the state of Karnataka, which is being marketed as “the pinnacle of the ultimate luxury golfing experience.” Like Eagleton, Eagleburg will feature an 18-hole track designed by Phil Ryan of Pacific Coast Design, who thinks the forthcoming layout will be “great fun for all golfers” and ensure that the community becomes “a great place to live and play.” Eagleburg’s development is being overseen by Kumar’s sons, Kiran and Chetan. Like their father, they’re attempting to tap into the tastes of the area’s corporate executives, especially those who desire to live in “a picturesque, lush green retreat from everyday life.”
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