I last posted about new course openings way back in January, so it's high time I did it again. Here are three projects worthy of note:
Russia. Sorochany Ski & Golf Resort has been angling to become a true four-season destination for years, and it’ll take a giant step forward in 2011, when its nine-hole, Howard Swan-designed golf course is scheduled to open. The 775-acre resort, located about 35 miles north of the Moscow’s Ring Road, offers the longest ski trails of any resort in the capital area (there are three others) but not much in the way of accommodations. To alleviate that problem, Sorochany aims to build several hundred villas and vacation units, a 240-room hotel, a spa, and a recreation center. It may also add nine holes to the golf course, as the property's original master plan called for an 18-hole track. In a press release issued last year, Swan said that the golf facility will introduce golf “to more than just the richest” and nurture “the country’s potential as a golfing nation.”
Panama. Cielo Paraiso opened the first nine holes of its Michael J. Poellot-designed golf course in 2009, and it was supposed to open the second and final nine in early 2011. The 750-acre gated community is taking shape in Boquette, in the highlands of western Panama, which is said to be emerging as a retirement enclave. Colleen Lal, the president of Gladstone Corporation, began developing Cielo Paraiso –- Spanish for “paradise in the sky” –- with her husband, Raideep, a decade ago. Raideep recently died of a heart attack, but Colleen plans finish the 147-house community on her own. Poellot, who has two other courses in the works in Panama, said in a press statement, “I sincerely believe that we have created one of the most visually stunning courses in all of Central/South America.” A spokesman for Gladstone says the course is “challenging, yet fun for golfers of all abilities and handicaps.”
Cambodia. Cambodia’s fifth golf course, the centerpiece of Grand Phnom Penh International City, is hoping to open its full 18-hole course this year. The 650-acre “new town” is being co-developed by Ciputra, an Indonesian firm, and YLP Group, a Cambodian company. At build-out, the partners expect to erect more than 4,000 houses, a hotel, office space, shopping areas, an “international-standard” school, and a “world-class” hospital. The community’s course, a product of Nicklaus Design, opened its first nine in April 2010. It’s the second course in the city of Phnom Penh (the other is Royal Cambodia Phnom Penh Golf Club), although there’s another (Cambodia Golf & Country Club) in a nearby suburb. There are also two courses in Siem Reap, Cambodia’s major tourist destination. An undated note on Grand Phnom Penh's Facebook page says that the developers “are currently doing our best to finish the golf course this year.” The community's “fancy driving Range and VIP restaurant” are open, though.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The Week That Was: May 29, 2011
australia Gary Player, Job-Hunter
Attention, developers in Australia: The “Black Knight” is looking for work.
This week, Gary Player officially joined the more than 200 U.S. golf architects, plus an equal number from around the world, who wish they could design a golf course Down Under.
“I have always wanted to design a course in Australia,” Player said in a press release published by Australian Senior Golfer and other “news” outlets. “I have been visiting and playing in Australia for nearly 60 years and absolutely love it. The people are fantastic, the land is incredibly diverse and I can’t wait to find a great project.”
What makes Player's quest different is that he's hired a local representative to dig up some work for him, as Jack Nicklaus has done in India.
Player's rep is Mike Orloff, who operates Golf Industry Central, a website that posts news, lists jobs, and promotes his management and marketing services. Orloff has worked for American Golf Corporation and ClubCorp, and he provides “operational advice for new and existing golfing facilities in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia in the areas of staff recruitment, membership attainment, membership retention, retail management, new player development, event management, and revenue-generation strategies.”
With so many talents, I'm surprised that he has time to take on additional work.
All kidding aside, it's curious that Player hasn't yet designed any courses in Australia, even if it is the world's smallest continent. For the record, he hasn't designed any in South America, either.
vietnam The More the Merrier
In an effort to feed a demand for golf that may never materialize, government officials are thinking about increasing the number of golf courses that can be built in Vietnam.
According to a report from a Vietnamese news service, Vietnam currently has 24 operating golf properties and 25 others under construction. The government has capped the number at 85 or 90, depending on which source you believe, which means that the nation is more than halfway to a goal it isn't supposed to reach for another decade.
So, before the courses in the pipeline are even close to being absorbed, growth-minded interests are petitioning the government to super-size the nation's development plan. Here's a quick breakdown of the three alternative proposals that have been offered by the nation's ministry of planning and investment:
Plan One maintains the same number of courses that the government approved in 2009, except that it substitutes five new projects for five that have flat-lined.
Plan Two boosts the number of courses to 96, presumably with allowances for dead projects.
Plan Three adds roughly 30 courses to the number already approved, increasing the nation's inventory of golf properties to around 120 by 2020.
Needless to say, the ministry favors Plan Three.
Its argument: With 120 courses, Vietnam would be on par with nations that it competes against for tourism dollars, namely Thailand (256 courses), Malaysia (230), Indonesia (152), and the Philippines (100). What's more, the ministers say, officials in tourist-friendly provinces -- among them, Thanh Hoa, Thai Nguyen, Dak Lak, and Quang Ninh -- are being besieged by development groups eager to build golf courses.
What's important to remember, of course, is that Vietnam has only about 5,000 home-grown golfers. If developers wish to build high-priced golf courses in the nation's emerging tourist traps, I sure hope they also have a plan that's guaranteed to bring world travelers to them.
worth reading Feeling the Earth Move
John Fought, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based golf architect, has opinions about his contemporaries and wasn't reluctant to share them with Tony Dear, a British writer who posts at The Bellingham Golfer.
Fought likes Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw best, Dear wrote in a recent profile, and believes that Keith Foster is highly underrated and John Harbottle deserves more recognition. He also likes a lot of what Tom Doak and David McLay Kidd are doing, but says the contours of their greens are sometimes a little over the top.
Fought has designed some well-regarded courses, among them Sand Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane, Utah (the state's top-rated course), Washington National Golf Club in suburban Seattle, Washington, and Big Sky Golf & Country Club in Pemberton, British Columbia.
He contends that the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s -- a time when course designers spent too much money and moved too much earth -- will be remembered, in Dear's words, as “the worst period in the history of golf course architecture.”
It was unbelievable how much dirt designers felt compelled to move, Fought told Dear. They'd basically design the holes back in their office, then come out to the site, where they would move however much earth it took to build their holes.
In fact, Fought believes, some of the biggest names in the business are still moving too much dirt.
There are still some huge land-movers out there -- Rees Jones, Tom Fazio and Jack Nicklaus, to name three. I looked at the site for the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain courses in Marana, Arizona. I thought it had just the right amount of movement and undulation to make a fun and interesting course. But when Jack came in, he said the place was basically too flat to make a good course and said he'd have to move a lot of earth. The hotel management wanted Jack to use my plans, but you can't tell Jack what to do.
Fought is also disappointed by the design changes that have been made at Augusta National Golf Club in recent years -- modifications that he says have “sterilized” the storied course.
Augusta National is very important, and I love everything about the Masters. But I just wish the course was a bit more authentic, a bit more [Alister] MacKenzie. People don't realize how much Robert Trent Jones is in there. And now there's a lot of Tom Fazio, too. . . .
I understand why the club lengthened the course. They had to. But it would look so cool if a few of the edges were allowed to grow a little rougher.
Attention, developers in Australia: The “Black Knight” is looking for work.
This week, Gary Player officially joined the more than 200 U.S. golf architects, plus an equal number from around the world, who wish they could design a golf course Down Under.
“I have always wanted to design a course in Australia,” Player said in a press release published by Australian Senior Golfer and other “news” outlets. “I have been visiting and playing in Australia for nearly 60 years and absolutely love it. The people are fantastic, the land is incredibly diverse and I can’t wait to find a great project.”
What makes Player's quest different is that he's hired a local representative to dig up some work for him, as Jack Nicklaus has done in India.
Player's rep is Mike Orloff, who operates Golf Industry Central, a website that posts news, lists jobs, and promotes his management and marketing services. Orloff has worked for American Golf Corporation and ClubCorp, and he provides “operational advice for new and existing golfing facilities in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia in the areas of staff recruitment, membership attainment, membership retention, retail management, new player development, event management, and revenue-generation strategies.”
With so many talents, I'm surprised that he has time to take on additional work.
All kidding aside, it's curious that Player hasn't yet designed any courses in Australia, even if it is the world's smallest continent. For the record, he hasn't designed any in South America, either.
vietnam The More the Merrier
In an effort to feed a demand for golf that may never materialize, government officials are thinking about increasing the number of golf courses that can be built in Vietnam.
According to a report from a Vietnamese news service, Vietnam currently has 24 operating golf properties and 25 others under construction. The government has capped the number at 85 or 90, depending on which source you believe, which means that the nation is more than halfway to a goal it isn't supposed to reach for another decade.
So, before the courses in the pipeline are even close to being absorbed, growth-minded interests are petitioning the government to super-size the nation's development plan. Here's a quick breakdown of the three alternative proposals that have been offered by the nation's ministry of planning and investment:
Plan One maintains the same number of courses that the government approved in 2009, except that it substitutes five new projects for five that have flat-lined.
Plan Two boosts the number of courses to 96, presumably with allowances for dead projects.
Plan Three adds roughly 30 courses to the number already approved, increasing the nation's inventory of golf properties to around 120 by 2020.
Needless to say, the ministry favors Plan Three.
Its argument: With 120 courses, Vietnam would be on par with nations that it competes against for tourism dollars, namely Thailand (256 courses), Malaysia (230), Indonesia (152), and the Philippines (100). What's more, the ministers say, officials in tourist-friendly provinces -- among them, Thanh Hoa, Thai Nguyen, Dak Lak, and Quang Ninh -- are being besieged by development groups eager to build golf courses.
What's important to remember, of course, is that Vietnam has only about 5,000 home-grown golfers. If developers wish to build high-priced golf courses in the nation's emerging tourist traps, I sure hope they also have a plan that's guaranteed to bring world travelers to them.
worth reading Feeling the Earth Move
John Fought, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based golf architect, has opinions about his contemporaries and wasn't reluctant to share them with Tony Dear, a British writer who posts at The Bellingham Golfer.
Fought likes Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw best, Dear wrote in a recent profile, and believes that Keith Foster is highly underrated and John Harbottle deserves more recognition. He also likes a lot of what Tom Doak and David McLay Kidd are doing, but says the contours of their greens are sometimes a little over the top.
Fought has designed some well-regarded courses, among them Sand Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane, Utah (the state's top-rated course), Washington National Golf Club in suburban Seattle, Washington, and Big Sky Golf & Country Club in Pemberton, British Columbia.
He contends that the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s -- a time when course designers spent too much money and moved too much earth -- will be remembered, in Dear's words, as “the worst period in the history of golf course architecture.”
It was unbelievable how much dirt designers felt compelled to move, Fought told Dear. They'd basically design the holes back in their office, then come out to the site, where they would move however much earth it took to build their holes.
In fact, Fought believes, some of the biggest names in the business are still moving too much dirt.
There are still some huge land-movers out there -- Rees Jones, Tom Fazio and Jack Nicklaus, to name three. I looked at the site for the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain courses in Marana, Arizona. I thought it had just the right amount of movement and undulation to make a fun and interesting course. But when Jack came in, he said the place was basically too flat to make a good course and said he'd have to move a lot of earth. The hotel management wanted Jack to use my plans, but you can't tell Jack what to do.
Fought is also disappointed by the design changes that have been made at Augusta National Golf Club in recent years -- modifications that he says have “sterilized” the storied course.
Augusta National is very important, and I love everything about the Masters. But I just wish the course was a bit more authentic, a bit more [Alister] MacKenzie. People don't realize how much Robert Trent Jones is in there. And now there's a lot of Tom Fazio, too. . . .
I understand why the club lengthened the course. They had to. But it would look so cool if a few of the edges were allowed to grow a little rougher.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
talking points KPMG Feels Golf's Pain
The researchers at KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice have published their latest misery index, this one focusing on the financial performance of golf properties in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa during 2010. The bottom line: While dark clouds still hover over much of the golf business in those areas, the forecast calls for brighter days ahead.
To be sure, about 45 percent of the 350 course owners and operators who responded to KPMG’s survey, conducted in early 2011, reported a decline in revenues and the number of rounds played at their facilities. No surprise there. But this isn’t particularly bad news, since it presumably indicates that the remaining facilities were either flat or up during the year.
And yes, though golf facilities in some places remain stuck in financial mud -– in particular, those in Great Britain, Ireland, and the nations of Eastern Europe -– those in Central Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa posted encouraging results.
As for the respondents’ predictions about the future, they mostly reflect past performance. For example, more than half of the respondents in Great Britain, Ireland, and South Africa, where times were especially tough in 2010, don’t expect a recovery to kick in until 2013 or later. (Yikes!) Overall, however, only 10 percent of the respondents believe 2011 will be worse than 2010, and 58 percent believe this year will be at least a little better than last year.
All in all, the impression we take from KPMG’s latest survey is that 2010 was at worst a wash and that 2011 could end up being golf’s bounce-back year. I’ve got my fingers crossed.
To read the survey, go to GolfBenchmark.com.
To be sure, about 45 percent of the 350 course owners and operators who responded to KPMG’s survey, conducted in early 2011, reported a decline in revenues and the number of rounds played at their facilities. No surprise there. But this isn’t particularly bad news, since it presumably indicates that the remaining facilities were either flat or up during the year.
And yes, though golf facilities in some places remain stuck in financial mud -– in particular, those in Great Britain, Ireland, and the nations of Eastern Europe -– those in Central Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa posted encouraging results.
As for the respondents’ predictions about the future, they mostly reflect past performance. For example, more than half of the respondents in Great Britain, Ireland, and South Africa, where times were especially tough in 2010, don’t expect a recovery to kick in until 2013 or later. (Yikes!) Overall, however, only 10 percent of the respondents believe 2011 will be worse than 2010, and 58 percent believe this year will be at least a little better than last year.
All in all, the impression we take from KPMG’s latest survey is that 2010 was at worst a wash and that 2011 could end up being golf’s bounce-back year. I’ve got my fingers crossed.
To read the survey, go to GolfBenchmark.com.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
mexico Diamante: Living the Dream
The glow is on Diamante Cabo San Lucas, because Golf magazine said the resort community’s links-inspired, Davis Love III-designed Dunes layout was “the best course to open outside the U.S. in 2010.”
The award got me to thinking about Diamante’s Oasis course, a bigger-budget track that’s part of the 1,500-acre community’s master plan. Greg Carrafiello, who oversees the resort’s development, says that Phil Mickelson “is anticipated to be” the designer of the course, which will be “more lush, with more water” than its predecessor. Carrafiello reports that Diamante’s developer, Legacy Properties LLC, hopes to break ground on the track in 2012.
Don't bet your house on it. But the optimist in me is wondering if this could be a signal that Diamante is turning a corner.
The resort, like so many others, has been struggling in recent years. As best I can determine, it’s still trying to sell out the first phase of its housing (about 200 lots and villas), and most of its construction plans have been delayed.
On top of that, the image of Legacy’s president, Ken Jowdy, has been stained by a lawsuit filed in 2009 by some former National Hockey League players who invested in Diamante. In the lawsuit, the players accused Jowdy of blowing their money (said to be $25 million) because he “failed to execute even the most fundamental elements of a business or development plan” and spent foolishly on things like “gratuitous extravagant private air travel,” “luxury home rentals,” and “unlimited food and beverage expenses.”
Jowdy, who’s counter-sued, says that the allegations were fabricated by a former partner in an attempt to get control of Diamante and his other real estate holdings. Those holdings, incidentally, include Boot Ranch Golf Club in Fredericksburg, Texas (Jowdy co-owns it with Hal Sutton) and almost 10,000 acres of land (including four miles of oceanfront) in El Rosario, a town that’s about 800 miles up the Pacific coast from Cabo San Lucas.
Diamante, which is patrolled by what it calls “FBI-trained security guards,” eventually plans to build more houses, a village center, a clubhouse for the Dunes course, a beach club, an equestrian center, a “world-class” spa, and other attractions.
Nowhere does it say when. I hope it's sooner rather than later.
If you're wondering, Mickelson has so far written his “signature” on just one course, at Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale. The architectural heavy lifting was done by Gary Stephenson, a designer based in Celina, Texas.
The award got me to thinking about Diamante’s Oasis course, a bigger-budget track that’s part of the 1,500-acre community’s master plan. Greg Carrafiello, who oversees the resort’s development, says that Phil Mickelson “is anticipated to be” the designer of the course, which will be “more lush, with more water” than its predecessor. Carrafiello reports that Diamante’s developer, Legacy Properties LLC, hopes to break ground on the track in 2012.
Don't bet your house on it. But the optimist in me is wondering if this could be a signal that Diamante is turning a corner.
The resort, like so many others, has been struggling in recent years. As best I can determine, it’s still trying to sell out the first phase of its housing (about 200 lots and villas), and most of its construction plans have been delayed.
On top of that, the image of Legacy’s president, Ken Jowdy, has been stained by a lawsuit filed in 2009 by some former National Hockey League players who invested in Diamante. In the lawsuit, the players accused Jowdy of blowing their money (said to be $25 million) because he “failed to execute even the most fundamental elements of a business or development plan” and spent foolishly on things like “gratuitous extravagant private air travel,” “luxury home rentals,” and “unlimited food and beverage expenses.”
Jowdy, who’s counter-sued, says that the allegations were fabricated by a former partner in an attempt to get control of Diamante and his other real estate holdings. Those holdings, incidentally, include Boot Ranch Golf Club in Fredericksburg, Texas (Jowdy co-owns it with Hal Sutton) and almost 10,000 acres of land (including four miles of oceanfront) in El Rosario, a town that’s about 800 miles up the Pacific coast from Cabo San Lucas.
Diamante, which is patrolled by what it calls “FBI-trained security guards,” eventually plans to build more houses, a village center, a clubhouse for the Dunes course, a beach club, an equestrian center, a “world-class” spa, and other attractions.
Nowhere does it say when. I hope it's sooner rather than later.
If you're wondering, Mickelson has so far written his “signature” on just one course, at Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale. The architectural heavy lifting was done by Gary Stephenson, a designer based in Celina, Texas.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The Week That Was: May 22, 2011
ryder cup A French Toast
In a decision that I believe will ultimately be very good for golf, France has been awarded the 2018 Ryder Cup.
“In modern golf, this is just like second to none,” said Thomas Levet, a French touring pro, upon hearing the news. “It's crazy, the craziest moment in French golf -- like getting the Olympics.”
I’m not one of those people who love Paris in the springtime, but I was thrilled to hear that the matches would be played in France. As I noted in a recent blog, France’s Ryder Cup bid offers the world of golf something potentially great, something with broad, long-lasting value: a promise to build 100 driving ranges and “short” courses (six- and nine-hole tracks) in cities across the nation, in an effort to broaden golf’s appeal beyond its traditional white, male, middle-class base.
So I’m joining Colin Montgomerie in raising a toast to the decision.
“We must look forward into a new era,” Montgomerie told a British newspaper before the decision was made. “There are two mega-cities in Europe, London and Paris, and the Ryder Cup has got to this stage, this size now, that we can have economic success through it. With London not being involved, Paris is next, so it’s right it should go to France.”
The matches will be played just a short drive from the capital, at Le Golf National’s “stadium”-style Albatross course. The track is considered to be one of Europe’s finest championship venues -- it’s hosted 18 of the last 20 French Open championships -- and it’s well-liked by touring pros. What’s more, the club’s owner, the Federation Francaise de Golf, has set aside more than $8.5 million to make the property an ideal Ryder Cup host.
According to a report from ESPN, Spain probably finished second in the competition. Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands were the also-rans.
ryder cup The Next French Revolution?
What I like most and best about France’s winning bid is that it doesn’t merely pay lip-service to the idea of “growing the game.”
France currently has about 410,000 registered golfers. By building 100 practice centers and “short” courses, and by tapping into the Ryder Cup’s promotional value, the nation believes it can increase the number to 700,000 by 2020.
In other words, the 2018 Ryder Cup has the potential to create generations of new golfers in a nation capable of changing hearts and minds. If that happens, it would truly be a transformative event.
But I’m thinking bigger. Could France’s commitment to player development spread to other nations? Could it change the world of golf?
Call me naive, but I think opinion-makers all over the planet are going to take a close look at France’s development plan. In fact, it’s already happening.
Here’s part of a column written last week by Lorne Rubenstein, a long-time contributor to the sports pages of Toronto’s Globe and Mail:
The real news -- or at least the most surprising -- was the promise that the French delegation made to build 100 six- and nine-hole courses in France by the time of the Ryder Cup. The vow to bring golf to the masses, particularly new golfers and kids, is part of any European country’s bid for the Ryder Cup these days. It has to be.
“They will be close to the cities and less time-consuming,” Pascal Grizot, the chairman of the French bid, said. “I think they will be the real legacy of 2018.” . . .
Canada could use 100 six- and nine-hole courses to bring more kids into the game, and it’s a much bigger country than France. It could probably use more than that number of developmental courses.
Would Canadian golfers get behind such a program?
I was in New York City last week, and I walked and walked and walked. Great cities invite walking. One afternoon I stopped beside a field in Harlem. Kids in uniforms were having a great time. They were playing soccer, which, admittedly, requires less space than a golf course, even one of six or nine holes. But I thought, this is the future: Kids playing soccer.
But I also I wondered why we don’t have small playing fields for golf in Canada.
Three holes, six holes, nine holes. The amount doesn’t matter. Golf Canada and the Canadian PGA have their impressive National Golf in Schools program, but we need another type of program. Call it Golf in Fields.
Meanwhile, I hope the French Golf Federation follows through on its promise to build 100 small courses. It’s quite a promise. It’s quite a task. If it happens, it will be quite an achievement.
ryder cup And What About the Losing Bidders?
If the European PGA Tour’s award had gone to Portugal, Spain, or Germany, the competition in 2018 would have been held on to-be-built courses designed specifically to host a Ryder Cup. If the Netherlands had won, the matches would have been played on a soon-to-be completed course that would certainly be suitable for the event.
Now that those bids have been dismissed, however, what becomes of the construction plans?
Only one course will definitely open: the Colin Montgomerie “signature” track at the Dutch, in suburban Amsterdam. The course, which was co-designed by Ross McMurray of European Golf Design, has reportedly been seeded and will make its debut later this year.
Still to be determined is the fate of the Dutch’s planned second course, a Sam Torrance “signature” layout that will likewise be co-designed by McMurray. Without the boost in membership sales that a Ryder Cup can bring, the addition may not immediately pencil out.
The course most at risk, at least in the near term, is the Tom Fazio-designed (and McMurray co-designed) layout at Herdade da Comporta, a huge resort community that’s to take shape along the Alentejo coast, about an hour’s drive south of Lisbon. Despite Fazio’s high profile -- he’s by far the best-known architect in the Ryder Cup mix -- Espirito Santo Group has so far committed to build just one course at Herdade da Comporta, a David McLay Kidd-designed layout that’s expected to open in 2013.
The prospects in Spain and Germany aren’t much more encouraging. Most likely, those nations don’t feel as much urgency as they did earlier this year.
The Royal Spanish Golf Federation and some private-sector partners, for example, planned to build a Robin Hiseman-designed “stadium” course at Tres Cantos in suburban Madrid. Without a world-class event in hand, however, Spain may no longer believe it’s necessary to build a track with viewing areas for thousands of spectators.
The federation had also planned to build a second 18-hole course at Tres Cantos, one suited to amateurs. But considering the state of Spain’s economy, it may not be viable, either.
Of all the also-rans, Germany’s proposed venue in suburban Munich could have the most life. For starters, the Audi course, as it’s known, has some big money behind it, in the form of Audi, the car manufacturer, and Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds, a big investment firm. On top of that, Germany’s economy is improving, and its golf market is under-served.
But are those advantages enough to give the Audi a green light?
In a decision that I believe will ultimately be very good for golf, France has been awarded the 2018 Ryder Cup.
“In modern golf, this is just like second to none,” said Thomas Levet, a French touring pro, upon hearing the news. “It's crazy, the craziest moment in French golf -- like getting the Olympics.”
I’m not one of those people who love Paris in the springtime, but I was thrilled to hear that the matches would be played in France. As I noted in a recent blog, France’s Ryder Cup bid offers the world of golf something potentially great, something with broad, long-lasting value: a promise to build 100 driving ranges and “short” courses (six- and nine-hole tracks) in cities across the nation, in an effort to broaden golf’s appeal beyond its traditional white, male, middle-class base.
So I’m joining Colin Montgomerie in raising a toast to the decision.
“We must look forward into a new era,” Montgomerie told a British newspaper before the decision was made. “There are two mega-cities in Europe, London and Paris, and the Ryder Cup has got to this stage, this size now, that we can have economic success through it. With London not being involved, Paris is next, so it’s right it should go to France.”
The matches will be played just a short drive from the capital, at Le Golf National’s “stadium”-style Albatross course. The track is considered to be one of Europe’s finest championship venues -- it’s hosted 18 of the last 20 French Open championships -- and it’s well-liked by touring pros. What’s more, the club’s owner, the Federation Francaise de Golf, has set aside more than $8.5 million to make the property an ideal Ryder Cup host.
According to a report from ESPN, Spain probably finished second in the competition. Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands were the also-rans.
ryder cup The Next French Revolution?
What I like most and best about France’s winning bid is that it doesn’t merely pay lip-service to the idea of “growing the game.”
France currently has about 410,000 registered golfers. By building 100 practice centers and “short” courses, and by tapping into the Ryder Cup’s promotional value, the nation believes it can increase the number to 700,000 by 2020.
In other words, the 2018 Ryder Cup has the potential to create generations of new golfers in a nation capable of changing hearts and minds. If that happens, it would truly be a transformative event.
But I’m thinking bigger. Could France’s commitment to player development spread to other nations? Could it change the world of golf?
Call me naive, but I think opinion-makers all over the planet are going to take a close look at France’s development plan. In fact, it’s already happening.
Here’s part of a column written last week by Lorne Rubenstein, a long-time contributor to the sports pages of Toronto’s Globe and Mail:
The real news -- or at least the most surprising -- was the promise that the French delegation made to build 100 six- and nine-hole courses in France by the time of the Ryder Cup. The vow to bring golf to the masses, particularly new golfers and kids, is part of any European country’s bid for the Ryder Cup these days. It has to be.
“They will be close to the cities and less time-consuming,” Pascal Grizot, the chairman of the French bid, said. “I think they will be the real legacy of 2018.” . . .
Canada could use 100 six- and nine-hole courses to bring more kids into the game, and it’s a much bigger country than France. It could probably use more than that number of developmental courses.
Would Canadian golfers get behind such a program?
I was in New York City last week, and I walked and walked and walked. Great cities invite walking. One afternoon I stopped beside a field in Harlem. Kids in uniforms were having a great time. They were playing soccer, which, admittedly, requires less space than a golf course, even one of six or nine holes. But I thought, this is the future: Kids playing soccer.
But I also I wondered why we don’t have small playing fields for golf in Canada.
Three holes, six holes, nine holes. The amount doesn’t matter. Golf Canada and the Canadian PGA have their impressive National Golf in Schools program, but we need another type of program. Call it Golf in Fields.
Meanwhile, I hope the French Golf Federation follows through on its promise to build 100 small courses. It’s quite a promise. It’s quite a task. If it happens, it will be quite an achievement.
ryder cup And What About the Losing Bidders?
If the European PGA Tour’s award had gone to Portugal, Spain, or Germany, the competition in 2018 would have been held on to-be-built courses designed specifically to host a Ryder Cup. If the Netherlands had won, the matches would have been played on a soon-to-be completed course that would certainly be suitable for the event.
Now that those bids have been dismissed, however, what becomes of the construction plans?
Only one course will definitely open: the Colin Montgomerie “signature” track at the Dutch, in suburban Amsterdam. The course, which was co-designed by Ross McMurray of European Golf Design, has reportedly been seeded and will make its debut later this year.
Still to be determined is the fate of the Dutch’s planned second course, a Sam Torrance “signature” layout that will likewise be co-designed by McMurray. Without the boost in membership sales that a Ryder Cup can bring, the addition may not immediately pencil out.
The course most at risk, at least in the near term, is the Tom Fazio-designed (and McMurray co-designed) layout at Herdade da Comporta, a huge resort community that’s to take shape along the Alentejo coast, about an hour’s drive south of Lisbon. Despite Fazio’s high profile -- he’s by far the best-known architect in the Ryder Cup mix -- Espirito Santo Group has so far committed to build just one course at Herdade da Comporta, a David McLay Kidd-designed layout that’s expected to open in 2013.
The prospects in Spain and Germany aren’t much more encouraging. Most likely, those nations don’t feel as much urgency as they did earlier this year.
The Royal Spanish Golf Federation and some private-sector partners, for example, planned to build a Robin Hiseman-designed “stadium” course at Tres Cantos in suburban Madrid. Without a world-class event in hand, however, Spain may no longer believe it’s necessary to build a track with viewing areas for thousands of spectators.
The federation had also planned to build a second 18-hole course at Tres Cantos, one suited to amateurs. But considering the state of Spain’s economy, it may not be viable, either.
Of all the also-rans, Germany’s proposed venue in suburban Munich could have the most life. For starters, the Audi course, as it’s known, has some big money behind it, in the form of Audi, the car manufacturer, and Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds, a big investment firm. On top of that, Germany’s economy is improving, and its golf market is under-served.
But are those advantages enough to give the Audi a green light?
Friday, May 20, 2011
Shameless Self-Promotion, may 2011
What's new in international golf development and construction this month?
Let's start in Central America and the Caribbean, where
1. construction has finally begun on Gary Player's first golf course in Honduras;
2. a Cyprus-based developer has written the prescription for its makeover of the Playa Grande resort in the Dominican Republic; and
3. a Las Vegas-based hotel company plans to build an eco-friendly resort community, complete with a golf course capable of hosting international tournaments, on the northern coast of Costa Rica.
Now let's head to Europe, where
1. an aging Swedish beauty is about to get major surgery, with a familiar face holding the scalpel;
2. a trio of U.S. architects is about to commence work on the first golf course in Russia's premier resort city; and
3. a not-yet-opened, David Krause-designed layout has already been named Germany's best new course for 2011.
From Europe, it's just a short jump to the U.K., where
1. a golf course in Wallsend, England -- the birthplace of Sting, the rock star -- plans to build a lighted, par-3 track; and
2. a James Braid-designed course in Lancaster, England is about to get a makeover.
You're looking live at Australia, where
1. an Italian company is looking for a place to build what's been called “one of the biggest family resort and theme park operations on the planet”; and
2. Tom Doak has locked up what just might be his dream job.
Let's not forget Asia, where
1. an Ohio-based designer and an Indiana-based shaper have staked out several claims in Kazakhstan;
2. China Golf Group has added another item to its to-do list; and
3. one of Phil Mickelson's collaborators has been tapped to design a new course at a big resort community in Yunnan Province, China.
I'd be remiss if I didn't shine the spotlight on Africa, where
1. the oldest golf club in Morocco, looking to land an event on the European PGA Tour, has hired a “signature” designer to overhaul its course; and
2. a pair of golf clubs in Ghana -- Achimota Golf Club in Accra and Royal Golf Club in Kumasi -- have hired British architects to oversee renovations.
And finally, I'm contractually obligated to mention Southeast Asia, where
1. a fast-growing Vietnamese golf developer aims to build an 18-hole golf course at a resort community in Quang Ngai Province.
If you haven't already guessed, those are among the stories in this month's World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
If you'd like to size up the World Edition for yourself, give me a call at 301/680-9460 or send an e-mail to me at WorldEdition@aol.com.
Let's start in Central America and the Caribbean, where
1. construction has finally begun on Gary Player's first golf course in Honduras;
2. a Cyprus-based developer has written the prescription for its makeover of the Playa Grande resort in the Dominican Republic; and
3. a Las Vegas-based hotel company plans to build an eco-friendly resort community, complete with a golf course capable of hosting international tournaments, on the northern coast of Costa Rica.
Now let's head to Europe, where
1. an aging Swedish beauty is about to get major surgery, with a familiar face holding the scalpel;
2. a trio of U.S. architects is about to commence work on the first golf course in Russia's premier resort city; and
3. a not-yet-opened, David Krause-designed layout has already been named Germany's best new course for 2011.
From Europe, it's just a short jump to the U.K., where
1. a golf course in Wallsend, England -- the birthplace of Sting, the rock star -- plans to build a lighted, par-3 track; and
2. a James Braid-designed course in Lancaster, England is about to get a makeover.
You're looking live at Australia, where
1. an Italian company is looking for a place to build what's been called “one of the biggest family resort and theme park operations on the planet”; and
2. Tom Doak has locked up what just might be his dream job.
Let's not forget Asia, where
1. an Ohio-based designer and an Indiana-based shaper have staked out several claims in Kazakhstan;
2. China Golf Group has added another item to its to-do list; and
3. one of Phil Mickelson's collaborators has been tapped to design a new course at a big resort community in Yunnan Province, China.
I'd be remiss if I didn't shine the spotlight on Africa, where
1. the oldest golf club in Morocco, looking to land an event on the European PGA Tour, has hired a “signature” designer to overhaul its course; and
2. a pair of golf clubs in Ghana -- Achimota Golf Club in Accra and Royal Golf Club in Kumasi -- have hired British architects to oversee renovations.
And finally, I'm contractually obligated to mention Southeast Asia, where
1. a fast-growing Vietnamese golf developer aims to build an 18-hole golf course at a resort community in Quang Ngai Province.
If you haven't already guessed, those are among the stories in this month's World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
If you'd like to size up the World Edition for yourself, give me a call at 301/680-9460 or send an e-mail to me at WorldEdition@aol.com.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
austria The Inn Crowd
A Swedish golf star and an architect based in Greenville, South Carolina are teaming up to design a golf course in Austria’s Inn Valley.
Anders Forsbrand, who began playing on the European Tour in the early 1980s, will co-design Inntal Golf Club with Scot Sherman, who cut his architectural teeth with Perry Dye and Bobby Weed. The duo was hired by Leo Astl, who owns the Moarhof Hotel (a.k.a. Golf & Sport Moarhof) in Walchsee, a town that’s 40 miles west of Salzburg.
The hotel has a nine-hole golf course, Walchsee Golf Club, but Astl has leased a site from some local farmers where he aims to build an 18-hole layout.
Sherman calls the venture “a quintessentially sustainable golf project,” primarily because little earth will be moved and the farmers will build and operate the course.
Astl, who’s been trying to secure construction permits for four years, hopes to break ground on the course in July.
Forsbrand has co-designed one course, collaborating with European Golf Design to create the Kings Course at Kungsangen Golf Club in suburban Stockholm, Sweden.
Anders Forsbrand, who began playing on the European Tour in the early 1980s, will co-design Inntal Golf Club with Scot Sherman, who cut his architectural teeth with Perry Dye and Bobby Weed. The duo was hired by Leo Astl, who owns the Moarhof Hotel (a.k.a. Golf & Sport Moarhof) in Walchsee, a town that’s 40 miles west of Salzburg.
The hotel has a nine-hole golf course, Walchsee Golf Club, but Astl has leased a site from some local farmers where he aims to build an 18-hole layout.
Sherman calls the venture “a quintessentially sustainable golf project,” primarily because little earth will be moved and the farmers will build and operate the course.
Astl, who’s been trying to secure construction permits for four years, hopes to break ground on the course in July.
Forsbrand has co-designed one course, collaborating with European Golf Design to create the Kings Course at Kungsangen Golf Club in suburban Stockholm, Sweden.
Monday, May 16, 2011
News & Notes from the USA, #5
. . . Later this year, another “minimalist” golf course will begin to emerge from the sand hills of northeastern Colorado. The course, the second 18-hole track at Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club, has been designed by Bruce Hepner, a recent graduate of the University of Tom Doak. “We're dedicated to creating an equal companion to the first course,” says Hepner, who has a major challenge ahead of him, as Ballyneal's existing, Doak-designed layout has been rated among the nation's best by most everyone with a pulse. Rupert O'Neal, who's developing Ballyneal, says that he has enough land to build “10 really great golf courses,” but he's not yet ready to commit to more golf development on his property. “We've never had grandiose plans,” O'Neal says. “We're going to build a second course. If its turns out nice, we might build a third one. I'm not Donald Trump. I can't just snap my fingers and make it happen.”
. . . Once upon a time, farm land across the nation was converted into golf courses, in order to reach what was described as its “highest and best use.” Today, as food prices spike, evolution is taking us in the opposite direction. The latest example: Whittemore Golf Club in Algona, Iowa, which will be plowed under by its new owner. “I hope to put in a crop this year,” he told the Des Moines Register. Here's why: Since mid 2010, as the price of corn has doubled and the price of soybeans has more than doubled, the golf business in Iowa -- and elsewhere -- continues to shrivel. Such decisions won't be popular in farm states, as small, remote towns lose their golf courses. But that's how the bread is being buttered these days.
. . . Speaking of “highest and best uses,” the Great White course at Miami's Doral resort has officially been put on the endangered list. The resort's cash-strapped owner, an entity called MSR Golf Resort, aims to replace the 131-acre, Greg Norman-designed layout with a bunch of houses and stores. Sheer genius, no? Such creativity! In an attempt to win approval for the plan, MSR's well-paid lawyers wrote in a bankruptcy filing that Doral is “at a strategic crossroads” and that Norman's course is, sadly, “more valuable as an expansive commercial and residential development.” What they didn't say, and what a hotel consultant who talked to the Miami Herald did, is that the Doral “is showing a lot of wear and tear” and is no longer “considered a very high-end resort.”
. . . The American Society of Golf Course Architects has a new president, and he plans to champion the virtues of affordable courses that are fun to play. Welcome, Rick Phelps. “I'm going to do what I can to stand up and speak for the 97 percent of the golf courses that nobody has heard of,” the Evergreen, Colorado-based designer told the Denver Post. In the Post's story, Phelps' views got support from Jim Engh, another Colorado-based designer. “Anybody that doesn't believe we're in the entertainment business is from a different planet,” Engh said. “There has to be a fun factor.”
. . . Once upon a time, farm land across the nation was converted into golf courses, in order to reach what was described as its “highest and best use.” Today, as food prices spike, evolution is taking us in the opposite direction. The latest example: Whittemore Golf Club in Algona, Iowa, which will be plowed under by its new owner. “I hope to put in a crop this year,” he told the Des Moines Register. Here's why: Since mid 2010, as the price of corn has doubled and the price of soybeans has more than doubled, the golf business in Iowa -- and elsewhere -- continues to shrivel. Such decisions won't be popular in farm states, as small, remote towns lose their golf courses. But that's how the bread is being buttered these days.
. . . Speaking of “highest and best uses,” the Great White course at Miami's Doral resort has officially been put on the endangered list. The resort's cash-strapped owner, an entity called MSR Golf Resort, aims to replace the 131-acre, Greg Norman-designed layout with a bunch of houses and stores. Sheer genius, no? Such creativity! In an attempt to win approval for the plan, MSR's well-paid lawyers wrote in a bankruptcy filing that Doral is “at a strategic crossroads” and that Norman's course is, sadly, “more valuable as an expansive commercial and residential development.” What they didn't say, and what a hotel consultant who talked to the Miami Herald did, is that the Doral “is showing a lot of wear and tear” and is no longer “considered a very high-end resort.”
. . . The American Society of Golf Course Architects has a new president, and he plans to champion the virtues of affordable courses that are fun to play. Welcome, Rick Phelps. “I'm going to do what I can to stand up and speak for the 97 percent of the golf courses that nobody has heard of,” the Evergreen, Colorado-based designer told the Denver Post. In the Post's story, Phelps' views got support from Jim Engh, another Colorado-based designer. “Anybody that doesn't believe we're in the entertainment business is from a different planet,” Engh said. “There has to be a fun factor.”
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The Week That Was: May 15, 2011
australia Horton Hears a Who?
The battle over the future of Horton Park Golf Club keeps getting more and more complicated.
Earlier this year, Horton Park's members voted to sell their 132-acre property in Maroochydore, Queensland to the Sunshine Coast Council. The price: $39 million. The catch: The club must vacate by the end of August.
So the club needs a new home. Since its members have already rejected -- three times -- a chance to relocate to Twin Waters Golf Club in nearby Mudjimba Beach, it appears that a new course is its preference.
In recent months, Horton Park's members have evaluated several potential sites. At first it appeared that they were leaning toward property controlled by Andrew Gillman, who's offered to build an 18-hole, Graham Marsh-designed course for the new Horton Park Golf Club. Then, a month or so ago, Geoff Ogilvy, the popular Australian golf pro, purchased full-page newspaper ads encouraging the club to build its course -- presumably to be designed by Ogilvy and his design partner, Michael Clayton -- on what's been described as “a tremendous piece of land” in the town of Diddillibah.
Of course, two is merely company. So perhaps it was inevitable that a third option would be put on the table.
Last week, Greg Norman -- a hero in Australia, with parents who still live on the Sunshine Coast -- evaluated yet another potential home for Horton Park. His conclusion: The property could yield a ready-to-play, Greg Norman “signature” course just 14 months after the first shovel goes into the ground.
My question: Will the third designer be the charmer?
china The Shanghai Express
Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the Palo Alto, California-based course architect, has reportedly designed seven golf courses in China and has at least three others in the works.
What's more interesting, though, is how Jones landed his first commission in the People's Republic -- the one to design Shanghai Golf & Country Club -- back in the early 1980s. The club may now be “a playground for China's nouveau riche and even its Communist party officials,” as the Silicon Valley Mercury News puts it, but back then golf was widely feared and loathed. To build a golf course, strings had to be pulled by people at the very top of the Chinese government.
And then, to complete the job, an army of workers had to be assembled.
Jones, who's worked corridors of power for decades, recently told the story to the newspaper. Here it is:
Jones' foray into the rough of China's golf industry began in the early 1980s at the behest of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who was introduced to Jones by President Jimmy Carter during Deng's 1979 visit to the United States. Shanghai, now considered the Manhattan of China, then was a city “of mostly a lot of bicycles and no high-rises -- zero,” Jones recalled.
He met in a darkened office with a Communist official wearing a Mao suit and smoking cigarettes. The course designer, who knows his way around sand traps, found himself thrust in the middle of golf diplomacy. Prescott Bush, the late brother of former President George H. W. Bush, helped negotiate the complex deal.
“At the time, the government thought it was a political project because we had to improve our relations with the United States,” said Ma Jia Wei, vice general manager of the Shanghai golf club, who worked as a translator during the construction of the course. “There was little foreign investment in Shanghai and no entertainment, no karaoke, no sports.”
Jones said he was told he also played a role in the “punishment” of Jiang Qing, the wife of Mao who was arrested on charges of treason for her role as a leader in the brutal Cultural Revolution. From her imprisonment in Shanghai, she inveighed against the destruction of a park west of downtown -- the site of the golf course -- by “occidentals” bringing “that capitalist sport” to China, Jones said.
Government officials, he added, “were ecstatic we caused her psychological pain. It was, `Thank you for applying one of the thousand cuts that is her punishment for what she did with the Gang of Four,'” he said, referring to the political faction charged with treasonous crimes in the wake of the revolution.
Construction on the Shanghai club began just after the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in 1989, which led to an economic boycott by Western nations and a dearth of bulldozers to shape the course. So an army of workers with bamboo poles and giant dirt bags did the labor normally done by machines.
“It is the only hand-built golf course I have been involved in,” said Jones, 77. “There were 2,000 people camped out on that site in tents. They worked 24/7. It was very intense.”
egypt Democracy in Action
You say you want a revolution? Well, they had one in Egypt, and the result wasn’t good for golf development and construction, at least in the short term.
“My impression is that all my clients have taken a step back and are waiting to see what's going to happen,” John Sanford said in a recent interview with TCPalm.com.
Sanford, a golf course architect based in Jupiter, Florida, has designed a handful of courses in Egypt and has a new one under construction at Hacienda Bay, a deluxe resort community emerging on the Mediterranean coast near El Alamein. The 18-hole track was more than half-completed in January, when the government toppled, and before you could sing “we all want to change the world,” Palm Hills Development Group put Hacienda Bay on indefinite hiatus.
But last month, Sanford got some welcome news. Palm Hills says it’s ready to resume construction and has asked him to make a site visit this summer.
If there’s a lesson in the experience, it’s this: The spread of democracy is messy and usually involves hard choices.
“I support the people in their effort,” Sanford told the newspaper, “even though it is detrimental to my business.”
The battle over the future of Horton Park Golf Club keeps getting more and more complicated.
Earlier this year, Horton Park's members voted to sell their 132-acre property in Maroochydore, Queensland to the Sunshine Coast Council. The price: $39 million. The catch: The club must vacate by the end of August.
So the club needs a new home. Since its members have already rejected -- three times -- a chance to relocate to Twin Waters Golf Club in nearby Mudjimba Beach, it appears that a new course is its preference.
In recent months, Horton Park's members have evaluated several potential sites. At first it appeared that they were leaning toward property controlled by Andrew Gillman, who's offered to build an 18-hole, Graham Marsh-designed course for the new Horton Park Golf Club. Then, a month or so ago, Geoff Ogilvy, the popular Australian golf pro, purchased full-page newspaper ads encouraging the club to build its course -- presumably to be designed by Ogilvy and his design partner, Michael Clayton -- on what's been described as “a tremendous piece of land” in the town of Diddillibah.
Of course, two is merely company. So perhaps it was inevitable that a third option would be put on the table.
Last week, Greg Norman -- a hero in Australia, with parents who still live on the Sunshine Coast -- evaluated yet another potential home for Horton Park. His conclusion: The property could yield a ready-to-play, Greg Norman “signature” course just 14 months after the first shovel goes into the ground.
My question: Will the third designer be the charmer?
china The Shanghai Express
Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the Palo Alto, California-based course architect, has reportedly designed seven golf courses in China and has at least three others in the works.
What's more interesting, though, is how Jones landed his first commission in the People's Republic -- the one to design Shanghai Golf & Country Club -- back in the early 1980s. The club may now be “a playground for China's nouveau riche and even its Communist party officials,” as the Silicon Valley Mercury News puts it, but back then golf was widely feared and loathed. To build a golf course, strings had to be pulled by people at the very top of the Chinese government.
And then, to complete the job, an army of workers had to be assembled.
Jones, who's worked corridors of power for decades, recently told the story to the newspaper. Here it is:
Jones' foray into the rough of China's golf industry began in the early 1980s at the behest of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who was introduced to Jones by President Jimmy Carter during Deng's 1979 visit to the United States. Shanghai, now considered the Manhattan of China, then was a city “of mostly a lot of bicycles and no high-rises -- zero,” Jones recalled.
He met in a darkened office with a Communist official wearing a Mao suit and smoking cigarettes. The course designer, who knows his way around sand traps, found himself thrust in the middle of golf diplomacy. Prescott Bush, the late brother of former President George H. W. Bush, helped negotiate the complex deal.
“At the time, the government thought it was a political project because we had to improve our relations with the United States,” said Ma Jia Wei, vice general manager of the Shanghai golf club, who worked as a translator during the construction of the course. “There was little foreign investment in Shanghai and no entertainment, no karaoke, no sports.”
Jones said he was told he also played a role in the “punishment” of Jiang Qing, the wife of Mao who was arrested on charges of treason for her role as a leader in the brutal Cultural Revolution. From her imprisonment in Shanghai, she inveighed against the destruction of a park west of downtown -- the site of the golf course -- by “occidentals” bringing “that capitalist sport” to China, Jones said.
Government officials, he added, “were ecstatic we caused her psychological pain. It was, `Thank you for applying one of the thousand cuts that is her punishment for what she did with the Gang of Four,'” he said, referring to the political faction charged with treasonous crimes in the wake of the revolution.
Construction on the Shanghai club began just after the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in 1989, which led to an economic boycott by Western nations and a dearth of bulldozers to shape the course. So an army of workers with bamboo poles and giant dirt bags did the labor normally done by machines.
“It is the only hand-built golf course I have been involved in,” said Jones, 77. “There were 2,000 people camped out on that site in tents. They worked 24/7. It was very intense.”
egypt Democracy in Action
You say you want a revolution? Well, they had one in Egypt, and the result wasn’t good for golf development and construction, at least in the short term.
“My impression is that all my clients have taken a step back and are waiting to see what's going to happen,” John Sanford said in a recent interview with TCPalm.com.
Sanford, a golf course architect based in Jupiter, Florida, has designed a handful of courses in Egypt and has a new one under construction at Hacienda Bay, a deluxe resort community emerging on the Mediterranean coast near El Alamein. The 18-hole track was more than half-completed in January, when the government toppled, and before you could sing “we all want to change the world,” Palm Hills Development Group put Hacienda Bay on indefinite hiatus.
But last month, Sanford got some welcome news. Palm Hills says it’s ready to resume construction and has asked him to make a site visit this summer.
If there’s a lesson in the experience, it’s this: The spread of democracy is messy and usually involves hard choices.
“I support the people in their effort,” Sanford told the newspaper, “even though it is detrimental to my business.”
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
china Nicklaus and Jones Pair Up
Two celebrity architects have designed three 18-hole golf courses for a ski resort near the highest mountain in northeastern China.
Jack Nicklaus and Robert Trent Jones, Jr. have designed the courses for the Changbaishan resort, which spreads over 4,000 acres in Baishan City, Jilin Province. The resort takes its name from Changbaishan Mountain, a dormant volcano –- it reportedly last erupted in 1215 -– that looms in the distance. The “ever-white mountain” is already a popular tourist destination and part of an area that local authorities intend to market to international travelers as “the Oriental Alps.”
The master plan for the resort includes vacation villas, hotels, a horse-racing track, an adventure park, a spa, conference center, and RV park. With those attractions plus the golf courses -– a 7,414-yard “signature” track by Nicklaus and a pair of 18s by Jones -– the resort figures to attract 3.5 million visitors a year by 2020.
While the courses are under construction, they aren’t expected to open for several years.
“The season is short,” says John Cope, one of the design associates at Nicklaus’ firm, “and it will be a few seasons before we complete anything.”
Jack Nicklaus and Robert Trent Jones, Jr. have designed the courses for the Changbaishan resort, which spreads over 4,000 acres in Baishan City, Jilin Province. The resort takes its name from Changbaishan Mountain, a dormant volcano –- it reportedly last erupted in 1215 -– that looms in the distance. The “ever-white mountain” is already a popular tourist destination and part of an area that local authorities intend to market to international travelers as “the Oriental Alps.”
The master plan for the resort includes vacation villas, hotels, a horse-racing track, an adventure park, a spa, conference center, and RV park. With those attractions plus the golf courses -– a 7,414-yard “signature” track by Nicklaus and a pair of 18s by Jones -– the resort figures to attract 3.5 million visitors a year by 2020.
While the courses are under construction, they aren’t expected to open for several years.
“The season is short,” says John Cope, one of the design associates at Nicklaus’ firm, “and it will be a few seasons before we complete anything.”
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Week That Was: May 8, 2011
brazil Another Option for the 2016 Olympics
One of Brazil's oldest golf clubs, featuring a course designed by Stanley Thompson, has formally petitioned to host the golf competition at the 2016 Olympics.
Itanhangá Golf Club expressed its desire last month, in an e-mail sent to Peter Dawson, the president of the International Golf Federation. “Itanhangá is consistently chosen for major Brazilian and international events for its world-class, though not overly difficult layout, and its spectacular natural setting and beauty,” the club's president wrote in the letter.
Itanhanga was founded in 1933 and is said to be among the nation's most exclusive clubs, for whatever that's worth. Its tournament course hosted an event on the PGA European Tour, the Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 Years Open, in 2000, and more recently it's hosted an LPGA event. I wouldn't call that track record “consistent,” but the club obviously does.
More importantly, the club's “not overly difficult layout” will need to be toughened up for the Olympics. One source describes the course as a 6,600-yard, target-style track with small greens. Another source says the track is shorter, just 6,178 yards.
If chosen, the club expects to spring for renovations that will lengthen the course by about 600 yards.
Thompson, for those who may not be familiar with his work, is considered by many to be Canada's greatest golf architect. It's worth noting that one of his proteges, Robert Trent Jones, almost certainly had a hand in the design of Itanhanga's course.
It's also worth noting that Rio has just one other golf course, an 18-hole track at Gávea Golf Club. Gavea's course, which opened in about 1930, was also designed by Thompson.
sri lanka It Takes a Village
One of the most powerful elected officials in Sri Lanka says that he plans to open a new golf course “next year,” and that a Chinese company will help him build it.
Since the construction hasn’t yet begun, Namal Rajapaksa had better get cracking if he expects to meet his deadline.
The course will take shape in Hambanthota, on Sri Lanka's southern coast, as part of the city’s effort to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Rajapaksa, a member of parliament and the son of Sri Lanka’s president, hasn’t identified his Chinese partner, but he showed an ability to get things done when he sparked the construction of Sri Lanka’s biggest, newest international cricket stadium.
Now he’s at work on a much bigger project, a sports village that will include facilities for squash, cycling, rugby, soccer, and other sports, a technology park, a business park, and an 18-hole golf course.
Earlier this year, he told the Asian Tribune, “We are getting a lot of help from many foreign countries, including India, and we are hoping to make Hambantota the ‘sports city’ of Sri Lanka.”
The village is just one of a slew of high-profile, big-ticket projects that are planned in conjunction with the games, among them several hotels, a university, and an international airport. With or without the games, these and other development ventures are expected to boost the economic prospects of Hambantota, which was devastated by the tsunami that rose out of the Indian Ocean in 2004
scotland Much Ado About Nothing
If you design the world's greatest golf course, are you then automatically considered to be the world's greatest golf architect?
That's the question I wish CNN had answered (or even asked) in its recent profile of Martin Hawtree, the Brit who's been selected to design the forthcoming golf course at Trump International Golf Club Scotland. Donald Trump, as I'm sure you'll recall, has promised that the club's first 18-hole track will be, when it opens next summer, “the world's greatest golf course.”
Instead of exploring the challenge Trump has posed -- Hawtree is, after all, having his moment in the sun because he's landed a career-defining commission -- CNN has chosen to focus on trivialities. The story notes, for example, that Hawtree works in a “quaint, wood-beamed and low-ceiling cottage” amid “rolled-up manuscripts” that “act as proud reminders of the traditions and achievements of the practice.”
Okay. So what?
The news service even seems surprised to discover that Hawtree uses computers in his work. “They enable us to show the client the end product through computer-generated images,” one of Hawtree's associates explains.
Wow! Such marvels!
Nor is CNN helpful in explaining Hawtree's design process. On that topic, about all it could squeeze out of Hawtree is this: “On nearly every occasion, I go with my initial gut feeling for the layout.”
I feel for CNN's reporter, because I can tell you from experience that Hawtree isn't a great interview. He's modest nearly to a fault and reluctant to discuss his accomplishments -- the diametrical opposite of, say, someone like Robert Trent Jones, Jr., who'll literally talk your ear off if you let him.
No, Hawtree's personality practically defines that legendary British reserve. Here's how he explained his design philosophy to CNN: “To create a great golf course -- a fair golf course -- playable by all.”
When I read that, I was ready to hit the snooze button.
And if you're wondering how much of a pain in the neck Trump was during the design process, Hawtree told CNN that his famously controlling client “has been `hands-off' and has largely left him to his own devices.”
Yeah, sure. Not the Donald I know.
One of Brazil's oldest golf clubs, featuring a course designed by Stanley Thompson, has formally petitioned to host the golf competition at the 2016 Olympics.
Itanhangá Golf Club expressed its desire last month, in an e-mail sent to Peter Dawson, the president of the International Golf Federation. “Itanhangá is consistently chosen for major Brazilian and international events for its world-class, though not overly difficult layout, and its spectacular natural setting and beauty,” the club's president wrote in the letter.
Itanhanga was founded in 1933 and is said to be among the nation's most exclusive clubs, for whatever that's worth. Its tournament course hosted an event on the PGA European Tour, the Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 Years Open, in 2000, and more recently it's hosted an LPGA event. I wouldn't call that track record “consistent,” but the club obviously does.
More importantly, the club's “not overly difficult layout” will need to be toughened up for the Olympics. One source describes the course as a 6,600-yard, target-style track with small greens. Another source says the track is shorter, just 6,178 yards.
If chosen, the club expects to spring for renovations that will lengthen the course by about 600 yards.
Thompson, for those who may not be familiar with his work, is considered by many to be Canada's greatest golf architect. It's worth noting that one of his proteges, Robert Trent Jones, almost certainly had a hand in the design of Itanhanga's course.
It's also worth noting that Rio has just one other golf course, an 18-hole track at Gávea Golf Club. Gavea's course, which opened in about 1930, was also designed by Thompson.
sri lanka It Takes a Village
One of the most powerful elected officials in Sri Lanka says that he plans to open a new golf course “next year,” and that a Chinese company will help him build it.
Since the construction hasn’t yet begun, Namal Rajapaksa had better get cracking if he expects to meet his deadline.
The course will take shape in Hambanthota, on Sri Lanka's southern coast, as part of the city’s effort to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Rajapaksa, a member of parliament and the son of Sri Lanka’s president, hasn’t identified his Chinese partner, but he showed an ability to get things done when he sparked the construction of Sri Lanka’s biggest, newest international cricket stadium.
Now he’s at work on a much bigger project, a sports village that will include facilities for squash, cycling, rugby, soccer, and other sports, a technology park, a business park, and an 18-hole golf course.
Earlier this year, he told the Asian Tribune, “We are getting a lot of help from many foreign countries, including India, and we are hoping to make Hambantota the ‘sports city’ of Sri Lanka.”
The village is just one of a slew of high-profile, big-ticket projects that are planned in conjunction with the games, among them several hotels, a university, and an international airport. With or without the games, these and other development ventures are expected to boost the economic prospects of Hambantota, which was devastated by the tsunami that rose out of the Indian Ocean in 2004
scotland Much Ado About Nothing
If you design the world's greatest golf course, are you then automatically considered to be the world's greatest golf architect?
That's the question I wish CNN had answered (or even asked) in its recent profile of Martin Hawtree, the Brit who's been selected to design the forthcoming golf course at Trump International Golf Club Scotland. Donald Trump, as I'm sure you'll recall, has promised that the club's first 18-hole track will be, when it opens next summer, “the world's greatest golf course.”
Instead of exploring the challenge Trump has posed -- Hawtree is, after all, having his moment in the sun because he's landed a career-defining commission -- CNN has chosen to focus on trivialities. The story notes, for example, that Hawtree works in a “quaint, wood-beamed and low-ceiling cottage” amid “rolled-up manuscripts” that “act as proud reminders of the traditions and achievements of the practice.”
Okay. So what?
The news service even seems surprised to discover that Hawtree uses computers in his work. “They enable us to show the client the end product through computer-generated images,” one of Hawtree's associates explains.
Wow! Such marvels!
Nor is CNN helpful in explaining Hawtree's design process. On that topic, about all it could squeeze out of Hawtree is this: “On nearly every occasion, I go with my initial gut feeling for the layout.”
I feel for CNN's reporter, because I can tell you from experience that Hawtree isn't a great interview. He's modest nearly to a fault and reluctant to discuss his accomplishments -- the diametrical opposite of, say, someone like Robert Trent Jones, Jr., who'll literally talk your ear off if you let him.
No, Hawtree's personality practically defines that legendary British reserve. Here's how he explained his design philosophy to CNN: “To create a great golf course -- a fair golf course -- playable by all.”
When I read that, I was ready to hit the snooze button.
And if you're wondering how much of a pain in the neck Trump was during the design process, Hawtree told CNN that his famously controlling client “has been `hands-off' and has largely left him to his own devices.”
Yeah, sure. Not the Donald I know.
Friday, May 6, 2011
talking points Buried Lies
Longer or shorter? The debate about 7,000-yard golf courses continues at Planet Golf, where Tom Doak weighed in on the issue with these philosophical musings.
Anything that becomes a big business, like golf, tends to get away from its roots in the process. From one step to the next isn’t necessarily irrational, but 50 years later you wind up so far from where you started [that] it makes no sense. It’s true of a lot of things in life. Things just get more and more standardized over time.
Look at the food business in the United States. Fifty years ago, people were growing stuff on farms, and [the stuff] went to market. Now it’s being shipped in from all over the world, and the food is less and less natural and less and less healthy. And yet, nobody can stop it. It’s just been an evolution.
It’s the same in the golf business. Developers only insist on golf courses being 7,200 yards long because they think the people [who] are going to pay to play insist on [them] being 7,200 yards long. And the really crazy thing is [that] most of those people have no intention of playing from 7,200 yards. It may say that’s what it is from the back tees on the scorecard, but 2 percent of golfers will play from there. Even though most golfers play most courses from 6,300 to 6,500 yards, if it doesn’t say 7,200 yards from the back tees on the scorecard, it’s wrong.
Pete Dye said to me once when I worked for him, “You make a 7,000-yard course for the great players, and the only way to make it playable for the average guy is to build it at 5,800 yards and lie and say it’s 6,300 yards.”
Anything that becomes a big business, like golf, tends to get away from its roots in the process. From one step to the next isn’t necessarily irrational, but 50 years later you wind up so far from where you started [that] it makes no sense. It’s true of a lot of things in life. Things just get more and more standardized over time.
Look at the food business in the United States. Fifty years ago, people were growing stuff on farms, and [the stuff] went to market. Now it’s being shipped in from all over the world, and the food is less and less natural and less and less healthy. And yet, nobody can stop it. It’s just been an evolution.
It’s the same in the golf business. Developers only insist on golf courses being 7,200 yards long because they think the people [who] are going to pay to play insist on [them] being 7,200 yards long. And the really crazy thing is [that] most of those people have no intention of playing from 7,200 yards. It may say that’s what it is from the back tees on the scorecard, but 2 percent of golfers will play from there. Even though most golfers play most courses from 6,300 to 6,500 yards, if it doesn’t say 7,200 yards from the back tees on the scorecard, it’s wrong.
Pete Dye said to me once when I worked for him, “You make a 7,000-yard course for the great players, and the only way to make it playable for the average guy is to build it at 5,800 yards and lie and say it’s 6,300 yards.”
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
china Gary Linn: 54 Holes in China
Like Woodward and Bernstein, the reporters who broke open the Watergate scandal, these days Gary Linn is following the money -– all the way to China.
The Mountain View, California-based designer has two projects in the People’s Republic, including one that could begin construction this spring in Sanya, on Hainan Island, a city that the Washington Post calls “a combination of Waikiki and Miami Beach, perhaps with a dash of Las Vegas thrown in.”
The project is called Oak Valley, and it’ll feature –- along with houses (including houses for retirees), a hotel, and other attractions –- two 18-hole courses, one by Linn and one by Dana Fry of Columbus, Ohio-based Hurdzan Fry Environmental Golf Design.
Linn fears that some overbuilding could be taking place on Hainan Island, as huge, resort-style hotels -– “as big or bigger than anything you’ll see in Florida,” he reports –- are emerging everywhere.
“Sometimes you scratch your head and wonder how the economics work,” he muses.
Last year, construction began on a Linn-designed 36-hole complex at Mao Feng Hill Golf Club in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province and southern China’s largest city. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Flagstick Golf is overseeing the development of Mao Feng, which is expected to open in late 2012 or 2013.
The Mountain View, California-based designer has two projects in the People’s Republic, including one that could begin construction this spring in Sanya, on Hainan Island, a city that the Washington Post calls “a combination of Waikiki and Miami Beach, perhaps with a dash of Las Vegas thrown in.”
The project is called Oak Valley, and it’ll feature –- along with houses (including houses for retirees), a hotel, and other attractions –- two 18-hole courses, one by Linn and one by Dana Fry of Columbus, Ohio-based Hurdzan Fry Environmental Golf Design.
Linn fears that some overbuilding could be taking place on Hainan Island, as huge, resort-style hotels -– “as big or bigger than anything you’ll see in Florida,” he reports –- are emerging everywhere.
“Sometimes you scratch your head and wonder how the economics work,” he muses.
Last year, construction began on a Linn-designed 36-hole complex at Mao Feng Hill Golf Club in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province and southern China’s largest city. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Flagstick Golf is overseeing the development of Mao Feng, which is expected to open in late 2012 or 2013.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Week That Was: May 1, 2011
india Jammu & Kashmir Opens Its First Course
Late last month, the government of Jammu & Kashmir, the northernmost state in India, made some history by opening its first golf course.
Jammu Tawi Golf Course, a nine-hole track in Sidhra, has been designed by K. D. Bagga, a New Delhi-based architect and golf consultant who once served as Ron Fream’s eyes and ears in India. The government says it'll eventually grow to 18 holes, probably by 2013, although nobody appears to be willing to set a solid construction schedule.
More than 8 million tourists reportedly pass through Jammu & Kashmir every year, and the government believes a network of quality golf courses will get them to stop and stay a while. The state’s tourism department has built a nine-hole track in Sanasar, and, with its encouragement, private groups are expected to soon open courses in Pahalgam and Gulmarg.
Bagga, who retired from the military years ago, is one of India's most prolific architects -- he's responsible for about a dozen courses -- and has long been the nation's premier advocate of affordable golf. Like Fream, he's designed courses that serve as centerpieces for golf communities -- notably Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad -- but he's best known for smaller, down-scale courses that he often builds with inexperienced local volunteers.
“My designs are economical to develop and environmentally friendly,” Bagga recently told me. “I design golf courses using the natural layout [of the land] and include the existing features into the strategy of the game.”
Though he should be taking it easy, these days Bagga is also working on more than a half-dozen courses in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and other cities.
china Welcome to Hainan!
A fun fact about tourism on Hainan Island: Nearly 25 million tourists visited “China's Hawaii” last year, according to the Indian Express, but only about 600,000 of them came from outside China.
Now you know why tourism officials in the People's Republic market the island so intently to international travelers.
cuba The Next Revolution
Speaking of vacations, 1 million tourists visited Cuba during the first quarter of this year, an increase of 10.4 percent from the same period in 2010.
Based on that result, the nation's tourism ministry predicts that in 2011 Cuba will open its doors to more than 2.5 million visitors. If they're right, Cuba will set a record for tourist visits.
Canadians are Cuba's most frequent visitors, but the island also receives substantial numbers from Russia, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Chile, Spain, Venezuela, and Belgium.
And as you know, Cuba is banking on golf to further boost its tourism revenues.
morocco Is Gary Player Being Played?
Gary Player's design firm has been hired to revitalize the hum-drum golf complex at Royal Golf de Marrakech in Marrakech, Morocco. Player's main charge is to create a tournament-worthy 18-hole track at Royal Golf, while maintaining nine holes for the pleasure of the club's members.
Now that we've dispensed with the news, I'd like to turn your attention to the press release that announced the commission. Call me cynical, but I hardly recognize the “Gary Player” who appears in it.
For starters, the press release states that Player's company is “widely recognized as the world's most successful golf course architectural firm.”
Really? By what standard? It's not by the sheer number of courses the firm has designed, because Nicklaus Design, to pick out the first name that pops into my head, has surely done more. And it can't be on the basis of the number of top-rated courses in Player's portfolio, because on that score the firm barely registers. I just took a look at Golfweek's recently published list of the Top 100 Modern Courses, and there's isn't a single Player-designed track on it. All of Player's prime competitors -- a group that includes Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Doak, and Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw -- are all represented multiple times.
So if we aren't talking quantity or quality, what are we talking about?
The press release also calls Player “a legend in his own time.” This is a powerful statement and, as far as I'm concerned, one that's absolutely true. When the histories of golf are written, Player will always get a chapter for himself, and most deservedly so. However, I shouldn't need to point out that the phrase completely loses its impact when a fellow says it about himself.
But what really riles me is a quote, ostensibly from Player, that's prominently placed at the top of the press release. Instead of sounding honest and authentic and genuine, it sounds characterless and contrived and empty, as if it had been written following a formula learned in Public Relations 101.
By rote, Player tells us how excited he is to oversee the renovation (“This is going to be a really fun and interesting project”), whispers sweet nothings about the site (“It is a beautiful property”), praises the nation (“Morocco is a wonderful country”), and dutifully thanks his client (“I am honored to have been chosen”).
I guarantee you, this quote was written by a jaded individual who's written entirely too many press releases and no longer takes his or her job seriously.
All of this would be funny, a sort of comedy of errors, if tending to the image of a golf legend wasn't serious business. Player is no mere golf champion. Over the years, he's proved himself to be thoughtful, articulate, and compassionate. Throughout his career, he's been willing to take unpopular stands, buck conventional wisdom, stir controversies, and point golf design and development in directions it needs to go.
Gary, I've said this before and I'll say it again: You deserve better.
Heck, you're a legend in your own time.
Late last month, the government of Jammu & Kashmir, the northernmost state in India, made some history by opening its first golf course.
Jammu Tawi Golf Course, a nine-hole track in Sidhra, has been designed by K. D. Bagga, a New Delhi-based architect and golf consultant who once served as Ron Fream’s eyes and ears in India. The government says it'll eventually grow to 18 holes, probably by 2013, although nobody appears to be willing to set a solid construction schedule.
More than 8 million tourists reportedly pass through Jammu & Kashmir every year, and the government believes a network of quality golf courses will get them to stop and stay a while. The state’s tourism department has built a nine-hole track in Sanasar, and, with its encouragement, private groups are expected to soon open courses in Pahalgam and Gulmarg.
Bagga, who retired from the military years ago, is one of India's most prolific architects -- he's responsible for about a dozen courses -- and has long been the nation's premier advocate of affordable golf. Like Fream, he's designed courses that serve as centerpieces for golf communities -- notably Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad -- but he's best known for smaller, down-scale courses that he often builds with inexperienced local volunteers.
“My designs are economical to develop and environmentally friendly,” Bagga recently told me. “I design golf courses using the natural layout [of the land] and include the existing features into the strategy of the game.”
Though he should be taking it easy, these days Bagga is also working on more than a half-dozen courses in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and other cities.
china Welcome to Hainan!
A fun fact about tourism on Hainan Island: Nearly 25 million tourists visited “China's Hawaii” last year, according to the Indian Express, but only about 600,000 of them came from outside China.
Now you know why tourism officials in the People's Republic market the island so intently to international travelers.
cuba The Next Revolution
Speaking of vacations, 1 million tourists visited Cuba during the first quarter of this year, an increase of 10.4 percent from the same period in 2010.
Based on that result, the nation's tourism ministry predicts that in 2011 Cuba will open its doors to more than 2.5 million visitors. If they're right, Cuba will set a record for tourist visits.
Canadians are Cuba's most frequent visitors, but the island also receives substantial numbers from Russia, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Chile, Spain, Venezuela, and Belgium.
And as you know, Cuba is banking on golf to further boost its tourism revenues.
morocco Is Gary Player Being Played?
Gary Player's design firm has been hired to revitalize the hum-drum golf complex at Royal Golf de Marrakech in Marrakech, Morocco. Player's main charge is to create a tournament-worthy 18-hole track at Royal Golf, while maintaining nine holes for the pleasure of the club's members.
Now that we've dispensed with the news, I'd like to turn your attention to the press release that announced the commission. Call me cynical, but I hardly recognize the “Gary Player” who appears in it.
For starters, the press release states that Player's company is “widely recognized as the world's most successful golf course architectural firm.”
Really? By what standard? It's not by the sheer number of courses the firm has designed, because Nicklaus Design, to pick out the first name that pops into my head, has surely done more. And it can't be on the basis of the number of top-rated courses in Player's portfolio, because on that score the firm barely registers. I just took a look at Golfweek's recently published list of the Top 100 Modern Courses, and there's isn't a single Player-designed track on it. All of Player's prime competitors -- a group that includes Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Doak, and Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw -- are all represented multiple times.
So if we aren't talking quantity or quality, what are we talking about?
The press release also calls Player “a legend in his own time.” This is a powerful statement and, as far as I'm concerned, one that's absolutely true. When the histories of golf are written, Player will always get a chapter for himself, and most deservedly so. However, I shouldn't need to point out that the phrase completely loses its impact when a fellow says it about himself.
But what really riles me is a quote, ostensibly from Player, that's prominently placed at the top of the press release. Instead of sounding honest and authentic and genuine, it sounds characterless and contrived and empty, as if it had been written following a formula learned in Public Relations 101.
By rote, Player tells us how excited he is to oversee the renovation (“This is going to be a really fun and interesting project”), whispers sweet nothings about the site (“It is a beautiful property”), praises the nation (“Morocco is a wonderful country”), and dutifully thanks his client (“I am honored to have been chosen”).
I guarantee you, this quote was written by a jaded individual who's written entirely too many press releases and no longer takes his or her job seriously.
All of this would be funny, a sort of comedy of errors, if tending to the image of a golf legend wasn't serious business. Player is no mere golf champion. Over the years, he's proved himself to be thoughtful, articulate, and compassionate. Throughout his career, he's been willing to take unpopular stands, buck conventional wisdom, stir controversies, and point golf design and development in directions it needs to go.
Gary, I've said this before and I'll say it again: You deserve better.
Heck, you're a legend in your own time.
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