The Week That Was, august 12, 2012

china Ken Chu: Born To Run

A handful of noteworthy facts about Ken Chu and his super-sized Mission Hills resorts:

One, Chairman Chu plays speed golf. During a round, the Queensland Times reports, he runs between shots. “People hate playing with me,” Chu told the newspaper. “They can’t keep up.”

Two, keeping up with Chu requires very deep pockets. Chu told the Times that his family has invested $4.2 billion (in Australian currency, presumably) into the making of his resorts in Shenzhen and Haikou. Does this figure seem excessively high, or am I missing something about development and construction in China?

Three, Chu isn’t limiting his company’s horizons to China. According to the Times, he “talks about expanding into other regions of China and, eventually, overseas.” Unfortunately, Chu didn’t serve up any details. But I can assure you that Brian Curley, wherever he is these days, is smiling.

Four, people who believe in the mega-resort approach to golf may soon be able to invest in Mission Hills Group’s future. For months, it’s been speculated that the company will soon go public, trading shares on the Hong Kong exchange, and in May the South China Morning Post reported that Chu was “in talks with investment banks” regarding a bond issue. (Sorry, but the link to this story is no longer available online.)

Five, Chu told the Post that the resort on Hainan Island began to generate more in revenue than the one in Shenzhen in just its second year of operation. In addition, he predicted that the resort on Hainan will break even after its fifth year.

If that’s the case, then the Chus’ investment, no matter what the amount, was money extremely well spent.

united states An Expensive Habit

Here’s my initial reaction to Golf magazine’s recently published list of the Top 100 Courses You Can Play for 2012: Golf costs too much.

It’s terrific that U.S. golfers have so many wonderful courses to choose from. What’s worrisome is that the vast majority of courses on the magazine’s list are essentially bucket-list layouts -- courses that Joe Average can afford to play just once or at most twice a year, travel expenses and hotel rooms not included.

A full-priced round at the top 10 courses on Golf’s list ranges in price from $150 (Bethpage Black) to $530 (Pebble Beach Golf Links). By my admittedly suspect calculations, the average price of a round at a top-10 course is $347.

Clearly, these days a golfer’s pain isn’t only at the pump.

I must sadly report that there are only eight courses on the list that can be played for less than $100. They are Black Mesa Golf Club in New Mexico (#44, $87); Quarry at Giants Ridge in Minnesota (#54, $89); Wild Horse Golf Club in Nebraska (#73, $57); Lakota Canyon Ranch Golf Club in Colorado (#79, $89); Hawktree Golf Club in North Dakota (#81, $94); Branson Creek Golf Club in Missouri (#88, $99); Circling Raven Golf Club in Idaho (#90, $95); and Rustic Canyon Golf Course in California (#91, $79).

Diminished expectations, here we come!

Finally, a side note: Congratulations to Mike Keiser, whose Bandon Dunes resort in Oregon earned three of the top nine entries on the list and four of the top 15.

united states Lewis Keller Sings the Blues

Was it Albert King who once sang, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all”?

The line could have been written for Lewis Keller, who’s yet again seen the sale of his historic golf course fall through, even though this time he was selling it for a song.

I’m talking, of course, about Oakhurst Links in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, a course that’s been around since 1884. Just two weeks ago, a buyer from Wheeling claimed the course at a public auction. But this week the buyer, who never identified himself, was forced to bail out, as he reportedly couldn’t secure financing.

Keller had heard this sad song before. A year or so ago, another buyer offered to buy Oakhurst Links and then failed to show Keller the money.

What really hurts is that the price offered at the most recent auction -- $410,000 -- wouldn’t have even covered the $700,000 that Keller owes to his lender.

Keller seems resigned to a foreclosure, but he holds out hope that a buyer can be found.

“The Kellers will get nothing out of it. Nothing,” he told GolfWeek. “All of the work and the money goes down the tube, but it would preserve Oakhurst where it can be run and managed as the history of golf.”

So it goes for Keller, who’s learning that history don’t mean Bo Diddley to bankers -- and to most people in the golf business, apparently.

wild card click To paraphrase Orson Welles, a happy ending depends on when you stop your story.