The Week That Was, december 7, 2014

     Like a growing number of observers and commentators, the CEO of Asia Pacific Golf Group believes that the golf business in his part of the world is going nowhere fast. “The industry is not healthy and is not really showing strong signs of any sustainable recovery.” Mike Sebastian declares in the December issue of Asian Golf, adding that “there’s still a lot of blood-letting that has to take place before we can start seeing the silver lining.” Mixed metaphors aside, Sebastian has been banging this drum for months. He’s gone almost completely sour on the prospects for golf development in China, which he and others once viewed as the engine that would power golf’s growth throughout Asia and Southeast Asia. Today, with the People’s Republic in “a full-stop mode,” he’s doing his best to lower expectations. “If you are a betting man,” he advises, “you would do well to place your wager on things getting worse before there is a turnaround.” Of course, those who were all in on China may not have much left to wager.

     “Show me a hero,” F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, “and I’ll write you a tragedy.” I can’t say exactly how it relates, but Fitzgerald’s comment is the first thing that popped into my head when I heard that Tiger Woods had agreed to become a pitch man for India's Hero MotoCorp.

     Speaking of F. Scott Fitzgerald, who says there are no second acts in American life? David McLay Kidd, who set the bar for golf architecture at Bandon Dunes, has been tabbed to design the second course at Mike Keiser’s Sand Valley golf complex in Rome, Wisconsin. Kidd expects to break ground on the 18-hole layout, a complement to the Coore & Crenshaw track that’s currently under construction, in the spring of next year. The commission at Bandon Dunes -- earned way back in the mid 1990s, when both Kidd and Keiser were still veritable unknowns -- established Kidd’s reputation as a premier designer of “pure” golf experiences but unfortunately convinced subsequent clients to indulge his weakness for difficult courses. Keiser didn’t much like Kidd’s work in the 2000s, but he recently played Kidd’s player-friendly course at Gamble Sands, in Brewster, Washington, and came away thinking it was “a grand-slam home run.” For course number-two at Sand Valley, Keiser also evaluated routings submitted by Tom Doak and Rod Whitman, who now appear to be in line to create courses three and four.

     The rapid consolidation of the golf industry continues, as the parent company of Troon Golf has taken control of a competitor, Birmingham, Alabama-based Honours Golf. With the acquisition, Troon gets a greater presence in the Southeast, as Honours operates 10 properties in Alabama and four in Florida, Mississippi, and North Carolina. A press release claims that Honours’ portfolio includes “many exceptional golf courses designed by some of the most well-known golf course architects in the industry.” That comment is something of a stretch, however, seeing as how there are only three true “signature” tracks in the mix, along with at least three municipal layouts, and only one of Honours’ courses -- Reunion Golf & Country Club in Madison, Mississippi -- is listed on Golf Digest’s state-by-state ranking of the nation’s best courses. Counting Honours’ venues, Troon has now reportedly collected 250 golf courses in 34 states and 29 foreign nations.

     An investment fund controlled by Los Angeles, California-based Oaktree Capital Management has paid a premium for a golf club in Dublin, Ireland. According to the Irish Times, Tio PLC coughed up roughly €4.5 million (more than $5.5 million) for Castleknock Golf Club, a nine-year-old property with an 18-hole, Jonathan Gaunt-designed golf course. For nearly a year, Castleknock has been in the hands of receivers who reportedly felt that the 125-acre spread was worth about €2.5 million ($3.07 million). Obviously, they were selling themselves short. In 2009, Golf Digest ranked Castleknock’s course as one of Ireland’s top 100.

     ClubCorp has laid claim to its fourth golf property in Arizona. The Dallas, Texas-based golf colossus has paid an undisclosed amount for Oro Valley Country Club, a facility in suburban Tucson that had been owned by its members. The 55-year-old club features an 18-hole, Robert Bruce Harris-designed course that was subsequently redesigned by Arthur Hills. ClubCorp’s other properties in the state are located in metropolitan Phoenix: Anthem Golf & Country Club outside Carefree, Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, and Seville Golf & Country Club in Gilbert. Just as an aside, here’s something that bothers me about ClubCorp: The company never issues any press releases regarding what it describes as its “central purpose,” which is “building relationships and enriching lives.” I wonder why not.