The chill is gone. At least for Greg Norman.
Norman, the Florida-based celebrity designer, recently told the National that financing is becoming available for golf projects.
“I think improvement in conditions is definitely there," the Florida-based designer told Abu Dhabi's English-language newspaper. "A lot of the projects that have been mothballed are starting up again.”
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
switzerland Andermatt's Architect
Question: Who's designed the golf course at the Andermatt resort in the Swiss Alps?
Answer: Kurt Rossknecht, an architect based in Lindau, Germany.
Rossknecht is a former professional golfer who says he has a thing for "traditional English and Scottish links courses." His best-known course is probably the Son Muntaner track at Son Vida Golf Club in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. He's also designed Chervo Golf San Vigilio in Pozzolengo, Italy and two courses in suburban Vienna, Austria, Colony Club Gutenhof and Schloss Schonborn Golf Club.
Rossknecht and Bernhard Langer, the German golf pro, co-designed Golf de Soufflenheim Baden-Baden, a 27-hole complex in Soufflenheim, France. Langer has also been known to put his "signature" on courses created with architects from European Golf Design.
Rossknecht-golfplan.de
Answer: Kurt Rossknecht, an architect based in Lindau, Germany.
Rossknecht is a former professional golfer who says he has a thing for "traditional English and Scottish links courses." His best-known course is probably the Son Muntaner track at Son Vida Golf Club in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. He's also designed Chervo Golf San Vigilio in Pozzolengo, Italy and two courses in suburban Vienna, Austria, Colony Club Gutenhof and Schloss Schonborn Golf Club.
Rossknecht and Bernhard Langer, the German golf pro, co-designed Golf de Soufflenheim Baden-Baden, a 27-hole complex in Soufflenheim, France. Langer has also been known to put his "signature" on courses created with architects from European Golf Design.
Rossknecht-golfplan.de
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
vietnam Norman's Dunes Course Opens
Greg Norman’s first golf course in Vietnam, a private, links-style layout at Danang Golf Club in Danang, opened last month.
Howie Roberts, the club’s general manager, has said that the course “is going to look as if it’s been here for centuries,” and Harvey Kruse, one of the architects at Norman’s firm, has said it’ll be “the kind of golf course the likes of Old Tom Morris was playing on in Scotland almost 200 years ago.”
The Dunes course, as it’s being called, is the featured attraction of the 700-acre Danang Beach Resort, which will eventually include 190 villas, a J. W. Marriott hotel, and a second 18.
The course has been developed by VinaCapital Group, a big investment banking and development company, whose promotional materials say it’s “destined” -– I love that word -– to become “the premier golf club in Vietnam.”
VinaCapital has priced family memberships at $33,000, and corporate memberships range from $26,400 to $65,000.
DanangGolfClub.com, VinaCapital.com
Howie Roberts, the club’s general manager, has said that the course “is going to look as if it’s been here for centuries,” and Harvey Kruse, one of the architects at Norman’s firm, has said it’ll be “the kind of golf course the likes of Old Tom Morris was playing on in Scotland almost 200 years ago.”
The Dunes course, as it’s being called, is the featured attraction of the 700-acre Danang Beach Resort, which will eventually include 190 villas, a J. W. Marriott hotel, and a second 18.
The course has been developed by VinaCapital Group, a big investment banking and development company, whose promotional materials say it’s “destined” -– I love that word -– to become “the premier golf club in Vietnam.”
VinaCapital has priced family memberships at $33,000, and corporate memberships range from $26,400 to $65,000.
DanangGolfClub.com, VinaCapital.com
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
south korea A New Course Planned in Busan
A U.S. company is part of a group that aims to build a golf complex at a gigantic free economic zone along the southern coast of South Korea.
Las Vegas, Nevada-based Acrylic Tank Manufacturing is part of the Youngwon-STX Consortium, which has signed an agreement to build a sports- and recreation-themed community at the Busan-Jinhae FEZ in Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city (after Seoul). The 25,000-acre spread -– one of three FEZs that the nation has created to attract foreign investment –- will eventually have dozens of factories, industrial parks, and offices, along with houses, schools, medical centers, and entertainment venues for the thousands of people who work there.
The consortium is led by Jinhae-based STX Construction. STX’s primary partner is Youngwon Development Corporation, but several South Korean and U.S. companies are part of the group.
The consortium plans to develop the FEZ’s 5,184-acre Ungdong district. In the first phase of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2013, it’ll build several leisure-time attractions, including a water park, an aquarium, a marina, and a 30-hole golf complex. The complex will likely consist of an 18-hole regulation-length course, a nine-hole “short” course, and a practice center with three practice holes.
In the second phase of the project, which is scheduled to begin in 2016, the partners hope to build condos, a resort-style hotel along the waterfront, a casino, a shopping area, a hospital, and schools.
Acrylic Tank Manufacturing will be primarily responsible for the district’s water park and aquarium, but it’ll have a role in developing the golf complex as well. The partners expect to break ground on the golf complex until 2011.
Las Vegas, Nevada-based Acrylic Tank Manufacturing is part of the Youngwon-STX Consortium, which has signed an agreement to build a sports- and recreation-themed community at the Busan-Jinhae FEZ in Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city (after Seoul). The 25,000-acre spread -– one of three FEZs that the nation has created to attract foreign investment –- will eventually have dozens of factories, industrial parks, and offices, along with houses, schools, medical centers, and entertainment venues for the thousands of people who work there.
The consortium is led by Jinhae-based STX Construction. STX’s primary partner is Youngwon Development Corporation, but several South Korean and U.S. companies are part of the group.
The consortium plans to develop the FEZ’s 5,184-acre Ungdong district. In the first phase of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2013, it’ll build several leisure-time attractions, including a water park, an aquarium, a marina, and a 30-hole golf complex. The complex will likely consist of an 18-hole regulation-length course, a nine-hole “short” course, and a practice center with three practice holes.
In the second phase of the project, which is scheduled to begin in 2016, the partners hope to build condos, a resort-style hotel along the waterfront, a casino, a shopping area, a hospital, and schools.
Acrylic Tank Manufacturing will be primarily responsible for the district’s water park and aquarium, but it’ll have a role in developing the golf complex as well. The partners expect to break ground on the golf complex until 2011.
Monday, May 10, 2010
by the numbers Counting Courses
Here are some random facts about golf development all over the planet:
-- Citing statistics provided by the China Golf Association, the Independent says that China has 3 million golfers, a number that’s expected to increase to 20 million by 2020. (Now you know why some Chinese call golf the “green opium.”) The newspaper also says that China has 300 golf courses, enough to rank it fifth in the world and second in Asia.
-- In the mid 1970s, Vietnam had two golf courses. Today it has 13 to 18, according to various sources, and it’s expected to have 89 by 2010. The New York Times says the nation has 5,000 golfers.
-- Brazil has 107 golf courses, and GT Golfe says that 91 others will be built over the next 15 years.
-- A Vietnamese news service says that Thailand has more than 400 golf courses (nearly half of them in metropolitan Bangkok), while Hong Kong has 17 and Singapore has 15. The tally in Indonesia is 32.
-- Callaway Golf reports that India has roughly 250 golf courses, up from 80 or so in the mid 2000s.
-- The British introduced golf to Nigeria in the early 20th century, and today, according to the Daily Trust, Nigeria has 50 golf courses.
-- The Daily News Egypt reports that Egypt has 18 golf courses, 15 of which have been built in since 1997 as part of real estate or “tourist developments.” The number of rounds played on the nation’s courses in 2008 approached 200,000, about half of them played by tourists.
-- The Czech Golf Association, which has more than 41,000 members from 131 clubs, says that the Republic has 78 “standard” golf courses, whatever that means.
-- Citing statistics provided by the China Golf Association, the Independent says that China has 3 million golfers, a number that’s expected to increase to 20 million by 2020. (Now you know why some Chinese call golf the “green opium.”) The newspaper also says that China has 300 golf courses, enough to rank it fifth in the world and second in Asia.
-- In the mid 1970s, Vietnam had two golf courses. Today it has 13 to 18, according to various sources, and it’s expected to have 89 by 2010. The New York Times says the nation has 5,000 golfers.
-- Brazil has 107 golf courses, and GT Golfe says that 91 others will be built over the next 15 years.
-- A Vietnamese news service says that Thailand has more than 400 golf courses (nearly half of them in metropolitan Bangkok), while Hong Kong has 17 and Singapore has 15. The tally in Indonesia is 32.
-- Callaway Golf reports that India has roughly 250 golf courses, up from 80 or so in the mid 2000s.
-- The British introduced golf to Nigeria in the early 20th century, and today, according to the Daily Trust, Nigeria has 50 golf courses.
-- The Daily News Egypt reports that Egypt has 18 golf courses, 15 of which have been built in since 1997 as part of real estate or “tourist developments.” The number of rounds played on the nation’s courses in 2008 approached 200,000, about half of them played by tourists.
-- The Czech Golf Association, which has more than 41,000 members from 131 clubs, says that the Republic has 78 “standard” golf courses, whatever that means.
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