Has Donald Trump been exaggerating the number of rounds that are played at his golf venue in Aberdeenshire, Scotland? In an interview with Golf Digest, Trump asserted that the resort’s Martin Hawtree-designed course is not only “full” but “doing record business” -- so busy, in fact, that he “can’t get friends of mine on the course.” To verify, in late July -- during the height of the golf season -- the magazine’s interviewer called Trump International Golf Links Scotland and discovered that “there were plenty of tee times available from the following day onward.” Clearly, these accounts don’t add up. So who’s kidding who?
Speaking of Donald Trump, will his forthcoming golf courses in Dubai be among the last to be built in the emirate? Every golf market eventually maxes out, and the head of KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice believes that Dubai may reach its natural limit sooner rather than later. “I honestly don’t think there will be as many [courses built in Dubai] as has been mentioned,” Andrea Sartori told Arabian Business. “I think realistically you might be able to see another three golf courses, four golf courses, in the next three years. You wouldn’t imagine seeing many, many coming onto the market.” Trump expects to open his first track in Dubai next year, and construction will soon commence on his second. More than most developers, he understands that more isn’t necessarily merrier.
As part of an effort to lure tourists, Sri Lanka is hoping to become a hot spot for golf development. The island nation currently has just four 18-hole courses, according to the Daily Financial Times, but by 2020, with government-sponsored incentives, it hopes to entice private interests to build as many as 16 more. With a bevy of world-class properties, Sri Lanka’s tourism officials believe that vacationing golfers from Japan, China, and other Asian nations would be ripe for the picking.
Lots of U.S. golf markets are overbuilt, but the financial squeeze is being felt acutely in Cincinnati, Ohio. Four golf properties in the metropolitan area have closed over the past year, which is, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier, more than the three that were lost during the entire prior decade. “I don’t see anyone building a new golf course in the Tri-State for a very long time,” a local course owner told the Courier. It’s virtually certain that the failed golf courses will eventually be replaced by subdivisions.
The U.S. population may be aging, but it isn’t aging as quickly as the U.S. golf population. “From 1996 through last year, the average age of a hotel guest rose by roughly a year, to 46,” writes the New York Times, citing figures provided by D. K. Shifflet & Associates. “During the same period, the average age of a hotel guest who played golf went up by two and a half years, to roughly 49.” And here’s more evidence of how youth is wasted on the young: Last year, only 22 percent of the young people (those under 33) who vacationed at resorts took time out to play golf.
The National Golf Foundation has submitted its tally of golf properties in China. According to the Jupiter, Florida-based trade group, the People’s Republic has 465 golf properties with a total of 700 courses. If you’re wondering, the NGF’s count is consistent with other reliable data regarding China’s golf industry.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
The Week That Was, october 19, 2014
An investment banker has become one of the golf industry’s most powerful people. Martin “Golden” Slumbers, who’s spent the last 16 years in various high-level positions at Deutsche Bank, will succeed Peter Dawson as the chief executive of the R&A. Before he joined Deutsche Bank, Slumbers had worked for Price Waterhouse (now Pricewaterhouse Coopers) and Salomon Brothers. He also has a keen understanding of the golf business, as he belongs to an ancient private club in suburban London, England and carries a low handicap. A spokesman for the R&A says that Slumbers will “bring a great deal of experience” to his new job. Slumbers intends to join the the group in March for six months’ worth of on-the-job training, and he’ll take over officially in October 2015, when Dawson retires.
Tom Doak may not be a fan of David McLay Kidd’s work, but -- for this year, at least -- Golf Digest is. The magazine has named Kidd’s Gamble Sands, a cheap-to-build, naturalist track in remote central Washington, as this year’s best new U.S. course. “Gamble Sands stands out because it represents a shift in attitude and a hope for the future of the game that is refreshing and encouraging,” Golf Digest believes. The long overdue “shift in attitude,” as the magazine sees it, is reflected in Gamble Sands’ “sheer playability” and its “celebration of fun” instead of difficulty. The magazine’s conclusion: “Kidd wants good players to relish opportunities to score on his layout, and he wants high-handicappers to shoot their best round ever.” The rest of the magazine’s top five consists of the Cliffs at Mountain Park (Gary Player, designer) in South Carolina, the Red course at Dismal River Club (Doak) in Nebraska, Sewailo Golf Club (Notah Begay) in Arizona, and Trump National Golf Links (Jack Nicklaus) in New York City.
Tom Fazio has been appointed to toughen the venue that will host the golf competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Hendersonville, North Carolina-based designer will oversee forthcoming renovations to Kasumigaseki Country Club’s East course, a C. H. Alison-designed layout that dates from 1930. “He emphasized that he would respect what we have here,” the club’s president told Golf magazine. “He will balance the natural feeling here with the improvements needed to challenge the best players.” Links magazine calls Fazio “one of the most sought-after designers in golf” and says he’s known for “consistently eye-pleasing and strategic courses that sit seamlessly on nearly any landscape.” The makeover will begin in October 2015.
Fulfilling what it described as “a long-term goal,” Haseko Hawaii, Inc. has found a buyer for Hoakalei Country Club in West Oahu, Hawaii. The five-year-old club’s new owner is another Japanese company, Hirakawa Shoji Group, which says that it offers “dreams, hope, and happiness by building affluent society and attainable extraordinary space.” The sales price hasn’t been announced. Hoakalei, which had been on the market for more than two years, features an 18-hole, Ernie Els-designed golf course. It’s Hirakawa Shoji’s first golf acquisition in the United States. The company owns one golf course in Japan, at Taishi Country Club in suburban Osaka.
Since he no longer plays much golf -- only five or six rounds a year, by his own admission -- these days Greg Norman finds satisfaction in being what he calls “a walking conglomerate.” He’s referring, of course, to his endless stable of commercial enterprises, among them ventures in the wine, beef, apparel, turf, and golf-design trades, all of which have helped to give him an estimated net worth of $300 million. “I love being a living brand,” he beamed during a recent appearance on Fox Business News. Still, the Living Brand has his gripes, because he believes that the United States -- where he, an Australian, has lived for 30 years -- treats wealthy people unfairly. “I love making money,” said Norman, echoing remarks Phil Mickelson made last year, “but I hate paying all the taxes you’ve got to pay.” Here’s a news flash, Greg: We all hate paying taxes. But we write our checks without complaining about it in front of millions of people, secure in the knowledge that an ambulance will be promptly dispatched if we nearly slice off a hand while trimming trees in our back yards.
Speaking of inane commentary, Donald Trump thinks that the rough-edged rejuvenation of Pinehurst #2 is not only “very bad for golf” but will eventually “kill golf.” In other words, Coore & Crenshaw is golf architecture’s ebola. “Golf is very much about beauty,” Trump opined to Golf Digest. “And they took the beauty away.” Unfortunately for Trump, beauty is and will forever be in the eye of the beholder, and the naturalist aesthetic is spreading like a virus, infecting forward-thinking designers all over the planet.
Tom Doak may not be a fan of David McLay Kidd’s work, but -- for this year, at least -- Golf Digest is. The magazine has named Kidd’s Gamble Sands, a cheap-to-build, naturalist track in remote central Washington, as this year’s best new U.S. course. “Gamble Sands stands out because it represents a shift in attitude and a hope for the future of the game that is refreshing and encouraging,” Golf Digest believes. The long overdue “shift in attitude,” as the magazine sees it, is reflected in Gamble Sands’ “sheer playability” and its “celebration of fun” instead of difficulty. The magazine’s conclusion: “Kidd wants good players to relish opportunities to score on his layout, and he wants high-handicappers to shoot their best round ever.” The rest of the magazine’s top five consists of the Cliffs at Mountain Park (Gary Player, designer) in South Carolina, the Red course at Dismal River Club (Doak) in Nebraska, Sewailo Golf Club (Notah Begay) in Arizona, and Trump National Golf Links (Jack Nicklaus) in New York City.
Tom Fazio has been appointed to toughen the venue that will host the golf competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Hendersonville, North Carolina-based designer will oversee forthcoming renovations to Kasumigaseki Country Club’s East course, a C. H. Alison-designed layout that dates from 1930. “He emphasized that he would respect what we have here,” the club’s president told Golf magazine. “He will balance the natural feeling here with the improvements needed to challenge the best players.” Links magazine calls Fazio “one of the most sought-after designers in golf” and says he’s known for “consistently eye-pleasing and strategic courses that sit seamlessly on nearly any landscape.” The makeover will begin in October 2015.
Fulfilling what it described as “a long-term goal,” Haseko Hawaii, Inc. has found a buyer for Hoakalei Country Club in West Oahu, Hawaii. The five-year-old club’s new owner is another Japanese company, Hirakawa Shoji Group, which says that it offers “dreams, hope, and happiness by building affluent society and attainable extraordinary space.” The sales price hasn’t been announced. Hoakalei, which had been on the market for more than two years, features an 18-hole, Ernie Els-designed golf course. It’s Hirakawa Shoji’s first golf acquisition in the United States. The company owns one golf course in Japan, at Taishi Country Club in suburban Osaka.
Since he no longer plays much golf -- only five or six rounds a year, by his own admission -- these days Greg Norman finds satisfaction in being what he calls “a walking conglomerate.” He’s referring, of course, to his endless stable of commercial enterprises, among them ventures in the wine, beef, apparel, turf, and golf-design trades, all of which have helped to give him an estimated net worth of $300 million. “I love being a living brand,” he beamed during a recent appearance on Fox Business News. Still, the Living Brand has his gripes, because he believes that the United States -- where he, an Australian, has lived for 30 years -- treats wealthy people unfairly. “I love making money,” said Norman, echoing remarks Phil Mickelson made last year, “but I hate paying all the taxes you’ve got to pay.” Here’s a news flash, Greg: We all hate paying taxes. But we write our checks without complaining about it in front of millions of people, secure in the knowledge that an ambulance will be promptly dispatched if we nearly slice off a hand while trimming trees in our back yards.
Speaking of inane commentary, Donald Trump thinks that the rough-edged rejuvenation of Pinehurst #2 is not only “very bad for golf” but will eventually “kill golf.” In other words, Coore & Crenshaw is golf architecture’s ebola. “Golf is very much about beauty,” Trump opined to Golf Digest. “And they took the beauty away.” Unfortunately for Trump, beauty is and will forever be in the eye of the beholder, and the naturalist aesthetic is spreading like a virus, infecting forward-thinking designers all over the planet.
Friday, October 17, 2014
The Pipeline, october 17, 2014
A coastal stretch of southern Ithaca Island -- the place that served as the mythological home of Odysseus, a hero of the Iliad and the Odyssey -- may soon become one of the largest resort communities in Greece. Ithaca, a small island in the Ionian Sea that’s been described as “a virgin area” and “completely unspoilt,” may eventually become the home of Iliad Resort, which is to feature more than 1,000 villas, condos, and hotel rooms, a marina capable of berthing 200 mega-yachts, a waterfront village, and an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course. Portfolio International Holdings, a group led by Ian and Chris Meredith, is developing the Iliad for Smenter Limited. Ian Meredith and Norman are long-time colleagues, as Meredith formerly served as a vice president of the U.S. arm of Medallist Developments, a company jointly owned by Norman and Macquarie Bank. A construction schedule for the Iliad hasn’t been set, though the parties involved claim to be eager to begin “as soon as possible.”
A resort-style golf course may be among the attractions at the first Disney resort on mainland China. The course would be among the attractions at Shanghai Disney, which is taking shape on roughly 975 acres in the Pudong District of Shanghai. Shanghai Disney is scheduled to open in December 2015. Its attractions will feature “classic Disney storytelling and characters,” according to the company, but with “authentic cultural touches and themes tailored specifically for the people of China.” Disney’s global development team is discussing golf possibilities with Brian Curley of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Schmidt-Curley Design. On his own or with “signature” partners, Curley has helped to design dozens of golf courses in the People’s Republic, including the gigantic Mission Hills resorts in Shenzhen and on Hainan Island.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the June 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
The farm that served as a setting for scenes in Something To Talk About, the mid 1990s film starring Julia Roberts and Robert Duval, may soon sprout a golf course. Davant Plantation, one of South Carolina’s grand old plantations, occupies more than 2,000 acres outside Gillisonville, northwest of Hilton Head Island. The developer has been identified as Mike Mola, who I believe is the pro at Diamond Creek Golf Club in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Mola hopes to break ground on the 18-hole track next month.
A Chinese investment group has unveiled plans for Singulari, a mega-resort in Antigua & Barbuda that will include a 27-hole golf complex. Yida International Investment Antigua, Ltd. has signed a memorandum of agreement to develop resort, which will occupy 1,517 waterfront acres on Antigua and other islands. Singulari will be the largest development venture in the region, reportedly 50 percent bigger than the soon-to-open Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas. In addition to the golf complex, it’ll feature a casino, 1,300 houses, five hotels (1,060 total rooms), a conference center, a marina, a retail/commercial area, and other attractions. The property was originally to be developed by R. Allen Stanford, a U.S. financier who established a fraudulent banking empire in Antigua and operated it until 2009, when he was arrested for running a Ponzi scheme. Stanford, who was convicted in 2012, is now serving a 110-year sentence for his crimes.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the July 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
A Gurgaon-based developer hopes to build a waterfront resort community in a place once called “the French Riviera of the East.” Vatika Group aims to build the to-be-named community on 200 acres outside Puducherry, a city along the Bay of Bengal in southeastern India. The community is expected to consist of villas, a boutique hotel, and a golf course (most likely a nine-hole layout) designed by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design. These days Hiseman also has a project closer to home, as he designed the 18-hole track that JCB, Ltd. is building at its headquarters in Staffordshire, England.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the June 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Europe’s most successful Ryder Cup captain of all time has agreed to design a par-3 “championship” golf course in Buckinghamshire, England. Tony Jacklin’s 18-hole track will complement the existing course at Magnolia Park Golf & Country Club, which seeks to become what it calls “a real golfing destination.” The club, in the town of Boarstall (it’s just outside Oxford, roughly 50 miles northwest of London), currently features an 18-hole, regulation-length layout designed by Jonathan Gaunt. “I have been an advocate of par-3 golf for many years,” Jacklin said in a press release. “I believe it is the future of golf.” Jacklin, who’s based in Bradenton, Florida, has designed a handful of golf courses around the world, among them San Roque Golf Club in Cadiz, Spain; Klassis Golf & Country Club in suburban Istanbul, Turkey; and Bouskoura Golf Course outside Casablanca, Morocco.
An oil company is proceeding with plans to build a golf-focused resort in “the Switzerland of Kazakhstan.” KazTransOil-Service JSC aims to build Borovoe Village Resort on 256 acres along Lake Shuchye in the nation’s Borovoe region, a vacation spot that’s been described as being “more beautiful than a fairy tale.” The resort, which has been in the works since 2011, will feature cottages, a hotel, a spa, a beach club, a water park, a marina, and a Peter Harradine-designed 18-hole golf course. In 2011, when Harradine received the commission, he said the track would “offer the possibility of holding international tournaments” but would also be “easy to play.” KazTransOil hopes to open the golf course next year. The company owns a sanatorium in southern Kazakhstan, as well as an 18-hole golf course at SaryAgash Golf Club.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the June 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
In an attempt to ensure its future, the oldest golf club in Queensland, Australia has decided to downsize. Townsville Golf Club, which has had a 27-hole complex since the late 1980s, has sold part of its 180-acre property -- nine holes’ worth -- to a home builder. With the proceeds from the sale, it plans to build a new clubhouse and create what it’s called “a sustainable, regional-level golf course.” Karrie Webb, Australia’s best-known and most successful female golfer, will serve as a consultant to the redesign, but the architectural heavy lifting will be done by Bob Harrison, the former lead designer for Greg Norman’s firm. The club is located in Rosslea, outside the city of Townsville, on Queensland’s northeastern coast. It was established in 1893 and moved to its current location in 1924, and it’s been losing members for a decade. Its downsizing has been in the works since the mid 2000s.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the August 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
A resort-style golf course may be among the attractions at the first Disney resort on mainland China. The course would be among the attractions at Shanghai Disney, which is taking shape on roughly 975 acres in the Pudong District of Shanghai. Shanghai Disney is scheduled to open in December 2015. Its attractions will feature “classic Disney storytelling and characters,” according to the company, but with “authentic cultural touches and themes tailored specifically for the people of China.” Disney’s global development team is discussing golf possibilities with Brian Curley of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Schmidt-Curley Design. On his own or with “signature” partners, Curley has helped to design dozens of golf courses in the People’s Republic, including the gigantic Mission Hills resorts in Shenzhen and on Hainan Island.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the June 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
The farm that served as a setting for scenes in Something To Talk About, the mid 1990s film starring Julia Roberts and Robert Duval, may soon sprout a golf course. Davant Plantation, one of South Carolina’s grand old plantations, occupies more than 2,000 acres outside Gillisonville, northwest of Hilton Head Island. The developer has been identified as Mike Mola, who I believe is the pro at Diamond Creek Golf Club in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Mola hopes to break ground on the 18-hole track next month.
A Chinese investment group has unveiled plans for Singulari, a mega-resort in Antigua & Barbuda that will include a 27-hole golf complex. Yida International Investment Antigua, Ltd. has signed a memorandum of agreement to develop resort, which will occupy 1,517 waterfront acres on Antigua and other islands. Singulari will be the largest development venture in the region, reportedly 50 percent bigger than the soon-to-open Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas. In addition to the golf complex, it’ll feature a casino, 1,300 houses, five hotels (1,060 total rooms), a conference center, a marina, a retail/commercial area, and other attractions. The property was originally to be developed by R. Allen Stanford, a U.S. financier who established a fraudulent banking empire in Antigua and operated it until 2009, when he was arrested for running a Ponzi scheme. Stanford, who was convicted in 2012, is now serving a 110-year sentence for his crimes.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the July 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
A Gurgaon-based developer hopes to build a waterfront resort community in a place once called “the French Riviera of the East.” Vatika Group aims to build the to-be-named community on 200 acres outside Puducherry, a city along the Bay of Bengal in southeastern India. The community is expected to consist of villas, a boutique hotel, and a golf course (most likely a nine-hole layout) designed by Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design. These days Hiseman also has a project closer to home, as he designed the 18-hole track that JCB, Ltd. is building at its headquarters in Staffordshire, England.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the June 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Europe’s most successful Ryder Cup captain of all time has agreed to design a par-3 “championship” golf course in Buckinghamshire, England. Tony Jacklin’s 18-hole track will complement the existing course at Magnolia Park Golf & Country Club, which seeks to become what it calls “a real golfing destination.” The club, in the town of Boarstall (it’s just outside Oxford, roughly 50 miles northwest of London), currently features an 18-hole, regulation-length layout designed by Jonathan Gaunt. “I have been an advocate of par-3 golf for many years,” Jacklin said in a press release. “I believe it is the future of golf.” Jacklin, who’s based in Bradenton, Florida, has designed a handful of golf courses around the world, among them San Roque Golf Club in Cadiz, Spain; Klassis Golf & Country Club in suburban Istanbul, Turkey; and Bouskoura Golf Course outside Casablanca, Morocco.
An oil company is proceeding with plans to build a golf-focused resort in “the Switzerland of Kazakhstan.” KazTransOil-Service JSC aims to build Borovoe Village Resort on 256 acres along Lake Shuchye in the nation’s Borovoe region, a vacation spot that’s been described as being “more beautiful than a fairy tale.” The resort, which has been in the works since 2011, will feature cottages, a hotel, a spa, a beach club, a water park, a marina, and a Peter Harradine-designed 18-hole golf course. In 2011, when Harradine received the commission, he said the track would “offer the possibility of holding international tournaments” but would also be “easy to play.” KazTransOil hopes to open the golf course next year. The company owns a sanatorium in southern Kazakhstan, as well as an 18-hole golf course at SaryAgash Golf Club.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the June 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
In an attempt to ensure its future, the oldest golf club in Queensland, Australia has decided to downsize. Townsville Golf Club, which has had a 27-hole complex since the late 1980s, has sold part of its 180-acre property -- nine holes’ worth -- to a home builder. With the proceeds from the sale, it plans to build a new clubhouse and create what it’s called “a sustainable, regional-level golf course.” Karrie Webb, Australia’s best-known and most successful female golfer, will serve as a consultant to the redesign, but the architectural heavy lifting will be done by Bob Harrison, the former lead designer for Greg Norman’s firm. The club is located in Rosslea, outside the city of Townsville, on Queensland’s northeastern coast. It was established in 1893 and moved to its current location in 1924, and it’s been losing members for a decade. Its downsizing has been in the works since the mid 2000s.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the August 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
The Week That Was, october 12, 2014
Classic Golf Group, one of the best-known owner/operators on the Grand Strand, is getting out of the golf business. The Conway, South Carolina-based company has agreed to sell its three remaining golf properties to a Chinese group and then ride off into the sunset. “I think it’s time to move on,” said Ed Jerdon, the last surviving member of CGG’s ownership entity, who noted that, given the state of the local golf market, he was “relieved for my shareholders.” According to the Myrtle Beach Sun News, Yiqian Funding will pay $11 million for Burning Ridge Golf Club in Conway, Indian Wells Golf Club in Garden City Beach, and Founders Club in Pawleys Island, and it reportedly already has its eyes on other golf properties in the area. When the transaction with CGG is finalized, the newspaper says, Chinese investors will have purchased eight courses on the Strand within the past 15 months.
With faith in the future and confidence in his business plan, John McConnell continues to cherry-pick distressed golf properties in the Carolinas. For an undisclosed price, his McConnell Golf Group has acquired Brook Valley Country Club, a nearly 50-year-old venue in Greenville, North Carolina. It’s the eighth property in McConnell’s fast-growing portfolio, a collection that now includes six clubs in North Carolina (among them Treyburn Country Club in Durham and Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro) and two in South Carolina. “We consider the whole region a future growth market,” McConnell told the Raleigh News & Observer. The sale ends months of uncertainty for Brook Valley, which, in a failed attempt to survive, had attempted a merger with Greenville Country Club.
Just days before it stages one of its marquee events, the struggling European Tour has lost a major corporate sponsor. Volvo, reportedly the tour’s oldest benefactor, has pulled its funding for both the World Match Play Championship, which has had trouble attracting professional golf’s top performers, as well as the annual Golf Champions tournament. The Telegraph describes the Swedish car manufacturer’s withdrawal as “a huge blow to the tour,” which will be forced to bankroll or cancel the Volvo events until it finds replacement sponsors. Despite the decision, Volvo hasn’t soured on golf. Although the company is cutting back on its spending in Europe, it intends to extend its sponsorship of the China Open for five more years.
With financial assistance from Wall Street, Arcis Equity Partners continues to make investments in the golf industry. Just weeks after agreeing to buy 48 golf venues from CNL Lifestyle Properties, the Irving, Texas-based private equity firm appears to have taken a controlling interest in Eagle Golf, a firm that manages 29 properties in seven U.S. states. Joe Munsch will continue to oversee Eagle Golf’s operations, but Arcis’ managing partner, Blake Walker, will become the company’s CEO. “With Arcis’ support, Eagle is now poised to expand its reach throughout the United States and into the private club market,” Munsch said in a press statement. Arcis’ investments are funded by New York City-based Fortress Investment Group.
A Vietnamese resort community that’s been fine-tuned to the tastes of Korean vacationers will soon open its second 18-hole golf course. Sky Lake Golf Resort, an hour’s drive southwest of Hanoi, unveiled its first course, the monstrously long (7,887-yard) Lakes track, in 2012, and it expects to debut its only somewhat shorter (7,265-yard) Sky course by the end of the year. Both courses were designed by An Lee Hwan, a Korean architect who presumably understands what his countrymen expect while on a golf holiday. Sky Lake is being developed by a Korean group, DK ENC Company, Ltd., which aims to create what it calls “one of the best courses in Southeast Asia.” To enhance its chances, the company has hired IMG to manage the golf operation. Not surprisingly, the resort’s in-house pro is Korean, and Golf Asian says that the 500-acre resort serves “excellent Korean food.”
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the October 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Before his career as a professional golfer completely fizzles out, Tiger Woods plans to open a restaurant. Considering the firestorm that Sergio Garcia touched off last year, do you think anybody in golf has the nerve to make any jokes about the menu?
With faith in the future and confidence in his business plan, John McConnell continues to cherry-pick distressed golf properties in the Carolinas. For an undisclosed price, his McConnell Golf Group has acquired Brook Valley Country Club, a nearly 50-year-old venue in Greenville, North Carolina. It’s the eighth property in McConnell’s fast-growing portfolio, a collection that now includes six clubs in North Carolina (among them Treyburn Country Club in Durham and Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro) and two in South Carolina. “We consider the whole region a future growth market,” McConnell told the Raleigh News & Observer. The sale ends months of uncertainty for Brook Valley, which, in a failed attempt to survive, had attempted a merger with Greenville Country Club.
Just days before it stages one of its marquee events, the struggling European Tour has lost a major corporate sponsor. Volvo, reportedly the tour’s oldest benefactor, has pulled its funding for both the World Match Play Championship, which has had trouble attracting professional golf’s top performers, as well as the annual Golf Champions tournament. The Telegraph describes the Swedish car manufacturer’s withdrawal as “a huge blow to the tour,” which will be forced to bankroll or cancel the Volvo events until it finds replacement sponsors. Despite the decision, Volvo hasn’t soured on golf. Although the company is cutting back on its spending in Europe, it intends to extend its sponsorship of the China Open for five more years.
With financial assistance from Wall Street, Arcis Equity Partners continues to make investments in the golf industry. Just weeks after agreeing to buy 48 golf venues from CNL Lifestyle Properties, the Irving, Texas-based private equity firm appears to have taken a controlling interest in Eagle Golf, a firm that manages 29 properties in seven U.S. states. Joe Munsch will continue to oversee Eagle Golf’s operations, but Arcis’ managing partner, Blake Walker, will become the company’s CEO. “With Arcis’ support, Eagle is now poised to expand its reach throughout the United States and into the private club market,” Munsch said in a press statement. Arcis’ investments are funded by New York City-based Fortress Investment Group.
A Vietnamese resort community that’s been fine-tuned to the tastes of Korean vacationers will soon open its second 18-hole golf course. Sky Lake Golf Resort, an hour’s drive southwest of Hanoi, unveiled its first course, the monstrously long (7,887-yard) Lakes track, in 2012, and it expects to debut its only somewhat shorter (7,265-yard) Sky course by the end of the year. Both courses were designed by An Lee Hwan, a Korean architect who presumably understands what his countrymen expect while on a golf holiday. Sky Lake is being developed by a Korean group, DK ENC Company, Ltd., which aims to create what it calls “one of the best courses in Southeast Asia.” To enhance its chances, the company has hired IMG to manage the golf operation. Not surprisingly, the resort’s in-house pro is Korean, and Golf Asian says that the 500-acre resort serves “excellent Korean food.”
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the October 2014 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Before his career as a professional golfer completely fizzles out, Tiger Woods plans to open a restaurant. Considering the firestorm that Sergio Garcia touched off last year, do you think anybody in golf has the nerve to make any jokes about the menu?
Friday, October 10, 2014
Desolation Row, october 10, 2014
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Louisiana State University’s 53-year-old golf course, recently renovated by Jim Lipe, may soon take a permanent recess. Although “the exact future of the course is unknown,” writes the Daily Reveille, “there are questions as to whether an entire 18-hole course is necessary.” A decision regarding the course’s future is expected to come “in the next several months.” Best-case scenario: Nine holes survive.
Hastings, Minnesota. After bleeding red ink for most of this century, Hastings Country Club has reached the end of the line. The club, which was established in the 1940s, closed late last month and hopes to continue operating with a new owner, presuming one can be found. Hastings died a slow death. The final nail in its coffin was struck in August, when its remaining 230 members refused to approve a $2,000 assessment that would have allowed the club to hang on for a while longer. The vote was 97 percent against.
Land O’Lakes, Florida. Plantation Palms Golf Club bit the dust in mid May, and there’s no reason to believe its current owners plan to revive it. “Nobody knows anything,” the president of the accompanying homeowners’ association told the Tampa Bay Times. “There’s nothing happening.” Plantation Palms’ 18-hole, David Harman-designed course opened in late 2000. A trio of Native Americans, operating as MJS Golf Group LLC, bought it in 2011, reportedly for $2.18 million. The LLC stopped maintaining the property in June.
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Sometime in December 2014, the last rounds will be played at High Mountain Golf Club. Toll Brothers has agreed to buy the nearly 50-year-old club, provided that it can secure permission to build 275 houses on its 18-hole golf course. “It’s tough to chew,” a member told the Record. “But I guess I understand people have land and they want to sell it and get rid of it.” The newspaper reports that High Mountain will be the first 18-hole course in Bergen County to close in more than a quarter century. The club currently has about 140 members, down from a high of 400 several years ago.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The end is near for Wicked Stick Golf Links, as an unidentified home builder has agreed to buy more than half of the John Daly “signature” golf course. “The piece of land that Wicked Stick is currently sitting on is very valuable, and I think the ownership knew that when they bought the course,” the property’s director of operations told WBTW-TV. Daly co-designed Wicked Stick, which opened in 1995, with Clyde Johnston. The Myrtle Beach Sun News reports that the 18-hole course, which occupies 149 acres, had been listed at $6.55 million.
Irving, Texas. Twin Wells Golf Course -- “one of the worst golf courses in North Texas,” according to the Dallas Morning News, and “the least-played municipal course in the region” -- needs nearly $5 million worth of upgrades that city officials are reluctant to fund. “It’s clearly in a death spiral,” one of them believes. The city is expected to replace the course’s private-sector operator, who’s reportedly stopped making lease payments.
Rocklin, California. Charles Gibson wants to build 30-some houses on property owned by his Rocklin Golf Club, and he’s threatening to shut the place down if he isn’t given permission to do so. “I can’t stay here with no return on the investment and lose money each year to keep this what it is,” he said at a recent public forum. “Something has to change.” The club’s 18-hole golf course, designed by Billy Bell, opened in 1963, as Sunset Whitney Country Club. Gibson and a partner reportedly paid $2.5 million for Sunset Whitney in 2011. Maybe it’s only a coincidence, but Sunset Whitney’s former owners also wanted to develop some housing on the club’s property.
Lake Orion, Michigan. The 27-hole complex at Bald Mountain Golf Course will almost certainly soon succumb to development pressure. “I’d love for Bald Mountain to be a golf course forever,” an Orion township official told the Oakland Press, “but if you look around the country, golf courses aren’t as viable as they used to be.” The property’s likely new owner is Pulte Home, which believes the 236-acre site can accommodate 387 single-family houses. Bald Mountain, a venue for beginners and those who can’t afford to play at the Detroit area’s better-maintained golf facilities, has operated since the late 1920s.
West Monroe, Louisiana. Trenton Street Golf Course, a municipally owned nine-hole track, is scheduled to expire on New Year’s Eve. Matt Owens has operated Trenton Street since 2002, when he leased the defunct Riverside Golf Course and brought it back to life, but he no longer wishes to cover its losses. The city may turn the 64-acre property into a park.
Kingman, Kansas. Marvin Miller can’t even give his golf course away, and that’s bad news for golfers in suburban Wichita. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he told the Hutchinson News. Late last year, Miller sold Kingman Country Club and its nine-hole course to a local golf pro, but he was forced to take it back due to extremely unfortunate circumstances. More recently, he tried to give the club to a local foundation, but it said no. And the city doesn’t want it either. Miller doesn’t want to close the club -- “You lose your course, you lose a part of your town,” he believes -- but he’s running out of options.
Hastings, Minnesota. After bleeding red ink for most of this century, Hastings Country Club has reached the end of the line. The club, which was established in the 1940s, closed late last month and hopes to continue operating with a new owner, presuming one can be found. Hastings died a slow death. The final nail in its coffin was struck in August, when its remaining 230 members refused to approve a $2,000 assessment that would have allowed the club to hang on for a while longer. The vote was 97 percent against.
Land O’Lakes, Florida. Plantation Palms Golf Club bit the dust in mid May, and there’s no reason to believe its current owners plan to revive it. “Nobody knows anything,” the president of the accompanying homeowners’ association told the Tampa Bay Times. “There’s nothing happening.” Plantation Palms’ 18-hole, David Harman-designed course opened in late 2000. A trio of Native Americans, operating as MJS Golf Group LLC, bought it in 2011, reportedly for $2.18 million. The LLC stopped maintaining the property in June.
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Sometime in December 2014, the last rounds will be played at High Mountain Golf Club. Toll Brothers has agreed to buy the nearly 50-year-old club, provided that it can secure permission to build 275 houses on its 18-hole golf course. “It’s tough to chew,” a member told the Record. “But I guess I understand people have land and they want to sell it and get rid of it.” The newspaper reports that High Mountain will be the first 18-hole course in Bergen County to close in more than a quarter century. The club currently has about 140 members, down from a high of 400 several years ago.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The end is near for Wicked Stick Golf Links, as an unidentified home builder has agreed to buy more than half of the John Daly “signature” golf course. “The piece of land that Wicked Stick is currently sitting on is very valuable, and I think the ownership knew that when they bought the course,” the property’s director of operations told WBTW-TV. Daly co-designed Wicked Stick, which opened in 1995, with Clyde Johnston. The Myrtle Beach Sun News reports that the 18-hole course, which occupies 149 acres, had been listed at $6.55 million.
Irving, Texas. Twin Wells Golf Course -- “one of the worst golf courses in North Texas,” according to the Dallas Morning News, and “the least-played municipal course in the region” -- needs nearly $5 million worth of upgrades that city officials are reluctant to fund. “It’s clearly in a death spiral,” one of them believes. The city is expected to replace the course’s private-sector operator, who’s reportedly stopped making lease payments.
Rocklin, California. Charles Gibson wants to build 30-some houses on property owned by his Rocklin Golf Club, and he’s threatening to shut the place down if he isn’t given permission to do so. “I can’t stay here with no return on the investment and lose money each year to keep this what it is,” he said at a recent public forum. “Something has to change.” The club’s 18-hole golf course, designed by Billy Bell, opened in 1963, as Sunset Whitney Country Club. Gibson and a partner reportedly paid $2.5 million for Sunset Whitney in 2011. Maybe it’s only a coincidence, but Sunset Whitney’s former owners also wanted to develop some housing on the club’s property.
Lake Orion, Michigan. The 27-hole complex at Bald Mountain Golf Course will almost certainly soon succumb to development pressure. “I’d love for Bald Mountain to be a golf course forever,” an Orion township official told the Oakland Press, “but if you look around the country, golf courses aren’t as viable as they used to be.” The property’s likely new owner is Pulte Home, which believes the 236-acre site can accommodate 387 single-family houses. Bald Mountain, a venue for beginners and those who can’t afford to play at the Detroit area’s better-maintained golf facilities, has operated since the late 1920s.
West Monroe, Louisiana. Trenton Street Golf Course, a municipally owned nine-hole track, is scheduled to expire on New Year’s Eve. Matt Owens has operated Trenton Street since 2002, when he leased the defunct Riverside Golf Course and brought it back to life, but he no longer wishes to cover its losses. The city may turn the 64-acre property into a park.
Kingman, Kansas. Marvin Miller can’t even give his golf course away, and that’s bad news for golfers in suburban Wichita. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he told the Hutchinson News. Late last year, Miller sold Kingman Country Club and its nine-hole course to a local golf pro, but he was forced to take it back due to extremely unfortunate circumstances. More recently, he tried to give the club to a local foundation, but it said no. And the city doesn’t want it either. Miller doesn’t want to close the club -- “You lose your course, you lose a part of your town,” he believes -- but he’s running out of options.
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