A 300-acre tract in Smith River, California, a town just south of the Oregon state line, may be developed as a resort with “a luxury retirement community” built around an 18-hole, par-3 golf course. Jason Roe and his wife, Julie Yim, expect their Resort & Residences at Pelican Heights to include 80 “private residences,” 30 condo/hotel suites, villas and bungalows for seniors, a 120-room hotel, an amphitheater, and other amenities. Smith River is way off the beaten track, but to attract home buyers Roe and Yim plan to run a shuttle bus to and from the nearby Lucky 7 Casino and offer transportation via a Porsche SUV to restaurants and other attractions in the area.
Pipeline Overflow – An 18-hole, Tom Lehman-designed golf course will be the centerpiece of Chambers Creek Ranch, a 1,200-acre, seniors-only community in metropolitan Houston, Texas that’s scheduled to debut next year. Lehman’s track will be surrounded by 3,000 houses whose residents, the developers say, will enjoy “an unprecedented lifestyle.” . . . An update on the commission that Greg “the Living Brand” Norman has won from Novaland in Vietnam: The first course will take shape outside Phan Thiết, the capital of Bình Thuận Province, with construction expected to begin any day now. . . . Tony Cobb, one of Coore & Crenshaw’s longtime associates, is overseeing the construction of his first solo design venture. Golf Course Architecture reports that the 18-hole track is taking shape in greater Bangkok, Thailand, on property owned by Phornthep Phornprapha of Siam Country Club, and will take two years to build due to “the long rainy season and difficult soils.”
Less than six months after it went looking for an investment partner, Loch Lomond Golf Club has found a buyer for its Dundonald Links. Darwin Leisure has reportedly paid £4.5 million (roughly $5.86 million) for Dundonald, a Kyle Phillips-designed layout that’s hosted several events on the European Tour, among them both the men’s and women’s Scottish Open championships. The track, a manufactured modern links, has an attractive location in Ayrshire, Scotland, as its neighbors include Royal Troon Golf Club, Prestwick Golf Club, and Western Gailes Golf Club. Perhaps more importantly, it’s said to operate in the black. Darwin Leisure aims to capitalize on the location by building overnight accommodations, a spa, a permanent clubhouse, and probably some houses on Dundonald’s 200-acre property. The company owns two golf properties in England, Springs Golf Club in Oxfordshire and KP Golf Club in Yorkshire, and it claims to be on the prowl for other golf-related acquisitions in Scotland.
Surplus Transactions – For $12.5 million, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has purchased a 315-acre tract that includes General Old Golf Course, an 18-hole track that opened in 1955. The property is located on March Air Reserve Base, outside Moreno Valley, California, and at some point in the distant future – probably 10 years or more – the VA expects to extend its Riverside National Cemetery onto the golf course. . . . For $740,000, Jessica Blaska-Grady has acquired Kestrel Ridge Golf Course, a 17-year-old venue in suburban Madison, Wisconsin that she believes is “the perfect example of a destination course that can be a true community asset.” Kestrel Ridge, which features an 18-hole track that was co-designed by Dan Feick and Chad Eberhardt, will complement Blaska-Grady’s other golf property, Oaks Golf Course in nearby Cottage Grove. . . . Sometime this spring, Jim Kimball plans to flip his struggling, 80-year-old Osceola Country Club to the city of Osceola, Iowa. Kimball bought the club and its nine-hole golf course in January, confident that the city will clear its debt, make improvements, and continue its operation.
Duly Noted – The final word has been rendered in Keith Foster’s federal court case. The painstakingly hands-on restorer of Golden Age courses has been sentenced to a 30-day jail term (plus one year of “supervised release”) for smuggling illegal goods into our country and selling them out of his antiques store in Middleburg, Virginia. Though Foster’s future in the golf industry is uncertain, Americans have a habit of quickly forgiving white-collar criminality. . . . Individual #1’s golf venue in Virginia, operating as Trump National Golf Club, Washington, DC, has been slapped with a trio of citations for clear-cutting a grove of trees along the Potomac River without permission. The property’s owner committed a similar breach of the public trust in 2009, shortly after he reportedly paid $13 million for what was then known as Lowes Island Club. . . . As told to Golf Digest: A guy came up to me in a hotel bar, some over-served sponsor. He squinted at me and said, “Aren’t you Dan Jenkins?” I nodded. He said, “I’ve read some of your stuff. Man, you’ve got a problem.” I said, “No, you’ve got the problem. I’ve got the typewriter.”
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Sunday, March 3, 2019
The Week That Was, march 3, 2019
The world is now home to 38,864 golf courses at 32,471 golf facilities, according to a count by the R&A and the National Golf Foundation. As of year-end 2018, the partners write in “Golf Around the World 2019,” golf could be played in 209 countries, although 78 percent of the total supply is located in just 10, a group led by the United States (16,752 courses, which translates to 43 percent of the world’s total). Two final notes: First, the vast majority of the world’s courses (29,288) are said to be “publicly accessible.” Second, 47 of the countries that offer golf have just one course.
Ron Fream, who’s designed courses in more than five dozen countries, is part of the team behind what’s been called “the first major golf project” in Primorsky Krai, Russia.
Fream and his partners, George Philpot and Jari Rasinkangas, expect to break ground next month on Vladivostok Golf Club, which will take shape on part of a 300-acre spread in greater Vladivostok, a port city in the extreme southeastern tip of Russia, across the Sea of Japan from Japan. (For what it’s worth, the area is said to have 199 days suitable for golf annually.) The club will serve as a drawing card for an emerging “smart eco-city” (a Russian translation calls it an “intellectual eco-city”) that’s been master-planned to include houses, a hotel, a campground, and other attractions, including both nine- and 18-hole golf courses. The city’s developers, a group operating as Golf-Park DV, hope to establish “a sustainable community oriented towards ecology, health, sports, and active lifestyle,” with their main target market being golfers from China, Japan, and South Korea.
Fream, who’s arguably the world’s most traveled course architect, has been blazing new frontiers since the early 1970s, and he’s worked in most every country the average American can find on a map as well as others well off the beaten trails. He’s probably best known for Club at Nine Bridges in South Korea (#23 on Golf Digest’s list of the World 100 Greatest Golf Courses) and the Serapong layout at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore (#79 on the same list), but his greatest contribution to golf has been his never-ending enthusiasm for taking the sport to places it’s never been before.
For an undisclosed price, South Street Partners has acquired what it views as “the premier collection of private mountain and lake communities in the Southeast.” The Charlotte, North Carolina-based real-estate investment group is talking about the Cliffs communities in North and South Carolina, all seven of them, which were developed by Jim Anthony, went bankrupt in the wake of the Great Recession, were sold to Carlile Group and other entities, and in 2014 fell into the hands of Arendale Holdings. The communities are gated (a feature that apparently makes their residents feel “more connected to yourself and the world around you”), and each one features a golf course, the majority of them layouts by “signature” and celebrity designers with a proven ability to spark home sales. South Street has some expertise is marketing the lifestyle of high-end golf communities, as it’s owned the tony Kiawah Island Club since 2013. It’s confident about the Cliffs’ future, as it is about Kiawah Island’s, for it believes that golf communities tailored to the upper crust will be able to sustain themselves over the near term. It’s a sensible bet.
Surplus Transactions – The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians has agreed to buy Mountain Springs Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Sonora, California that closed late last year. The course, a Robert Muir Graves design, will reopen, but the tribe, which says it’s making the purchase as part of an effort to ensure “the long-term sustainability of the golf course,” hasn’t said when. . . . Elected officials in Walton County, Florida have voted to acquire the nearly century-old DeFuniak Springs Country Club and its 18-hole golf course. The price is certainly right, for the financially struggling club is willing to give up its assets for just $1. . . . Pending all-but-certain approval by its board of commissioners, Washoe County, Nevada will soon buy Wildcreek Golf Course, a 41-year-old track in Sparks. The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority has agreed to accept roughly $980,000 for the 212-acre course, whose centerpiece is an 18-hole layout that was co-designed by Brad Benz and Dick Phelps.
Duly Noted – Despite all the optimism that floats across the golf industry these days, the number of rounds played in the United States last year fell by 4.8 percent from the number posted in 2017. The National Golf Foundation blames the decline on “a greater frequency of unfavorable golf weather” across most of the country, which is an excuse we’ve heard repeatedly of late. . . . Here’s a nugget that was buried in a mostly upbeat report on golf travel from the International Association of Golf Tour Operators: The pace of growth in international golf travel is slowing, at least in part due to “demand exceeding supply in the most popular golf destinations at the busiest times.” . . . As he was being roughed up by his former lawyer, the U.S. president lost another round in his long-running battle against the wind farm that’s now producing electrical power in the waters off his golf resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. A court has ruled that Trump International Golf Club Scotland, Ltd. must reimburse the Scottish government for the legal costs it incurred while fighting to preserve its sovereignty.
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Ron Fream, who’s designed courses in more than five dozen countries, is part of the team behind what’s been called “the first major golf project” in Primorsky Krai, Russia.
Fream and his partners, George Philpot and Jari Rasinkangas, expect to break ground next month on Vladivostok Golf Club, which will take shape on part of a 300-acre spread in greater Vladivostok, a port city in the extreme southeastern tip of Russia, across the Sea of Japan from Japan. (For what it’s worth, the area is said to have 199 days suitable for golf annually.) The club will serve as a drawing card for an emerging “smart eco-city” (a Russian translation calls it an “intellectual eco-city”) that’s been master-planned to include houses, a hotel, a campground, and other attractions, including both nine- and 18-hole golf courses. The city’s developers, a group operating as Golf-Park DV, hope to establish “a sustainable community oriented towards ecology, health, sports, and active lifestyle,” with their main target market being golfers from China, Japan, and South Korea.
Fream, who’s arguably the world’s most traveled course architect, has been blazing new frontiers since the early 1970s, and he’s worked in most every country the average American can find on a map as well as others well off the beaten trails. He’s probably best known for Club at Nine Bridges in South Korea (#23 on Golf Digest’s list of the World 100 Greatest Golf Courses) and the Serapong layout at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore (#79 on the same list), but his greatest contribution to golf has been his never-ending enthusiasm for taking the sport to places it’s never been before.
For an undisclosed price, South Street Partners has acquired what it views as “the premier collection of private mountain and lake communities in the Southeast.” The Charlotte, North Carolina-based real-estate investment group is talking about the Cliffs communities in North and South Carolina, all seven of them, which were developed by Jim Anthony, went bankrupt in the wake of the Great Recession, were sold to Carlile Group and other entities, and in 2014 fell into the hands of Arendale Holdings. The communities are gated (a feature that apparently makes their residents feel “more connected to yourself and the world around you”), and each one features a golf course, the majority of them layouts by “signature” and celebrity designers with a proven ability to spark home sales. South Street has some expertise is marketing the lifestyle of high-end golf communities, as it’s owned the tony Kiawah Island Club since 2013. It’s confident about the Cliffs’ future, as it is about Kiawah Island’s, for it believes that golf communities tailored to the upper crust will be able to sustain themselves over the near term. It’s a sensible bet.
Surplus Transactions – The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians has agreed to buy Mountain Springs Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Sonora, California that closed late last year. The course, a Robert Muir Graves design, will reopen, but the tribe, which says it’s making the purchase as part of an effort to ensure “the long-term sustainability of the golf course,” hasn’t said when. . . . Elected officials in Walton County, Florida have voted to acquire the nearly century-old DeFuniak Springs Country Club and its 18-hole golf course. The price is certainly right, for the financially struggling club is willing to give up its assets for just $1. . . . Pending all-but-certain approval by its board of commissioners, Washoe County, Nevada will soon buy Wildcreek Golf Course, a 41-year-old track in Sparks. The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority has agreed to accept roughly $980,000 for the 212-acre course, whose centerpiece is an 18-hole layout that was co-designed by Brad Benz and Dick Phelps.
Duly Noted – Despite all the optimism that floats across the golf industry these days, the number of rounds played in the United States last year fell by 4.8 percent from the number posted in 2017. The National Golf Foundation blames the decline on “a greater frequency of unfavorable golf weather” across most of the country, which is an excuse we’ve heard repeatedly of late. . . . Here’s a nugget that was buried in a mostly upbeat report on golf travel from the International Association of Golf Tour Operators: The pace of growth in international golf travel is slowing, at least in part due to “demand exceeding supply in the most popular golf destinations at the busiest times.” . . . As he was being roughed up by his former lawyer, the U.S. president lost another round in his long-running battle against the wind farm that’s now producing electrical power in the waters off his golf resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. A court has ruled that Trump International Golf Club Scotland, Ltd. must reimburse the Scottish government for the legal costs it incurred while fighting to preserve its sovereignty.
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Sunday, February 24, 2019
The Week That Was, february 24, 2019
When it comes to international travel, the United States is losing market share. Citing data collected by a British economic forecasting firm, Forbes reports that travel into the United States from outside North America increased by just 2 percent in 2018, a number that lags behind the international average (6 percent). The reason, according to Oxford Economics: “The global economy is slowing, most currencies have weakened against the dollar, and U.S. policy and rhetoric have damaged sentiment.” In particular, the United States is losing travelers from China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Middle East, and South Korea.
Jadranka Hotels’ overdue golf resort on Croatia’s Cres Island has received a governmental thumbs-up that removes, according to Total Croatia News, “the main administrative obstacle” that’s stood in its way. Eco Golf Resort Matalda, an 800-acre community that’s been proceeding at a snail’s pace (it was announced in 2014, if not before), has been master-planned to include villas, a hotel, a marina, a heliport, and a pair of 18-hole, Ernie Els “signature” golf courses, one of which will be capable of hosting professional tournaments. Jadranka’s CEO, pleased to have secured the “legal preconditions” for construction, believes that Matalda will attract tourists from Russia, Great Britain, and Scandinavia who might have otherwise vacationed in towns along Croatia’s Istrian peninsula or in other Mediterranean nations.
Some information in the preceding post was originally published in the November 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Pipeline Overflow – The tony Desert Mountain Club, in Scottsdale, Arizona, expects to take the wraps off its seventh course, an 18-hole, par-3 layout befittingly named No. 7, this spring. The club will be the centerpiece of a 90-acre, 190-house community, and a press release points out that all but three of the houses “will sit directly on the golf course.” . . . The Bob Moore-designed 18-hole track at Parahyangan Golf Bandung, outside Kota Baru, Indonesia, is now in operation. Golfasian thinks the 18-hole track offers “incomparable visual drama” in an “awe-inspiring landscape” and leaves “an indelible impression with first-time visitors and seasoned golfers alike.” . . . After 14 years’ worth of fits and starts, the 18-hole layout at the New Giza community in suburban Cairo, Egypt has finally been unveiled. The course is among the final ventures initiated by Thomson Perrett & Lobb, the now-defunct Australian “signature” design firm founded by golf legend Peter Thomson. Tim Lobb, who’s been overseeing the construction, views the process as “a labor of love.”
Tam O’Shanter Country Club, a venue on New York’s Long Island that was once accused of entertaining its members with strippers and prostitutes, has changed hands. Titan Golf LLC, a New Jersey-based owner/operator, has reportedly paid $15 million for Tam O’Shanter, an under-performing club that it views as “the jewel of the North Shore.” The club, which occupies 157 acres in Brookville (“of the best zip codes in the country,” according to Titan) has been in business since 1962, and it features an 18-hole, Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course. Titan also owns another golf property on Long Island, Woodmere Club, and it’s on the prowl for other private clubs that might benefit from an infusion of investment.
Surplus Transactions – Pending a successful closing, homeowners operating via the University Park Recreation District will acquire University Park Country Club, a property developed by Pat Neal and Rolf Pasold in the early 1990s. The sale includes a 27-hole, Ron Garl-designed golf complex, the usual assortment of vertical structures, and 100 acres of raw land, all to be sold for nearly $17 million, a price that some residents believe is inflated. . . . Though he’s acknowledged that “buying a golf course in the winter is a bad idea,” last month Bob Friend reportedly paid $1.2 million for Brookwoods Golf Club, a 43-year-old facility in suburban Richmond, Virginia that employs him as its superintendent. He bought Brookwoods, which features an 18-hole, Algie Pulley-designed track, from Gilbey and Brian Campbell, who’ve described the property as “a workingman’s golf course.” . . . For a price of $650,000, the Nez Perce Tribe has taken ownership of Clarkston Golf & Country Club, a 45-year-old property that the Lewiston Tribune says has fallen “on financial hard times.” The club is located in Clarkston, Washington, across the Snake River from Lewiston, Idaho, and the tribe intends to transform its 18-hole, Keith Hellstrom-designed course into what the newspaper says will be “a premier golf course for the area.”
Duly Noted – As its relationship with Keith Foster fades from memory, Olympia Fields Country Club has enlisted Andy Staples to oversee a makeover of its South Course, an 18-hole track that was co-designed by Willie Watson and Tom Bendelow. The club, a Golden Age property in Chicagoland that will host next year’s BMW Championship, hasn’t yet secured member approval and financing for the overhaul, however. . . . Golf magazine reports that Vietnam is now home to “an estimated 30,000” golfers, a number it views as “a tenfold increase from 20 years ago.” Unfortunately, the magazine didn’t cite a source for its comments. . . . Regarding those 30,000 home-grown golfers in Vietnam: They apparently view golf the way most American golfers did in the 1980s and 1990s. Jack Nicklaus II told Golf that his most important client emphasizes “beauty and difficulty,” and Brian Curley reported that “a lot [of] golfers here are gluttons for punishment and seem to think it’s not golf if you don’t lose a few sleeves along the way.”
In compliance with European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Jadranka Hotels’ overdue golf resort on Croatia’s Cres Island has received a governmental thumbs-up that removes, according to Total Croatia News, “the main administrative obstacle” that’s stood in its way. Eco Golf Resort Matalda, an 800-acre community that’s been proceeding at a snail’s pace (it was announced in 2014, if not before), has been master-planned to include villas, a hotel, a marina, a heliport, and a pair of 18-hole, Ernie Els “signature” golf courses, one of which will be capable of hosting professional tournaments. Jadranka’s CEO, pleased to have secured the “legal preconditions” for construction, believes that Matalda will attract tourists from Russia, Great Britain, and Scandinavia who might have otherwise vacationed in towns along Croatia’s Istrian peninsula or in other Mediterranean nations.
Some information in the preceding post was originally published in the November 2016 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Pipeline Overflow – The tony Desert Mountain Club, in Scottsdale, Arizona, expects to take the wraps off its seventh course, an 18-hole, par-3 layout befittingly named No. 7, this spring. The club will be the centerpiece of a 90-acre, 190-house community, and a press release points out that all but three of the houses “will sit directly on the golf course.” . . . The Bob Moore-designed 18-hole track at Parahyangan Golf Bandung, outside Kota Baru, Indonesia, is now in operation. Golfasian thinks the 18-hole track offers “incomparable visual drama” in an “awe-inspiring landscape” and leaves “an indelible impression with first-time visitors and seasoned golfers alike.” . . . After 14 years’ worth of fits and starts, the 18-hole layout at the New Giza community in suburban Cairo, Egypt has finally been unveiled. The course is among the final ventures initiated by Thomson Perrett & Lobb, the now-defunct Australian “signature” design firm founded by golf legend Peter Thomson. Tim Lobb, who’s been overseeing the construction, views the process as “a labor of love.”
Tam O’Shanter Country Club, a venue on New York’s Long Island that was once accused of entertaining its members with strippers and prostitutes, has changed hands. Titan Golf LLC, a New Jersey-based owner/operator, has reportedly paid $15 million for Tam O’Shanter, an under-performing club that it views as “the jewel of the North Shore.” The club, which occupies 157 acres in Brookville (“of the best zip codes in the country,” according to Titan) has been in business since 1962, and it features an 18-hole, Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course. Titan also owns another golf property on Long Island, Woodmere Club, and it’s on the prowl for other private clubs that might benefit from an infusion of investment.
Surplus Transactions – Pending a successful closing, homeowners operating via the University Park Recreation District will acquire University Park Country Club, a property developed by Pat Neal and Rolf Pasold in the early 1990s. The sale includes a 27-hole, Ron Garl-designed golf complex, the usual assortment of vertical structures, and 100 acres of raw land, all to be sold for nearly $17 million, a price that some residents believe is inflated. . . . Though he’s acknowledged that “buying a golf course in the winter is a bad idea,” last month Bob Friend reportedly paid $1.2 million for Brookwoods Golf Club, a 43-year-old facility in suburban Richmond, Virginia that employs him as its superintendent. He bought Brookwoods, which features an 18-hole, Algie Pulley-designed track, from Gilbey and Brian Campbell, who’ve described the property as “a workingman’s golf course.” . . . For a price of $650,000, the Nez Perce Tribe has taken ownership of Clarkston Golf & Country Club, a 45-year-old property that the Lewiston Tribune says has fallen “on financial hard times.” The club is located in Clarkston, Washington, across the Snake River from Lewiston, Idaho, and the tribe intends to transform its 18-hole, Keith Hellstrom-designed course into what the newspaper says will be “a premier golf course for the area.”
Duly Noted – As its relationship with Keith Foster fades from memory, Olympia Fields Country Club has enlisted Andy Staples to oversee a makeover of its South Course, an 18-hole track that was co-designed by Willie Watson and Tom Bendelow. The club, a Golden Age property in Chicagoland that will host next year’s BMW Championship, hasn’t yet secured member approval and financing for the overhaul, however. . . . Golf magazine reports that Vietnam is now home to “an estimated 30,000” golfers, a number it views as “a tenfold increase from 20 years ago.” Unfortunately, the magazine didn’t cite a source for its comments. . . . Regarding those 30,000 home-grown golfers in Vietnam: They apparently view golf the way most American golfers did in the 1980s and 1990s. Jack Nicklaus II told Golf that his most important client emphasizes “beauty and difficulty,” and Brian Curley reported that “a lot [of] golfers here are gluttons for punishment and seem to think it’s not golf if you don’t lose a few sleeves along the way.”
In compliance with European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
Sunday, February 17, 2019
The Week That Was, february 17, 2019
The truth can hurt. So, especially in times of stress, people occasionally try to dull the pain by stretching the facts or telling half-truths or putting a happy face on a situation. They try, in other words, to make things seem to be better than they actually are.
A recent example of such embroidery comes from Golf Advisor, in an article headlined “17 New Golf Courses Opening in 2019.” In the article, Golf Advisor not only contends that the collapse of golf development is “not necessarily a bad thing” (echoes of the National Golf Foundation!) but blissfully attempts to redefine the word new, which has been with us, according to Merriam-Webster, since before the 12th century.
Clearly, the ground beneath our feet has shifted. When the NGF and golf’s other opinion-makers feel compelled to change definitions that have stood for eons, it’s because those definitions measure performance in ways that are too troubling.
Did Golf Advisor actually find 17 new courses that will open this year? Absolutely not. It found 11 courses that, by the customary definition of the word new, are expected to open. And of those 11, only seven are in the United States.
Regarding the six other courses on Golf Advisor’s list, they’re what we used to call major remodelings. In most cases, no doubt, the remodelings are dramatic. Still, back when developers were opening hundreds of courses a year, they wouldn’t have been considered new.
Golf Advisor doesn’t want to deep-dive into the distinctions between traditionally defined new courses and newish courses that take shape atop existing courses. “There are some cases,” it acknowledges, “where one could potentially argue whether some of the ‘new golf courses’ on this list are actually heavy renovations.”
You don’t say.
Make no mistake: A broader definition of new, as originally championed by the NGF, doesn’t benefit the golf industry. It’s just a phony, transparent attempt to gloss over the truth about the current state of U.S. golf development. It doesn’t clarify. It doesn’t make people smarter. In fact, by muddying the facts, it clouds the issues.
If we expect to solve golf’s problems, we have to be honest about the dimensions of those problems. I know many people in the golf business, and they can all handle the truth. Seven is an honest number. Seventeen is not.
What’s been described as “the first major smart sustainable city” in Europe and “a place where you want to work, live, and play” could soon take shape in Castilblanco, a city in Badajoz, Spain. Eco- and family-friendly Elysium City has been master-planned to include houses, hotels, casinos, a Formula One race track, a “Disney-level” theme park, a waterpark, a 40,000-seat sports stadium, shopping areas, a high-speed train station, and an 18-hole golf course. A developer hasn’t been identified, but government officials hope to complete the city’s first phase of construction in 2023.
Pipeline Overflow – A pair of South Korean companies may build resorts, complete with golf courses, in Primorye, Russia’s dedicated gambling zone. The companies are Ramid Hotels & Resorts and K International, and the quality of Ramid’s venue will reportedly be “at the level of recognized world entertainment centers Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Dubai.” . . . What’s said to be “a large-scale golf course development” is expected to take shape in Paralimni, a vacation spot on the eastern coast of Cyprus. A site hasn’t yet been chosen, and environmental concerns will have to be addressed, but the Mediterranean island has been angling to become a golf destination for many years. . . . Planning officials in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India, are looking for a private-sector group that’s willing to build the city’s first 18-hole golf course. The city has two nine-hole tracks, but the Lucknow Development Authority believes a regulation-sized layout is necessary to satisfy a “growing population.”
Here’s a rundown of significant course closing that have occurred over the past month or so:
– Sable Oaks Golf Club, a 30-year-old venue that features what’s been described as “probably the most significant 18-hole [course] that’s ever gone away in the state of Maine, without a doubt.” The course, in suburban Portland, was co-designed by Geoffrey Cornish and Brian Silva, and its 179 acres are slated for residential development.
– White Hawk Golf Club, the centerpiece of a golf community in Bixby, Oklahoma. Roger Rodich, who bought the 25-year-old club last year, hopes to build houses on the property’s 18-hole, Randy Heckenkemper-designed golf course.
– Possum Trot Golf Club, which has operated on South Carolina’s Grand Strand since 1968, the year that the Smithsonian says “shattered America.” Possum Trot is operated on a lease that expires this fall, and it appears that the owners of the nearly 170-acre property are intent on residential development.
– Woodland Meadows Golf & Event Center, in suburban Sacramento, California, which “just doesn’t have the community support anymore,” according to its owner. The 40-acre property, featuring a nine-hole course that opened in 1996, is slated for redevelopment.
– Hawthorne Valley Golf Club, a 95-year-old facility in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, isn’t expected to reopen in 2019. The club, which has been living on borrowed time for several years, features an 18-hole, Donald Ross-designed course.
– Badin Inn Golf Club, a venue outside Albemarle, North Carolina that’s operated since 1924. The 145-acre property has been sold to Newport Landowners Services, which told the Stanly News & Press that the inn’s an 18-hole, Ed Seay-designed track is “done as a golf course.”
– Blackhawk Run Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Stockton, Illinois. The owners of the 55-year-old property reportedly hope to find a buyer.
– Little River Resort’s golf course, an 18-hole, Dan Maples-designed track outside Pinehurst, North Carolina that’s in need of upgrades that might cost $1 million or more. The course reportedly lost its greens last summer, when its irrigation system failed, and Oceanico Group USA isn’t eager to spring for the repairs. It’s looking to sell.
Duly Noted – What do Portugal’s top golf courses have in common? Well, no surprise here: None of them were created by Portuguese architects. What’s mildly surprising, though, is that every one of the top five, according to Sports Daily, were created by Americans: Jack Nicklaus, Cynthia Dye McGarey, Arthur Hills, Robert Trent Jones, and Joe Lee. . . . Hard numbers can’t be found, but the BBC has wondered why “so few people” attended the European Tour’s recent tournament in Saudi Arabia. “The inaugural and lavish Saudi International,” the British news service noted, “was most certainly not funded by gate receipts.” . . . After he did some minor damage to a few golf greens during the Saudi International, it was said that Sergio Garcia had “made a fool of himself” and was “not in a well-balanced state of mind.” It was said that his actions constituted “an offense that deserves a suspension.” Sadly, similar outrage wasn’t expressed when Garcia spewed a racist joke about serving fried chicken to Tiger Woods.
Are you wondering how much of a week’s golf news I cover in this blog? The answer, unfortunately, is just a fraction of what passes my way. The golf business, particularly the development side of the golf business, has unquestionably perked up over the past year or two, and there’s no way for me to address all of it. So if your business requires a more comprehensive news digest, contact me via e-mail at golfcoursereport@aol.com. I’ll send you a sample issue of either U.S. or International Construction Clips, depending on your needs.
A recent example of such embroidery comes from Golf Advisor, in an article headlined “17 New Golf Courses Opening in 2019.” In the article, Golf Advisor not only contends that the collapse of golf development is “not necessarily a bad thing” (echoes of the National Golf Foundation!) but blissfully attempts to redefine the word new, which has been with us, according to Merriam-Webster, since before the 12th century.
Clearly, the ground beneath our feet has shifted. When the NGF and golf’s other opinion-makers feel compelled to change definitions that have stood for eons, it’s because those definitions measure performance in ways that are too troubling.
Did Golf Advisor actually find 17 new courses that will open this year? Absolutely not. It found 11 courses that, by the customary definition of the word new, are expected to open. And of those 11, only seven are in the United States.
Regarding the six other courses on Golf Advisor’s list, they’re what we used to call major remodelings. In most cases, no doubt, the remodelings are dramatic. Still, back when developers were opening hundreds of courses a year, they wouldn’t have been considered new.
Golf Advisor doesn’t want to deep-dive into the distinctions between traditionally defined new courses and newish courses that take shape atop existing courses. “There are some cases,” it acknowledges, “where one could potentially argue whether some of the ‘new golf courses’ on this list are actually heavy renovations.”
You don’t say.
Make no mistake: A broader definition of new, as originally championed by the NGF, doesn’t benefit the golf industry. It’s just a phony, transparent attempt to gloss over the truth about the current state of U.S. golf development. It doesn’t clarify. It doesn’t make people smarter. In fact, by muddying the facts, it clouds the issues.
If we expect to solve golf’s problems, we have to be honest about the dimensions of those problems. I know many people in the golf business, and they can all handle the truth. Seven is an honest number. Seventeen is not.
What’s been described as “the first major smart sustainable city” in Europe and “a place where you want to work, live, and play” could soon take shape in Castilblanco, a city in Badajoz, Spain. Eco- and family-friendly Elysium City has been master-planned to include houses, hotels, casinos, a Formula One race track, a “Disney-level” theme park, a waterpark, a 40,000-seat sports stadium, shopping areas, a high-speed train station, and an 18-hole golf course. A developer hasn’t been identified, but government officials hope to complete the city’s first phase of construction in 2023.
Pipeline Overflow – A pair of South Korean companies may build resorts, complete with golf courses, in Primorye, Russia’s dedicated gambling zone. The companies are Ramid Hotels & Resorts and K International, and the quality of Ramid’s venue will reportedly be “at the level of recognized world entertainment centers Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Dubai.” . . . What’s said to be “a large-scale golf course development” is expected to take shape in Paralimni, a vacation spot on the eastern coast of Cyprus. A site hasn’t yet been chosen, and environmental concerns will have to be addressed, but the Mediterranean island has been angling to become a golf destination for many years. . . . Planning officials in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India, are looking for a private-sector group that’s willing to build the city’s first 18-hole golf course. The city has two nine-hole tracks, but the Lucknow Development Authority believes a regulation-sized layout is necessary to satisfy a “growing population.”
Here’s a rundown of significant course closing that have occurred over the past month or so:
– Sable Oaks Golf Club, a 30-year-old venue that features what’s been described as “probably the most significant 18-hole [course] that’s ever gone away in the state of Maine, without a doubt.” The course, in suburban Portland, was co-designed by Geoffrey Cornish and Brian Silva, and its 179 acres are slated for residential development.
– White Hawk Golf Club, the centerpiece of a golf community in Bixby, Oklahoma. Roger Rodich, who bought the 25-year-old club last year, hopes to build houses on the property’s 18-hole, Randy Heckenkemper-designed golf course.
– Possum Trot Golf Club, which has operated on South Carolina’s Grand Strand since 1968, the year that the Smithsonian says “shattered America.” Possum Trot is operated on a lease that expires this fall, and it appears that the owners of the nearly 170-acre property are intent on residential development.
– Woodland Meadows Golf & Event Center, in suburban Sacramento, California, which “just doesn’t have the community support anymore,” according to its owner. The 40-acre property, featuring a nine-hole course that opened in 1996, is slated for redevelopment.
– Hawthorne Valley Golf Club, a 95-year-old facility in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, isn’t expected to reopen in 2019. The club, which has been living on borrowed time for several years, features an 18-hole, Donald Ross-designed course.
– Badin Inn Golf Club, a venue outside Albemarle, North Carolina that’s operated since 1924. The 145-acre property has been sold to Newport Landowners Services, which told the Stanly News & Press that the inn’s an 18-hole, Ed Seay-designed track is “done as a golf course.”
– Blackhawk Run Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Stockton, Illinois. The owners of the 55-year-old property reportedly hope to find a buyer.
– Little River Resort’s golf course, an 18-hole, Dan Maples-designed track outside Pinehurst, North Carolina that’s in need of upgrades that might cost $1 million or more. The course reportedly lost its greens last summer, when its irrigation system failed, and Oceanico Group USA isn’t eager to spring for the repairs. It’s looking to sell.
Duly Noted – What do Portugal’s top golf courses have in common? Well, no surprise here: None of them were created by Portuguese architects. What’s mildly surprising, though, is that every one of the top five, according to Sports Daily, were created by Americans: Jack Nicklaus, Cynthia Dye McGarey, Arthur Hills, Robert Trent Jones, and Joe Lee. . . . Hard numbers can’t be found, but the BBC has wondered why “so few people” attended the European Tour’s recent tournament in Saudi Arabia. “The inaugural and lavish Saudi International,” the British news service noted, “was most certainly not funded by gate receipts.” . . . After he did some minor damage to a few golf greens during the Saudi International, it was said that Sergio Garcia had “made a fool of himself” and was “not in a well-balanced state of mind.” It was said that his actions constituted “an offense that deserves a suspension.” Sadly, similar outrage wasn’t expressed when Garcia spewed a racist joke about serving fried chicken to Tiger Woods.
Are you wondering how much of a week’s golf news I cover in this blog? The answer, unfortunately, is just a fraction of what passes my way. The golf business, particularly the development side of the golf business, has unquestionably perked up over the past year or two, and there’s no way for me to address all of it. So if your business requires a more comprehensive news digest, contact me via e-mail at golfcoursereport@aol.com. I’ll send you a sample issue of either U.S. or International Construction Clips, depending on your needs.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
The Week That Was, february 10, 2019
Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most notorious human-rights offenders, aims to capitalize on the validation it’s received from the European Tour.
The Saudi Golf Federation, its eyes trained on what’s said to be “a large, young, and affluent population with a growing interest in sports,” claims to be “committed” to building somewhere between 13 and 20 golf courses by 2030, at least some them to take shape in the puritanical kingdom’s forthcoming “economic cities.” If such dreams come true – for an untested golf market, a course a year for the next decade is a tall order – Saudi Arabia is going to emerge as a certified hot spot for golf development.
Of course, it’s appropriate to wonder who’s going to fill the tee times and membership rolls on a dozen or more courses, as a Chinese news agency reports that Saudi Arabia has only 220 homegrown “registered” golfers, along with an estimated 6,000 other players. And perhaps more importantly, who’s going to design and build all those courses? We already know that European Golf Design is amenable to working in the monarchy, as it created the course that hosted the recent Saudi International, but how many other individuals or firms might be willing to lend credibility to a regime that censors free speech, discriminates against women, assassinates journalists, and slaughters innocent people in Yemen?
Saudi Arabia will likely soon be a wonderful opportunity for the golf industry. It’s also going to expose our industry’s true values.
Pipeline Overflow – Jim Urbina has been tabbed to redesign the nine-hole, par-3 layout that serves as the home course for the First Tee of Greater Portland, in Oregon. The remodeled track, the centerpiece of Seamus Golf Park at the Children’s Course, is being created by Seamus Golf, which built a course in Winter Garden, Florida that’s been called “short, architecturally interesting, and affordable.” . . . A Texas-based turf company reports that Tour 18 and a residential developer have teamed up to build a 2,000-acre golf community in North Houston, Texas. Details are scarce, but history tells us that the course at the to-be-named community will be a replica layout, like the Tour 18 venue in nearby Humble. . . . Glasgow Golf & Country Club, a venue in greater Bowling Green, Kentucky that was shuttered last year, may be revived. John Riley, the owner of a fireplace store, aims to buy and reopen the 85-year-old club, which is currently controlled by a local bank.
Traditional Golf Properties has found a buyer for the last of the three Richmond, Virginia-area golf venues it put on the market in 2017. Late last year Joe Sanders, the owner of a local construction company, paid $800,000 for the dormant Stonehouse Golf Club (a.k.a. Tradition Club at Stonehouse), a 23-year-old property in Toano that features an 18-hole, Mike Strantz-designed layout. “The more I did the math, the more I thought it was a good buy and a reasonable investment if the business is run correctly,” Sanders told Richmond Biz Sense. In separate transactions last year, Traditional sold Brickshire Golf Club and Royal New Kent Golf Club. The company took a major haircut on Stonehouse, for which it reportedly paid $5 million in 2001. The price appeared to be a deep discount at the time, considering that Stonehouse’s previous owner had, according to the magazine, paid $16.3 million for the club in 1997.
Surplus Transactions – On the final day of 2018, Joseph Hernandez, described as a “New York biotechnology entrepreneur” and a “philanthropist with ties to the University of Florida,” paid an undisclosed price for Gainesville Country Club. The 56-year-old, member-owned venue, which Hernandez acknowledges has had “great days and challenging days,” features an 18-hole, George Cobb-designed golf course. . . . Middleton Golf Course, an 18-hole layout co-designed by Geoffrey Cornish and Bill Robinson, will end its 54-year run next month. The town of Middleton, a northern suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $3.8 million for the course’s 52 acres, which will be developed with community facilities. . . . For $1 million, and as part of what’s been called “a public service,” the city of Moberly, Missouri has acquired Heritage Hills Golf Course. Heritage Hills feature an 18-hole layout that opened in 1965, and the city believes that it can “figure out operational activities in a timely manner.”
Duly Noted – Later this year, Greg “the Living Brand” Norman expects to start selling “branded” CBD products to “active adult men and women” across America. Like other aging Baby Boomers, the LB has taken to complaining about the “significant wear and tear” that life has taken on his body, and he’s presumably discovered that CBD, a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana, can provide relief. . . . Speaking of the LB, Sandals Resorts International has pulled the plug on its proposed golf resort on the island of Tobago. The resort was supposed to feature a Norman-designed track that would lure “international tournaments” and make Tobago “a golfing destination.” . . . The self-described “world leader in private clubs” has hired Robert Morse, a former president of hospitality for Caesars Entertainment Corporation, as its chief operating officer. ClubCorp believes that Morse’s “wealth of operational knowledge” will prove to be valuable as it “transforms to a lifestyle company.”
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
The Saudi Golf Federation, its eyes trained on what’s said to be “a large, young, and affluent population with a growing interest in sports,” claims to be “committed” to building somewhere between 13 and 20 golf courses by 2030, at least some them to take shape in the puritanical kingdom’s forthcoming “economic cities.” If such dreams come true – for an untested golf market, a course a year for the next decade is a tall order – Saudi Arabia is going to emerge as a certified hot spot for golf development.
Of course, it’s appropriate to wonder who’s going to fill the tee times and membership rolls on a dozen or more courses, as a Chinese news agency reports that Saudi Arabia has only 220 homegrown “registered” golfers, along with an estimated 6,000 other players. And perhaps more importantly, who’s going to design and build all those courses? We already know that European Golf Design is amenable to working in the monarchy, as it created the course that hosted the recent Saudi International, but how many other individuals or firms might be willing to lend credibility to a regime that censors free speech, discriminates against women, assassinates journalists, and slaughters innocent people in Yemen?
Saudi Arabia will likely soon be a wonderful opportunity for the golf industry. It’s also going to expose our industry’s true values.
Pipeline Overflow – Jim Urbina has been tabbed to redesign the nine-hole, par-3 layout that serves as the home course for the First Tee of Greater Portland, in Oregon. The remodeled track, the centerpiece of Seamus Golf Park at the Children’s Course, is being created by Seamus Golf, which built a course in Winter Garden, Florida that’s been called “short, architecturally interesting, and affordable.” . . . A Texas-based turf company reports that Tour 18 and a residential developer have teamed up to build a 2,000-acre golf community in North Houston, Texas. Details are scarce, but history tells us that the course at the to-be-named community will be a replica layout, like the Tour 18 venue in nearby Humble. . . . Glasgow Golf & Country Club, a venue in greater Bowling Green, Kentucky that was shuttered last year, may be revived. John Riley, the owner of a fireplace store, aims to buy and reopen the 85-year-old club, which is currently controlled by a local bank.
Traditional Golf Properties has found a buyer for the last of the three Richmond, Virginia-area golf venues it put on the market in 2017. Late last year Joe Sanders, the owner of a local construction company, paid $800,000 for the dormant Stonehouse Golf Club (a.k.a. Tradition Club at Stonehouse), a 23-year-old property in Toano that features an 18-hole, Mike Strantz-designed layout. “The more I did the math, the more I thought it was a good buy and a reasonable investment if the business is run correctly,” Sanders told Richmond Biz Sense. In separate transactions last year, Traditional sold Brickshire Golf Club and Royal New Kent Golf Club. The company took a major haircut on Stonehouse, for which it reportedly paid $5 million in 2001. The price appeared to be a deep discount at the time, considering that Stonehouse’s previous owner had, according to the magazine, paid $16.3 million for the club in 1997.
Surplus Transactions – On the final day of 2018, Joseph Hernandez, described as a “New York biotechnology entrepreneur” and a “philanthropist with ties to the University of Florida,” paid an undisclosed price for Gainesville Country Club. The 56-year-old, member-owned venue, which Hernandez acknowledges has had “great days and challenging days,” features an 18-hole, George Cobb-designed golf course. . . . Middleton Golf Course, an 18-hole layout co-designed by Geoffrey Cornish and Bill Robinson, will end its 54-year run next month. The town of Middleton, a northern suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $3.8 million for the course’s 52 acres, which will be developed with community facilities. . . . For $1 million, and as part of what’s been called “a public service,” the city of Moberly, Missouri has acquired Heritage Hills Golf Course. Heritage Hills feature an 18-hole layout that opened in 1965, and the city believes that it can “figure out operational activities in a timely manner.”
Duly Noted – Later this year, Greg “the Living Brand” Norman expects to start selling “branded” CBD products to “active adult men and women” across America. Like other aging Baby Boomers, the LB has taken to complaining about the “significant wear and tear” that life has taken on his body, and he’s presumably discovered that CBD, a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana, can provide relief. . . . Speaking of the LB, Sandals Resorts International has pulled the plug on its proposed golf resort on the island of Tobago. The resort was supposed to feature a Norman-designed track that would lure “international tournaments” and make Tobago “a golfing destination.” . . . The self-described “world leader in private clubs” has hired Robert Morse, a former president of hospitality for Caesars Entertainment Corporation, as its chief operating officer. ClubCorp believes that Morse’s “wealth of operational knowledge” will prove to be valuable as it “transforms to a lifestyle company.”
In compliance with recently issued European laws regarding data collection, I’ve been asked to provide a statement about my use of the data that’s collected about those of you who read the World Golf Report. So here’s what I have to say on the subject: I don’t collect any data, and I don’t put any cookies into your computer. That being said, here’s some language that Google, the company that maintains this slice of cyberspace, would probably approve of: “We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. By using the site, you consent to these cookies.”
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