Golf Inc - April 2008 - (Page 46)

The Last Word Jim Dunlap A turn for the worse Since the turn of this particular century, the golf industry has to be feeling like Joe Btfsplk, the character in the old Li’l Abner cartoon series who blithely trailed bad luck behind him, unaware of the havoc he was wreaking. OK, I’m dating myself more than a little with that one, but the point is, as with Joe and those in his wake, that light at the end of the tunnel just might be an oncoming train. Just as golf ’s supply-demand curve seemed to be taking a turn for the better, with more courses closing than opening the past two years and many operators learning to work smarter, along comes our current “non-recession.” Oops, there go the homebuilders who were the linchpin for the vast majority of new course development. Oops, again: Those baby boomers who were supposed to be golf ’s salvation for the next 10 years just figured out they can’t sell the family house for enough to cover the golf course retirement home and still pay $4 a gallon to visit the kids and grandkids. And another oops, that Bear Stearns portfolio is not exactly mushrooming. There are going to be some casualties in golfland. Boardrooms in golf construction companies are not necessarily happy places these days. Some major builders, like Bill Kubly of Landscapes Unlimited and Joe Niebur of Niebur Golf, peered into the crystal ball awhile back and decided that hedging their bets with diversification into other ventures like landscape, recreation or homeowners association maintenance (Landscapes) or commercial real estate investment (Niebur) was a wise idea. For the bigger builders, faced with everdiminishing new course construction and a huge work force of staff and equipment, it was a prescient decision. Interestingly enough, Arizonabased SEMA Golf, which cut ties with longtime president Bob Steele, is reportedly hiring, apparently with an eye toward the relatively active Mexico development market. Steele has formed his own company, Steele Golf LLC, in part to chase the same Mexico market. Some long-time mainstays of course development, like WCI Communities and entrepreneur Bobby Ginn, have already fallen victim to economic woes. WCI stock has tumbled and Ginn’s money partner, Lubert-Adler, has brought in respected real estate investment manager Robert Gidel as president to take control of Ginn’s real estate and golf-related ventures, while attorneys are dealing with numerous lawsuits by Ginn investors and homebuyers. Developers are tightening belts and hunkering down waiting for the real estate cycle to turn around. (See the May issue of Golf Inc. for a further look into the developer/ homebuilder goings-on). And yet, there are some folks seeing opportunity in the turbulent waters. CNL Lifestyle Co. continues to scan the market for properties to acquire. The enigmatic Joe Guerra and his Canongate firm are reportedly eyeing additional acquisitions, possibly in the Denver market. ClubCorp is also looking to grow. Meadowbrook (remember them?) officials say they are looking, although a portfolio of courses that has shrunk from 50-plus to 12 or 13 in the past few years does not exactly appear to be on the bullish side of the curve. Bill Kubly More musings We don’t typically do book reviews, but I was recently given a copy of “The Match,” by Mark Frost, a fascinating description of an epic “private” match back in the ’50s between then-amateurs Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward and the team of Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson at Cypress Point before the Crosby Clambake at Pebble Beach. The hole-by-hole description was incredible, but the insights into the characters of the participants were even better. As a sidelight, it was almost humorous in today’s realm of equipment and player fitness technology to read what clubs the players were hitting. A four-iron from 180 yards? That’s a 7 or 8-iron for Tiger & company, but nevertheless, the play-by-play was riveting. Bobby Ginn Ken Venturi 46 Golf Inc. April 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Golf Inc - April 2008

Golf Inc - April 2008 Contents Editors Column Birney Takes NGCOA Helm Construction Costs on the Rise KemperSports Adds 14 Courses Americas: Fazio Designs St. Kitts Layout Europe/Africa: Seaside Resort Planned in Egypt Asia/Australis: Faldo Opens New Chinese Course High-Tech Tools: New Technologies that can Help Operators There's No Economic Slump at Still-Popular Reynolds Plantation Tim Moraghan Wants to Make Golf Fun Again Why a $1.5 Billion Resort has Made Environmental Protection a Top Priority Most Admired Operators Marketing Experts Make Their Pitch for Golf Courses From Korea, with Cash Last Word

Golf Inc - April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.