Golf Inc. - October 2008 - (Page 42)

The spectacular clubhouse at Troon-operated Abu Dhabi Golf Club is designed to resemble a falcon in ﬂight. a project manager for Troon Golf in the UAE. “It’s a small investment in our company,” said Tim Schantz, executive vice president of business development for Troon Golf. He declined to say how much money is involved because of Troon’s private status. “The investment speaks for itself,” he said. “It means that we’ll have an ongoing relationship with them and will handle all their properties from now on, all over the world.” One of those properties Troon will manage in Dubai will be the Jumeirah Golf Estates, with four courses with design work done by Greg Norman, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Pete Dye. The European Tour is opening an international headquarters at Jumeirah and in 2009 the Dubai World Championship will be held there for the first time with a prize fund of $10 million. It may be hard to compete with all that, but vying with Troon in the Middle East is IMG, the global sports and entertainment giant that does everything from golf course design to managing pro athletes, including Tour players. IMG made a splash last year when Tiger Woods hired IMG to manage Al Ruwaya, the first golf course to be designed by Woods and located on a site in Dubai. “It was a natural connection for us because we represent Woods,” said Andreas Doring, the UK-based head of operations for IMG Golf Management. Like many recent developments in the Mideast, this first signature course for Woods will be the focus of a glittering resort-real estate complex, including 22 palaces, 75 mansions, 100 large villas, an 80-suite boutique hotel and spa, a restaurant, golf academy and palatial clubhouse. “We have been contacted about other projects in the pipeline in the Middle East and Africa,” Doring said. “IMG is an industry leader and gets approached about the possibility of managing golf, tennis, equestrian and polo clubs all the time.” Doring, former general manager of the Cologne Golf & Country Club in Germany, was recently hired to help lead the club management team in the London office. IMG does have extensive international experience in course management. It already operates 16 golf clubs worldwide, including Nirwana Bali; Amata Spring in Bangkok; and Sheshan International in Shanghai. Changes in South Africa Golf management companies are picking up clients as well in South Africa, which has more than 450 courses, the most of any nation on the African continent. Hiring outside managers is a new concept for South Africa, just as it is in the Middle East. “It’s partly because most courses (in South Africa) are private and memberowned,” said Scott Ferrell, president of 42 Golf Inc. October 2008 Gary Player Design, which is based in the U.S. “The members hire the staff and dictate everything that happens around the club. Otherwise resorts and hotel companies run their own courses.” But now IMG will manage a new course at the Legend Golf & Safari Resort, being built north of Johannesburg, South Africa. “Each hole was designed by a different Tour player – Trevor Immelman, Luke Donald, Retief Goosen, for example,” Doring said. Recently, Troon Golf also acquired a new client, the Jack Nicklaus course at Pearl Valley Estates in the Cape Winelands area of South Africa. Pearl Valley is another development by Leisurecorp of Dubai World, which plans to build an additional 18-hole course at the 500-home complex. The South African Open will be held at Pearl Valley in December. Some local golf consulting and management companies are starting up as well. Mark Wiltshire, former director of golf at the Fancourt Hotel, a four-course golf resort on South Africa’s Garden Western Cape, has launched Mark Wiltshire Golf Ltd. He started the firm in response to the growth in golf developments, residential and resort, that began in the 1990s. “We manage five golf courses at the moment in South Africa and two outside South Africa,” Wiltshire said. Among his clients is the Gardener Ross Golf & Country Estate in Gauteng, between Johannesburg and Pretoria. An Ernie Elsdesigned course opened in late 2007 at Gardener Ross. Courses hire him, Wiltshire said, because “the standard for courses in South Africa has really improved over the past decade, which has forced new and existing courses to take the step up to the next level. I believe that we can provide each individual development with a business and operations model that sets them apart from their competitors.” —By Rebecca Larsen

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

Golf Inc. - October 2008 Contents From the Editors: Smaller is Less Costly Survey Reveal Golf's Economic Impact in EMA Private Club Managers Earn Bigger Salaries Dyes Mourn Loss of Family Member Changing Demographics Impact European Golf Scene RDC Golf Group Finds Affordable Golf Niche Links at Summerly Offers Unique Twist Cost Crunch Most Powerful People in Golf Contractors Focus on Renovations, International�Projects Troon, IMG Reach Into Booming Middle East Market Americas Recap: New Player Design in Mexico Europe-Africa Recap: Moroccan Lakeside Development Asia-Australia Recap: 3 Billion Dollar Resort in Vietnam The Last Word: There's No Substitute for Good Friends on a Golf Course

Golf Inc. - October 2008

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