Sports Personality of the Year Product Placement Shocker

I knew it had been a good year for Ian Poulter anyway, then he was given a snappy script and a creative producer to do the slick summing up video slot for golf 2008 at the BBCs Sports Personality of the Year Show last night. I was shocked and stunned to see him standing in front of rails and racks of his own clothings line with his name just above his head. Shameless. He also made a show of screeching onto the golf course car park in some sports car, or other. I do hope he hasn't got a deal with the car firm as well. Normally I would say 'I would gladly pay my license fee twice over to keep the BBC independant.' Its just not like the BBC at all.

Sanctuary Falls with Greg Norman; The Arabian Golf Development Property Award Winner

The results are in, but did you see how you apply for these competitions? Whoever pulls together the file for the golf projects entry requirements for this competition deserves a medal too. There is a fee to enter but the organisers of the Arabian Property Awards believe that 'the award can prove invaluable as a promotional tool for your company. The banner, complete with sponsor's name, can be used in all your sales literature and public relations material.' And they never let on who has entered; only those who have been successful.This all seems a bit cosy but it just proves that the promise of a logo to add to your brochure, a photo of a smiling premiership footballer or the link to the name of an old pro is reassuring to the public and must be worth paying for, or else why do it?

Sanctuary Falls in Dubai's Jumierah Golf estates has won the overall prize, an the pro designer this time is of course,good old Greg Norman. They have got Tiger Woods on board in Dubai as well and having taken over the old order of merit, as the race to Dubai it feels like Dubai is cleaning up.But the Normans are also cleaning up because the resort also hosts the Chris Evert Tennis Centre. It is said that former world no.1 ace tennis star will work closely with designers? To do what exactly? Chose the grade of the cement?

Golfing holidays in Dubai are part of any self respecting premiership footballers year and the luxury resorts built around these courses are part of the property portfolios any well paid sports enthusiat. I was recently at an overseas property show where Michael Owen, Freddie Flintoff and Sam Torrence were all grinning at me from the same Dubai Property for Sale stall. No claims of taking part in the design of these great apartment towers though. Just the bank balance to buy.

Donald Trump Comes to Aberdeen

Donald Trump has been given the green light to tee orf his development in Aberdeen. Its a wonder that he has taken so much time,energy and no doubt money in the fight to build his new Golf Resort.The development will comprise two golf courses, 500 homes and a 450-bedroom hotel on the sand dunes at Balmedie on a site of special scientific interest. All thoughts of protecting the sea birds and the dunes went out of the window when faced with the wall of cash, and the potential of even more with the boost to tourism and jobs. Alex Salmond said: "The economic and social benefits for the North East of Scotland substantially outweigh any environmental impact. It is entirely right and proper that the resources of the country are harnessed to boost one of our great industries and tourism is a great Scottish industry." while the RSPB spokesperson answers "We are surprised and extremely disappointed at this decision, which we believe is wrong both for Aberdeenshire and for Scotland. The development will cause the destruction of a dune system, with its precious wildlife, on a site which is protected by law and should continue to be available for future generations to enjoy. We, and the thousands of other objectors, consider that this is too high a price to pay for the claimed economic benefits from this development."

I am all for the dunes and the sea birds, I really am. I can't imagine that the development could not be put somewhere else and Donald Trump could develop a course anywhere in the world (somewhere where the wind does not blow next time, having seen the Donald 'hair don'ts' in Scotland publicity shots) I especially dont like the politicians who would be thumping the table in outrage if the decision were being made while they were in opposition.

Thankfully there is the voice of reason in there somewhere, that one man standing alone, prepared to turn down all offers of cash, jobs and any other sort of bribary, to protect his home (the home of generations of his family) and the dunes, from the rich American developer and the politicians who are guided by expediancy rather than principle.Should I make an attempt at the screenplay now? Michael Forbes, the man refusing to move, could certainly do with some support and guidance. They will eventually find a way to move him out of the way, so he should make the most of it.

But I expect its now a done deal and that it will be a fantastic resort to visit, and without having to get on a plane fro 7 hours.As for the golf course itself, it has had so much publicity already, and has Donald Trump as its leader, it hardly needs a golf pro to sell it. With a budget of £1 billion I hope the local council are having something for the community and at least a bit of art/sculpture.

Heaton Park, Manchester, Oasis, Kasabian and Golf

The tickets for next summers Oasis tour go on sale today. What concert goers may not know is that there is a championship golf course there,designed by 5 times Open champion and founder of The Professional Golfers Association (PGA), J. H. Taylor The course opened in 1912, and has since been the host venue of many professional and amateur tournaments? Faldo Juniors Qualifiers Series? They allow all of us in and fees are very reasonable indeed.It was voted top municipal course of the year by Golf Punk and Esquire Magazine (they are hoping for tickets) Well Done.

But to stick to the purpose of the site, how will the celebrity name tag work for Heaton Park? Well, I dont think the Oasis tag will attract the Ryder cup to the Championship Course. I wonder if there has been an outcry from golfers and local residents about the mob turning up at the Park, the drunken hoards, the noise.Of course we wont go anywhere near the course and nature is very good and covering up marauders, as long as the bottles are picked up.

But lets face it, loads of fans will go back with their kids to look at the legendary site of the best gig they ever went to.I am admitting to returning to Maine Road and Balloch Castle. Its put Heaton Park on the map for my teenagers and their mates. Its all knowledge you know.

Imagine the day. Its Saturday 6th June 2009.Its definitely not raining. You have had a swift round on the beautiful parkland course, had a look at the Pennines, and now you are joining the throng to see Kasabian and Oasis on the same night! They, of course have been let in from the furthest entry point to the Park from the stage. You on the other hand are staying at Heaton Hall, just a short staggering distance away. Tickets on sale in 30 minutes.

The Race to Dubai via Shanghai

The Race to Dubai begins with the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai in November this year and ending with the $20million (£11.3m) Dubai World Championship at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in November 2009.

Shanghai has already hosted Formula 1 this year and now it is the venue for the first tournament of the European Order of Merit, which is now renamed as The Race to Dubai. "The Race to Dubai will bring a new dimension to the European Tour" says George O'Grady, chief executive of the European Tour...." and the partnership with Leisurecorp is central to our plans for the future." I see.

Golf is increasingly popular in China and there are more and more courses being built each year.Of the 31 I found in Shanghai, it looks like building and quantity rather than a pro golfer design name tag are the key. That does not mean that design is not important though. The course at the Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai was designed by Nelson & Haworth, who are responsible for the design of 10% of all the golf courses in China. They say " A Nelson & Haworth golf course is an evolution of ideas, communication, skill, and experience." Well, I have had a look at the images of their most famous courses, not really expecting to learn much more about them.. I just like looking at the pictures. But I found myself guessing where in the world the courses were, and I was getting it right! Golf St Raphael actually looked like it was in Canada.Bayhood looked like China. Macquarie Links GC looked like Australia. Go and have a look and let me know.

Mission Hills, Shenzhen and Dongguan, China

You've seen the Olympic birds nest stadium. You've seen the Great Wall. Well now we have Mission Hills, near Hong Kong. This place has 12 courses, designed by 12 'world renowned golf legends'. they are Niklaus, Norman, Annika, Els, Vijay (1st name terms?)Faldo,Olazabal, Duval,Ozaki, Leadbetter, Pete Dye and Zhang Lianwei (need both names?)

Theres night Golf, Beach bunkers, Jungle, Mountain peaks rock walls and the worlds toughest island green. Nick Faldo's course is to be Asia's premier tournament course. The Ernie Els course looks a bit like South Africa? What is that all about? Surely when you go to China you want to see China? The other day I noticed a Dubai Course was designed with a Mediterranean theme. Surely theres enough culture, style and identity in Dubai and China to keep their courses looking like the country they are in? Are there any south China Sea courses in the Algarve?

I must add that Olazabal has at least made a study of Golf Course design while out of action, confined to a wheelchair in from 1994. I wonder if you can tell the difference when you play it. Let me Know.

The Ryder Cup 2008. It Did Its Job For Poulter

Was Tiger missed? Was Monty missed? Did Faldo mess up his couples or his order? Did the USA biased crowd have an impact? Is it sporting? Do the victors care? Whatever. I thought it was about time the US won as I said in my Valhalla blog. Its just not good for the tournament if the Europeans win all the time.

Whichever side of the Atlantic you were cheering from, or whether you listened on BBC Radio 5 live, or watched it on Sky, the Ryder Cup did as it always does; created a wave of new interest in the game and produced some new heroes. There was so much coverage of the wild card choice of Ian Poulter, before the tournament kicked off, that his excellent contribution to the European effort can only spell one thing; I feel the setting up of the Ian Poulter Designer Golf Course Company and Website.

Poulter already has the golf gear designer website and shop,all in a lovely pinky hazy background colour. Now I give him a lot more credit for that design, and definitely the colouring of this range of designer pro gear than, say, The Lily Allen range at New Look. He's got more flair and personality than most at Valhalla. Some lucky Golf course somewhere will soon be advertising The Poulter

WORLD DOMINATION Golf by Numbers

Golf is the most lucrative sport of all.

Stats According to The Independent

6.5 Million Dollars = Vijay Singhs, top of US PGA money list, 2008 winnings.

53 Billion Euros = annual value of golf in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

6.2 Billion Dollars = Spent on golf products in US every year.

18,000 = New golf villas and apartments built in Europe in 2006.

76 Billion Dollars = Gross annual value of golf in the USA every year.

769 Million Dollars = Tiger Woods earnings in 10 years to 2007.
He felt he could afford to take a break this year.)

16,000 = 18 hole golf courses in the USA

35,000 = Golf courses in the world

160 = New golf courses in Europe in 2006

The Tiger Woods, Dubai September 2009

Well if you are going to make use of the pro golfer designer name you have hired you may as well use it to the full. It is billed as 'A private Golf Community, the vision of its namesake' Hmmm. There is a very honest description of the input of the great visionary though; He talked about some of the things he liked most about other courses and the whole design team visited a few, but then they go on to say that Tiger has been very 'hands on'. Now, this could mean anything, but I am pretty sure thats about Tiger giving the nod to designs that are put in front of him. So does it work? If you are looking at golfing holidays are you more likely to book this.If you are buying an off plan villa within a golfing community, are you going to choose The Tiger Woods Dubai over another? Or will it come down to cost, cost of flights, facilities, potential rental income from holiday letting. Does the fact that Tiger Woods Inc. has had a hand in design and has been paid for his name mean quality is quarenteed. Or when you get there, will it be full of name droppers, with status anxiety? Its not going to make your handicap any lower you know.

Having said all that, the hotel, the palaces, the residences and the course would do for me thanks.

Augusta, Georgia, Exclusively by Alastair Mackenzie with Bobby Jones

Augusta is the most exclusive and revered golf courses in the world and therefore does not need the design skills of Greg Norman to promote it. Membership is by invitation only and the only pro golfers in the list of 300 members are Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and John Harris. This fact is mentioned in the history of the club, along with other illustrious members such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Dwight D Eisenhower, though there are plenty you need never have heard of. With joining fees and annual fees set realatively low, it is the TV rights to the clubs own tournament which allows such exclusivity; there are no plans to invite female members, though they do allow female caddies. Thats OK then.

The course was designed by one of the owners (Bobby Jones) and the Scottish architect Alistair Mackenzie, along the lines of St Andrews; there were few nasty obstacles and wide fairways originally, but over time, rough, bunkers and trees have been added.It was opened in 1931 and is the home to the Masters, every year.

The Masters course is known as the most beautiful golf course in the world, and its beauty is best seen in April, just as the Masters kicks off. They think of everything;the color of the drink napkins for patrons perfectly matches the grass - so if you drop your napkin it will not show on TV. The green theme continues with the Green Jacket worn by members and masters winners, a nice touch, as conceived by the other original owner, Clifford Roberts. Who needs celebrity pro designers?

St Andrews Scotland by Nature

Its Royal and Ancient, and it is the Home of Golf and the Governing Body that makes the rules up.Six members of the Royal family have been captains through the years, the most recent being the present Duke of York, who has had the time to practice.King James IV bought golf clubs at St Andrews in 1506 and written records suggest that golf was being played here long before that.

As a separate entity the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews remains as a private golf club with a world-wide membership of 2,400. But there are other clubs based at the fabulous St Andrews clubhouse, and it is also open to the general public. The club is funded by the cash from the Open Championship and the Amateur Championship, and because of the clubs stature in world golf, a win at St Andrews is the Holy Grail. The Scottish weather and the 112 bunkers make it an exciting venue... anything can happen.

There wasn't much course design going on when on May 14, 1754 , when 22 noblemen and gentlemen of Fife presented a Silver Club to be played for annually over the Links of St Andrews. The biggest contribution to golf course design has to be the 18 hole course. Previously there had been no standard number of holes, and St Andrews had been a 22 hole course, while most other British courses were 9 holes.

Another original feature is that the course can be played in either direction, clockwise or anti-clockwise, and originally the change in direction of play was a weekly occurance to allow recovery of the grass. Sundays are for picnics for the people. Can't see that happening at Augusta.

Valhalla by Jack Niklaus

Valhalla is the Ryder Cup Course this year and as I read through the news on the US versus Europe battle I was struck by the great and universal abilities of most top players over the years. It is well known that footballers are good at golf and snooker(hand eye co-ordination and all that) but little has been discussed on the Golfers ability to design a golf course. Is this the same sort of designing as Kate Moss and a Top Shop designer line. Of course they will know what they like or dislike about a course in the same way as Kate knows whether she doing Purple or stretch denim. Admittedly its easier to use a digger and some feed than sew a gypsy top from scratch, but how much did Jack really contribute to Valhalla? Well his website boasts Jack Nicklaus design has over 300 golf courses 'open for play' Hard to imagine how he found the time.But he's a golfing legend and thats all we really need to know.

Valhalla is in Louisville, Kentucky, USA and was opened in 1986 fulfilling the dream and vision of Louisville businessman and golf enthusiast Dwight Gahm. Jack Nicklaus was commissioned to build a course fit to attract the PGA Championship to Kentucky. Nice to be able to fulfil such dreams. This was acheived in 1992.

The Ryder Cup, every non golfers favourite tournament, begins on Thursday 18 September, with the opening ceremony, all covered by Sky of course. With Europe having won it on the last 3 occasion(with great sportsmanship and with the dignity of their wives in tact)it would be best for the tournament if the US won it this year.Thats what I shall be telling myself if we lose.

Jumeirah Golf Estates by Greg Norman, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Peter Dye

Typical of Dubai, this is a Golf Estate, with 4 courses incorporating the elements of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, designed by three well known golfers and a golf course architecht legend.Greg Norman sorted out the Fire and Earth. Sergio Garcia was the new boy to design and was given Wind? Vijay Singh dealt with the Water.I expect all three were pleased to have the design pro 'helping out'

They always have to do it bigger,bolder and better, but the truth is, it often works in Dubai. Its worked so well they have changed the name of the European Order of Merit to 'The Race to Dubai' and moved the European Tour Headquarters to the Fire and Water entrances as well. Apparently, its not about the money, but perhaps the year round training and performance facilities, will enable our European boys to compete with the US Golfers, who afterall, have had the benefits of Florida, Hawaii and Carolina for years. Its a similar flight time, its just that we are moving continent.

Celtic Manor, Wales, starring Colin Montgomerie and Robert Trent Jones (and the Roman Empire)

Celtic Manor has 3 courses and its Twenty Ten Course to be the venue for the Ryder Cup in 2010. Can you see what they've done there? But they still couldn't keep away from the Pro Golf Designer Course which they call 'The Montgomerie'by Colin Montgomerie.Can you see what they've done there? The Original Celtic Manor course was called The Roman Road Course, and thats because several Roman Roads cross the course.......
The most important fact about the Roman Road course is that it was designed by Robert Trent Jones, the most important course architecht EVER. He invented his own degree course as he went along, taking courses in surveying, horticulture and hydraulics amoungst other subjects, once ill health ruled him out of competitive Golf. It is said that the sun never sets on a course designed by Robert Trent Jones, which might be true. The furthest west I could find was Royal Ka'anapali Golf Course, Maui in Hawaii; the most easterly being in Chamonix in France. Then theres a massive clump in the USA. I wonder why Celtic Manor felt they needed another go at it!

Golf Course

Wikipeadia Says

Golf is played in an area of land designated a golf course. A course consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing area, fairway, rough and other hazards, and the green with the pin and cup. A typical golf course consists of eighteen holes, but many smaller courses have only nine. Early Scottish golf courses were mostly layed out on linksland, soil covered sand dunes directly inland from beaches. This gave rise to the common description of a seaside course as a links.

Got it.