Golf course sale likely to be major blow for Macau players
Playing opportunties likely to be drastically reduced with sources seeing redevelopment - maybe as another casino - as inevitable
Golfers in Macau could see their playing opportunities drastically reduced with the news that Caesars Golf Club has been sold to an Asian developer.
Industry sources suggest it's only a matter of time before the bulldozers move in and another hotel-casino resort is const- ructed on what is now an 18-hole, links-style golf course.
No one would buy a stand-alone golf course and expect to make money from it, it's simply a land bank
One person familiar with the golf industry in Macau suggested that Caesars bought the property five years ago with the sole intention of redeveloping it as a casino resort.
"No one would buy a stand-alone golf course and expect to make money from it, it's simply a land bank," said the source.
The golf course was developed by Orient Golf International and opened for play in 2005. Orient Golf is part of a Taiwanese conglomerate with interests in a wide range of industries including coal mines in the US, electronics and car dealerships, and is the world's second largest manufacturer of computer monitors.
The company was one of the earliest developers of golf courses on the mainland and currently operates 15 clubs located in or near nine major Chinese cities.
Caesars invested a considerable amount of money into renovating the golf course and clubhouse after the 2007 purchase, and also installed a Butch Harmon golf academy. Harmon, the former coach of world number one Tiger Woods and Greg Norman and current coach to British Open winner Phil Mickelson, made annual visits to the Macau club to host VIP golf clinics.