GOLF IN VIET NAM.

My favourite sport, my passion, my work.

I want to see golf get away from its current sag in popularity in USA, Australia and other countries and I want to see golf flourish in Viet Nam, my home for the last 10 years.

I think I may have some good suggestions for the LONGER-TERM life of golf.

Golf is in the doldrums worldwide except for a few hotspots which are the emerging markets like Viet Nam, Turkey, etc. but they will also become graveyards for golf soon if some things aren’t brought under control.

Golf is still MOSTLY a tool for property developers to sell real estate and it is a great tool for that purpose. I see it time and time again in Viet Nam where one more developer after another signs up a ‘big name’  to design and build another new over-priced, very average golf course where they believe many people will flock to buy their new villas, apartments, houses, etc.

I know one developer who couldn’t believe that we could design and build his golf facility for less than USD10 million because he had paid USD35 million.

I know who is right and who is wrong.

Another poor man’s total costs came to more than USD18 million and he thought he was doing well. His clubhouse is extraordinary, ugly, costly to run and a permanent hole in his annual bottom line.

These are just a few snippets of the extraordinary waste of money that a developer will spend to get what he thinks is necessary to sell his real estate.

 AND SOME NEVER SELL ALL OF THEIR REAL ESTATE ANYWAY!

It’s unfortunate, because they are VERY wrong.

Later, these golf courses will be used to ‘make money’ in most cases as they sell “life” memberships (memberships don’t hold value for long as we now see in Viet Nam) and try to build a player base to cover their maintenance costs which in many cases are up to USD1 million per year. Some investors continue to contribute to the running costs of the golf course because they cannot get enough revenue from the golf course. Many don’t raise enough in playing fees and so those courses fall into disrepair, go broke or sell to a smart investor who may snip them up at a “bargain price” and so make a business out of it. That is happening in other countries already.

Unfortunately, in Viet Nam, at least 30 of the current 37 golf courses are losing money EVERY WEEK, MONTH, YEAR, FOREVER.

What is obvious here?

Yes, that’s right! The golf courses were developed for too high a cost. Simple really, but this nonsense continues to roll on to the next new development.

Historically, every new golf course developer believes that his new golf course will be better than all those before his and he will make huge money from it.

It very rarely happens!!

I have been around golf for more than 50 years. I have some idea about what it costs to design and build a great golf facility and I can tell you all that it is nowhere near what the ‘big names’ charge for their (disputed) signature services.

Every new golf course should be ITS OWN SIGNATURE. That is, design and build a great, sustainable golf course and the players will come to play AND RETURN.

So will the buyers of the villas, etc.

It must be embarrassing to some people who buy real estate beside a “signature golf course” and then watch as the golf course goes broke because of high maintenance costs, etc. Suddenly, their dream home purchase is not so valuable and can LOSE MONEY instead of increasing in value.

Golf (especially here in Viet Nam) needs to change in a few aspects only:

1. Its cost to play;
2. Time involved in a round of golf;
3. Enjoyment when playing.

When a competent designer creates an enjoyable golf course with returning nines and reasonable tee locations, a player can wizz around nine holes in the afternoon in less than 2 hours. I know: I have done it many times on good golf courses with plenty of “challenge” and I could play this nine one day and another nine the next time.

When the golf course is set up for the “average golfer” instead of the 3% of players who can hit it 300 yards and more, the costs can be much less than what some courses cost (you know, those courses which are going broke now?!).

The world is saturated with expensive golf courses going broke. A recent study in Australia revealed that 56% of high-end golf courses in Australia are in “dire financial stress”. Some experts blame the internet, mobile phones and other spurious reasons why the courses are in trouble. Many other countries are the same but it isn’t golf that’s the problem, it’s the costs to create and maintain the golf that’s the problem.

Costs to design, build, maintain and run a golf course are more than most businesses. However, especially here in SE Asia, a golf course employs hundreds of people and so they can be a very healthy addition to the local communities but only if they are a sustainable business, created with sustainability in mind. If that is achieved from the outset, then you will have a sound business, employing many people and giving the local people, young and old, the chance to learn and play one of the best sports in the world at a reasonable cost.

More another day!