{{ubiquityData.prevArticle.description}}
{{ubiquityData.nextArticle.description}}
Heralded golf resort developer Mike Keiser has returned to Scotland’s Coul Links project, one that he helped instigate and then abandoned when the Scottish government stopped its approval in February 2020.
But there is a catch; the golf course must gain full governmental approval for him to be involved in the project in the Scottish Highlands. Should that occur, Keiser will be the lead investor, and the original Coore-Crenshaw routing will be developed. Approval, Keiser says, could take 12 to 18 months.
After the Scottish government rejected the proposal for an 18-hole championship near Royal Dornoch Golf Club, purportedly on environmental grounds, a group called Communities For Coul resurrected the idea of building a course, saying it would bring jobs to the region. Keiser said members of the community reached out to him shortly after the government stopped the first effort.
“The community said, ‘We want Coul Links,’ ” Keiser told GGP. “It’s a great site, and Bill and Ben are dying to build the course.”
Pine Valley Golf Club, located in northwestern New Jersey and generally thought of as one of the best golf courses in the world, informed members Friday night it will admit women members, perhaps before the end of the year. In an e-mail to members, club president Jim Davis wrote:
“This evening at our Annual Meeting of the Members we made a historic change to Pine Valley’s bylaws. The future of golf must move toward inclusion, and I am pleased to report that the Trustees and members of the Pine Valley Golf Club voted unanimously and with enthusiasm to remove all gender-specific language from our bylaws. The club’s policies will now allow all guests to enjoy our club without restrictions and we will begin immediately identifying women candidates for membership with the expectation of having our first women members in the club by the end of this year. As has been our custom, all prospective candidates must be socially compatible, share a deep passion for the game of golf, and be able to play the golf course with the skill level our founder George Crump intended.
“On a personal note, I have been thinking about this for a long time and, frankly, it’s overdue. Several years ago, I was playing in our Spring Members weekend with our late fellow member and friend Jack Vardaman. During the round we discussed this very topic and as we were walking through the woods to our tee shots on the 15th hole Jack said something to me that I have never forgotten. He said, ‘Remember, we don’t want to be on the wrong side of history.’
“We are not changing the things we love most about Pine Valley. We are simply continuing down the path of making our Club more inclusive. We want to be proud of Pine Valley in all respects, and I am convinced this change puts us on the right side of history. ”
Staff and Wire Reports