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Bulgaria to invest EUR 30 million in seaside golf courses, to be designed by Gary Player November 14, 2004 -- Gary Player, golf's first great international ambassador, is going to design two high-class seaside golf courses on the Black Sea, a local official disclosed. A total of EUR 30 million will be invested in building the facilities, one located near Varna and the other near Balchik, according to Tsonko Tsonev, mayor of the Black Sea town of Kavarna. They are huge developments, with villas, apartments, shops, marinas etc. Investors in the projects are Black Sea Golf Resorts and Sofia-based 3G, Bulgaria's Dnevnik daily reported. The Bulgarian newspaper cited Gary Player, who visited Bulgaria last week, as saying that the two new courses would meet the world's highest standards. The South African golfing legend and golf course architect owns the Gary Player Group, which has designed more than 200 championship courses around the world. Bulgaria's current and future golf development projects Right now, there is only one "course" in Bulgaria, located about 45 minutes from Sofia. However, insiders believes that they have never seen a worse 18 pins in a field! Construction on the very FIRST Black Sea site has already begun in June 2004. In addition, Grey Hawk (Sofia) is expected to open this year -- 18 holes / 6,075 metres / par 72 with a learning centre. The project was originally planned to be ready to open in October 2004. Furthermore, a tourism complex worth EUR 10 million is to be built near the popular Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Primorsko. The mayor of Primorsko is Dimitar Dimitrov, who announced the deal in the beginning of March 2004. In the compound, along the Ropotamo River, there will be a golf course stretching over some 800 acres. French investors who designed the complex are also planning to build a hotel, golf academy and a number of boutiques, restaurants and nightclubs. The hotel should be able to provide accommodation for 1,000 people. Projects in Bulgaria that experts believe will run include: three on the Black Sea, all in various states of preparation, all housing/hotel/resort style; one in a ski resort that could be excellent. Plus there are several "land packages" that insiders say can easily attract the attention of investors. Several other Bulgarian resort, golf and real-estate developments will be coming on stream in the near future. Sources: Novinite Ltd., INVgolf. Related link:
Gary Player toasts to Bushman Sands Resort in South Africa November 5, 2004 -- Gary Player was the guest of honour at a recent function at the newly-opened Bushman Sands Hotel & Golf Course in Alicedale, South Africa. The resort was born out of a partnership between the Mantis Collection, the Port Elizabeth-based eco-tourism giant, and Bisho. A key element of Bushman Sands -- which has sparked the rejuvenation of the decaying former railway siding town of Alicedale -- is the championship golf course designed by Player. The new course was laid out on an existing site that Gary Player Group, USA cleared 15 years prior for the same purpose, but that development folded due to lack of funds. The site became a dumping ground and remained that way until last year when work on Bushman Sands began. Golf course developments have come under increasing fire, primarily because of the amount of water they require. Mantis engineers, together with technicians from the local Makana municipality and Rhodes University, are working on a system which will "minimise the use of water", Mantis ecologist John O’Brien said yesterday. Player has always been a firm believer that a golf course should put something back into both nature and the community and Bushman Sands is a case in point. In fact, the Black Knight worked with South Africa's most well-known conservationist and his own brother, Dr. Ian Player on this project. The development has also been a great benefactor for the local economy in South Africa. Unemployment stood at 96% three years ago in Alicedale and the resort has reduced this figure considerably. This quaint and historic town also recently scooped the world travel and tourism 2004 SKAL International award in the Villages and Cities category. Source: Gary Player Group. INVgolf footnote:
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