Matko NEWS April 2010
Matkovich & Hayes Newsletter
In this issue
NEWS FROM PETE
PETER RECEIVES THE ‘Contribution to Golf’ AWARD FROM GOLF DIGEST
COMPLEAT GOLFER - GOLF CLUB MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
EGYPT’S GOLF ESTATE ‘BOOM’
M&H PROJECT UPDATE
M&H/WBHO Golf proudly partner with L&M LANDSCAPERS for 2nd phase at KSIA
LA BALISE MARINA - MAURITIUS
NEWS FROM PETE
Hi there Clients, Colleagues and Friends
2010 – Our first newsletter and it is already April. What a year this is going to be. South Africa is going to stand out and show the world just what a great country it is and what beautiful people we have.
Jane and I were fortunate to start the year at Gowrie Farm and stayed at The Folie owned by Guy Smith. It is different, peaceful and definitely worth a visit. The golf course at Gowrie Farm is enjoyable and I love the fact that it is a “walk only” experience, I think Guy did a very nice job of the green complexes and bunkers but I am yet to finish his 18th hole! (see below for more information and images)
My son Tony, Shannon and baby Jamie packed to leave for Mauritius for a year to promote and sell Villas Valriche, the housing estate at Golf du Chateau, our first course in Mauritius and also a marina at Black River. Once they had arrived at their new house, with a swimming pool, saw the stunning views and the lifestyle in Mauritius, Shannon immediately extended the stay to three years. (You can read more about La Balise Marina below)
This year is full of really exciting projects throughout Africa, namely:
· Omeya, Namibia: this really is a beautiful golf estate just outside Windhoek it was the first estate to sell on auction. They sold 125 stands in one day and to date are up to 150 sales. We expect to be on site by midyear.
· Lagos Keys, Nigeria: I am confident that the much publicized takeover of Pinnacle Point Holdings will flourish and that this incredible island development will be its road to recovery.
· Grand Baie, Mauritius: Oh how we love Mauritius and can’t wait to do this project. News is that approvals are in place and “the ship is about to sail”. Commencement should also happen by midyear.
· Egypt: Louis van der Walt has just returned from visiting Egypt and reports exciting possibilities.
We look forward to the coming months and several other potential developments taking place. I always believe that one comes out of difficult times much stronger and wiser.
One of the highlights of my year was from April 16-18 at Angus Buchan’s Mighty Men Conference in Greytown, the 7th and last gathering. The hype and excitement of the soccer world cup where we expect 300,000 visitors and billed as the biggest event for South Africa – and rightly so. But this year at the MMC in Greytown, with no airport and no accommodation, 250 000 Mighty Men gathered on a farm to praise Our Lord – this is real growth and revival.
Recently (1 March 2010), I received a call from Sabine Baring Gould, our Construction Director, to say to me “Do I know what tomorrow is?” Never good on dates, birthdays or anniversaries (confirmed by my wife), he then told me that we have been “married” for twenty years and it all started at San Lameer, then Leopard Rock……….Thank you Sabine for a wonderful relationship.
You may already know but our construction office is moving from Ballito to Johannesburg, where it will be under the wing of WBHO. This is a huge plus for the business as it will be more central and, with the support of WBHO, offer better service and become a more professional operation. With this though is very sad news for me, our CEO Andy Bean has decided to move on with his career and has accepted a job in Cape Town. This feels like the day my son or daughter moved out of home - we have been on an amazing journey. Fortunately Andy will still be an associate in my design team and we will always be very close. The construction team will now be in the capable hands of Gustav Putter and I wish him well.
Cheers, Pete
PETER RECEIVES THE ‘ Contribution to Golf’ AWARD FROM GOLF DIGEST
Peter received the ‘Contribution to Golf’ award at the prestigious Golf Digest Awards Dinner, held at Pretoria Country Club. This year’s event was held on the Tuesday of the Pro-Am for the Vodacom Championship, and in attendance were many Vodacom Blue Bulls players, and rugby legend, Naas Botha. In front of a packed venue Peter graciously accepted his award and gave credit to the team that has supported him through the years and allowed him to create the many wonderful courses that he has.
Currently Egypt has around 25 golf courses, but there is a “mini boom” in golf estate development and the expectation is that a minimum of 25 new golf estates will be built in the next 3-5 years particularly in the following 3 areas: Mediterranean Coast, Red Sea Coast and Outer Cairo. On the whole these new estates encompass both residential and hotel/resort components. Up until now these golf courses have not been built to a particularly high standard - the design specs have not been high or rigid, with minimal earthmoving, and naturally with only a few water features.
Andy Bean and Louis van der Walt have both visited Egypt recently to investigate opportunities and forge relationships. “We are very excited about the prospects in this region and hope we can partner a local firm or establish ourselves independently to offer both design and construction services” stated Andy Bean.
EGYPT’S GOLF ESTATE ‘BOOM’
Golf, like the measles, should be caught young, for, if postponed to riper years,
the results may be serious. P.G. Wodehouse, A Mixed Threesome, 1922
The Folie at Gowrie Farm pays homage to old farmhouses of the KZN midlands, characterized by; 'Lettered' plan shapes, which were typically the H, I, L or U shaped; their roof dominated accreted forms; the predominance of the single storey scale in the landscape; response to climate including sun, wind, rain and presumably temperature; and the importance of views as a way of relating to the landscape from within properties, as well as views of properties from the landscape.
Looking for an idyllic country retreat, a classic golf course, conference venue, and great trout fishing with all the conveniences and up market style of the city? Gowrie Farm at Nottingham Road in the KZN Midlands has all this to offer, with a varied selection of affordable and de luxe accommodation available. Being situated at the hub of the popular Midlands Meander tourism route ensures myriad restaurants and coffee-shops, spas, diverse shopping and cultural attractions as well as numerous sporting opportunities. For more information and accommodation specials log on to http://www.gowriefarm.co.za/
COMPLEAT GOLFER - Golf Club Management Conference
Gustav Putter, Matkovich & Hayes’ CFO, gave a fascinating speech and slideshow to the club managers and CEO’s from around the country, outlining the trends in the golf course construction industry. With information gathered from various surveys and studies, the cost per hole and cost per course were plotted and compared for Eastern, Western and Northern Europe, Great Britain & Ireland, the Middle East and Southern Africa. It was no surprise that China is the biggest growth area for golf course construction but close behind are a number of other regions where Matkovich & Hayes are investigating future work. The process, cost of construction and design in South Africa, and the future of golf were all covered in his presentation, which was very well received by the delegates.
PROJECT UPDATE
Aside from actively seeking new avenues for golf design and construction, Matkovich & Hayes are still regularly approached by prospective developers, mostly from African countries, who are keen to build golf estates. The following projects are either at the very early stages of feasibility while others are due to begin in the near future.
1. Omeya Golf & Residential Oasis, Namibia: M & H have been appointed to do the design and construction of an 18 hole golf course near Windhoek. An auction took place on 6 February which yielded excellent sales making it an almost certainty that the construction of the golf course will commence later this year.
2. Lafourche Beach Resort , Mauritius: The developers have received approvals to start work on the “golf resort” which includes an 18 hole golf course that Peter has designed - the client is hopeful construction can start later this year.
3. Lagos Keys, Nigeria: The Pinnacle Point Development Group have appointed Peter to design an 18 hole golf course with construction forecasted to start in June/July 2010.
4. Quengela, Angola: Provided the Government approves the concept of this development, it is hopeful that it will go ahead in the very near future.
5. Nairobi, Kenya: A firm of Architects are busy with a feasibility study for a golf estate and have asked Peter Matkovich if he would be interested in being the golf course designer. This estate development is situated 20 km from the Muthaiga Golf Club where Peter has done a redesign.
Matkovich & Hayes/WBHO Golf are proud to announce L&M Landscapers as our partners for the second phase of the landscaping contract at King Shaka International Airport. We are very pleased to be awarded this contract, landscaping the access road from the N2 interchange to the airport, as it is a big vote of confidence in our skills and what we have done to date. There is immense pressure to complete the project because the airport will shift operations (in a 24hr period) from the south of Durban to the new King Shaka International Airport on May 1st, ahead of the Soccer World Cup. L&M Landscapers is a South African company that specializes in fine landscaping, maintenance of landscaped gardens and nursery management. The company is 100% black owned with a structural ownership of 50/50 female and male. L&M Landscapers was formed through a partnership with Likhona Facility Management and Biza iAfrica (previous named Mbizana Development Consultants) with the aim to strengthen resources and expertise.
L &M Landscapers has a wealth of experience through its sister companies in landscaping and design of town spaces and monumental structures, construction of parks, construction and management of nurseries as well as maintenance of landscape gardens. L&M’s main focus at King Shaka International Airport is to supply plants for the landscaping as well as labour to landscape and maintain the landscaped areas and lawns. L & M landscapers was also contracted by Dube Trade Port to plan and execute works at the King Shaka International Airport. Works included nursery operations, rehabilitation of wetlands, alien plant control, and restoration of habitats.
Some interesting figures detailing the scale of the landscaping project at King Shaka International Airport
<Size of planted area - 109 880m2> <Size of paved area - 29 936.55m2> <Number of trees that will be planted - 1902 (of around 6 metres)> <No. of ground-covers and shrubs that will be planted - 761 806>
The property sales arm of Hayes, Matkovich and Associates (HMA) is continuing to grow its business in the strongly emerging property market of Mauritius. HMA’s flagship product being Villas Valriche, which is the villa development around the Matkovich designed championship Golf Du Chateau course in Bel Ombre. On the back of the success of Villas Valriche, HMA has just launched the new La Balise Marina based in Black River. This is the 1st and only fully fledged marina on the island and it’s great to have some diversification in the HM&A stable. The project was launched in October last year and sales have gone extremely well with 35 properties already been sold out of a possible 118. As with Villas Valriche, there are many advantages to buying property in Mauritius, including Mauritian residency and externalisation of the full purchase consideration independent of one’s offshore allowance.
For more information regarding La Balise Marina, please contact Ryan Proksch on 086 111 3985 or email ryan@itsaboutlife.co.za. Please also visit the website http://www.labalisemarina.com/ .
We would love to see you in Mauritius!
La Balise Marina - Mauritius
The Folie
King Shaka International Airport landscaping contract
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to move on from Matkovich & Hayes Golf Estate Solutions. The personal relationships built up at Matkovich & Hayes and WBHO, and in particular with Peter, have made the decision extremely difficult to say the least. Words cannot express my gratitude to Pete for the opportunity he has given me to manage his design and construction business over the past 7 years. Not only that but the advice and wisdom gleaned from him over the years are invaluable tools of life going forward. I feel that I have had the unique opportunity to work with a living legend. We will continue a close working relationship, I will always treasure our friendship and I have no doubt that he will continue to be my mentor! I also hope that I can break par on his courses every now and then, especially when he is my opponent!
I will be taking up the job offered to me by Retail Tribe to manage their South African and UK operations.
Very best, Andy Bean