Imagine building 26 golf courses at the height of the golf development bubble, with nine figures in public pension money — in an effort that now loses money year after year. Welcome to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
In theory, 12-hole designs should be cheaper to play, build, and maintain. But in the staid industry of golf course development, there’s been no rush to test the theory. The minds behind Sweetens Cove are ready to change that.
Phil Mickelson has spent most of the past decade as golf’s real-life version of the Million Dollar Man, all without any discernible cost to his standing among fans.
“So they turned Molinari’s number over first, they turned Finau’s over next — and everybody was just sitting there — and then they turned Tiger’s over, and it was “14” again. And there was just this huge roar, like you were watching Jack Nicklaus in ’86.”