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.
Tony Finau isn’t one of the chokers that Jack Nicklaus could count on to melt down at the top of a leaderboard. But he doesn’t have a knack for climbing on top, either.
“I hadn’t won in a really long time. So I didn't know what to expect. You see a lot of fist-pumps and people crying, and I was like, ‘Man, am I gonna cry? Am I just gonna fist-pump? What am I gonna do?’ Then it was just kind of like, ‘OK cool, I won.’”