Golf, a good walking game!

Make it a good walk  

Golf is an enjoyable sport as long as there is an element of exercise involved, like walking, otherwise it’s just a parlour game.

Bukit Jambul Country Club in Penang has issues with members now not allowed to walk the course.

The phrase “Golf is a good walk spoilt” is often attributed to the famous American scribe Mark Twain, who was said to have used it to describe his frustration with the game.

The truth is that Twain, whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens, never uttered those words but it seems a US magazine in the 1930s attributed the phrase to him because “it sounded like something Twain would say”.

Regardless of who is the original author, we golf mortals, who find the simple instruction of keeping the ball in a straight direction an impossible task, find so much truth in that phrase.

Even a demi-god like Tiger Woods is struggling to keep his game together and often refers to the present state of his game as military golf because he keeps hitting the ball left and then right and then left and then right again – like soldiers marching.

However, all of us continue to chase after the white dimpled ball because we want to get better at it and it is probably the only form of exercise we get after hours in the office. Thus, it’s a good walk spoilt – a good exercise pursuit interjected by bad golf.

This brings me to the recent controversy surrounding the Bukit Jambul Country Club in Penang where the management company running it has decided to ban golfers from walking.

The actual ruling is not a ban on walking but rather that all golfers taking to the course must rent a buggy.

The clash between the golfers and the club operators – Taiyo Resorts – has descended into all sorts of battles from name calling at press conferences to disciplinary hearing against members who opposed the buggy only ruling which took affect on Feb 1.

It all started when some 100 members voiced their displeasure over the compulsory buggy-use rule at the golf club.

According to the club’s liaison committee chairman, Stanley Park, from that day walking hours were restricted to after 5pm (only on Monday and Tuesday). Many other clubs around the country also restrict golfing to non-peak hours but none have enforced it as strictly as BJCC.

“However, the club has already made known to the members of the Liaison Committee during one of our regular meetings, that BJCC shall be a full buggy course as soon as the renovations of the fairways gets completed,” Park said in an interview.

More than 100 disgruntled golfers protested at the club on Feb 2, saying the ruling was not suitable due to the way the course was built as it was designed for golfers to walk and not intended to be a buggy course.

They also complained about the increase in the buggy rental rates from RM22 to RM37 for the first nine holes.

Taiyo Resorts’ managing director Datuk Eiro Sakamoto argued that majority of the club’s 2,800 members did not object to the new ruling and it was just a few golfers who were making noise.

It cannot be denied that the “buggy only” ruling is a way for the company to increase their ancillary income – after all it had promised the state government, which owns the course an increase in profit.

However, most visitors to Bukit Jambul would rent a buggy as it is quite a commando course with hilly and tight fairways that are quite sapping for those unused to such conditions.

But for golfers, seeking a good workout, Bukit Jambul is the perfect course to keep fit and to test whether you can avoid playing Tiger’s military golf.

Making money from running a golf club is not an easy thing especially when you have a course built into the top of a hill. Maintenance, I expect, would be high and the green fees collection cannot be much.

The subscription is just over RM90 and with 2,800 members, this works out to be RM252,000 per month. The extra revenue from F&B plus ancillary income like golf buggy rental becomes important.

However, the management of BJCC must take cognisance of the importance of walking when playing golf.

It improves your game because it keeps the rhythm going when one walks:

This is how the game is supposed to be played and this way the game finishes faster as the golfer walks straight to the ball.

It improves the fellowship among the flight of golfers because all four of them can walk and talk at the same time.

I hope that the matter can be resolved amicably as golf is a gentleman’s game with proper rules.

So till next month, walk the course and truly enjoy the view.

Keep Walking.. Keep Walking...Keep Walking

Keep Walking.....

Because...
 
The Organs of your body have their sensory touches at the bottom of your foot.

If you massage these points you will find relief from aches and pains as you can see the heart is on the left foot.

Typically they are shown as points and arrows to show which organ it connects to.

It is indeed correct since the nerves connected to these organs terminate here.

This is covered in great details in Acu-pressure studies.
 
God created our body so well that he thought of even this.

He made us walk so that we will always be pressing these pressure points and thus keeping these organs activated at all times.

So, keep walking....... LIVE LONGER !!!!! 

 Golfer or not, you must see this clip...

 http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=aw-nt0eTb2w

It's all in the balance... (He plays off 3!!) And he walks the course!!!!!

Is there something unreal with our fliers at the club?

Hear that members are filing court action for some declaration of rights to play golf the way it was meant to be played?

Perhaps some of you LC members can show this clip to the presiding judge. Thanks

Related posts:
BJCC Golf Club management Fiasco: challenges ...
BJCC management fiasco: 'Outsourcing not the fair way ...

BJCC management fiasco: 'Outsourcing not the fair way', a walking game must use buggy; Wants 10 to face the music!

Council unhappy over golf club being run by third party

By JOSEPHINE JALLEH josephine@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: The liaison council of the Bukit Jambul Country Club (BJCC) that is at the centre of a buggy rule controversy has hit out at the state government for “outsourcing” the club’s management to a Japanese company.

BJCC secretary Alfred Beh claimed members were upset over the state’s decision as the company’s primary objective was “profit driven”.

“The state government and Chief Minister (Lim Guan Eng) have failed to consider the members’ interests,” he said.

“Golf courses are places of sporting and recreational activi­ties, not institutions to rake in pro­fits.”

Beh was responding to Friday’s dispute between the club’s disgruntled members and its management, with both sides lodging police reports against each other following the compulsory buggy rule effective Feb 1.



Club managing director Datuk Eiro Sakamoto had said the rule was to ensure golfers “maximise their time on the field” and that there was no walking on the course.

He also claimed that the club rules allowed such a rule and majority of the 2,800 club members were happy with it.

Japanese firm Taiyo Resort (KL) Bhd took over the club’s management in 2010 and signed a leasing agreement with Penang Develop­ment Corporation (PDC) and Island Golf Properties Bhd.

Beh said the BJCC golf course was built in 1984 as a “walking course” and that the club did not have a buggy track incorporated in the original layout.

He also claimed there were only 700 golfing members out of the 2,800, with the rest being social and associate members.

“And among this 700, probably only half play the game regularly,” he added.

Golf truly a walking game 

I AM the secretary of the Liaison Council of Bukit Jambul Country Club (BJCC) and wish to clarify some of the statements issued by club managing director Datuk Eiro Sakamoto, as reported in The Star on Feb 10.

Members of the club have never challenged the proprietary status of the club.

Please allow me to provide some background of BJCC, so you can understand the situation that has led to this clash with the club management.

1. Island Golf Properties Berhad (IGPB) is the developer which operates and manages BJCC which is a proprietary club and is required by law to comply with Division 5 of Part IV of the Companies Act 1965 and the Policy Guidelines and Requirements for Sale of Club Membership dated Sept 8, 1992, and updated on July 31, 2002.

2. The club’s objective is to promote golfing, swimming, tennis, squash and other forms of sporting, social and recreational activities for members.

3. The developer (IGPB) is the registered lessee of the land [No:P.T.258, Mukim 13, Daerah Timur Laut] leased from Penang Development Corporation for sixty (60) years commencing 01/02/1985 and expiring on 31/01/2045.

4. The developer is by law required to appoint a trustee to act in the interests of club membership holders.

5. There must be a trust deed to benefit and protect members. The principle deed of trust between IGPB and the trustee and several persons who acquire/have acquired membership mentioned in respect of BJCC (the members) was signed on Nov 2, 1993.

To date, seven supplemental trust deeds have been entered into.

6. The BJCC golf course was built in 1984 as a ‘walking course’. BJCC did not purchase golf buggies nor did it have a buggy track incorporated in the original course layout. Even a buggy shed was not incorporated into the building design.

The first set of 30 buggies was acquired only in 1990 and their use was not compulsory.

Those who purchased membership as from 1984 did so on the explicit understanding that they would be able to walk the course when playing golf whilst carrying their golf clubs or pulling the same on a golf trolley.

7. One has to just take a look at how this game is being played around the world.

Watch how Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and the many heroes of the game play it. They walk the golf course through 18 holes.

There had never been an international or a national game (in Malaysia) or tournament where all players ride motorised carts to move around the course.

This is how the game has to be played, with the player playing against the terrain of the course, the different conditions of the fairways and the different types of grasses on each fairway. They challenge their stamina to play the game.

Therefore, it is only natural that members of a golf club would want to play this game the same way great sportsmen play it.

8. However, over time, more and more golf clubs started to think of the golfers who become physically disabled and still wish to play the game.

That gave birth to the motorised carts. But the introduction of these carts was never meant to replace the true and correct game methods.

9. The crux of the matter is that golf has to be properly played to be called golf.

But we need to cater for the unfortunate golfers who become physically incapable of walking.

The clash with the club management did not arise from a minority few, as stated by Sakamoto.

There are some 260 golfers who were affected and are now aggrieved, not the 50-odd claimed by him.

Another claim he made which I feel was misleading was that the club has 2,800 members and all of them are happy with the new rules.

What he failed to impress to the press is that out of the 2,800 members, there are about 700 golfing members, with the rest making up the social and associate member categories.

And of this 700, there are probably only 50% of them who play the game on a regular basis.

The golf course at any day can accommodate only about 280 players, so declaring that he has 2,800 members happy with this situation is misleading.

Before the management introduced the reduction in the time meant for golfers to walk the course, there was an average of 85 to 110 members each morning and about the same number in the afternoon visiting the golf course each day to play this game.

The first change was introduced in December 2010. Several members became disgusted with the changes and stopped playing or they went to other places to play the game.

Members are now up in arms over the disruptive changes.

They bought transferable memberships through a sales pro- spectus given by IGPB, which among others, promises certain facilities for members to use and enjoy.

The aggrieved members bought their membership on the premise that they could use the golf facilities as they saw it then (i.e with people playing the game by walking the course, which then confirms that this is indeed the correct place to play the game). This gave them true enjoyment of the game.

To change any of these, the members contend that the club management (now outsourced to this Japanese company which has no roots in our state and country) has to comply with the Trust Deeds as enforced by the Companies Acts.

And the developer needs to seek the members’ agreement on any change that affects the members’ rights to use and enjoy the facilities for which the members pay a monthly subscription.

This is not an easy matter to comprehensively cover in full and to get clear understanding of. The intent of this statement is to counter the misleading claims, so that Penangites understand the implications.

To highlight a few points in summary:

(a) Golf is a walking game, same as any other game.

(b) Most golf courses today have motorised carts to give players a choice, either to use them or not to. But a choice must exist.

(c) BJCC members are displeased with our state government which outsourced the management of the club to a foreigner whose sole objective, we believe, is profit-driven.

The state government and the Chief Minister have absolutely no understanding and appreciation of the game of golf and have failed to consider the interests of the members at large.

(d) It is common knowledge that golf courses are places of sporting and recreational activi-ties and are not institutions to rake in profits. Sports clubs are social obligations to the commu-nity.

Thanking you in anticipation.

ALFRED BEH,Secretary, Liaison Council of BJCC, Penang. 
The Star Feb 15, 2012

BJCC wants 10 to face the music

 Sunday February 19, 2012

GEORGE TOWN: The compulsory buggy use issue has further ‘heated up’ after 10 Bukit Jambul Country Club (BJCC) members were hauled up for disciplinary action.

More then 50 people, believed to be BJCC members, turned up at the club to show support for the 10 who were accompanied by their lawyers.

“The 2pm hearing (yesterday), was postponed as the members decided to seek another date after being told by the disciplinary committee that no legal representation was allowed.

“The members have instructed their lawyers to send a notice (tomorrow) to the committee to place on record as to what had transpired at the hearing,” said the group’s spokesman Alfred Beh.

He said the members had allegedly teed off despite not being allowed to register as they refused to abide by the compulsory buggy use ruling implemented on Feb 1.

On Tuesday, the club’s disgruntled members and its management lodged police reports over the issue.

Beh claimed that members were also upset with the state’s decision to “outsource” the club’s management to a Japanese firm which had failed to consider their interests.

BJCC managing director Datuk Eiro Sakamoto could not be reached for comments.

He had said that the new rule was to ensure golfers could “maximise their time on the field” and that the majority of the 2,800 club members were happy with the decision.

Japanese firm Taiyo Resort (KL) Bhd took over the club’s management in 2010 and signed a leasing agreement with Penang Develop­ment Corporation and Island Golf Properties Bhd.



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Golfers pleads Guan Eng to intervene Bukit Jambul Country Club fiasco

Following the dispute over the Bukit Jambul Country Club management decision to require golfers to use payable electric buggies on its 18-hole golf course, the members staged a demonstration and pleaded Penang CM, Lim Guan Eng to intervene and resolve the issue.



According to one of the golfers, Adrian Ho, he hoped that something can be done to resolve this as they are ready to compromise with the management, if they are going to charge for a walking fees.

Ho also said that the management set off the water sprinklers at the green today to prevent them from walking.

He also stressed that they are mulling take legal action against the management if the issue remained unsolved.

Many aggrieved members feel that such requirement to pay for electric buggies are unfair as they are already paying a regular fees to the club.

Bayan Baru parliament coordinator, Por Joo Tee said that the issue started from a notice saying that the golfers privileges of walking has been cancelled.

Por also added that during professional golf tournaments the golfers would walk to the selective holes instead of using buggy.

Komunitikini earlier tried to reach Bukit Jambul Country Club management for a response but the Chief Operating Officer, Johnny Khoo said that response can only be given once the management company CEO, Dato’ Eiro Sakamoto arrives from Kuala Lumpur later today.

Bukit Jambul Country Club is a subsidiary of Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and is currently managed by Taiyo Resort (KL) Berhad.

Source: Komunitikini

Police Report_BJCC
  Thugs or Guards from Metro Security?


Management and members take swings at each other over buggy rule
  By TAN SIN CHOW sctan@thestar.com.my,  Friday 10 Feb 2012

GEORGE TOWN: The “clash” between disgruntled members and the management of Bukit Jambul Country Club has escalated with both parties lodging police reports against each other.

It all started when some 100 members voiced their displeasure over the compulsory buggy-use rule at the golf club, effective Feb 1.

A 59-year-old member lodged a police report on Feb 3, alleging that the club's security guards had verbally abused him and several others at the golf course on that day.

He also claimed that the guards had prevented them from walking on the course and verbally abused them.

On Feb 2, more than 100 disgruntled golfers protested at the club over the new ruling that made it compulsory to use a buggy.

The golfers said the ruling was not suitable due to the way the course was built. It was designed for golfers to walk around the course and was not intended to be a buggy course.

They also complained about the increase in the buggy rental rates from RM22 to RM37 for the first nine holes.

Japanese firm Taiyo Resort (KL) Bhd took over the club's management in 2010 and signed a leasing agreement with PDC and Island Golf Properties Bhd.

Yesterday, Club managing director Datuk Eiro Sakamoto said they lodged a report with the Sungai Nibong police station yesterday to deny the allegations.

“The club had carried out its own investigations and found the allegations to be untrue,” he said at a press conference.

“The 50-odd disgruntled club members had violated club rules by teeing-off without registering. They also did not use the buggies as required.”

Eiro said there was no such right as walking on the course, adding that the security guards had approached them in a polite manner but were instead insulted.

“We are legally allowed to implement the buggy-use rule in accordance with club rules. An overwhelming majority of the 2,800 club members are happy with the rule.”

He added that a complaint had since been lodged with the club's disciplinary committee.

“I wish to stress that this is a proprietary club, not a member's club,” he said, adding that displeased members “have the freedom to leave”.



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Golf courses targeted for re-development - Too valuable for golf?

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Golf courses in the centre of development areas are now being targeted for re-development as property prices rocket through the roof.

Caddy Master By WONG SAI WAN

JUST a couple of decades ago, the crowning jewel for any Malaysian developer was to own a golf course and to use that sporting facility to enhance their property sales.



In the 1980s and 1990s, it was unthinkable for a housing developer not to try to have a golf project. Even if they do not have enough land for a full 18 holes, they would try for a nine-hole or at least a driving range.

But how things have changed with the Asian financial crisis of 1998. There were less than a handful of new golf courses built in the past 12 years. In fact, more golf courses have closed down in this period.

KGNS sits on prime land and has been in the news a lot of late.

Fast forward to this year and once again developers are eyeing the golf courses but in a totally different manner. Developers no longer want to build golf-related projects; instead they want to tear them down.

Word has it that, especially in the Klang Valley where the prices of property have gone up tremendously, developers are eyeing golf courses to be turned into property development projects.

An 18-hole golf course with a reasonably sized clubhouse will cover about 50ha and a land of that size in the Klang Valley or even just outside the greater Kuala Lumpur is worth hundreds of millions.

For developers such a large track of land will be worth billions in terms of property for sale especially if it is located near major highways or with railway access to Kuala Lumpur.

Many of such courses when developed between 15 and 20 years ago were located away from the city centre with some built on former estates – usually the lousiest piece of land that is hilly and with plenty of valleys and swampy soil.



Those days this kind of land was considered “rubbish” and too costly to rehabilitate to build good houses that would have fetched the top dollar.

But two decades on things have changed. The Klang Valley has grown and the Government has adopted the concept of the Greater Kuala Lumpur where they expect almost 10 million people will live in.

                  Image via Wikipedia

This expanded Kuala Lumpur will stretch all the way from Sungai Buloh in the North all the way to Kajang/Semenyih in the south; Klang/Banting in the west to Bukit Tinggi in the east.

More than 40 golf courses are located within this very large area and every single one of them have suddenly become prime land and worth a lot of money. The landowners who previously thought they were sitting on a worthless piece of property now find that they have a gold mine.

From the likes of Rahman Putra Golf & Country Club to the now defunct Emville Golf & Country Club, these are now prime properties. Even the Kampung Kuantan Golf Club and Kundang Lakes Golf & Country Club which were the starting grounds for many golfers in the Klang Valley may not be safe from the hands of developers in a few years time.

Already, Kajang Hill Golf & Country Club has been sold to Dijaya Corporation Bhd for redevelopment for RM228mil into mixed development with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM2bil.

Dijaya, which owns Tropicana Golf & Country Club in Petaling Jaya, plans to develop the more than 80ha site that now sits the golf course and the clubhouse facilities into a new project called Tropicana Kajang.

The deal was struck in September and club members were then informed that they had less than a year left to play on its Par 72 championship course layout measuring 7,148 yards.

Kajang Hill was owned by the Japanese company Taiyo Resort (KL) Bhd. It was not the most exciting golf course but it had unique Japanese features set in tropical settings.

There is now a rush by golfers to play there before the course is closed down for good.

Word is abound about all sorts of other courses been targeted by land hungry developers. Among them is said to be the Kelab Golf Negara Subang which sits right smack beside of the Federal Highway in Petaling Jaya.

The present committee decided to not renew a Caveat the club had placed on the land thus allowing the Federal Land Commissioner to act on the land title.

Speculation is rife that there are some people eyeing the land of one of KGNS two 18 holes. There is no concrete proof but a hurriedly called EGM by the members has appointed a panel to look into the matter.

KGNS is reported to be sitting on land worth some RM5bil – a sum that some people deemed too valuable for golf.

This is what worries the golfing community that both courses on the outskirts as well as those within the city limits are being eyed for re-development.

This is made worse by the fact, many of the commercial club owners are only just too keen to sell or redevelop the land. It would seem that only a recession or the burst of the property bubble would prevent this from happening.

Till next month, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Dijaya in RM228mil land deal for Kajang Hill Golf Club land

I was a member of the Kajang Hill Golf Club and I received notice to terminate the membership from November 2011. However, they are paying back the monies that we paid to join. So, I was expecting some news on this. This was confirmed in today's papers. The owner, a Japanese Datuk is going to make a lot of money in this deal.

However, if you go to the vicinity of the area, the whole place is going to be developed very soon. The size of the whole area is huge with the other areas combined.

The prices of the properties here is also very high (by Kajang standards), mind you. So it's left to be seen how the place will eventually turn out.

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Tuesday September 6, 2011

Dijaya in RM228mil land deal

Purchase of freehold land from Taiyo to cater for increasing demand for property in Kajang
 

PETALING JAYA: Dijaya Corp Bhd has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Taiyo Resort (KL) Bhd to acquire five parcels of freehold land in Mukim Semenyih, Ulu Langat, Selangor, measuring approximately 80.33ha for RM228mil cash.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Dijaya said the agreement with Taiyo Resort was entered by its wholly owned subsidiary, Tropicana City Service Suites Sdn Bhd (TCSS)

The parcels of land are currently held under the operations of Kajang Hill Golf Club, it added.

Dijaya said the land would be transformed into a mixed development consisting of landed houses, condominiums, apartments and shop offices with an expected gross development value of about RM2bil.

“The development, known as Tropicana Kajang, will be another future revenue generator for the group and shall contribute positively to its financial performance,” it said in a separate statement.

Dijaya said the freehold land had an upside potential in terms of capital appreciation because of the increasing demand for residential and commercial properties in Kajang, as seen in other developments such as Nadayu 92, Tiara Residence, Ramal Villa, Twin Palm and Jade Hills, just to name a few.

“With increasing population and expanding residential properties in and around Kajang, the proposed development of commercial properties will cater to the rising demand for office and retail spaces.

“Furthermore, the proposed Kajang-Sungai Buloh MY Rapid Transit project will enhance the investment potential of Kajang, presenting a greater opportunity to property investors,” it said.

Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Danny Tan Chee Sing said the group was continuously acquiring sizeable land-banks with good development potential in strategic locations.

“The land deal provides an opportunity for the group to introduce more development in Kajang with quality and prestige synonymous with our Tropicana brand,” he said.

Dijaya said the purchase price was arrived at on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis after several considerations including the reasonably low land cost of RM26.36 per sq ft which will enable TCSS to price its proposed development competitively and with reasonable margins.

On the financing for the purchase, Dijaya said it would be funded through internally funds and/or bank borrowings.

“The exact mix of internally generated funds and bank borrowings will be determined by the management of the company at a later stage, after taking into consideration Dijaya Corp and its subsidiaries' gearing level, interest costs and internal cash requirements for its business operations,” it said.

The group's net gearing is expected to rise to 0.22 times post-land acquisition assuming about RM114mil, representing approximately 50% of the purchase price, is financed via borrowings. As at Dec 31, 2010, Dijaya was in a net cash position.

Sources:Kajang Town Blog

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