Of Davos, Golf and the Imperative Shift to Sustainable Growth

I've been in the snowy Swiss village of Davos for the past several days... feeling like a bit of an interloper... as the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum takes place around me.  It's been every bit as impressive... and just as quixotic... as I imagined it would be.

I'm not here as a delegate... obviously... nor am I  here with a media outlet, though I am writing.

For almost a year now I've been assisting a quietly brilliant Master of the Universe, Davos Man "world business leader" with a variety of writing projects.  I've taken to calling this my "day job" and that's what I've been doing this week... from the Swiss Alps. 

My access has been somewhat limited by the minion-ish badge I've been wearing, but the experience has been extraordinary.  I've gone to a numerous panels and met a lot of remarkable people and spent quite a bit of time doing last minute research and polishing for the"day job", but even though I'm not "reporting for anyone" or "covering anything",  I'll be taking a lot home with me,  much of it very pertinent to golf and the current focus on growing the game.

The theme of this year's WEF meeting is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models" and the conversations I've had here... in the conference hall, and on the frosty streets of town... all seemed to touch on the idea of an imperative shift towards sustainable growth.  What I find striking though, is that almost 5000 miles away, in balmy Orlando FL, the leaders of the golf industry seem to have been focusing on a similar agenda of transformation, and seriously looking at new models at their annual gathering this week during the PGA Merchandise Show. 

Regrettably,  Murphy's law once again intervened, dropping both of these two events (and the Sundance Film Festival and the Year of the Water Dragon celebrations) on the same block of late January days.

I missed the once yearly get-together with my golf writer and golf manufacturer friends and look forward to reading their reports and catching up with their news during the next couple of weeks.  The Farmers Insurance Open and the Abu Dhabi Championship are also taking place now and I've caught only fleeting snippets of each though I've heard latest rumblings (go Ryo / go Tiger).

I'll be back to my normal life... and regular-ish publishing schedule within a couple of days.  However,  the long journey home begins early tomorrow and it's time to pack up my yeti boots and attempt to sleep.

A Western Rush to Judgment on Tiger Woods Dubai?

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The story's been seized upon by western scribes of every stripe ... and it's still being rehashed and retweeted with surprising regularity.

It started with a piece by Lawrence Donegan which appeared Sunday,  in the Observer and on guardian.co.uk.  ~ Donegan writes of his visit to the site of the Tiger Woods Dubai golf course development, and in multiple, metaphorically-rich paragraphs, draws parallels between the current condition of the project and that of it's beleaguered designer.  The timing of events certainly lends itself to such parallels; Exactly one year ago Dubai's debt crisis and the Tiger Woods scandal came to light within 48 hours of each other. Both shocked the world, and in each case the ensuing year has been a tough one. 

As Donegan tells it, Tiger Woods Dubai is currently stalled.  The clubhouse remains a hollow facade and few of the planned luxury homes have even broken ground.  A six hole section of the course has reportedly been completed and requires massive amounts of water each month to sustain.  Several stark photos from Donegan's yfrog stream clearly testify to the lack of progress. 

However,  here's the thing: prosaic and engaging as the Lawrence Donegan's story is, it still strikes me as somewhat facile.  At times the tone is judgmental... almost sanctimonious... with undertones of "how the mighty have fallen" directed at both the golfer and the emirate.  One could almost come away with the impression that the struggling Tiger Woods Dubai is an anomaly cause by the irresponsible behavior of a few when in fact it's just one of a multitude of overly ambitious golf projects all over the world - conceived during "the bubble" and now on hold.

Like luxury golf development projects across the US and Europe, Tiger Woods Dubai may be stalled for a while... perhaps it'll be scaled back or maybe it will actually fall by the wayside.  We got no definitive answer from the Donegan story, because as yet, there isn't one.  What we did get was a trite retelling of "Tiger's demise" and multiple swipes at Dubai's unbridled excesses... as though the desert kingdom had the market cornered on conspicuous consumption. 

Perhaps I've just grown ultra-cynical but I can't help but think that this particular spin just made the most buzz-worthy retweetable marketable story.  As a writer myself, I know that's what I look for and I certainly don't reproach the talented Mr. Donegan.  What I found unsettling was the way this story was relentlessly rehashed, repeated and retweeted.  While Europe and the US face their own debt and unsustainability issues, it seems some are taking solace in the much more distant reversal of fortune happening in post-boom Dubai.

But I think it's important to keep things in perspective. To that end, have a look at this recent video taken by a tourist a week or so ago in downtown Dubai.  Despite the stagnation of certain projects, the city appears vital and exciting.  The country's commitment to golf is ongoing and effective as well, judging from last week's Dubai World Championship anid the impressive tournaments coming up.  And as far as Tiger Woods Dubai, I think it's premature to write it off just yet.