Welcome to Issue #28
"Shit”
Rory McIlroy (describing his opening round at the PGA Championship)
What’s on my mind this week
Higgo needs a new watch, Kaymer asked at the champions dinner if he still plays golf – then shot a co-leading 67, Bryson shooting 76 at a major the week LIV needs him most, TaylorMade slowing down the driver conveyor belt to a 2-year cycle makes sense, my handicap remains my most consistent number, is The PGA Championship the US Open in disguise, a great weekend of golf ahead (including the LPGA in Cincinnati which seems to have been forgotten)
In the news
Why it matters: MBK Partners has opened bidding for Golfzon County, Korea's largest course operator, at a $1.5 billion enterprise value, with more than 20 PE firms, resort groups and construction companies reviewing the information memorandum (IM).
Our Take: Having shelved IPO plans in 2023 after the Korea Exchange approval lapsed amid lukewarm institutional appetite, MBK is now marketing Golfzon County as a land bank with a golf problem. Underwriting $1.5 billion on green fees alone is implausible. The portfolio includes 21 courses, EBITDA of $104 million last year, and 1.375 trillion won of tangible assets sitting mostly in land. The senior-town optionality is what separates this from a conventional portfolio sale. A meaningful share of Korea's golf population is entering retirement age, and Golfzon County's idle land within existing course footprints is being valued as a residential development pipeline. If Macquarie or another infrastructure-style buyer prevails, expect the dual-use thesis to travel to western markets where the land-use regime allows it, though replicating the model would depend heavily on local zoning and entitlement politics.