Nearly a decade after it was first announced, ground has been broken on a Tom Weiskopf golf course in the town of St. Andrews. The Feddinch Course will be the centerpiece of The St. Andrews International Golf Club, a high-end, private facility with a mammoth clubhouse that will include guest rooms and a lavish spa. There are several membership tiers available and the initiation fees are expected to be substantial (think in the $50,000-100,000 range). The property, a barren hillside two miles from the first tee of the Old Course, has none of the linksland charm for which the Home of Golf is famed, but Weiskopf’s design includes revetted bunkers, large greens, and one double green—ample reminders of the locale. Plus, Tom does know a thing or two about how to create a stunning parkland course in Scotland—his previous design is Loch Lomond.

Over the last few years, the golf empire of Donald Trump has grown to 14 courses. Some his organization built from scratch, while others were existing but financially troubled properties he bought—like Florida’s Doral—to renovate. For number 15, Trump is going halfway round the world to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, where the weak economy slammed the brakes on Dubailand, which was to feature a course designed by Tiger Woods. According to Associated Press, the new Trump International Golf Club will be part of a 28-million-square-foot project also featuring hotels, spas, and homes. Trump hasn’t announced who will design the course, but Tiger’s drawings must be laying about in the desert sand somewhere.

“The Buzz” already has reported on the plans—and controversy—surrounding Bushmills Dunes Golf Resort, a multi-million-dollar construction planned for Northern Ireland. In case you forgot, Britain’s National Trust objected to the new resort, which is very close to Giant’s Causeway, a World Heritage Site, on the island’s northeast coast. But having won approval a few months back, the project may be stung again. Literally. Seems the rare northern colletes bee has been found on the site, so now environmental groups want the land preserved as bee-only habitat. The reddish-golf-and-black colletes lives on carrot and parsley plants and it is thought perhaps half the world's population can be found in the United Kingdom. So this is a story that not only has legs, but has wings, as well.

Despite the success of 14-year-old Guan Tianlang at the Masters, it seems golf is far from flourishing in China. According to Han Liebao, director of the golf education and research center at Beijing Forestry University (quoted in the China Daily), there are about 600 courses in the country but few are open to the public. High costs also hinder the game’s growth, according to Chinese officials. (However, one has to question that research when the same story says, “A four-hour round in the United States is about $10 to $30.”) The China Golf Association does note that more children than ever are signing up for golf tournaments, and in a related story, it was reported this week that the China Golf Association and the R&A are having the Rules of Golf translated into Chinese. “It’s crucial for the game’s healthy development in China,” said the CGA.