Join the tee set

The Times, 2006-08-24

     Celebrity golf courses can drive up value, says Jill Parsons
     HARDLY a week seems to go by without the announcement of a celebrity-endorsed golf development, whether it's Ian Woosnam bringing bunkers to Bulgaria or Jack Nicklaus advertising Polaris World's golf resorts in Murcia.
     In recent years the likes of Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, who have been putting their names and expertise to golf-course development for decades, have been joined by Woosnam, Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros all lending their considerable sporting reputations to projects from Faro to the Far East. Sixty per cent of all golf courses also have property as an integral part of the scheme. And, for developers whose projects overlook the fairways and the lakes, the bonus in terms of price and prestige can be enormous.
     It is estimated that a development with a golf course attached can command a premium of between 15 and 25 per cent in pitching property prices. When it comes to the so-called signature courses of the big hitters, it can add the same again to the sales value of a flat or villa. Given that those who choose golf holidays can spend up to ten times the average cost of a break, it all adds up to a great deal of money.
     While it is true that not every big-name golfer actually gets his hands dirty, Faldo is not one of them. Covered in the dust of a day spent measuring and calculating in the heat of the Algarve, he explains that he would never put his name to a project in which he was not central to the process. "I am involved on every level, because my reputation is at stake," he says. "I can visualise exactly how a hole will be played, I can predict how every element of a design will be tackled by golfers of all standards, and I imagine their reactions to the twists and angles I have built in. I am here to give my opinion and that is based on 30 years of experience as a golfer, but also ten years with my own design company."
     At Bansko and Balchik in Bulgaria, two courses designed by Woosnam (who is a relative newcomer to design) are intended both to transform the country into a fourseason destination and to bring in the big spenders. It will attract the British in larger numbers and bring in more affluent visitors and buyers. It’s a point of interest for marketing purposes and indicates a move into the high-specification developments that appeal to sophisticated purchasers. It's great for the area.
     In addition to Woosnam, whose second course at Balchik is the focal point of Eyes Abroad’s Lighthouse Golf Resort and Spa, Nicklaus is designing a course at nearby Dolna Banya and Player is overseeing two more on the Black Sea coast.
     There's no doubt that a well-known name increases public awareness for a new resort and adds authority to the design. Ultimately, though, a development will rise or fall on its location, facilities and quality long after the famous name has moved on to his next series of testing golfing challenges.

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