SO YOU WANT TO BUILD A GOLF COURSE

NO PROBLEM. JUST FOLLOW THESE 4,139 STEPS.

- BY EVAN ROTHMAN

So many things in life seem easy to the uninitiated. Juggling. Unicycling. Giving a toast. Playing golf. And, yes, to some golfers even, building a golf course. A nice piece of land with pretty views, a bulldozer, 18 flags—what's so complicated? World Top 100 here we come! Thankfully, your accountant, spouse, employer and so on will quash such Keiser-esque visions, because creating any course, never mind a great one, is hugely complex and fraught with danger—not unlike juggling chain saws on a unicycle while giving a toast. A world-class course can easily run into the tens of millions of dollars. Here’s a quick primer on the process.

SITE SELECTION

Finding an enticing piece of land for golf with sufficient acreage (120 minimum for 18 holes) is tough enough—but that's just the starting point and likely involves real estate brokers and lawyers, who don't work pro bono. The question then becomes: Is it feasible? The answer comes down to the golden rule of real estate: location, location, location. Meaning, firstly, is there a market for your would-be course? Is there sufficient demand locally, regionally, nationally or internationally? Research and possibly specialist consultants can determine if you're answering a need beyond your ego or building a snowball for hell.

Then there's location as it bears on the physical qualities of the land as well as growing conditions. Rolling hills are nice, but suitability involves more than topography. Soils, water availability, drainage, geology and vegetation must be considered. Oh, and then there's potential environmental and legal restrictions, the local infrastructure and service provider situation, never mind safety issues and other possible hurdles and conflicts.

DUE DILIGENCE