Introduction to Golf Course Master Planning and Land Planning
By Doug Carrick of Carrick Design, International award winning, golf course designers and master / land planners.

The costs associated with planning, building and maintaining a golf course often necessitates the development and sale of surrounding real estate in order to create a successful business model for golf.

A well-planned and designed golf course community or golf resort will:

• Help to create a strong marketing advantage over other residential or resort developments.

• Increase the property values of the surrounding real estate.

• Increase not only the value of lots fronting the golf course, but also the value of interior lots throughout the development as well.

Land planning or master planning a golf course community or resort is like putting together a complex three-dimensional puzzle that must balance all of the following competing requirements:

1. A variety of golfers with different playing abilities

2. The desires of discerning golf course community home buyers

3. The financial goals of the golf course community or resort developer

4. The environmental concerns of various regulatory agencies

5. Engineering limitations

6. A distinctive golf course community or resort marketing strategy

Golf course architects that understand how to balance all of the above requirements, and are also experienced with the principles of master planning and landing planning, are worth their weight in gold. The opportunity for creating a highly desirable golf community or golf resort is maximized when the golf course architect is involved in the earliest phase of designing and planning for a golf course community or resort.