Master Planning to Maximize Golf Course Development Real Estate Values
By Doug Carrick of Carrick Design, International award winning, golf course designers and master / land planners.

Maximizing real estate value and creating a sense of place in a golf community is about more than just lining every fairway with homes. It is about the master planning that results in a strong identity and a desirability factor that makes potential home buyers want to be part of the golf course development.

Master planning that identifies unique features in the land or captures desirable views for the maximum number of residents creates a sense of place and maximizes real estate values throughout the entire golf course development.

• While waterfront property and golf fairways undoubtedly command the highest real estate value, completely gobbling up these highly desirable assets with a select few high-end homes, may not be the most effective way of maximizing the real estate value for the entire golf course development.

• Making amenities accessible to everyone in the golf course development can often increase real estate values throughout the development.

• Providing open space or golf holes along a stretch of waterfront or alongside some unique landscape feature creates a strong identity for the development and benefits a broader spectrum of golf course community residents.

The same philosophy holds true for the positioning of community wide amenities such as the clubhouse, community centre or other recreational amenities. A clubhouse or community centre that is positioned to capture a prominent view creates a special sense of place for all residents in the golf course development to enjoy and also helps to maximize real estate values throughout. Creating an attractive front entrance with strategically placed golf features or landscape elements also helps to create a strong identity for the golf course development.