They tallied membership fees and green fees, and where a residential community was associated with the new course, they surveyed real-estate sales. From these data, the study determined the average net present value of their various projects. Next were Robert Trent Jones II, Palmer and Rees Jones. The Value Of Real Estate Nicklaus heads the leaderboard when it comes to homes along the fairway. At his courses, these homes fetch higher prices and sell faster, and that gives a higher net present value to a 300-home master plan.
All figures are in millions.
The story was much the same for the value of homes along the fairways. The drop-off was dramatic below the top 33. The report's findings aren't definitive, of course. For one thing, they are based on revenues generated without any calculation of offsetting costs. And courses built by name architects typically boast fancier locations and bigger construction and marketing budgets.