His clientele are retired senior citizens. The course needed to meander through the proposed development. The project is currently on hold, but eventually, I think it will be the most popular of the three. Nine hole courses are warranted when the market is very strong or there isn't adequate room for a regulation length course. With today' s cost of land, enough land for a nine hole course may be all that can be bought.
Some tracts are admirable for nine holes, but make abominable eighteen-hole courses.
In these circumstances we advocate tying up adjacent land if there is enough for the eventual expansion to eighteen. Since each golf course is different, there is a broad range of area needed to design and build a regulation length golf course. There are some very nice eighteen hole courses in Westchester County, New York on about 100 acres. Nearly all were built before World War II, but still on land that was valuable at the time and availability was shrinking. Many of these courses stretch the limits of what is considered a safe design today, but the membership is accustomed to them, and this is an important factor.