Golf Inc - April 2008 - (Page 45)

issues can be among the challenges.” Although labor costs can be lower, he said, other expenses are steep. Water can cost from $1 million to $1.5 million per year for 18 holes in some places. “In Scottsdale, you use a mix of well water or tap into the city system and water for a course costs $250,0000 to $400,000 a year,” he said. “It can cost two or three times as much in Mexico and the Caribbean.” Troon has worked in Mexico for 10 years and expects to be strong there and in the Caribbean, where course and resort building has flourished. “Growth is probably going to continue to be hotter there than in the United States,” Evans said. “There’s nowhere we will not go. No islands we wouldn’t go to. We’re in 32 countries around the world.” Developer David Southworth of Southworth Development in Newton, Mass., got into managing courses in the Caribbean in a different way. “We went to Puerto Rico in 1993 to develop the Westin Rio Mar and we stayed on to manage it because it made sense,” Southworth said. Although he sold out of that resort recently, his firm still manages Coco Beach and Costa Caribe in Puerto Rico as well as La Estancia in the Dominican Republic. Most Southworth properties are managed on a contract basis, but the company sometimes takes an ownership interest. “As time goes on, you learn that doing business in these areas is no different than doing business anywhere,” he said. The company is interested in taking on new properties as well. Southworth sees the Dominican Republic as being one of the hottest growth areas in the Caribbean in future. The company made a name for itself in the Caribbean with the building of the Westin Rio Mar, said Timothy Cole, president of golf management for Southworth. “We built the first real clubhouse in Puerto Rico. When everyone saw the caliber of the building and the services, that led to more inquiries,” Cole said. “When we started working in that area, there weren’t a lot of Class A PGA professionals there. Now there are a lot more, and the country is getting used to professional management.” —Rebecca Larsen April 2008 www.GolfIncMagazine.com 45 http://www.cciclubdesign.com http://www.cciclubdesign.com http://www.GolfIncMagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Golf Inc - April 2008

Golf Inc - April 2008 Contents Editors Column Birney Takes NGCOA Helm Construction Costs on the Rise KemperSports Adds 14 Courses Americas: Fazio Designs St. Kitts Layout Europe/Africa: Seaside Resort Planned in Egypt Asia/Australis: Faldo Opens New Chinese Course High-Tech Tools: New Technologies that can Help Operators There's No Economic Slump at Still-Popular Reynolds Plantation Tim Moraghan Wants to Make Golf Fun Again Why a $1.5 Billion Resort has Made Environmental Protection a Top Priority Most Admired Operators Marketing Experts Make Their Pitch for Golf Courses From Korea, with Cash Last Word

Golf Inc - April 2008

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