We came across an interesting three-year old study that proposes that Jack Nicklaus golf courses are the most valuable of all. We doubt that has changed over time, based on our own observations of house prices in the golf communities we've visited. Homes in communities that sport a Nicklaus-designed course are almost always priced higher than comparable communities bearing other architects' names. And if you believe, as we do, that homes in communities with a well-perceived golf course appreciate faster -- all other things being equal -- then factoring in the designer's name with other considerations is important.
The study, by the UK-based Golf Research Group, focused on the value of Gary Player’s name but ranked other major architects in terms of their net present value (NPV) in 2003. Nicklaus, who has designed well over 100 courses in the U.S. and almost 300 worldwide, easily outdistanced Player, who finished just ahead of two Toms, Fazio and Weiskopf.
The rest of the 14 listed architects included, in order, Jay Moorish, Pete Dye, Greg Norman, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Rees Jones, Jim Fazio, P.B. Dye, Arnold Palmer, Robert Cupp and Arthur Hills (one of our favorites).
You can read the full report by clicking here.
