Estates of Play – Part 1

To date, in this discussion series, we have looked at some of the historical factors that sparked the rapid rise in the numbers of golf estates being developed.

The backdrop, was the result of excerpts from an eclectic mix of discussions, over many years, with developers, directors of golf, board and committee members, GMs, and also from my personal background, which has included working with a number of golf estates, both pre and post opening.

Joining the discussion is Louise Martin – Estate Living’s CEO – who ‘doubles’ as BG Magazine’s property ‘guru’. 

For those of you who haven’t been introduced to Estate Living (EL)– it is a leading and trusted resource, within the community schemes’ sector, which includes Golf Estates amongst other development types. EL offers a comprehensive platform, and creative agency, which provides access and reach that enables engagement between all spheres of the residential estate property sector.

To frame the discussion with Louise, I have created some distinct sections, which I hope will put the core themes into clear focus. These sections are – environmental, governance, community, management, and further development. The environmental theme covers the collective need, wherever we chose to live, to act responsibly across a range of issues from recycling, to switching off high-consumption electrical appliances, i.e., the geyser, which are not in continuous use. 

Just as Alistair Collier, from the John Collier Survey, has stated on a number of occasions, the ‘right’ behaviour in turf management, and broader management terms (which starts with collating and assessing data), will save the golf course money off its maintenance budgets. The same benefits can also accrue to each of us on an individual basis. 

These benefits can come from simple and relatively inexpensive interventions, such as fixing a dripping tap promptly (SA’s municipalities please take note!), to taking a little time to help the national recycling effort, and on to switching off unnecessary appliances, and finally, for the more ‘well heeled’, installing a complete solar solution at home. 

These are all the types of actions that not only contribute to the collective effort to mitigate our impact on the environment, but are also activities, which will all pay off over time, and put cash back into our pockets. In doing this, the golf community, as I am fond of saying, needs to be much more on the front foot in sharing, with the broader public, the good news stories that it has.

Good governance with a golf estate will naturally benefit the environment because it will ensure that both the right management and environmental protocols are followed. Sadly, and because human nature is what it is, this area of an estate’s life can very easily and rapidly become politicised, and a battleground for factions looking for ‘control’.

This type of behavior can manifest itself in many ways from golfers ‘hi-jacking’ exclusive control of the golf course, to a clique trying to gain control over the HOA’s board. Nurturing a sense of community, is essential to the well-being of any estate. Further development, or evolution, covers the need for estates to develop not because of some ‘whim’, but as a result of factors such as a changing marketplace, or altered demographics within the estate’s own community.

JC: With our collective responsibility to protect the environment, do you sense that there is a general uptake in the need to be more proactive, in regard to initiatives that make the estate more environmentally ‘caring’ and compliant?

LM: When you look at the residential community sector; it is vast and includes many types of dwellings, communities, demographics that are wrapped up in legislative requirements and regulations. New developments are required by law to take into consideration building regulations that promote a more ‘environmentally’ friendly community. 

Often these rules are written into the architectural guidelines of a community scheme. 

Upmarket communities that include golf courses, forests, coastal areas, and natural vegetation – if managed professionally, understand the value that these common properties play on the individual unit values within the estate, and therefore invest in their upkeep.  In addition, they will also educate their homeowners, and create activities that no only improve community sentiment, but which add to the perception of the community, and help to nurture the estate’s brand. 

If a community, regardless of its location and common assets, understands the financial ramifications, should the community’s assets fall into disrepair, or miss the positive financial effects of renewable energy, recycling, and we are seeing an increase in the uptake of these initiatives, it will be on the back foot. 

To be continued…

Part 2