Patrick:
I think I can answer your question just fine.
Right now I've got a potential client who is a huge international developer, and wants to hire me to build several high-end resort projects, in Mexico, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. He doesn't understand me too well, so he thinks that it would be a great thing for me to have my name promoted throughout his projects.
The problem is, as a developer of warm-weather resorts, he doesn't think golf is the primary drawing card -- and, being a real estate guy, he knows it's not where the money is. So setting aside good land for the golf course is third or even fourth on his priority list. And the more we talk about it, the more I'm sure the deal isn't for me. I want clients who understand what they have to give up, in order to get a great course.
Some of Mr. Nicklaus' projects in these regions, like Cap Cana and Cabo del Sol, are different; they let him build the course wherever he wants and then build the resort around it (at least until the second owner sells off the oceanfront holes for real estate). But there is more to building a great course than JUST oceanfront real estate.