Is there anybody who would choose Streamsong over Bandon and Barnbougle on the basis that Gil has also built a course there? At some point, the names don't matter.
For return business, certainly, the names don't matter. And return business is the most important thing: that's the reason Bandon is so successful.
correct
Sedge Valley by Doak will not be the reason people return to Sand Valley, and for anyone confident in what they do, this is hard to admit
William:
Don’t confuse the product and the architect’s name.
My post was that no one cares who’s the designer of the next course in Bandon. It already has 4x of the world top 100. The next course itself may matter, in terms of whether people stay longer or not, but the designer’s name is irrelevant.
Sage Valley has the potential to be the best course at Sand Valley, or the worst. The product will certainly matter there. My name never matters to the golfer ... but the product definitely matters to the client. I was just pointing out Jeff has it backwards.
A few years ago, Grand Traverse Resort in my hometown was trying to decide whom to hire for their next courses ... so they polled a bunch of meeting planners, who told them Gary Player and Lee Trevino would be the best designers to pair with their Jack Nicklaus course. 😀 How well do you think that has worked out for them?
We can disagree, such are discussion boards. When they asked meeting planners, I guess they got what they deserved.
Further to the Bandon Dunes project, do you really think having the Sheep Ranch project designed by some anonymous designer is going to attract more golfers, just because it is at the BD? You will have fans of BD that will come back regardless certainly, but you have to judge the capital investment of building a new course against the revenue expected to be taken in and discount it back to NPV to justify the project.
So don't you think it more plausible for golfers to say, "hey BD just built a Gil Hanse or C&C design or Doak design, we gotta get back there and play it."?
I think the latter, as BD already have business with the present platform, but how can they increase business by adding another course? A marquee designer. However, my thought would be not just a marquee designer, but GH as he is a marquee minimalist designer that doesn't already have a course at BD. That is all. I could be wrong, could be right. I certainly think a marquee designer helps for a new course at BD, but if doing another course to further increase your appeal why not add the one minimalist who isn't there?
Your name is your brand premium, which in turns allow you to charge a larger amount than the average. Even In accounting there is brand recognition which is part of intangible assets and has a value, in some cases huge value i.e. Coca-Cola. Thus, the marquee designers have a brand premium (Doak, Hanse, C&C, Nicklaus, etc.) because they can sell their services to clients, which would allow them to get increased revenue. I think Mike Keiser values the marquee minimalist designers such as TD, C&C etc. for the brand premium and fits very well with his resort philosophy.