Average Design Fees

[Ulrich Mayring]

I don't have numbers for Nicklaus and some others, but here goes (in US $):

1. Arnold Palmer, Pete Dye: 2M
3. Coore & Crenshaw, Greg Norman: 1.6M
5. IMG: 600K - 1.2M
6. Signature Design Services: 300K - 1.2M
7. Renaissance: 1M
8. Dan Maples: 250K - 1M
9. von Hagge: 850K
10. Hurdzan & Frye, Jacobsen & Hardy: 750K
12. Bob Cupp, Clive Clark, Dye International: 600K
13. Harradine, Jeff Howes, John Fought, Marc McCumber, RTJ II: 500K

Ok... can you spot the outlier?

Ulrich

[John Moore II]

Well, Dan Maples at 1 million is high. And Norman as far as total course quality is high, but for the revenue he can generate, its in line. Other than that, none seem really out of line.

[Randy Thompson]

Are sure Palmer and Dye are that high, I remember Pete saying about fifteen or twenty years ago that there is not a architect alive thats worth more then $300,000! Jack is around 2.5 million. I guarentee most of those prices could be negotiated for less, especially now a days,,where we are having more and more on the board and less going forward. I am not a 100% sure but I believe Palmer signed in the million dollar range or slightly less in a project in Brazil where I did the first eighteen and he is doing the second. Kinda of a get a foot in the door, blue light special!!

[john_stiles]

Where is Fazio in this mix ?
Obviously near the top.

[Sean Leary]

IMG?

[Joel Zuckerman]

Curious where these figures come from.

From what I know, Pete Dye's design fee fluctuates greatly from job to job, depending on the circumstances..

[Ian Andrew]

1. Arnold Palmer, Pete Dye: 2M
3. Coore & Crenshaw, Greg Norman: 1.6M
5. IMG: 600K - 1.2M
6. Signature Design Services: 300K - 1.2M
7. Renaissance: 1M
8. Dan Maples: 250K - 1M
9. von Hagge: 850K
10. Hurdzan & Frye, Jacobsen & Hardy: 750K
12. Bob Cupp, Clive Clark, Dye International: 600K
13. Harradine, Jeff Howes, John Fought, Marc McCumber, RTJ II: 500K
25,675. Ian Andrew - will work for food

[Michael Blake]

IMG?

from their website:

IMG's course design services helps increase property value, playability and marketing impact.

IMG works with some of the leading names in golf to create critically acclaimed course designs that help developers maximize their property's value, playability and marketing impact. Our strong relationships with elite professional golfers and designers combined with our in-house design, management and marketing expertise enable us to create a unique identity for projects around the world. Whether you are interested in a signature-designed course or a cost effective design solution, IMG can deliver.

Our comprehensive golf course design services include:

Golf course design – conceptual and detailed
Golf course landscape design - conceptual
Golf course construction project management
Agronomic consultancy
Planning consultancy
Player/Designer involvement and site visits
Environmentally sensitive “least disturbance" design philosophy
Professional golfers add instant cache and credibility to a project, which can lead to greater financial success. With experience gained from over 400 projects around the world, IMG has produced signature-designed courses with some of the world’s best golfers, including:


Thomas Bjorn
Michael Campbell
KJ Choi
Retief Goosen
Padraig Harrington
Trevor Immelman 
Bernhard Langer
Paul Lawrie
Nancy Lopez
Colin Montgomerie
Mark O’Meara
Jesper Parnevik
Vijay Singh
Annika Sorenstam
Curtis Strange
Zhang Lian Wei
Ian Woosnam
Along with our in-house design capabilities, IMG partnered with the European Tour in 1992 to form European Golf Design (EGD). With a reputation for producing successful resort, member and tournament golf courses worldwide, the EGD has accumulated numerous prestigious awards including:

Montgomerie Course, Carton House, Ireland – “Best New Design of the Year, 2004”, Golf World, January 2005
Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, Dubai - “Top 100 Golf Courses in the World”, Golf World, November 2005
The Marquess Course, Woburn – “Top 100 Courses in the World”, Golf World, November 2005 and “Best New Inland Course in the British Isles”, Golf World, April 2003
The IMG advantage:

A team of globally based design executives with regional expertise
Access to an unequalled breadth of professional golfers
Increased exposure, credibility and property valuation
Environmental sensitivity via a “least disturbance” design philosophy 
 

[Rick Sides]

Im curious, does this include all the supplies, equipment, etc. or is this just the design fee?

[Ulrich Mayring]

This ist just the design fee. As the thread title notes, it is an average number. For any given job it might very well fluctuate. The numbers are from a KPMG study.

Ulrich

[Randy Thompson]

Ulrich,
Sorry for my ignorance, but what is a KPMG study?

[Anthony Gray]

1. Arnold Palmer, Pete Dye: 2M
3. Coore & Crenshaw, Greg Norman: 1.6M
5. IMG: 600K - 1.2M
6. Signature Design Services: 300K - 1.2M
7. Renaissance: 1M
8. Dan Maples: 250K - 1M
9. von Hagge: 850K
10. Hurdzan & Frye, Jacobsen & Hardy: 750K
12. Bob Cupp, Clive Clark, Dye International: 600K
13. Harradine, Jeff Howes, John Fought, Marc McCumber, RTJ II: 500K
25,675. Ian Andrew - will work for food

  Ian,

  I enjoy your posts. Royal Dornach in the snow. How many of the high priced guys would do that? Keep the faith your passion will be rewarded.

  Peace,

  Anthony

[Tom_Doak]

They are pretty much just guessing at all of these numbers.

And, really, it's anybody's guess what someone would quote as a design fee right now.  The problem with Ian's fee is that there may be others willing to undercut him!

[Ian_L]

Hell, I'd pay to design a course. 

[Jeff_Brauer]

Yeah, fees are so low now that ASGCA is considering a switch in jackets to either burlap or barrel.

[Chip Gaskins]

I realize many of the GCAs on this site are USA based, or at least UK, Western Europe, or Aussie based.  But has the Middle East, Japan, Caribbean  and China dried up at the same pace?

[Philippe Binette]

Ian is working for food...

I'll work for beer

[Kyle Henderson]

Philippe & Ian,

I'm a man of limited means, but if you ever come to California I'll have sandwiches and brewskys waiting for you.

I can write it off, correct?

[paul cowley]

Yeah, fees are so low now that ASGCA is considering a switch in jackets to either burlap or barrel.

4 yards of properly belted Ross tartan will work just fine for the group

It doesn't bother me at all being ahead of the curve!

[paul cowley]

I surely don't want to undercut Tom who has a much bigger overhead....but I'd be happy working for 200k or under.

[Kai Hulkkonen]

KPMG interviews developers of golf courses on number of topics, send questionnaires, etc, to get the data. You can get your hands on the full study at www.golfbenchmark.com.

Kai

[Jeff_Mingay]

Ian is working for food...

I'll work for beer

Penguin,

Problem is, beer's expensive here in Canada... you can get a box of Kraft dinner for 99 cents 

[Scott Witter]

For room and board I will cook for Ian

I think switching the ASGCA jackets is a good idea, but I am not sure I want to see many of the architects with a barrel on

Simply, I would just be happy to continue working as a GCA

[Philippe Binette]

Jeff, beer is expansive... but free beer is free

[Kenny Baer]

Arnold Palmer 2 Million......huh?

What has he done lately? Seriously I can't remember a high profile project he has been involved with.

I just can't imagine him gathering those kinds of fees in this economic climate.

You mean to tell me their are people who have the money and the land to build a golf course and have a choice between Arnie for 2 mill or Doak for 1 mill and choose Arnie?  Arnie is not bringing anybody in these days; I just couldn't imagine him being able to command such large fees when his name (at least IMO) is not beneficial to selling memberships or real estate. 

But...what do I know; just looking at it from the outside in to say the least.