By Evin Priest
GOLF course design centurion Greg Norman has revealed he is in talks to create his first 12-hole layout in Australia, with the Great White Shark revealing plans exclusively to Australian Golf Digest.
After ticking off his 100th course design at The Eastern Golf Club in Yering, Victoria, Norman revealed he has offered the option of a 12-hole course to a developer in Australia.
Speaking on the phone from the US, the 60-year-old wouldn’t disclose the location but revealed his firm – Greg Norman Golf Course Design – believed shorter golf courses can benefit some property developers.
“Yes; I had a meeting with somebody in Australia just recently, actually … about that very subject,” Norman told Australian Golf Digest.
“I’m not going to say where it will be, but I gave him an option because I think it’s my responsibility to the owner, or the developer, to weigh up options to make sure that he maximises his Internal Rate of Return – his IRR – on his development.
“And one of those options was, ‘Hey – we can do this for you; (I’m) just throwing it out for you. You can have a magnificent 12 holes (but) it can be played as 18 and your father, son, daughter and mum can play six holes in an hour-and-a-half at the end of the day … It can maximise your return on your investment.”
https://twitter.com/SharkGregNorman/status/656279470358179840?lang=en
The former world No.1 recently declared he was a “big proponent of increasing the speed of the game; building 12-hole golf courses (and) reducing the time.” Asked if 12-hole layouts will become as popular to golf as Twenty20 was to cricket, Norman said:
“In the next generation, yeah. The answer is yes; I think all over world … it will be and it won’t take much.”
– @EvinPriest
https://instagram.com/p/88lQ75pQG0/
