[Dmajackson]

From the Herald today:

New golf club on course to open next summer

By TOM PETERS Business Reporter
Wed. Oct 29 - 4:46 AM
A new upscale golf course at Ben Eoin near Sydney, scheduled to open next summer, is expected to boost the local economy and attract golfers.

It is also a place where people may want to invest money.

The Lakes Golf Club is scheduled to open for play Aug. 1.

Construction of the $5.5-million course, being built on both sides of Ski Ben Eoin, began in June 2007 and by mid-October of this year all but two holes had been fully shaped and seeded, with significant growth on the majority of greens and fairways.

The course has been designed by Canadian architect Graham Cooke and is being touted as championship calibre.

The club raised $3.6 million through a share offering and has opened the share offering again and is looking to raise $600,000 to $1.2 million. An information session will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Ski Ben Eoin chalet for anyone seeking further investment information.

The entire project is expected to cost about $8.8 million.

The new course, which will further enhance Cape Breton as a golf and vacation destination, has the potential to create 38 jobs.

Two jobs will be full time and 36 positions will be part time but will have the opportunity to be full-time employment because of the golf club’s close working association with the ski area.

There has been some concern the present financial crunch will have an impact on golf club revenues when it opens, but the club isn’t pinning all its hope on golf tourism.

Club spokesman Sandy Macneill said Tuesday the venture is looking at four main sources of revenue — shareholders, annual members, local green-fee players and visiting green-fee players.

The state of the economy may affect visiting green-fee players, but to what extent it is too early to say.

A great deal of work is going on behind the scenes to ensure the course is marketed and promoted at home and for tourists.

"With the pending construction of two more world-class courses around Cape Breton, we anticipate the Lakes playing a major role in making this island an even more attractive golf destination than it already is," Glen Brann, president of the Lakes, said in a news release.

"We’ve already had several calls from people looking to book tee times for vacations."

Two other courses expected to be built in Cape Breton are Cabot Links in Inverness and a Nick Faldo-designed course in Louisbourg, part of a golf course/housing development.

When those two courses will be completed is uncertain.