Before it is even completed, the company building a residential golf course development in Qatar announces a significant expansion of the project

Taj Doha

Qatar Sports Investment Company, which is developing Qatar’s first five-star golf and spa hotel in Doha announced a substantial addition to the project this weekend. Located in Al Khaleej Street, the project consists of four residential buildings and one commercial building and will comprise 225 apartments of 2 and 3 bedrooms, approximately 30,000 square meters of office space and 6,650 square meters of retail space, adjacent to the Taj Exotica Golf and Spa resort, currently under construction.

Based at the Doha Golf Club, the only PGA standard 18-hole golf course in Qatar, the Taj Exotica Golf and Spa Resort will occupy a site at Doha Golf Club.

The Taj Exotica Golf and Spa resort will be the first Golf Resort and Spa of its kind in Doha, offering a unique mix of access to Doha’s world-class golf course and a Jiva Grande Club and Spa. The proposed design comprises a luxury, low-rise five-star boutique hotel complete with a host of world-class facilities, including 150 rooms and suites, restaurants and a bar, and meeting and conferencing facilities. It is the latest in a line of hotels managed by the Taj Group, whose other notable hotels include the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower in Mumbai, India, Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, Dubai.

The golf course at the Doha Golf Club encompasses an area of 370 acres and includes a renowned PGA-standard, 18-hole championship course and a 9-hole floodlight academy course. The Qatar Masters, which is now co-sanctioned by the European PGA tour and the Asia PGA tour, has been a regular feature on the Doha Golf Club calendar since 1998. The addition of the Taj Exotica Golf and Spa Resort-Doha and Al Khaleej project is intended to enhance the facilities available to local and visiting golfers in Qatar. The announcement brings QSi, which also runs a luxury health club in Doha, to a combined investment value of $1.3 billion.

A new residential golf development in Mexico is on schedule to open December

Residential Golf Community Mexico

The company’s press release states:

Savvy golfers expect that an Arthur Hills-designed golf course will be bold, original and timeless. Scheduled to open in December, the links course that is the centerpiece of Paraiso del Mar, a new residential resort community on 1,700 acres of secluded peninsula that juts out into the Sea of Cortez, will not disappoint them.

This is the first Arthur Hills course in Mexico. It will open to member and resort play in December 2008.

Unfettered by trees and following the natural contour of the land, the course at Paraiso del Mar (”Paradise of the Sea”) is set on a sandy peninsula surrounded by the waters of the Sea of Cortez.

“Welcome to the British Isles, Mexico style,” says Brian Yoder, the partner at Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates (AHSF) who directed the Paraiso del Mar project. “Creating a course here was like throwing down a tablecloth. We used a minimalist approach to preserve the existing natural beauty and much of the existing terrain was dramatic enough the way we found it.”

The verdant fairways provide a stunning contrast to the desert landscape as the par-72, 7,100-yard course is seamlessly woven into the natural surroundings of the peninsula. Paraiso del Mar will be Mexico’s first Audubon International Signature Sanctuary development, golf’s highest environmental standard. Indeed, for those lush fairways, Yoder and AHSF chose the latest generation of Platinum TE Seashore Paspalum, a salt-tolerant turf grass strain that thrives on briny water.

“We’re proud to earn the Audubon distinction,” said John Fair, co-developer and CEO of Paraiso del Mar. “Preserving the local environment was of utmost importance to us. While the entire development occupies nearly 1,700 acres, more than 800 of those acres have been set aside for wildlife sanctuaries, mangrove preserves and a biological corridor.”

The 18-hole course at Paraiso is replete with ocotillo cacti, ocean views and, an ever-shifting, windswept sea of sand dunes. A striking line of “foredunes” separates the course from the beach itself. Yoder deftly weaves these scenic landforms into green settings at the par-3 6th and 14th holes. The 6th bumps right up against the foredunes and overlooks the beach. The putting surface is unique; surrounded by pot bunkers but flanked by a large, natural bowl that has been incorporated into the green itself. The 14th is similarly seaside but the putting surface “has been worked up like a potato chip because we contoured it right on the dunes that were there,” Yoder explains.

Sand of a different sort is featured in the layout’s distinctive bunkering and accents the look of Paraiso del Mar along its fairways. Many feature edges and faces pushed up to blend with the dune-dependent contour of the fairways and rough areas. Others are “dropped in,” Yoder says, “in the way you’d expect a pot bunker to be presented at Troon, but without the sod walls.”

Paraiso del Mar is accessible by car, or by a unique five-minute water taxi ride across the bay from La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur. La Paz is situated on the Sea of Cortez, about a two hour drive from Cabo San Lucas. Unlike its resort-saturated neighbor to the south, La Paz remains a quaint Mexican town where homeowners and visitors can experience a sense of escape and proximity to the local culture.

Golf course memberships will be available to Paraiso del Mar homeowners. The first phase of the resort community consists of more than 294 two- and three-bedroom homes, and 400+ two, three and four-bedroom condominiums. In addition there are swimming pools, tennis courts, a planned marina and miles of hiking trails and beaches. Home and condominium prices range from the low $200,000’s to more than $1,000,000 USD.

For more information about the entire Paraiso del Mar development, please visit www.paradiseofthesea.com.

Many high-class luxury real estate agents and developers are turning to online video to promote their properties. Understandably, as video is obviously the way forward, not just for luxury real estate marketing, but many other types of product and services. Figures recently released by Nielsen show categorically that online video viewing is on the rise, and the up-coming generation watch as much as 132 minutes of online video a month.

Today’s youth don’t know – or don’t remember – a time when they weren’t going online, so their adoption of online video has been seamless,” “And while video consumption in the workplace increases usage metrics among adults, the ‘at home’ data show how kids and teens are driving usage and claiming their territory. The Web provides another platform for their interest in TV shows, toys, movies and music, and offers an interactive element that children especially enjoy. Among the top sites for the younger demographic we see publishers that are integrating video into games, music and other content to drive engagement with this multi-media generation. Michael Pond, senior media analyst, Nielsen Online.

There is a definite shift away from TV towards online video and Nielsen now compare the two in their “Television, Internet and Mobile Usage in the U.S.” reports.

The quality of video is rising also, and the days of slow-loading, low-quality online videos are numbered. This video below is an example of the sort of quality available - If one chooses an appropriate production company, hosting company and provider.

The Cliffs Communities, a golf community in Carolina have a good example of the type of quality available here, hosted by Fairway Properties. This is a small version:

The Cliffs will eventually have no less than eight championship golf courses, crafted by PGA masters Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Gary Player, Ben Wright, Tom Jackson, and now, Tiger Woods.

Nielsen’s Three Screen report (PDF download)
Nielsen’s Video generation report (PDF download)
The Cliffs Communities
Fairway Properties (Beta)

This coming Sunday will see the launch an exclusive sales center for the Tiger Woods Dubai residential golf community development

The Tiger Woods Dubai comprises an exclusive golf community which includes a professionally staffed golf academy, a 14,000 square meter clubhouse with premium amenities, and the Al Ruwaya, the first golf course designed by Tiger Woods. The project is schedules to be completed in 2009.

The sales suite will feature models, master plans, renderings, video fly-through and other components to provide a better illustration of the project to interested parties.

“The opening of the sales suite marks the start of an exciting stage for the development, giving potential owners the opportunity to explore all facets of The Tiger Woods Dubai and gain greater insight into the project,” said Abdulla Al Gurg, Project Director.

“We would like to invite all potential investors and buyers to experience the diverse elements of The Tiger Woods Dubai project that have been brought to life through a variety of interactive elements at the sales suite,” he added.

Tatweer, the developer, has entered into a partnership with Lebanese designer, Elie Saab, to design the interiors of the exclusive $164 million signature hotel within The Tiger Woods Dubai development. The hotel is planned to be 34,000 square meters and will include 90 suites and 14 bungalows of various sizes.

“Everything at the development is aimed at providing the ultimate luxury experience. The 80-suite boutique hotel for VIP guests will have lavish rooms. We will have a presidential and royal suite, too,” said Mr. Al Gurg.

Tiger Woods Dubai
Tatweer Dubai

Shaikh Holdings, the leading Dubai-based real estate investment and luxury development company, has announced the start of construction at its prestigious Sanctuary Falls villa development in Jumeirah Golf Estates. The start of construction was marked by a tee-off event at the Sanctuary Falls site, and signified the beginning of this landmark boutique community in Dubai. The award-winning Sanctuary Falls project, aims to create a new benchmark in community living by being the first resort-style residential golf community in the UAE.

Executives from Shaikh Holdings, Leisurecorp, Arabtec, DSA International, Hirsch Bedner Associates, Scavolini, Quintessentially and Archimedia attended the momentous event.

“Today we have reached a significant milestone for Sanctuary Falls and the creation of a truly unique residential golf community for Dubai. We are all very excited on this auspicious occasion as we move one step closer towards the realization of the Sanctuary Falls dream. We are glad to share this moment with all our partners who have worked hard to make this community a great success.” said Imran Shaikh, CEO, Shaikh Holdings. More on Jumeirah Golf Estates New Development