Ernie's brother and Ernie Els Golf Designs vice-president Dirk Els, however, said yesterday the deal between Els and Madiba Bay Holdings for the planning and construction of the golf courses still had to be signed.

He confirmed that one would be a links course and the other a park land.

In a telephone interview, Dirk Els said: "I am the one doing the deal. We are looking at two golf courses there and we are planning to finalise the deal soon.

"We have been working on this project for about two years now."

He said he hoped that the deal would be finalised in the next six months.

He said both courses would be "championships golf courses", adding that the planning would take a lot of time.

Els, like Madiba Bay Holdings, did not want to discuss the project saying "nothing has been finalised as yet".

He also declined to comment on the golf estate housing.

Madiba Bay Holdings chief operations officer Johan Dreyer again declined to comment on the golf estate development saying "there is still a long way to go".

He said a lot of work still needed to be done at planning stage.

Daily Dispatch