By Bianca Capazorio

No longer a seaside village and fast approaching a developer's paradise, Jeffreys Bay will now also be home to a Jack Nicklaus-designed golfing estate.

The R1,8-billion investment into Jubilee Lakes will be the town's first golfing estate and will add to the region's appeal as a golfers' paradise.

The area from Mossel Bay to East London already has made a name for itself with high- class golfing facilities and estates including Pezula in George, Simola in Knysna and the St Francis Links in St Francis Bay.

Robbie Marshall, co-founder of Golf Data, developers of the Jubilee Lakes course, said another course was also planned for the Storms River area.

Gerhardt Jooste, head of Prosperito, the company developing the estate, said that his phone had been ringing off the hook already about the plots, but sales would only open towards the end of the month.

"I think it's going to be a real fight for the best plots," he said.

The 900-hectare development will house over 900 units, ranging from cluster housing, to a retirement village to "gentlemen's" corner units sized at almost 10 000m? each.

Jooste said that infrastructural investment would total R530 000 and total investment would reach over R1,8-billion.

Jooste is also behind the nearby R330-million Fountains shopping mall currently being developed.

Current landowner Rob Birch, who used the land for dairy farming, said he had made the decision to develop the land a few years ago.

"We had been asking ourselves whether dairy farming was going to be our future. Then, 4? years ago, I walked into a bullet in a hunting accident. I had to think a lot, and I decided to develop," he said.

Birch consulted neighbours and friends and the suggestion of a golf course came up.

Marshall said the land was perfect for a golf course. "It's got an amazing amount of water and it's a beautiful property," he said.

He said the Nicklaus name was a major drawcard for the estate, which would combine residential and resort living.

The Herald