Adding a golf course to an existing resort or building a golf resort from scratch doesn't come cheap. 

Bob Crawford, president of Hospitality Resolutions, a Natick, Mass.-based consulting company, said those interested in building a golf course can expect to spend between $200,000 and $400,000 per hole to construct a top-notch facility. That translates to between $3.6 million and $7.2 million for an 18- hole course. 

"It's not really unusual to spend up to $10 million total," said Sam Haigh, c.o.o. of Benchmark Hospitality, a management company based in The Woodlands, Texas, that operates 10 conference center resorts, including three with golf operations. 

Marie Dexter, principal with Key Biscayne, Fla.-based Resort Development Consultants, said a typical high-end golf course can have a price tag of  $700,000 per hole. 

"I've even seen it go as high as $1 million [per hole]," she said. 

Haigh said a typical new-build resort that offers golf will use 10 percent to 12 percent of its total construction funds to build the golf course. David Richard, director of marketing at The Orchid at Mauna Lani resort in Hawaii and the former director of marketing at the Sheraton El Conquistador Resort & Country Club in Tucson, Ariz., said the high cost of golf course development and upkeep prevents a lot of resort hotels from owning the courses on which they're located. 

"The capital investment is very expensive," Richard said. "It works in El Conquistador because there's always a high demand. When you own the course, you can put together more-aggressive packages because you get all the revenue." Richard said El Conquistador golfers combined generally play 1,500 rounds of golf per month during the peak season, while Orchid at Mauna Lani golfers combined play about 400 rounds per month during peak season. Dexter said resorts with fewer than 50 rooms less generally don't even consider building golf courses because of the expense involved and the lack of demand. 

The return on the initial investment is a major reason why resort operators decide to go ahead with or scrap a golf-course plan, Crawford said. 

"You ought to be looking for 12% to 15% return on your investment," he said. "If you do that by whatever means-through packages, conventions, local memberships or public play-then you'll be doing all right." Dexter said the capture rate-determining how many roomnights are sold directly because of golf-is a key component to having a successful golf operation. 

"In Puerto Rico, all the new resorts are developing courses, and they would like to have 20% to 25% of their roomnights generated by golf," Dexter said. 

She said the Case de Campo, a Dominican Republic destination resort with three golf courses designed by renowned designer Pete Dye, has 80 percent of its roomnights generated by golf. 

Getting the numbers figured out doesn't necessarily mean success, however. Kevin Hammock, director of golf for Marriott International, said financing has to be in place and secured for a long period of time. Deciding to operate a golf resort doesn't happen overnight, according to 
Hammock. Some projects are in development for six or seven years before the construction process has even been addressed.