Gate 0 screening
Compare golf club development concepts by region before a site is chosen.
Fairway Engine runs a destination private, private club or community, or resort concept through an annual cash, debt and membership ledger. Maintenance starts from cited regional benchmarks; every other input is a disclosed, editable assumption.
Illustrative scenario results — conditional on selected inputs. Actual outcomes may differ materially. A positive result does not establish feasibility or recommend investment. The calculator is available by invitation: sign in with your email address and the code sent to it.
- 01
Choose a region and a concept
Seven survey regions plus a national fallback. No ZIP, county or parcel is required at Gate 0.
- 02
Review every assumption
Budget, membership, operations, debt and lot inputs are visible, editable and labelled by evidence class.
- 03
Read the ledger, not a verdict
Build and operating years, peak equity funding deficit, debt coverage, restricted reserves, and an exportable brief and CSV.
What Gate 0 is
A screening step, not a feasibility study.
Gate 0 answers one question: is this concept worth the cost of locality research? It compares regions and concepts on disclosed assumptions. It does not verify costs, demand or feasibility for any site.
Regional benchmark in, estimate out
Maintenance uses the GCSAA 2024 Maintenance Budget Survey: Seven agronomic regions plus a national fallback. Historical 18-hole maintenance budgets including labor and excluding capital; escalated to the opening year with an editable, unverified assumption. Region changes maintenance only; nothing else carries a geographic multiplier.
Arithmetic you can audit
Cash, debt, members and lots reconcile every year. Capital dues and refundable deposits sit in restricted reserves and never improve the operating result. The ledger, brief and CSV expose every convention.
Honest indicators
The first positive operating year, debt-service coverage from recurring operations, the peak funding deficit with and without pre-opening lot sales, and remaining debt and refund liability at the horizon.
Progressive diligence
Five gates, each unlocking more precision.
Location is a scenario variable. An exact locality becomes a requirement only at the gate whose claims depend on it. A stage label never verifies evidence, and no gate implies lender approval, professional certification or feasibility.
Gate 0
Concept screening
Zone only; national fallback allowed
Published regional averages where available, plus visible broader assumptions. Compare concepts and identify whether further work is worthwhile.
Sponsor + analyst
Gate 1
Locality validation
ZIP, municipality or county and trade area
Replace suitable regional estimates with local demographics, competition, wages, seasonality and indicative costs.
Market specialist + club operator
Gate 2
Site feasibility
Candidate parcel(s)
Test usable land, access, land use, water, infrastructure and design. Add site estimates and supplier or contractor indications.
Civil and land-use team + agronomist
Gate 3
Financial review
Selected site and defined scope
Use written quotes, contracts, lender terms and reconciled monthly schedules for professional review; resolve funding and risk conditions.
Finance lead + lender and advisers
Gate 4
Sponsor investment decision after independent professional review
Confirmed project
Sponsor decision after independent professional review of current evidence, capital commitments and downside case. The application grants no approval or certification.
Sponsor or investment committee
Evidence discipline
Every input carries its class.
Entering a number or a ZIP code does not verify it. Exports carry the class of every field so a reader can tell a published benchmark from a preset or a guess.
Published benchmark
Publisher, source link, publication date, observation period, geography, population or cohort, units and relevant exclusions.
Derived estimate
Underlying cited data plus the exact transformation, calibration, escalation and timing assumptions. Labelled separately from the source figure.
Illustrative assumption
An unverified preset, stated as such, editable, and never attached to a nearby source as if it were supported.
User input (unverified)
Identified as user supplied. Entry of a value or ZIP code does not constitute verification.
Verified project evidence
Document, date, scope, reviewer and limitations identified. A quote or reviewed fact is not a guarantee of future results.
Missing evidence
Shown as unresolved or not assessed. No zero, no gate badge and no invented citation substitutes for it.
Read the full methodology and the Scope and Limitations notice.
Ready for locality evidence?
Gate 1 replaces regional estimates with local demographics, competition, wages, seasonality and indicative costs. Tell us where you are looking and what you already have.