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Golf in the Cape VerdesErnie ElsGolf was played on Sal by South Africans from the airline, but the course fell into decline. There is a Golf Club with18 holes outside Mindelo on Sao Vicente. There are undefined plans to build new courses on Sal, Santiago and Sao Vicente, with associated villa developments. These will require large-scale desalination. Ernie Els has been invited to design two golf courses at a cost of £2.4m per hole. One is for the shoreline at Baia Das Gatas on Sao Vicente. The other is for Sal near Murdeira . PGA Golf Management will operate and manage the golf courses once built. Ernie Els has said: "We're very excited. The Cape Verde Islands are a gem - a beautiful area - and I think it will be the next great destination for holidaymakers around the world, especially from Europe. Each course will be different and each one will present a different challenge and adventure. But we will keep in mind that the amateur player must have a great golfing experience. There's a lot of natural, rocky landscape to work with and we'll work with that. If there's an opportunity to do a lighthouse Turnberry hole, we'll do that but I don't think you need to go with the mindset to create a hole that I saw at Pebble Beach, or Spyglass Hill, or Augusta.Our head of design Greg Letsche has made preliminary site visits, returning with glowing reports about its potential. This is very much a long-term golf course design project. There will be 36 holes on each of two sites."Cesaria Dubai Golf schemeInvestors led by Hanif Mohammed Khoda`s Profile Group of Dubai plan a golf course at the Cesaria Resort on Praia da Calhete Grande in the south of the island of Sao Vicente. It would cover 1300 hectares and include 2,200 apartments and 1,700 villas eventually. Dubai may be one place where there is enough money and expertise to build a speculative golf course based on desalination plants. The Minister of the Economy Jaoa Pereira Silva has approved the scheme. Map of proposed and existing golf courses |