When we hopped out of the golf cart on the second tee, we took in one of the most spectacular views on a golf course I've ever seen – the Statue of Liberty stood right behind the pin. Beyond that, the entire Manhattan skyline.

That's when my friend, David Galland, turned to me and said: "It's just another sign that we're in the declining days of the Empire."

You see, David's had a theory for years that America's extravagances and over-the-top spending are similar to what happened in Rome 1,600 years ago.

It's hard to argue with him when you see a place like the Liberty National Golf Club...

This place is over-the-top in so many ways:

Does this place make economic sense? Probably not.

But that's beside the point. Liberty National was built by an extremely rich man – Paul Fireman – who started Reebok and sold it to Adidas last year for more than $3 billion.

Paul's got plenty of money to burn... and he's sparing no expense. He'll soon break ground on a $30 million clubhouse. Right next door, they're building three 40-story towers that will look something like the Sydney Opera House... with space for nearly 1,000 condos.

The place opened for play last June – and it is truly spectacular... a little slice of golfing paradise reminiscent of the links of Ireland or Scotland... except that you've got the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline on the horizon.

We weren't at Liberty National to play golf, however.

Instead, we were there to meet with Liberty National's course designer, Bob Cupp, who built the place with Tom Kite.

Joining us was a small contingent of architects and designers, who are building their own exotic project in Cafayate, Argentina. They've hired Bob to build their golf course and wanted to get a look at his work firsthand.

After Bob's insider's tour, we went over the preliminary plans of the Cafayate project.

It's going to be spectacular in its own right... with a few hundred houses on large tracts of land... a world-class golf course... vineyards and a winery that can produce a million bottles a year... olive and orange groves... horse stables and riding trails... a clubhouse and restaurants... pools and tennis courts... all in beautiful oasis, between two rivers, with the 15,000-foot Andean mountains as a backdrop.

Of course, it will cost a fraction of what they spent on Liberty National... and in Cafayate, the sun shines 300 days a year. The place has some of the best weather on Earth.

We'll keep you posted on this project. There may be an opportunity in the coming months for you to become an early investor if you are interested.

Good investing,

Mike Palmer

P.S. I'm told Liberty National is no longer the world's most expensive golf course. Soon after Paul Fireman announced that membership would cost $500,000, a competitor on Long Island announced an initiation fee of $600,000. And as soon as Donald Trump heard Fireman spent $150 million Liberty National, the Donald announced he would spend more than $200 million for his course outside of Los Angeles.

Editor's note: If you want to read more about Mike Palmer's golf adventures, he recently took a month off work in search of the world's best golf vacation. He's put together a fantastic book on his findings. Click herefor more information.