Golf Course Architecture - Issue 60, April 2020

71 went the extra mile in finding a routing that requires a minimum disturbance approach as regards to earthworks and forest clearing, and strove to create golf holes that are rich in variety and appear natural, incorporating local vegetation and topography with minimal landscape shaping. “We drew inspiration from the already existing Dunes and Bay courses as well as from tree- lined heathland courses such as Sunningdale Old and Liphook. Instead of the heather you find on the well-draining sandy turfs of typical heathland courses we are facing heavy clay on top of rock on the Hills site. However, we are using the swathes of local grasses and scrubs that grow on-site to blend naturally with the manicured fairways and greens. Such landscape will frame the away-side on many bunkers instead of turf. Furthermore, existing rock walls and rock outcrops have been incorporated in the design. Ultimately, the abundant beautiful olive trees that Messenia is known for, many of them are hundreds of years old, are prominent features not only in the surrounding landscape but have also been incorporated as strategic elements on various golf holes. “Virtually every hole is played in splendid and beautiful solitude, and in harmony with nature. There will be subtlety, a part of drama and a richness of the one fundamental ingredient: pleasurable excitement.” As with the existing Dunes and Bay courses, the Hills will be grassed with bermuda everywhere except the greens, which will be bent. I vaguely wondered whether the greater elevation might make the site a little cold for warm season grass, but – especially in a location like this, where there is little or no local greenkeeping expertise – it makes sense to stick with what the operators know. It is impossible to go to Navarino and not be blown away by the sheer ambition on display. As a destination, it has some formidable obstacles to overcome, principally about access; it is fully three hours’ drive from Athens airport via a newly constructed motorway. When I first visited in 2010, Kalamata airport was little more than a landing strip for private aviation; now it is a successful regional airport with summer service from many different parts of Europe. Much of this growth must surely be down to Navarino: the Constantakopoulos family is a significant shareholder in Aegean Airlines, and the restaurant in the new Bay clubhouse has been named Ted’s Lounge after Aegean founder Theodore Vassilakis. But it isn’t just Aegean that is serving Kalamata; airlines from across Europe have added the destination to their rosters, though more flights are assuredly still needed. Impressively, it isn’t just the low-cost carriers who are flying there; customers travelling to an expensive resort such as Navarino are unlikely to fly Ryanair. GCA Photo: Olazabal Design