By Design - Fall 2018
RESORT DESIGN Not all resort golf courses begin life as resort courses. Nathan Crace, ASGCA, is redesigning The Refuge in Flowood, Mississippi, following the decision to construct a $50 million resort hotel/conference center adjacent to the course. “To give the course a resort feel, we’re widening playing corridors and adding tees to stretch the course, in addition to new TifEagle greens and bunkers, tees, irrigation and cart paths. The course will be more inviting by eliminating hidden water hazards and framing holes better and will play from 4,500 to 7,045 yards, with three new holes to create returning nines and give the option to play five, nine or 18 holes.” PROJECT PROFILE The Refuge Flowood, Mississippi Nathan Crace, ASGCA, is improving playability at The Refuge, as can be seen on the par-four sixteenth hole, before (top) and during renovation work Know your market “Like all of our projects, we start by closely listening to the client’s vision and trying to understand the market,” says Goetz. “Our design approach must then be tailored to meet those needs. “For example, in a more mature market like Hawaii, we might propose a different type of golf experience unique to the island or area. In newer markets like Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Albania or Romania we might design the course and other facilities to help introduce the game of golf to the country and local travelers.” “We may work a little harder to limit forced carries and lost ball opportunities. In one of our more recent resort designs at Banyan Cay Resort and Golf in West Palm Beach, Florida, wider fairways with bunkering and other hazards within them were used where the resort golfer has a lot of room to hit the ball and find it. In a situation like this, the real fun and challenge are found in choosing the proper line based on skill level and the appetite to flirt with the interior hazards.” “Golfers playing resort courses may be visiting from across the country or internationally and will have varying degrees of skill,” says Crace. “Additionally, they may only get to play the course once so the key is to make the course feel familiar from the start. We’ve all played courses for the first time then thought ‘If I played again tomorrow, I could shave five strokes off my score.’ “Therefore, it’s important that a resort course provides proper visual cues on each tee to show how a hole is played (and not played). I want each hole to welcome players—not repel them—with generous landing areas for conservative tee shots and layups, but make better players think a little by using angles and depth perception and thinking their way around. Greens are more generous, and I tend to lean toward the wider section of players, so it plays easier than it looks, and golfers walk off the last hole wanting to come back for more.” 18 | By Design The rolling hills of Monte Rei in Portugal It's important that a resort course provides proper visual cues on each tee to show how a hole is played Photo: Aidan Bradley
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