By Design – Issue 49, Summer 2020

DIGEST 11 ASGCA members add new nine Renovation P aul Albanese, ASGCA, and Jerry Matthews, ASGCA Fellow, are adding a new nine to the 36-hole Saskatoon Golf Club in Caledonia, Michigan. “The Silver nine will be very different than the other 36 holes, and this is due in a large part to the unique piece of property they gave us to work on,” said Albanese. “It is essentially glaciated sandy terrain interspersed with wonderful mature and large pines, oaks and maples.” Construction is under way with the Silver nine expected to open in the fall, although the impact of coronavirus may see this pushed back. New golf course Sanford completes new course in Egypt S anford Golf Design has completed work on the new Hacienda Bay golf course in El Alamein, Egypt. The course first entered construction in January 2008, but the development was put on hold due to the Arab Spring in 2010. When construction began again, ASGCA Past President John Sanford was asked to reduce the size of the course and practice area to make space for additional housing. Seven holes (one to five, seventeen and eighteen) were redesigned to make way for more villas. “The owner wanted to make the golf course accessible to Egyptians who purchased villas within the resort,” said Sanford. “Sixteen, seventeen and eighteen stand out as potential big ‘swing’ holes. The sixteenth is a medium- length par three with a peninsula green surrounded by water. Seventeen has a double fairway split by desert, it’s typically downwind and potentially a drivable par four; and the eighteenth is a long, demanding par four dogleg left with water on the right side of the second shot.” The golf course is planned to open in summer 2021. Photo: Sanford Golf Design Davis restores greens at Oklahoma City Restoration T ripp Davis, ASGCA, has completed restoration work on the golf course at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club in Nichols Hills, Oklahoma. The focus of the project has been to restore greens to a style closer to the original design, a Perry Maxwell and Alister MacKenzie collaboration that opened in 1929. “The combination of preserving and restoring greens, restoring the width to fairways, recapturing a bunker style that fits the architectural lineage, and bringing back a lot that makes you think on every shot, has been really fun to see,” said Davis. The project has also seen significant tree management and repositioning tees to a more natural look. Photo: Tripp Davis, ASGCA Photo: Carter Sherline