Golf Course Architecture - Issue 56: April 2019

43 Marc Westenborg has completed a renovation project at Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club in Lancashire, England. “The bulk of the project involved the formation of new dunes between the eighteenth fairway and driving range, and between the eighteenth tee complex and boundary,” said Westenborg. “We recommended this work because when playing the eighteenth hole, the range was clearly in view – very much spoiling the aesthetic qualities of the hole – while around the tee complex, there were extensive areas of weed trees which were completely out of character to a links golf course. Construction work was handled by DAR Golf, who began in October 2018, which was completed in mid-February with the club hoping to reopen the three holes by the end of April. Photo: Soweto Country Club Construction work on the first golf course in the Russian city of Vladivostok, a co-design by Jari Rasinkangas, Ronald Fream and George Philpott, is scheduled to begin in April. The 18-hole course will be the centrepiece of the Vladivostok Golf Club & Resort development on the 300-acre site. “As this is a resort development, in our design we chose to include wide fairways, multiple teeing options/lengths, and contouring that encourages a variety of shot options,” said Philpott. “Strategic bunkering and interaction with the existing creeks will keep the players engaged in their round and thinking about their play options.” Photo: Legacy Golf Course Architecture Construction to begin on Vladivostok’s first golf course Soweto Country Club in Johannesburg, South Africa, reopened in March following a renovation by Gary Player Design. All tees, greens and bunkers have been reconstructed, two new holes have been introduced, and a new irrigation system from Hunter has been installed. Player’s firm designed the course in 1972 and waived its design fee for the renovation, which began in early 2018. “We intentionally kept the overall character of the course intact, while also implementing some meaningful design improvements,” said Jeff Lawrence, of Gary Player Design. “All the green complexes were redesigned to capture more visual strength as well as improved strategy. Our approach was to keep the course playable and maintainable while also allowing the course to be more challenging when hosting tournaments.” Photo:Marc Westenborg Soweto Country Club reopens for play Westenborg creates new dunescape