Golf Course Architecture - Issue 58 October 2019

63 Illenis erume sitatatur maio int maxim alitiis dolor atquatium que vit exeria paritio reiuntia vellest, sequissit voluptis int, alit Illenis erume sitatatur maio int maxim alitiis dolor atquatium que vit exeria paritio reiuntia vellest, sequissit voluptis int, alit W e are frequently told the barriers to golf’s growth: it is too hard, takes too long and is too expensive. Some clubs have retrofitted their courses in an attempt to overcome these challenges, adding new forward tees, reconfiguring their routing so shorter loops can be played, and introducing pay-as-you-play schemes to keep costs down. But Royal Norwich in England has grasped a bigger opportunity. Rather than trying to adapt its existing facility to the modern golfer, it has started from scratch – thanks to a move from the city centre site it has occupied for 125 years. Their relocation has been on the cards since the 1980s, when the club was first approached by a homebuilder interested in their prime real estate. Its James Braid layout was already becoming compromised by surrounding development, so they were open to the idea. That deal – and a number of subsequent others – never quite made it over the line, but planted a seed with the club that would ultimately bear fruit. In 2013 paperwork was signed with Persimmon Homes and the move could begin. The club had already evaluated a number of new locations, and settled on a site on a country estate in the village of Weston Longville, about ten miles out of town. As early as 2006 they had engaged European Golf Design to evaluate the possibilities, and together they began to form a vision for the model club of the future: welcoming, family-friendly, accessible, inclusive, appealing to beginners and experts alike – and capable of being enjoyed in shorter timeframes and at a reasonable cost. The clubhouse – a former stables block – will play an important role in this – eschewing “photos of dead people and lists of names adorning the walls” for welcoming and modern dining options, spaces for fitness classes and a relaxed dress code. But crucially, EGD’s Ross McMurray has also designed the golf facilities with these principles to the fore. His design revolves around what general manager Phil Grice describes as a ‘central hub’. Directly beside the clubhouse is an outside seating area that overlooks a large putting green. To the right is a short game area, beyond which are the tees for a large driving range. Ahead are the tees for the first hole; and to the left the tenth, The short par-four fourteenth hole is one of the most dramatically bunkered on the course