Golf Course Architecture - Issue 59, January 2020

15 R ees Jones has completed his first project in South Korea, the renovation of Asiad Country Club in Busan in preparation for the BMW Ladies Championship on the LPGA Tour, which took place in October 2019. The 27-hole facility has been renamed LPGA International Busan and becomes the association’s second accredited facility. The first, at its headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida, also has a Rees Jones layout. The brief from the Busan club was to update and improve the overall golf experience of the Pine, Valley and Lake nines, creating a classic and cleaner golf course look. Jones and design associate Bryce Swanson undertook a comprehensive review of the course, focused on enhancing the strategy and character of each hole. Jones said the aim was to “improve playability for golfers of all skill levels and provide a complete challenge for the talented LPGA professional players.” Fairway and greenside bunkers were rebuilt and the locations adjusted to create variety and challenge. Landscape and waste bunkers were removed to improve playability for members. Some green complexes were reshaped with new chipping areas to give players additional recovery shot options. Green surfaces on the Lake’s ninth and Pine’s eighth holes were rebuilt to improve playability and increase the number of hole locations. The long par-four fifth on the Valley nine was completely rebuilt and reshaped, to give players more approach options. “It’ll be different,” said Jones, to Korea JoongAng Daily , when asked Photo: Getty Images/Han Myung-Gu