Former PGA Tour star Paul Azinger and the architecture firm of Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design have partnered to build 18 main holes and more for the new riverside Miakka Golf Club in Myakka City, Florida.
The private club will be built on more than 1,100 acres along the Myakka River about 30 miles southeast of Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, not far from the Gulf of Mexico between Tampa and Naples. The club shares ownership and is adjacent to the TerraNova Equestrian Center and The Estates at TerraNova, with development led by Florida entrepreneur Steve Herrig.
The club will include a full-length 18-hole course, a 12-hole par-3 course, a 7-acre short-game facility, a lighted putting course and a circular practice range that includes a performance center. Along with a clubhouse, the club plans to build cabins for members and guests. Plans are for the short course to open in 2024 with the main course ready for play in 2025.
“This is one of the best natural sites for golf and one of the best teams we’ve ever been affiliated with,” Jason Straka, principal of Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design, said in a media release announcing the club. “The property has an incredible two miles of frontage along the Myakka River with hundreds of mature oak hammocks. Just the golf club and its facilities are being built on more than 1,100 acres.
“Miakka is going to be pure golf with no encroachments or distractions of any kind. The course will resemble the celebrated courses of the Australian Sandbelt, with wide turf corridors, no rough, and distinctive bunkers and natural-area hazards jutting into the line of play.”
Azinger, a former Ryder Cup captain, grew up in Florida and lives in nearby Bradenton.
“This is my home, and it’s incredibly important to me,” Azinger said in the media release. “Steve (Herrig) and his team are absolutely committed to making Miakka Golf Club one of the very best private clubs in the world. He’s assembled an all-star team and will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.”
Dana Fry said his design team is going to great lengths to provide superior playing conditions.
“The entire 7,700-yard golf course will be sand-capped with a proprietary blend of sand and Profile soil conditioner,” Fry said in the media release. “Everything but the greens will be sodded. In addition, the entire course will have substantial underdrains to ensure fast and firm playing conditions year-round. Recently, Miakka secured 1,600 acres of adjacent land and will be the first course in Florida with its own sod farm. This is where they’ll grow the Stadium and Lazer Zoysia grass that will be used on the fairways, tees, and green surrounds.”
A 400-year-old castle. Crisscross fairways. Stunning ocean views reaching from water’s edge to higher and farther back. A giant rolling hill. A front nine loaded with par 4s, then a more conventional back nine with two par 3s and two par 5s. Expect humps, bumps, hollows and fun bounces, all along the northern Scottish coastline not far from Inverness.
Tom Doak’s routing for the yet-to-be-named second course at Cabot Highlands was released by the resort’s Canadian-based ownership group this week. It’s a sure bet the famed American designer utilized his vast knowledge of Scottish golf design – accumulated through years of on-the-ground study of the country’s greatest natural links – to create this much-anticipated layout that should open to preview play in 2024 and fully in 2025.
The routing plan for the new Tom Doak-designed course at Cabot Highlands in Scotland shows No. 1 to the left before the layout crosses an estuary and plays to a far point along the coast to the right, then returns to an 18th hole that crisscrosses the first hole. (Courtesy of Cabot)
There’s just one thing: The second course at Cabot Highlands won’t sit on traditional links land. Instead of a totally natural golf site, this property has been farmed for decades, much of it pressed smooth as it rolls past the castle and down that gorgeous hill toward an estuary and the Moray Firth beyond.
That means Doak and his Renaissance Golf Design team have been tasked with creating much of the shot-making drama. On a piece of land that has seen farm tractors instead of greens mowers, they must interject the fun and intricate terrain features that make up the best of Scottish golf.
Doak, of course, knew this when he accepted the job. His stated goal from the beginning: Take what the land offers, don’t overcook anything and, when in doubt, take a drive along the coast for a design refresher at some of the best links courses in the world. It might be St. Andrews to the east, or Royal Dornoch on the opposite side of the firth. Just along this little section of seaside, there’s a wide sampling of classic Scottish links courses to provide inspiration.
Tom Doak discusses his new course at Castle Stuart/Cabot Highlands near Inverness, Scotland. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
“The good thing about trying to do this in Scotland instead of in Florida is, if you’re ever not sure, you drive right over there (pointing out window), or drive up north, and go have a look at a few other courses,” Doak said during a tour of the land in late 2022 as he worked on the routing. “You know, I think most architects, we do too much. The things that are cool about the contouring here (in Scotland) is that it’s small scale and it’s wrinkly, but there are large expanses of fairly flat stuff in with that. It doesn’t just keep going with jittery contours forever. Even the most complex golf courses have big areas of relatively flat areas. …
“You think about it, we’re working on something now that we’re trying to bring in some links contours, so it’s almost like we’re going around and looking at things and sampling (other courses). Like, ‘We could do something like that little stretch somewhere else.’ “
Gil Hanse and Mark Parsinen designed the original 18 at what was then named Castle Stuart in Scotland. Rebranded as Cabot Highlands in 2022, the highly ranked layout plays along the Moray Firth. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
A similar recipe already has proved successful at Cabot Highlands, which was known as Castle Stuart until 2022 when Cabot purchased it. The original course on the property – which is still called Castle Stuart Golf Links – was designed on similarly farmed land, and that cliffside layout by Gil Hanse and Mark Parsinen that opened in 2009 has climbed to No. 4 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of modern courses in Great Britain and Ireland. It’s a layout that’s never feels overdone, with manmade features that appear natural in their jaw-dropping setting.
Doak’s course is intended to complement that original layout and secure for the resort a spot on even more must-play lists.
The routing map shows seven par 4s on the front with an 18-hole par of 72, the layout sweeping from a high point across land formerly occupied by the driving range, down past the castle then around and over the estuary. It extends to a point that, from the clubhouse, appears to be miles away across a small bay. It’s an out-and-back routing that doesn’t return to the clubhouse until No. 18, the line of play for which crisscrosses that of No. 1 in one huge and shared fairway. For much of the journey, Moray Firth and the surrounding mountains will provide plenty of eye candy.
And Cabot isn’t stopping with the new course. The company is pumping in capital to make the entire property even more appealing, with an expansion of the clubhouse underway and new real estate opportunities.
“In the historic home of golf, we looked to Tom to create something special, and perhaps unconventional by modern standards,” Ben Cowan-Dewar, CEO and co-founder of Cabot, said in the media release announcing the routing. “His vision of resurrecting an old true-links style course will serve as a great complement to the beloved (and original) Castle Stuart Golf Links. We hope to create an awe-inspiring destination anchored by incredible golf that will stand the test of time for generations to come.”
VINELAND, N.J. — A complete development plan for Trout National – The Reserve is expected to arrive at City Hall in about six months, and developers of the championship-style golf course are forecasting construction work starting in 2024.
The project design for local government review and approval purposes is happening in two parts. The public now is able to look over the relatively simple details for creating the outlying features of the course, which is going into an approximately 280-acre corner of East Vineland.
At its July 12 meeting, the Planning Board heard from representatives of the project team working for landowner NEP Real Estate of Vineland NJ Urban Renewal LLC. The goal at present is to have the course in use in 2025.
Trout National will be hidden by miles of walls, landscaping
Board members unanimously approved the design for a four-building maintenance area and about 4.5 miles of perimeter walls. The walls, mostly textured concrete panels, and extensive landscaping are promised to seal off the course from view and to a great extent from sound.
“We anticipate being back before the board in about six months or so with the overall site plan for the entirety of the project,” project attorney Michael Fralinger said at the hearing Wednesday night. “You can imagine, with 281 acres, with the perimeter fencing and the walls that are being constructed, it’s going to take a while.”
The 280 acres approximately are off Hance Bridge and Mays Landing roads, sections mostly zoned for agricultural uses and woodlands. One small area is designated a redevelopment area.
The Vineland Planning Board on Wednesday night reviewed and approved a first phase site plan for Trout National _ The Reserve, a golf course proposed for East Vineland. Project attorney Michael Fralinger (left) and engineer Tim Ruga testified on features of a maintenance facility and the extensive perimeter wall system. The exhibit next to them is the site plan map. The next plan to be submitted will be for the golf course proper in about six months. Photo: Joseph P. Smith/Courier Post/USA Today Network)
The property does have an industrial past as a sand mine and an industrial present as home to Northeast Precast and its related private business park. The property is near Route 55, and beyond that Millville.
“We have about 99.8 percent of what we need for the overall site plan,” Fralinger said. “But it’s just being properly positioned. We have some of the best experts — I’m just going to say it — in the world who are working on this project.”
TGR Design, a company owned by golfer Tiger Woods, is designing the course. Architectural work is by Marsh & Associates Inc., a specialist firm. The project was disclosed in March.
One planning hurdle for the approval was the massive use of walls in an area where traditional fencing is the rule.
Chain link fencing is to be used inside some wooded sections to avoid large scale removal of trees. Stamped concrete walls varying in height from 6 feet to 8 feet to 14 feet will range most of the perimeter, however.
Security guarantee for golfers, entourages a design priority
Engineer Steven Filippone is consulting on the design. His background includes designing golf courses in the state. The use of walls provides security as well as aesthetics and is not really an option, he said.
“When we talk about world-class golfers coming to a location like this, it’s not just the golfers,” Filippone said. “They need to be safe and secure. It’s not just the golfers who come. It’s their family. It’s their trainer. It’s their sports management team.
“These are world-class people,” the engineer said. “If you turn on the Golf Channel or turn on any golf tournament, they have an entire contingent that come along with them. They won’t come to this site if it’s not safe and secure.”
Filippone said the walls, made to look as if assembled by stacking slate, will have landscaping weaving along both sides on a scale rarely seen on any other kind of development.
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
Check out photos of the new Black Desert Resort course in Utah that is quickly earning rave reviews.
Black Desert Resort Golf Course in Ivins, Utah, opened in late May as the last course designed by Tom Weiskopf, who passed away in 2022. The Golfweek’s Best raters have a lot of great things to say about the new layout not far from St. George in the southwest corner of the state.
The resort’s 18-hole layout is open for daily-fee play among the region’s ancient basalt rock formations near Snow Canyon State Park. Partnering with architect Phil Smith, Weiskopf built an expansive layout with most fairways 70 to 100 yards wide. The course features two driveable par 4s, the fifth and 14th.
Upon buildout, Black Desert will feature a full hotel and conference center, more than a thousand residences, trails, a spa and plenty more. The property is managed by hospitality-management company Troon Golf, and Black Desert is already slated to host an LPGA event starting in 2025. The course also will offer an amphiteater-style 19th hole and a 36-hole lit putting course.
After a first tour of the course, the Golfweek’s Best raters had many positive comments.
“An amazing design and absolutely stunning contrast of the lava rocks with the greenery and surrounding red mountains,” wrote one rater. “Truly an oasis. Several holes can be played in multiple different ways depending on your confidence that day as risk/reward options abound. It’s a beautiful course, one you’ll remember for a lifetime.”
“Black Desert blew me away,” wrote another. “It has everything I would want in a modern course. The combination of setting, vistas and course itself is the total package. The black lava rock is so unique, I’ve never seen it anywhere else in the mainland. You also have the beautiful sweeping vistas of the red canyons visible from every hole.”
Check out several photos from Black Desert Resort below.
A new golf course, the Cardinal, will open in the spring of 2024 at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, Michigan. Designed by Raymond Hearn, the 18-hole Cardinal was laid out as an entirely new routing on land formerly used for a 27-hole layout at the Inn at St. John’s.
Alongside the new 18-hole layout will be a seven-hole short course, a two-acre putting course and a shortgame practice area. All that will wrap around the resort’s driving range and a Carl’s Golfland retail store.
It’s all part of a renovation to the property formerly owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. The property was donated in 2021 to the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation and has been rebranded as Saint John’s Resort. The $50-million transformation includes updated rooms at the resort’s hotel, a 6,200-square-foot pavilion, a ballroom and more.
The routing for the new Cardinal golf course at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, Michigan (Courtesy of Saint John’s Resort)
The Cardinal will be the first new high-end, public-access layout in the Metro Detroit area in more than 20 years.
“The land, with its natural glacier forms and beautiful 100-year-old trees, was a great foundation to work with,” said the Michigan-based Hearn. “We were able to save many of the old mature trees and create a routing that kept them in play around green sites and along fairways, which is a bit unique in today’s golf course architecture that focuses more on tree removal.
“This also allowed me to draw on my inspiration from previous Donald Ross, Tom Bendelow and Willie Park Jr. projects as well as one of my favorite courses, the Old Course at Sunningdale by Willie Park Jr. Our goal was to create a fun golf experience, and I believe we have achieved that and then some with this project.”
Check out the photos of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner’s latest course creation.
Much attention has been paid to the design duo of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in recent years for their work restoring multiple host sites of major championships, and rightfully so. Los Angeles Country Club, The Country Club, Winged Foot, Southern Hills and more have hosted majors after the designers lent their expertise in putting the courses back into the shapes intended by their original architects.
But what about Hanse and Wagner’s original work? They can bring the heat to their own designs, too, and that is on full display with the Fields Ranch East course at Omni PGA Frisco Resort near Dallas, the new home of the PGA of America.
The East recently opened to public play shortly after hosting the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship (won by Steve Stricker), the first of dozens of top-tier events scheduled to be played there.
Playing as long as 7,863 yards with a par of 72, the East is part of a new complex that includes a resort, meeting spaces, dining, shopping, a lit par-3 course, a massive putting green and plenty of ways to practice. It sits alongside the West, a course designed by Beau Welling.
The Oklahoma resort said it spent $15 million to build the par-3 course that honors military veterans.
Shangri-La Resort in Monkey Island, Oklahoma, announced Thursday that it will officially open its new 18-hole par-3 course, The Battlefield, on June 30. Designed by Tom Clark and Kevin Atkinson, the layout features more than 100 feet of elevation changes and will play to 3,000 yards.
In a media release announcing the news, the resort said it cost $15 million to build The Battlefield, each hole of which has been named in honor of an Oklahoma veteran of World War II. It’s part of a $100 million investment in the property since owner Eddy Gibbs took over in 2010. The resort is managed by Crescent Hotels and Resorts as part of the Lifestyles by Crescent Collection.
The Battlefield features holes ranging from 110 to 245 yards. It joins the three existing nine-hole courses already at Shangri-La – the Legends, Heritage and Champions nines – along the shores of Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees in northeast Oklahoma. Shangri-La ranks No. 4 on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access courses in Oklahoma.
“The Battlefield is a beautiful, captivating, and purposefully designed short course like no other,” Shangri-La director of golf operations Rob Yanovitch said in the media release. “It’s an endlessly fun and engaging experience for golfers of every skill level that also recognizes our brave military personnel, with special commemorations to World War II veterans on every hole. Daily presentations in The Battlefield Clubhouse also honor military personnel and American veterans. The course has an energy and excitement that, along with our renovated, world-class 27-hole championship course, elevates the golf experience at Shangri-La into the must-play category among Midwest destination resorts.”
The new par-3 course also has a 165-yard warmup area and a 10,000-square-foot practice green. There are five sets of tees on The Battlefield, plus a set of close-up tees for beginners, children and players wanting to work on their short games.
“We take great pride in Shangri-La having become a beloved destination for outdoor recreation, world-class golf, quality time with family and friends – all in an idyllic natural environment,” Shangri-La president & CEO Barry Willingham said in the media release. “The opening of The Battlefield, though, marks an achievement and source of pride that’s difficult to put into words. To have a grand-scale living monument that honors our veterans and military service people fulfills a meaningful vision for our team and our commitment to never forget to honor those who have made our freedoms possible.”
“Because the native contours and dune formations are so good, very little earthmoving will be required.”
Ernie Els has signed on as signature designer for a new course in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: Oleada Golf Links Los Cabos. The course will anchor the new Oleada Pacific Living and Golf, an 860-acre oceanfront resort community 15 minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas.
The Pacific Ocean will be the backdrop for the course built into a desert landscape. A media release announcing the news said the site features dunes and sandy ridges, ideal for golf. Also slated to work on the project is Greg Letsche, senior design associate of Ernie Els Design.
“Because the native contours and dune formations are so good, very little earthmoving will be required to build the course,” Els, a South African who has won four major championships among his 19 PGA Tour and three PGA Tour Champions titles, said in the media release. “Shaping will be very minimalistic. Man cannot improve on what Mother Nature has created over the eons. The golf course that we create at Oleada will be here long after I’m gone. That means something and it makes me feel very proud.”
Plans for Oleada also include oceanfront residences, and the first phase of development includes three resorts as well as the golf course. Work on the project began in January, and the development is slated to open in 2026. The course will allow non-resort public-access play for its first season.
Els Design has built more than a dozen courses around the world in locations such as the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, South Africa, the Bahamas and the U.S. The company’s website lists six other courses in development in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt, the Dominican Republic and Croatia, as well as this project in Mexico.
“With its rolling dunes, elevation changes and majestic desert-meets-ocean setting, I believe we can produce a versatile test that will rank among the best and most beautiful courses we’ve ever built,” Els said of Oleada in the media release.
Check out the photos and renderings of Rodeo Dunes, which will begin with two 18-hole layouts.
Sure, it might have involved a bit of trespassing, but Michael Keiser has proved that not all who wander are lost.
That classic J.R.R. Tolkien line is apt, as Keiser’s head apparently is always on a swivel as he searches for sand and hills and available land suitable for great golf courses. Developer and co-owner of Sand Valley Golf Resort along with his brother, Chris Keiser – and the son of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort founder and owner Mike Keiser – Michael brims with energy in his hunt for a next interesting golf opportunity.
Now on the slate is the public-access Rodeo Dunes in Colorado. The developers officially announced Tuesday that construction soon will start in earnest on 36 holes across 2,000 acres of idyllic sand dunes less than an hour northeast of Denver. Preview play might be available on one of the courses by the end of the 2024 with that course fully opening in 2025, Michael Keiser said, adding that the timeline is still loose but the second course likely will follow a year later. The order of which course opens first is still to be decided.
The site for Rodeo Dunes in Colorado includes natural blowouts and sandy expanses. (Courtesy of Rodeo Dunes/Brandon Carter)
Both course routings have been completed, or at least as complete as they can be before construction progresses with possible changes. And they likely won’t be the only two courses there for long – there’s room to build as many as six full courses at the site. A short course and Himalayas-style putting green are expected to be added soon, and Michael Keiser said eventually there might be accommodations but that nothing is set in stone. The property will operate as part of Dream Golf, a collaboration with Bandon Dunes, Sand Valley and Cabot.
The Keiser brothers will lean on the famed design team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw to design one of the 18-hole layouts, a running relationship that has proved extremely successful for the Keiser family and partners with previous tracks such as Bandon Trails and the Sheep Ranch in Oregon, the eponymous Sand Valley course in Wisconsin and Cabot Cliffs in Nova Scotia.
The other 18 goes to a new signature designer but a familiar face: Jim Craig. A longtime course shaper for Coore and Crenshaw, Craig gets his first crack at a routing of his own in Colorado. Michael Keiser established a bond with Craig during construction of Sand Valley, and Keiser said he couldn’t be more excited to give the Texan a breakthrough opportunity at Rodeo Dunes.
“He’s a bit of a savant,” Michael Keiser said of Craig, who in his 25 years working as an associate for Coore and Crenshaw has contributed to layouts such as East Hampton and Friar’s Head in New York, Old Sandwich in Massachusetts and the aforementioned Sheep Ranch. “He sees things other people don’t see. And I’ve learned to trust that. … He has a very special mind. You’re not always going to say, this hole reminds of ‘blank.’ You’re going to say, I’ve never seen a hole quite like that before.”
When the Keisers first became interested in the ranch land that will become Rodeo Dunes, Craig would drive up from Texas to walk the site and offer his opinions at Michael’s request. His enthusiasm was a major part in landing his first solo design, Michael Keiser said.
Craig is a soft-spoken man of long labor and relatively few words, but his sharp wit shines through in conversation. He said that after landing the job at Rodeo Dunes, he feels like Forrest Gump during the movie character’s first meeting with Lieutenant Dan at a U.S. Army camp in Vietnam. Craig quotes the line, “I sure hope I don’t let him down.”
The Rocky Mountains are in view from the site of Rodeo Dunes. (Courtesy of Rodeo Dunes/Brandon Carter)
It will be a big job, for sure, as Michael Keiser has a goal of greatness. He said he’s taking inspiration from Sand Hills Golf Club in Nebraska, also designed by Coore and Crenshaw and ranked No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best list of modern courses in the United States.
“We will strip everything out but the bare essentials to have the purest form of golf that I think we’ve ever done,” Michael Keiser said. “Our goal is to present golf in its purest form the way I think Sand Hills has done as well as anyone in this country. Bandon Dunes is that in so many ways, but if I was to come down to it, Sand Hills is even more of the model because I think it’s even more raw and pure. So our goal is to build Sand Hills for the public, with multiple courses.
“I say all this humbly. We always start with who we aspire to be. … There’s never going to be another Sand Hills. Ever. Period. Full stop. But everything they’ve done well there is what we’re trying to be.”
The land certainly appears to lend itself to such aspirations. Michael Keiser said the natural site will require minimal shaping, making construction relatively easy now that the two routings have been roughly determined. The site is full of sandy blowouts and dunes that reach 80 feet in height, which takes us back to that trespassing interlude mentioned above.
Michael and Chris were stuck in an airport years ago, discussing what would make ideal sites for more golf. They mentioned the private Ballyneal Golf Club, a Tom Doak layout in Colorado that ranks No. 4 among all modern U.S. courses. Could there be much more land like that available in Colorado, they wondered. Michael Keiser studied Google Earth and topographic maps for clues, and curiosity eventually led him onto an airplane then onto Interstate 76 northeast of Denver. He found a site that had caught his eye, and he couldn’t believe the dunes.
Michael said exuberance got the best of him and he took off jogging through the golden hour as the sun set, trying to see what was beyond each of the ensuing hills. The place stretched for miles, full of potential golf holes. But as vast at that sky might have been, Keiser wasn’t alone.
“I was trespassing on the site, which is probably a dangerous mistake in hindsight, in cowboy country,” Keiser said. “I did get caught by a rancher, who turned out to be a very pleasant fellow. But he wasn’t thrilled that I was trespassing. He was 200 yards away, and I’m walking toward him and we’re both thinking, ‘How’s this going to go? This might not be good.’
“I just walked right up to him and asked, ‘Are you a golfer?’ And he was sort of startled, and he said ‘Yeah, I do play sometimes.’ So I said these dunes are fabulous for golf, and he looked at me cross-eyed. But we had a nice chat. He was a really friendly guy, and he kindly escorted me off the property. That’s how it all started.”
Turns out the land was owned by the Cervi family, owners and hands-on operators of a major rodeo production company – real cowboys. Michael said it took years for him, a Chicago developer, to fully earn their trust. But after they “realized I wasn’t crazy, or too crazy,” the Cervis agreed to sell a portion of ranch land for golf development, and the family will continue as partners in Rodeo Dunes, Michael said.
Colorado has proved to be a lucrative state with plenty of sand sites, perfect for firm and bouncy golf courses. (Courtesy of Rodeo Dunes/Brian Krehbiel)
It’s a busy time for the Keiser brothers, who soon will open the much-anticipated Lido course constructed by Doak, the third traditional 18-hole layout at Sand Valley, with member play beginning in May and opportunities for resort guests to play it at the end June. They also are opening Doak’s Sedge Valley course at Sand Valley, with limited preview play possibly beginning this year and the full opening coming sometime in the spring of 2024. And no doubt there are other potential projects around the country – speculation swirls constantly about where the Keiser family might build next.
Michael Keiser, with a fair dose of boyish enthusiasm, said it’s all about finding even more fun places to hit a golf ball, even if it happens to be found in a rancher’s field.
“The site feels like you’re in Ireland,” he said of Rodeo Dunes. “We’ve had a drought for two years so it isn’t green now, but when I first stepped on the property it was emerald green. The contours and the topography are very Irish. I mean, it feels like you’re at Lahinch. That’s the size and topography and scale and amplitude of those sand dunes. …
“My dad started with the idea of elite private golf, stripping it down to the pure golf, and bringing it to the public. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Best golf views in the world? Cabot Saint Lucia enters that conversation. But how will it play?
Bill Coore doesn’t want to talk about “signature holes.”
That leftover cliché of 1980s course development and marketing has fallen out of favor among many fans of great golf architecture, for good reason. In trying to design one hole that is especially photogenic or memorable, the other 17 might be best left on the cutting room floor.
“We’ve failed, to be quite candid, if we have a signature hole,” said Coore, partner of Ben Crenshaw in designing several of the best modern courses in the world. “To me, that basically is saying that you spent all your efforts on that one hole. You grounded the entire golf course around one hole.”
Coore admits with a chuckle that he has resorted to subterfuge when presented the question of what is the signature hole at several courses he has routed around the world.
“We’ve actually gone to the reverse sometimes when somebody will ask what’s your signature hole – at least I have, I don’t know that Ben has – but a couple times I have literally picked the most bland hole on the entire course, and I’m talking about photogenically and visually speaking, and said that’s our signature hole right there,” the native of North Carolina said with a laugh.
Instead, Coore wants to lay out courses that flow from hole to hole, never lacking in interest while taking advantage of all the ground has to offer. He’s more concerned about the shots to be played on any given hole, less so with photo ops.
Even on the inland holes atop a ridge, as seen from behind the third green, Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia offers stunning views of the ocean and volcanic island. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
“We think of golf as being a collection of holes that go together and fit together,” he said. “Maybe one or two or three or four are more dramatic than the others, but we don’t think of them as signature holes.”
So what to do with a site such as Cabot Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, home to Coore and Crenshaw’s still-in-development Point Hardy Golf Club? The whole place screams, “Take a picture!” Cliffs rise straight from the Atlantic Ocean with new golf holes perched atop them, waves crashing into white foam below. This is one of Earth’s great meetings of land and sea.
Given such a beautiful tropical site that really has all the makings of a photo shoot, with a mile and a half of see-it-to-believe-it scenery, on what do Coore and Crenshaw narrow their focus to build a golf course bestowed with so much drama?
Really, Bill? Not the point of cliffs jutting into the ocean on this end of the property, or the promontory at the other end? Even Coore smiles as he describes the wow factor of Cabot Saint Lucia, one of several new Cabot Collection properties that will expand the Canadian company’s reach over the next several years from Nova Scotia to the tropics, Scotland, Florida and western Canada.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoZyeGOM-8n/
“The site is so visually spectacular,” said Coore, whose design credits include such highly ranked layouts as the Sheep Ranch and Bandon Trails at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, Sand Hills in Nebraska and Cabot Cliffs in Nova Scotia. “Most people will come here and ooh and ah, particularly as you look down the hill or look along the cliff at the shoreline and the ocean. It’s almost beyond description, dramatic. Ben and I are both pretty conservative when it comes to our assessments and descriptions, but you’ll see, it’s just, well …”
His voice trails off as he imagines the cliffs and all the opportunities for superlative golf holes upon them. Then he gets back to the matter at hand and what he considers the primary job of a golf architect, especially at an extreme site such as Point Hardy featuring volcanic hills and rocky ground. Coore has said before that it’s easy to build a hard golf course, and the trick is in designing a fun layout that golfers want to tackle again and again.
“Playability, playability, playability,” he repeats as his mantra. “And trying to create a golf course that doesn’t end up being one that people might come and take photographs of every hole and just a photogenic course, and then they go, ‘Eh, it really wasn’t that much fun; I didn’t enjoy it,’ kind of thing. It would be too extreme, or something. That’s what we’re hoping not to happen. We want to try to create something that they’re going to want to come back and play.”
