Marco Simone Golf & Country Club – Ready for the Ryder Cup.

As the stunning Marco Simone Golf & Country Club prepares for the Ryder Cup in 2023, let’s take a walk around the golf course in the words of Course Design, Dave Sampson.

Located just 17km from the heart of the Italian capital Rome, the course has seen a major redevelopment. This series of posts will take you through individual golf holes including construction images.

We start this with the 332m par 4, Hole 16.

Following on from the two hardest holes on the back nine, the downhill driveable par 4 16th is a true risk-reward hole with multiple options off the tee depending on pin position.

Like the tee shot on 12, and on one of the other high vantage points, this tee location offers the best views of Rome from the course. Playing to green site set some 25m below and protected by water down it’s right side and bunkers at the front and left, the player is posed with numerous options off the tee;
– Layup short of the central fairway bunker leaving either a 9 iron or wedge in.
– Take on the central bunker but leave the tee shot short of the stream which crosses the fairway perpendicularly at 260m, leaving a short 70 – 80m flick in, or:
– Try and thread the ball onto the green through the front left opening.

Depending on setup, both holes 11 & 16 could be driveable. Hole 11 plays uphill requiring a draw shot to access the green, while 16, playing downhill, favours the fade.

Natural embanking and multiple hospitality units will frame all sides on this most pivotal of golf holes, where anything from eagles to double-bogeys are possible.

The spectacular photos were taken by Jacob Sjoman (@sjomanart)
(Golf & Travel Inspiration International Photographer/Cinematographer)

Here are images of the 16th hole:

Here are construction images of the 16th hole:

Celebrating Gold at the 2022 World Golf Awards

2022 World Golf Awards – the leading authority that recognises and rewards excellence in golf tourism – has revealed this year’s best golf courses at its 9th annual Gala Ceremony in Abu Dhabi. We are very proud that courses designed by us here at European Golf Design were presented with Gold Awards in the following countries.

Bahrain’s Best Golf Course 2022 – The Royal Golf Club – Montgomerie Course (see below)

Bulgaria’s Best Golf Course 2022 – Lighthouse Golf Course (see below)

Greece’s Best Golf Course 2022 – Costa Navarino – The Dunes Course (see below)

Netherlands’ Best Golf Course 2022 – The Montgomerie – The Dutch (see below)

Middle East’s Best Golf Course 2022 – Royal Greens Golf & Country Club (Saudi Arabia) (see below)

Switzerland’s Best Golf Course 2022 – Golf-Club Crans-sur-Sierre (see below)

Turkey’s Best Golf Course 2022 – Antalya Golf Club – PGA Sultan (see below)

Wales’ Best Golf Course 2022 – Celtic Manor Resort – Twenty Ten Course (see below)

The man with the BEST job in golf!

Check out EGD’s Robin Hiseman talking (23:30 mins in) on The Rick Shiels Golf Show called “The man with the BEST job in golf!”
Comments like, “What a superb episode!! Could have listened to this for hours!! Mega interesting!!” and “What an outstanding insight into golf architecture. One of my favourite podcasts I’ve listened to! Awesome!” make this a must listen.

 

PORTSTEWART GOLF CLUB PARTNERS WITH EUROPEAN GOLF DESIGN TO DEVELOP LONG-TERM MASTERPLAN

 

With a spectacular location on Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast and boasting three eighteen-hole courses, Portstewart Golf Club has appointed European Golf Design to develop and improve its three contrasting layouts and practice facilities.

Portstewart’s Strand course is ranked in the Top 100 of all three main GB&I course ranking lists. The links, popular with international golfing tourists, was originally laid out by Willie Park Jnr. and currently features one of the most spectacular opening stretches of holes anywhere. It notably hosted the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, with victor, Jon Rahm, commenting: “The golf course is amazing. It’s probably one of the most beautiful golf courses I’ve ever seen, if not the most.”

Over the last 20 years, European Golf Design (EGD) has masterminded and created over 60 new golf courses and overseen remodelling and improvement works to a further 39 existing layouts. The company’s remit at Portstewart prioritises the development of fit-for-purpose practice facilities; enhancements to the Strand course with a focus on holes 16-18; and potential improvements to the Riverside course.

“We are immensely proud of our golf courses and heritage at Portstewart Golf Club,” David Lamont, Captain and Trustee commented. “Working with a company of European Golf Design’s international renown will help cement and enhance our championship Strand course as one of the world’s truly great links courses. Their input will also assist us in continuing the development and improvement of our other two courses and in providing a first-class practice facility for the benefit of our members and international visitors.” General Manager, David MacLaren, added, “We know that European Golf Design’s proven skill at improving already great golf courses will enable us to further refine the Strand course. We also have ambitions to build on our already rich tournament heritage, across both the professional and amateur ranks.”

“We are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to work with Portstewart to look at its three distinctive golf courses and practice facilities,” EGD Managing Director, Jeremy Slessor, enthused. “To have the chance to elevate the Strand course’s reputation to even greater heights is a genuine privilege. There’s enormous potential to add value to the Riverside course, too, by giving it even more of its own identity and character and we hope that the Old Course, with its dramatic, sea-edge location in town, can also benefit from a fresh, modern eye.”

For more information about the project please contact David MacLaren via david@portstewartgc.co.uk or on 028 7083 2015, or Jeremy Slessor via jslessor@egd.com or on 07711 629474.

ENDS

European Golf Design celebrates 30th anniversary

European Golf Design, one of the world’s foremost golf course design agencies, this week celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Founded in 1992 as a joint venture between the European Tour group and IMG, European Golf Design (EGD) is responsible for 105 projects globally including three Ryder Cup venues: The Twenty Ten Course at The Celtic Manor Resort, host of the 2010 Ryder Cup; the redesign at Le Golf National, host of the 2018 Ryder Cup; and the redesign of the stadium course at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, which will host golf’s greatest team competition in less than 18 months’ time.

In 2021, a two-man syndicate comprising European Tour Chief Operating Officer Keith Waters and businessman Robert Birmingham acquired 50% of EGD from IMG, with Jeremy Slessor continuing to operate as the organisation’s Managing Director.

Three of its projects – The Stadium Course at PGA Catalunya, The Montgomerie at Carton House GC and The Faldo Berlin at A-Rosa Resort – have previously been voted the best new courses in Europe, while Dubai Hills in the United Arab Emirates was named as ‘The World’s Best New Course’ in 2019.

Over the last 30 years, EGD has worked with 19 world-renowned players on Signature Design-branded courses, including Ryder Cup Captains Thomas Bjørn, Darren Clarke, Sir Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam, as well as ten-time Major Champion Annika Sorenstam.

In all, 36 of EGD’s projects have hosted events on the DP World Tour, European Challenge Tour, Ladies European Tour, Legends Tour and LPGA Tour. This year, nine venues designed, or redesigned, by EGD will host events on the DP World Tour, Legends Tour, LPGA and Ladies European Tour.

Jeremy Slessor, Marketing Director of European Golf Design, said: “The story of EGD for the last 30 years has been one of collaboration, flexibility and creativity. Particularly given the past couple of years, we see those traits as being ever-more important to ensure that the company continues to thrive for the coming decades.

“We’ve been extremely fortunate to have had such strong support from our past and present shareholders, with the European Tour Group being particularly involved. Some outstanding clients have given us the opportunity to work with them, and the team here have delivered amazing courses time and time again. It’s been a privilege to have been part of the company for so long, and we all look forward to the future.”

At present, 16 new courses and renovations are currently being overseen by EGD, including projects in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

EGD is also currently taking steps to become a carbon-neutral company as part of its commitment to environmental sustainability and climate action. With support from the GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf, EGD is tracking and measuring its carbon footprint across all areas of business operations, reducing emissions where possible and mitigating where necessary by credibly offsetting all unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions.

Press Release – EGD to honour Pete Dye at The Legacy Club

08 DECEMBER 2021 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EDGWARE, LONDON, UK – – The Dye London is to be renamed The Legacy Club, and will be brought to completion by European Golf Design (EGD) following the deaths of pioneering golf course architect Pete Dye in early 2020, and his son Perry in 2021.

The project, which was originally announced in 2013, was set to bring the Dye family’s unique brand of creative golf course design to the UK for the first time, tempting golfers with a spectacular new challenge from the designer of iconic PGA Tour venues such as Sawgrass, Kiawah Island, Whistling Straits and Harbour Town.

“We will be realising the vision which Pete and Alice Dye originally had for the golf course, including the routing, but we will provide the detail” said European Golf Design’s Managing Director, Jeremy Slessor. “The Legacy Club will be enjoyable and playable for all golfers, but will also offer a challenge worthy of a Tour venue.”

The new 18-hole golf course in Edgware, north London, will be the first collaboration between the Menai-Davis family and EGD, the golf course design company of the European Tour Group.

Tony and Anne Menai-Davis plus their sons Ceri and Cae, co-owners of The Legacy Club, and creators of the Seve Ballesteros-designed The Shire London and the forthcoming The London Links, chose the new name in honour of the Dye family, and also after a family tragedy of their own.

“My eldest Ceri and his wife lost their young son, Hugh, to cancer in summer 2021” said Tony Menai-Davis. “This much-loved and extraordinarily brave young man left us at just six years old, but he filled our lives with enough wonderful memories to last a lifetime. We will think of him every day, and his favourite bird – the owl – will be in The Legacy Club’s logo.

Ceri Menai-Davis said: “The Legacy Club will honour the love we all share for this magnificent sport of golf, and also the love we all have for people who are no longer here.

“My wife and I have created a charity, It’s Never You, to help parents of children who have potential life-limiting illness. The Legacy Club and our other facilities will all help these parents who are going through an indescribable time.

“After many years working in golf and at The Shire London, which is itself driven by the legacy of another of golf’s true greats, Severiano Ballesteros, I can assure you that golfers will love The Legacy Club experience, even more so now we have the team at EGD to help us bring it to life.”

Tony and Anne’s youngest son, Cae, co-founded The Golf Trust charity in 2012 and has helped to bring the benefits of golf to thousands of children over the last decade.

“We are all somebody’s son or daughter, and when you become a parent you better understand the power of legacy, and what it means to provide a better society for our children” said Cae Menai-Davis. “When we met Pete & Alice Dye they could see that we were, like them, a close-knit family and we established a strong connection with them. It feels entirely natural, now, for Ceri and myself to help our family to create golf venues where people can discover a love for golf which might last them a lifetime.

“And doing it in a way which honours not only Pete Dye’s legacy but also Hugh’s feels like the most natural thing of all.”

The Menai-Davis family business now includes five golf facilities in the London area, but The Legacy Club will be their first venture with European Golf Design – creators of The Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor, the venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup, and Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, the venue for the 2023 Ryder Cup.

“I have known Jeremy for 20 years, and EGD is a world-class team of golf course designers” said Tony Menai-Davis. “I am a big admirer of the work they have done, and we are thrilled to be working with EGD as we guide The Legacy Club towards its opening a few years from now.”

“Pete Dye was one of golf’s true innovators” said Slessor, “and we have all been inspired by his designs. Although we didn’t have the opportunity to meet him and discuss his strategy for The Dye London, we will remain highly respectful of the foundations he and Perry laid here as we work hand in hand with the Menai-Davis family to prepare The Legacy Club for the changing demands of the modern sport.”

For more details contact Ceri Menai-Davis at The Shire London.

Ends.

CONTACTS
• Media: Andy Hiseman at Flagstick | andy@hiseman.com | +44 (0)7795 360112
• The Legacy Club: Ceri Menai-Davis | ceri@theshirelondon.com | +44 (0)7734 159592

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About The Bridgedown Golf Group and The Legacy Club

The Bridgedown Golf Group is a family-owned business which designs championship golf courses with a fresh approach. Venues include The Shire London (www.theshirelondon.com) in Barnet, West London – the only Seve Ballesteros design in the UK; the City 9 at The West London Golf Centre (www.westlondongolfcentre.co.uk) in Northolt, West London; Lost Jungle London Adventure Golf (www.lostjunglelondon.com) in Edgware, North London; The London Links in Northolt, West London; and The Legacy Club in Edgware, North London.

About European Golf Design
www.egd.com

European Golf Design was established in 1992 and is the Golf Course Design Company of the European Tour Group. The company has earned a reputation for producing successful resort, members and tournament golf courses, on schedule and within budget. They are recognised for the ability to exceed their clients’ expectations and for the economic added value of their designs. Three of EGD’s courses have been voted best new course in Europe and two are named in the top 100 courses in the World. With views of the famous skyline of downtown Dubai, our course at Dubai Hill was named ‘World’s Best New Golf Course’ at the 2019 World Golf Awards. The company has won design commissions throughout Europe and beyond to Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Asia, working for private landowners, worldwide hotel groups, resort and real estate developers either independently or within a team of master planners, architects and engineers.

Middle East’s Best Golf Course 2021

Hugely rewarding to see the course we designed at Royal Greens in Saudi Arabia receive “Middle East’s Best Golf Course 2021” & “Saudi Arabia’s Best Golf Course” by World Golf Awards. Having already hosted the Saudi International on the European Tour it is fantastic that the club welcomes the Aramco Saudi Ladies International this week.

The Dutch celebrates 10 years since it opened back in 2011

With it being the Dutch Open week on the European Tour we thought it would be a good time to look back at the course we designed (EGD’s Ross McMurray) in association with Ryder Cup Legend Colin Montgomerie, aptly named course “The Dutch”. It is also a fitting time as The Dutch is celebrating 10 years since it opened back in 2011. The course was designed with a mission to transfer the Scottish experience to Dutch soil. The result: a beautiful Inland Links Championship Course. The Dutch is part of European Tour Destinations; a network of world-class golf courses all closely linked to The European Tour. It has hosted the KLM Open from 2016 to 2018 in collaboration with KLM, TIG Sports and the European Tour, it recently hosted The B-NL Challenge Trophy. Find out more on The Dutch website at https://thedutch.nl/

The Lake Course at Evian Resort Golf Course

We are very proud to have designed The Lake Course at Evian Resort Golf Club. To find out more check out the video clip presented by Sebastien Gros, Evian’s ambassador and French Tour player and David Leadbetter one of the greatest international Tour player coaches. Thanks to Sunset Productions for their support and to Luca DELLOSTA and Edouard GUIBAUD for this second ambitious project.

Kelly And Harradine Pass EIGCA Exam With Distinction

Tom Kelly from European Golf Design and Michael Harradine have both passed their final assignment of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects‘ Vocational Qualification in Golf Course Design and graduated with Distinction.

Both students will now be added to the EIGCA’s Member Directory as candidates for membership.

Niall Glen, chair of the EIGCA Education Board, said: “On behalf of the Education Board, and all the EIGCA members who have contributed to the education programme over the past two years, we would like to warmly congratulate both Michael and Tom for completing the course.

“For two students to pass the course with distinction in the same year is truly gratifying and demonstrates a consistently high level of achievement. Both came into the course with a great depth of knowledge about golf and our industry, but they also worked very hard to prove their abilities and delivered a series of excellent design submissions that impressed our markers.

“We are confident that both will go on to fulfil their ambitions in the industry and be an active and valuable part of the Institute for many years to come.”

From Golf Business News

 

Above: Tom Kelly (left), Michael Harradine (Right)