Dave Sampson

Has the modern in vogue bunker style of minimalist / natural / feathered / ragged bunker edges (call it what you like) become over used? These days, if you view any website or publication dedicated to golf course architecture almost every article seems to have images of this bunker style…..are bunkers becoming too similar, and can you tell the difference from one course to the next?

Don’t get me wrong, I personally love this style, but when does too much of a ‘same’ thing become bad? Will this style become ‘stale’, or is it here to stay? History proves that architecture, no matter the form, evolves, so what is next? If only we knew this answer….

Personally, I think sandy sites most definitely lend themselves more to this style, but surely not every site is blessed with these soil conditions? At EGD, we are fortunate to have numerous designers and, while the consistency of design quality is always the same, each of us has a slightly different design approach and, most importantly, we pride ourselves on designing courses appropriate for each site, each brief and each client…..none of which are the same! So, does the ‘same’ bunker style satisfy and suit each project? We don’t think so!

Below: Examples of some modern ‘natural’ bunkering styles.

We are pleased to share with you the news that Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in Saudi Arabia has won two awards for the “Best Leisure Development” for both the Middle East Region and for Saudi Arabia. We will now be representing the Region at the Global Property Awards which will be held in London towards the end of this year. This is a significant accomplishment as the International Property Awards are like the Oscars of real estate awards with over 2,000 entries from 103 countries. Royal Greens was the winner in the “Leisure Development” category which is a very broad segment that encompasses theme parks, hotels, resorts, sports clubs, golf courses, and other facilities, so it was particularly competitive category. Royal Greens will also be prominently featured in Travel and Leisure magazine which enjoys significant worldwide distribution.

Last week’s site trip to Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in Saudi Arabia was a momentous one, with grassing approvals granted for Holes 1 & 9, the last holes to be concluded on the front nine. Much work is still to be done on these holes, but this milestone is definitely a great achievement.
Landscape planting works shall commence early in the new year and this will really assist in transforming and defining the holes.

In terms of the course’s building facilities, construction works on the impressive Clubhouse are progressing apace, ground has now been broken on the Maintenance Facility, with the Academy building commencing next month.

An exciting 2016 lies in store.

Hole 9 from the 1st fairway.

Aerial view of Hole 1 and 9.

So, after a project commencement date sometime in late 2007, I am pleased & excited to say that on almost the 8^th anniversary of our King Abdullah Economic City project in Saudi Arabia, I finally witnessed the first grass sprigs getting planted at the Royal Greens Golf Club.

Back in 2009, following the shaping works of almost 16 holes, the recession hit, and works ground to halt. Six years on, and late last year, works re-commenced and the dozer machines were once again put to task.

The project has had a few hiccups along the way since then, most notably importation and custom issues, dewatering of the four sea water lakes and the installation of the storm drainage systems from the neighbouring residential areas; but we are now finally full steam ahead! Four holes are already fully grassed, and fingers crossed, the whole front nine should be showing a beautiful tinge of green come the end of the year. In the accompanying aerial image, holes 2 & 3, which play around lake, had just been grassed, while the par 5 4^th & par 4 5^th (top right of the image) were grassed just over a month back. During this week’s site visit, further grassing approval should be given for holes 6 thru 8 (The 8^th is the short par 3 in the bottom right)

Its been a long and tough road to get to the stage, but the finishing post, which should be sometime mid next year, is not too far off now. For regular project updates, follow us on twitter @eurogolfdesign, @RoyalGreensGC

Aerial view of front nine holes at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi Arabia during grassing.

I returned to Evian for the first time since the inaugural Evian Championship in September 2013 (formerly the Evian Masters), and was glad to see how much the course had improved over the past year.
Conditions during both construction and last year’s tournament were unseasonably extreme, with excessive snow being encountered through the winter build, and torrential rain during the tournament causing the championship to be reduced to 54 holes.

A year on, and the course has come on significantly. After the previous year’s travails, drainage improvements have been carried out in-house over the past year, and these have further assisted with the overall improved turf quality, course setup and presentation throughout.

In terms of a ‘major’ tournament experience, the golf club have made great strides on this front. The purchasing of a narrow strip of land above the right side of the short par 3 16th has provided the event with improved spectator & hospitality platforms around the newly termed, Evian ‘Puzzle’ (Holes, 5, 15, 16 & 18) . Also improved is the seating amphitheatre behind 18 green which has been steepened slightly to improve viewing down over the green complex.

The Golf Club is extremely proactive and forward thinking, with further additions and improvements planned for next year, most notably, a full length cart path system. On the course front, drainage improvements will be ongoing and minor amendments to a couple of greens may also be carried out.

Finally, this year’s tournament, played in much more favourable sunny and firm conditions, was won by the 19 year old South Korean, Hjo Joo Kim. Her winning score of 273 (11 under par), amazingly contained a record low score for a major of 61 (10 under) on day one. Many congratulations to her and everyone else who made this year’s championship such a success.

Above: The 16th Hole at Evian

A few weeks back, seven friends and I made a golfing pilgrimage to the home of golf. For some in the group, this was their first experience of St Andrews and the main aim was securing two tee times in the Old Course ballot.

For most, this annual golfing competition is one the highlights of the year. Four rounds of golf, three nights of party…..a pretty decent recipe for a good time!

Onto the golf, the first round took place over the Balcomie Links at Crail. Once a squally shower passed through just minutes before our tee times, we were treated to a gloriously sunny afternoon. In general, the golf was pretty decent, and the course was in good condition. In terms of the holes themselves, there are some really good holes, most notably the par 4 5th, which wraps its way around a bay. Unfortunately, there are a few too many average holes, however, the setting is fantastic, which more than makes up.

The day before the trip we found out that only one of the four balls had been successful in the Old Course ballot for the second days’ golf, with three of the successful four having played the course before. Unfortunately however, the ‘three’ were permitted from swapping places with the Old Course ‘virgins’. Nonetheless, the unfortunate four ball decided to queue up early the next morning and chance their arms (resulting in a relatively ‘quiet’ first night). Little did they know that they would be attempting on what turned out to be the course’s busiest day of the year! Arriving at 5:45am, they were 43-46 in the queue (no 1 arrived at 11:30pm the night before…so much was the demand!) At 7:30am, they threw in the towels and headed for a round on the New Course.

With four of us on the Old and four on the New, we decided that day two could not count towards the ‘Cup’. Being one of the fortunate four on the Old, I was grateful for another opportunity to play and further examine / study / experience the Old Course. It definitely does helps when you play well, but as per my last and only other game, I once again walked off thinking, ‘This place is great’!!!

After two days of calm, we awoke to a stiff morning breeze on Day 3. The breakfast banter was all about embracing the conditions and looking forward to the challenge….some were even ‘glad’ they would now get the ‘proper’ links experience. Needless to say, after just a few holes on the Jubilee, not many of us were as ‘embracing’, with one of the ‘links’ course novices exclaiming….’I just don’t get how people can love links golf?!’ (he wasn’t saying that after 38 points on day 1 though) Stableford scores plummeted and the high points from day 1 were now a distant memory. So, with golfing egos out the window and tails between respective legs, we headed off the ‘Jigger’ to drink away our golfing blues.

As morning broke on the final day, the day / night before had clearly taken some casualties… (I being the worst hit – for which I was duly awarded the MVP prize!) But this was ‘pay day’….a year’s worth of bragging rights – a year of being called ‘Champ’!!

Our final examination was set for the New Course, with the same stiff breeze from day 3, further adding to the challenge. Scoring was once again difficult (i.e. poor) and coming down the final few holes we had a feeling that the scores were going to be close….and so it turned out! Over three rounds of stableford competition, first to last were covered by a mere 6 points….with the winner being a fine gentleman called Greg Betz.

(On a personal note, the head unfortunately only seemed to ‘clear’ on the 9th tee, with the first 8 holes being relegated to a mere blur! Not even a late back nine rally and a birdie on the 18th could propel me to the top of the leaderboard…..but everyone had similar tales of woe!)

A truly memorable few days up in St Andrews was had by all – Great golf in a great place with good friends = Good times!

In December 2011, Golf Monthly ran an article on ‘100 Hidden Gems’. One of these mentioned ‘gems’ was Reigate Heath Golf Club, a 9 hole course situated on the common land just outside the picturesque Surrey town.

On a balmy summers evening last week, Gary, Rob and I headed round the M25 for an evening’s game. Setback from the main road, for those unfamiliar to the area, the course is actually rather well ‘hidden’. But as you make your way along the country road, turning right up the entrance track, you are immediately struck by the view of a most amazing clubhouse and accompanying windmill! (National Golf Links of America aside, we couldn’t think of too many other courses with such a feature). Perched on top of the hill, with fantastic views down over the course and surrounding countryside, this clubhouse was a stopping point for golfers, walkers and runners a like.

After taking in the views for a short while, we made our way down to the first tee. Although only a 9 hole course, each hole has two sets of tees, offering some good variety in terms of playing angles, elevation change and length. Playing over heather and through woodland, the course itself is not overly long, but we were warned by the club pro that we shouldn’t be fooled…. ‘You’ve played well to shoot your handicap’, he said. How right he was….this is a proper test of golf!

The greens themselves offered numerous pin locations, but with some steep and long slopes in places, they were definitely a challenge. As were the well placed riveted bunkers! The front 9 plays to a par of the 34, with three par 3s, five par 4s and the solitary par 5 on the course, coming at the 4th. This hole is played as 450yard par 4 on the back side. There is good mix of hole lengths and the collection of par 3s, which range in length from 120yards to 230yards off the back, was excellent……just like the course conditioning!

A couple weeks back we managed to enjoy the fun and quirkiness of Painswick Golf Club in the Cotswolds. Reigate Heath is just as enjoyable….and as Rob mentioned, ‘If only we lived a little closer, we could be filling in those membership forms!

It may be a 9 hole course, but personally, I haven’t played a better one!

In the lead up to this week’s ‘New’ major, the designers of the course redevelopment, European Golf Design, provide some interesting ‘numbers’ on the just what was undertaken in preparing the course for its new ‘major’ status.

80000 – The cubic metre amount of earth moved in redeveloping the course

6428 – The total number of yards from the championship tees

71 – The new par of the Evian golf course. The most significant changes to the course have been in the redesign of the 5th hole from a par 4 to a par 3; the 13th has been extended to a reachable par 5; the 16th is now the short par 3 and the 17th a par 4; while the 18th has been changed from a short par 5 into the longest and most demanding par 4 on the course.

442 – The length of new par 4 finishing hole

77 – The number of new bunkers on the course. The previous large flat bunkers have been replaced by a smaller, deeper and more challenging bunker style.

20 – The number of greens which have been redesigned and rebuilt. On average, the greens have increased in size by up to 40%, allowing for more flexibility in pin position opportunities and more undulation within the putting surfaces.

19 – This week’s Evian Championship (Sept. 12-15), is the 19th edition of this women’s golf tournament, which this year becomes the fifth and final major on the LPGA Tour.

3 – The number of cascading ponds which defend the front of the new short downhill 155 yard par 3 16th hole

176 – The number of new trees planted around the course

For more information on what exactly took place during the past year’s construction, click on the video link below from this month’s CNN Living Golf programme

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/sports/2013/09/05/spc-living-golf-evian-women-fifth-major.cnn&hpt=igo_mid

And for all the latest news and tournament information, visit the tournament website

http://www.evianchampionship.com/en/

Above: The 14th Hole at Evian

The opening of Zavidovo PGA National Russia represents an important milestone in the history of European Golf Design as the course is the 50th to have opened since the company was created in 1992. Russia also marks the 22nd country where European Golf Design has golf courses in play.

Following the opening ceremony, European Golf Design’s Managing Director, Jeremy Slessor, commented; “It is a great achievement to have created so many new courses in such a wide variety of regions and countries. We believe that our attention to detail and client support are the reasons why so many of our projects have been successful, not only for the quality of golf which they provide, but also for the economic advantages for our clients.”

The award winning Zavidovo PGA National Russia is the centre piece of a new exclusive development created by Moscow Agranta on the banks of the Volga river, 100 kilometres west of Moscow. Measuring 7,400 yards from the back tees, the course is characterised by wide fairways, undulating greens and heather clad bunkers.

Speaking after the golf course had been unveiled to the international media and other guests, European Golf Design’s project architect, Dave Sampson, said; “We are extremely proud of what we have created here at Zavidovo. We have been fortunate to have had a great construction and grow-in team, and that, combined with a great client, helped us to deliver a really high quality project.”

“The course is looking absolutely fantastic. The playing surfaces are hard and fast in accordance with our design intent, and the heather we have planted around the bunkers gives the golf course a heathland character which is quite unique for Russia.”

Dave Sampson is sure that the course will prove a stern test for the elite players, but will also be a fun and strategic challenge to high handicap golfers. “Russia is an emerging golfing nation, and we were fully aware when designing the course, that we would need to provide multiple teeing grounds for players of all abilities. In addition, to further encourage golf development, the course has extensive practices greens and a full length practice range with state of the art teaching facilities. In 2015 we will also be adding a PGANationalGolfAcademy.”

Above: Zavidovo PGA National in Russia