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land and sand
dunes. A truly terrific links course.
Kingston Heath
- AUSTRALIA One of Australia’s greatest golf courses. Located only 25km
from the heart of Melbourne and is perfect test for championship golf. If
you like bunkers then you will love Kingston Heath. Your sand wedge will be
the best club in the bag (even bring a spare). Scoring well here needs you
at your best concentration level.
Muirfield - SCOTLAND Muirfield is located of the East Lothian coast
in Scotland. A very flat links golf course that allows you play to your
handicap. Most championship links courses are designed with only the
professional in mind, muirfield is a very popular links course in Britain.
Pebble Beach - USA Simply one of the greatest golf courses in the
world. Pebble Beach is located just south of San Francisco. A VERY, VERY
challenging golf course. High winds play and important factor on your
scorecard. Pebble Beach is adjacent to the rocky Californian coastline.
Deceptive on every hole, beautifully designed.
Pinehurst No. 2 - USA A traditional style golf course located in
North Carolina. This course has not got the man made features that other
golf courses and is not stunningly located. Some people may think what all
the fuss is about with this course. A very true saying, “ A good course
doesn’t need glitter and glitz, Pinehurst has its unique unspoiled holes and
will always be a favourite.
St Andrews Old Course – Scotland St Andrews is the oldest golf course
in the world. The home of golf itself. The date for which it was first laid
is still up for question but we think somewhere in the early 1300’s. The
course was designed around the natural hazards and still remains one of the
worlds most challenging links courses today. Home of the Open Championship.
St Andrews has four 18 hole courses but the old is still the best.
Valderrama – Spain Opened in 1985 but has become one of the
favourites with the golfing world. Set with breathtaking views of the
Mediterranean and surrounding mountains. It has become one of the world’s
elite in championship courses. As stunning as it may look any wayward shot
will be badly punished.
The above list of golf courses is from my
own playing experience. Of course there are many more out there such as
Royal Birkdale, Turnberry, Druids Glen (Druids Glen is based in County
Wicklow Ireland and will be host to the Ryder Cup 2006) and so on that
should have a mention, however I only speak from experience.
Blue Canyon Golf and Country Club in Phuket Thailand - World-class
fairways like the multi-award winning Blue Canyon Golf and
 Country
Club in Phuket, voted “Asia’s Best Championship Course 2005” and “Best Golf
& Spa Destination 2005” pictured here, are real highlights in Phuket’s and
southern Thailand’s golf scene. Non-golfing friends also will have a good
time because of
abundant alternative activities.
What
makes a great Course?
The key factors:
· Good Architectural work to start
· Designed with the input of a professional golfer who knows the game
· To work with nature and include natures hazards as apposed to removing
them
· Good accessible location
· Excellent drainage on the land
No matter what your standard of golf is like from high to low handicaps we
will share in the same excitement when we enter onto the first tee.
About the Author:
Declan Tobin is a successful freelance writer providing advice for consumers
on purchasing a variety of Golf Equipment which includes Golf Apparel, Golf
Bags, and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched
resource of interesting and relevant information for all of your Golf
interests and needs.
Slowdown ahead for desert
golf course development
Since the middle
of 2005, five golf courses opened or expanded before the end of that year,
alone. The year 2006 gave the valley a major renovation to one of its
most popular courses and saw the opening of two additional venues - one
private and one public. Looking ahead for the remainder of 2007 and 2008, it
appears that new golf course development is headed for somewhat of a
slowdown, especially compared to the pace of activity in recent years.
The growth of golf in the Coachella Valley has been phenomenal with 35
courses built during the 1980s followed by the development of 28 new
ones in the 1990s. More than a dozen new courses have been completed during
the past five years. In all, there are 94 golf facilities consisting of 127
courses (a 27-hole course is counted as 1.5 courses) within the Coachella
Valley.
Following is an overview and update on recent golf course openings and
previously announced golf related projects throughout the region.
Grand openings in 2006 began with The Classic Club. The Berger
Foundation donated its NorthStar public golf course to Desert Classic
Charities, who changed the course name to Classic Club. The par 72 course
opened in January, 2006, in time for the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Arnold
Palmer designed the Classic Club which is managed by Troon Golf Golf Digest
has rated the course at number five for public courses priced more than $75.
The clubhouse will open mid year and will include more than 60,000 square
feet of space. Classic Club is located off of Varner Road, cast of Cook
Street, north of Interstate 10 in Riverside County.
The Madison Club golf course is adjacent to The Hideaway in La Quinta
at the southeast corner of Madison Street and Avenue 52. The golf course
opened in November last year. This exclusively private 18-hole,-par 72
course was designed by Tom Fazio. The residential portion of the development
has been billed as ultra high end custom homes on large and expensive lots
that are sold separately. Construction of the first homes at the site has
just begun recently.
The Indian Wells Golf Resort underwent a massive makeover in 2006
with the redevelopment of the former West Course which became the Clive
Clark designed Celebrity Course. The new course opened in November to rave
reviews and large crowds of golfers anxious to try it out. Redevelopment of
the former East Course is currently underway with completion targeted for
Thanksgiving 2007. A new 53,000-square-foot, two-story clubhouse also is
under construction and will hopefully be ready in time for The Skins Game,
which the City of Indian Wells is sponsoring and hosting at the Resort for
the next three years. The new clubhouse, designed by Douglas Fredricksen,
will house the Calloway Golf Fitting Center (old structure will be
demolished) and may include an evening restaurant. Another feature of the
new development is an 18-hole putting course designed by John Fought. Indian
Wells Resort is located on Indian Wells Lane oil the north side off Highway
111 between Washington Street and Cook Street.
On the private side in Indian Wells, Toscana Country Club sports 27
recently opened holes designed by Jack Nicklaus. The South course opened in
December, 2004 and the front nine holes of the North course were completed
in December, 2005.
A construction timeline for the back nine holes of the North Course has not
been determined at this point. Jack Nicklaus christened his two Signature
Golf Courses on May 1st, 2006 with a grand opening celebration for members
and guests.
The Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, operators of Fantasy Springs Resort
& Spa has opened its much anticipated Eagle Falls Golf Course
(originally announced as Kah' We' aH' Creek Golf Course). The course is
located adjacent to the resort off of Interstate 10 and Golf Center Parkway
and covers portions of the cities of Indio, Coachella as well as Tribal
land. A once-flat desert surface has been artistically shaped by designer
Clive Clark to achieve some of the look and feel of Scottish links style
courses yet more accommodating to the average resort golfer.
At the City of La Quinta's SilverRock Resort, a second 18hole course,
designed by Jacobsen and Hardy, could be added to the current course and
planned resort project as soon as 2008. Recently, the current SilverRock
course was added to the rotation for the 2008 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
after a couple years of negotiations with the tournament. Much construction
around SilverRock is approved, including a boutique hotel, a resort hotel,
resort oriented retail stores, various styles of casitas and hotel condos
and a black box theatre, to be developed by DDC Desert Development. The
entrance is off of Avenue 52, east of Washington Street.
Also in La Quinta, a second Rees Jones designed course is planned for
Andalusia at Coral Mountain located at the southeast comer of Madison
Street and Avenue 58. The first course opened in December 2005 to rave
reviews. Jones' second course for Andalusia for will be located on the west
side of Madison Street with access through a tunnel that will accommodate
automobiles, pedestrians and carts. The Racquet Club and Fitness Center is
opening early this summer and will be home to its golf pro shop which is
currently in a temporary building. The second course and an expansive,
impressive clubhouse are in the final design stage. T.D. Desert Development
is the owner/developer (they also developed former Skins Game host - Rancho
La Quinta Country Club). Andalusia is planned and approved to include
approximately 900 luxury resort homes surrounding the two championship
courses.
Travertine Pointe was another La Quinta course that once appeared on
the radar screen. A specific plan was approved by the City Council at a time
when such plans were not given expiration dates. However, the applications
for Tentative Tract Maps and site development plans have all expired and
would need to be reprocessed, which hasn't occurred.
In Desert Hot Springs there are two high-profile developments with golf
courses planned that were announced but now on hold, and one that was
looking doubtful that is likely back on track. Roger Snellenber's Highland
Falls project, planned to include two 18-hole golf courses designed by David
Ginkel is on hold based on legal challenges according to various sources.
The development, which was graded a long time ago, would cover 970 acres and
include some 3,700 residential units when complete. The location is along
Pierson Boulevard, north side, east of State Highway 62. Also on hold in
Desert Hot Springs is Tuscan Hills, which was issued grading permits at the
end of 2006 for its 515-acre, 18 hole golf course project that also would
include 2,200 residential units. LTV Builders has decided to delay the start
of construction of the entire development, including the Johnny Miller
designed course. They have been granted a one-year extension to their
standing entitlements.
With a Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO)
approval of its annexation into Desert Hot Springs, the 1,763-acre
Palmwood project may be back on track in 2007. Construction could begin this
year on the 27-hole, Phil Mickelson designed golf course and a 400-room
hotel. The project site is located north west of the city, near Indian
Avenue. Last week however, the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission of
the Coachella Valley Association of Governments voted to officially request
a reconsideration of the annexation by LAFCO. The reconsideration is based
on an extremely important decision by the California Department of Fish and
Game to end its deal with local developers to enable them to bypass the full
scope of environmental mitigation for the fringe toed lizard on August 31.
In Palm Springs, there is one course under construction and two in
limbo. Avalon (formerly known as Palm Springs Village), to be developed by
SunCal PSV, LLC, has begun construction on an 18-hole executive style course
at the northwest comer of Avenida Cagolf balleros and San Rafael Drive. On the
Chino Cone near the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway entrance, the Shadow Rock
Resort project is still alive and could potentially start construction on an
18-hole golf course during 2007. The battle with the Sierra Club continues
even though developer Mark Bragg has pulled a grading pen-nit. Ernest Noia's
Indian Oasis Resort, planned for 273 acres at Mesquite Avenue and Crossley
Road with an 18-hole golf course is on hold until a hotel "flag" can be
secured.
In Cathedral City, the Desert Cove Golf Resort project, which would
include an 18-hole course in conjunction with a Sheraton Hotel stays on hold
based on engineering challenges in the wash area portion of the plan. The
hotel development will not proceed until the golf course development occurs.
The previously announced Desert Wells Country Club, perhaps the last
hope of a new privately owned golf course within the Palm Desert city limits
died along with the expiration of its entitlement. Scratch this one from the
list.
Lennar's massive Desert Lakes project in Coachella, which included plans
for an 18-hole golf course, is on hold for the foreseeable future as the
housing market continues to slump. To date there is no specific plan for
this property that was annexed from the County of Riverside. An
environmental impact report has not been submitted to the city.
Author
Public Record, The, May 15, 2007 by Marra, Bob Copyright Desert Publication,
Inc. and Sharon Apfelbaum May 15, 2007
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
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