LATEST
NEWS

Richard Humphreys
/ Categories: News

Construction begins on new nine-hole course by EGD in Kazakhstan

Construction work has started on a new nine-hole golf course designed by European Golf Design in Aktau, Kazakhstan.

The course will be the country’s fourth, and is being built on a mostly sandy site near the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. It will be part of Aktau Resort, a master-planned community project that includes retail and commercial space, real estate and multiple hotels.

The design is being led by European Golf Design’s Gary Johnston, with construction work by Golf Tek, led by Naki Evrandir, and Sembol Construction, both from Turkey.

“This has been a whirlwind of a project since our first conversations with the project team last autumn,” said Johnston. “And now that construction has started, we are looking forward to getting onto site to work with Naki and his team, alongside our clients at Rixos Hotels and Sembol Construction, to create a course that helps achieve the developers’ business objectives but, as importantly, provides locals and tourists the opportunity of exposure, some for the very first time in their lives, to golf. We’re working hard to make this project as inclusive as possible to ensure long term growth and viability.”

The par-34 layout includes five par fours and three par threes and closes with a par five that runs alongside the edge of a lake. Holes five and eight share a double green.

Johnson has designed the course so that it can be played in loops of three and six holes that start and return to the clubhouse. The three-hole loop can also be used as an academy area to provide dedicated short game, putting and long game zones.

European Golf Design hopes the shorter loops will encourage local schools and clubs to take advantage of the facility and more locals will take up the game, as well as providing outstanding golf facilities for residents, guests and tourists alike.

The golf course is expected to be fully grassed by the end of September 2021, with an opening scheduled for summer 2022.

Previous Article Sanford Golf Design creates reversible nine for Florida muni
Next Article New Stirling & Martin course takes shape in Madrid
Print
4209 Rate this article:
No rating
Slideshow HTML
  • Aktau
    Sembol Construction

    Construction has started on a new nine-hole golf course designed by European Golf Design in Kazakhstan

  • Aktau
    European Golf Design

    The par-34 layout closes with a par five that runs alongside a large lake

ADd Image Credit here for home page
Sembol Construction
Richard Humphreys

Richard HumphreysRichard Humphreys

Other posts by Richard Humphreys
Contact author

Contact author

x
The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
Magazine, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!

Includes reports from Maggie Hathaway and Apogee, interviews with Martin Ebert and Dave Axland and a feature on golf art

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Magazine, News | Fri 14 Mar, 2025

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now

New issue asks whether the golf boom has led to an increase in municipal golf investment

FEATURE
ARTICLES

Bringing golf to Benin
Afrikafun Production Stephane Brabant
Report | Richard Humphreys

Bringing golf to Benin

Jeremy Pern and Gregori International are creating the first 18-hole course in the West African country, on an ‘almost perfect’ site that also includes a sacred grove and voodoo shrines

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt
Lukas Michel/CDP
Opinion | Mike Clayton

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt

Mike Clayton discusses Alister MacKenzie’s transformative impact on Australian golf and how clubs can avoid repeating previous mistakes by establishing a long-term plan focused on indigenous plants

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good
Stephen Barton – Second Collective
On site | Adam Lawrence

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good

The reconstruction of the nine-hole course in Los Angeles is the golf industry at its best, says Adam Lawrence

Designs for the big screen
Pizá Golf
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Designs for the big screen

Chad Goetz and Agustin Piza discuss their design decisions for the virtual holes that featured in the first season of TGL

The ties that bind
Crooked Stick
Opinion | Justin Olmstead

The ties that bind

Justin Olmstead of Profile Products talks about the relationships behind the renovation of Crooked Stick in Indiana

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz
Konrad Borkowski
Interview | Adam Lawrence

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz

The Australian designer has had a long career and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build
Kinsale Golf Club
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build

Florida course is a tribute to the Golden Age designs of Raynor and Macdonald

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?
Larry Lambrecht
Feature | Adam Lawrence

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?

Is the beauty of bunkering being over-emphasised at the expense of its function, asks Adam Lawrence

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor
Grant Books Ltd
Good Read | John Moran and Rand Jerris

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor

John Moran and Rand Jerris share insight into their book about Seth Raynor’s design at Chicago Golf Club

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam
Vinpearl Golf Leman
Report | Richard Humphreys

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam

The first of two Golfplan-designed courses at club near Ho Chi Minh City has opened for play

Seven Canyons: Desert drama
Brad Klein
Report | Bradley Klein

Seven Canyons: Desert drama

Brad Klein reports on a Phil Smith Design renovation in Sedona, Arizona

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025
Gopher Watch, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025

Which course has Sandy the gopher visited this month?

MOST
POPULAR

FEATURED
BUSINESSES