Construction of new Czech Republic golf resort in Prague nears completion
Construction of two courses – an 18-hole championship course and a nine-hole executive course – at Twin Chapels Golf Resort Praha in the Czech Republic capital, is nearing completion, following a design by Jonathan Gaunt of Gaunt Golf Design.
The 100-hectare site is located in the northeast suburbs of Prague, and the resort – which is being developed by Golf Vinor – will be the closest large-scale golf resort to the city centre.
The undulating site is being transformed into: a 7,062 yards 18-hole course with five tee platforms per hole; a nine-hole executive course layout of 2,943 yards with three tee platforms per hole; a 328-yard driving range; short game practice area; children’s golf zone; clubhouse with restaurant, accommodation, wellness, pro-shop, lockers and caddie-hall; greenkeeper’s technical facility; and parking for 200 cars. Earthworks began on site in summer 2015 and construction will continue until autumn 2018. The 18-hole course and practice facilities are scheduled to open in summer 2019.
Gaunt’s design will feature large, subtly-contoured greens with T1, wide and fully irrigated fairways, strategically-placed bunkers and naturally featured lakes, waste hazards and wetlands, solitary trees and fescue seed-head roughs.
When asked which hole he would highlight, Gaunt said: “The opening hole, which really introduces you to the design, or the par-five eighteenth, which can be viewed from the clubhouse terrace, with a lake that comes into play on the second and third shots, or the long par-four tenth with a view to the chapel, or the sixteenth, tree-lined with a great view to the Central Bohemian Uplands and clubhouse … there are too many to decide from!”
Golf Vinor is emphasising environmental characteristics as a theme for the development with the irrigation of the course being provided with sustainable, recycled water from the city of Prague, with the use of local (on-site) materials for the construction of the course, with a comprehensive native tree, meadows and grassland planting scheme that is being implemented. The developers have also been keen to provide picturesque views on the course as well as having views of church spires, castles, the Říp Mountain and the Central Bohemian Uplands on the horizon.
Two small historic chapels on the site – Nezamyslická kaple and Nicovská kaple – provided the inspiration for the resort’s name. The chapels commemorate the ‘Saint Wenceslaus route’ (Via Sancta), built in the 17th century in honour of Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia and Patron of Czechs.
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Construction is nearing completion on 27 holes at Twin Chapels Golf Resort in Prague
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The 18-hole course and nine-hole academy layout have been designed by Jonathan Gaunt
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The championship course and practice facilities are scheduled to open in summer 2019
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