Work underway on new NZ course
Plans have been released for a new golf course in Christchurch, the New Zealand city that was devastated by a powerful earthquake in 2011.
The Whisper Creek course will be part of a 157 hectare residential development of the same name. The project, being developed by location businessman Thomas Na, has taken twelve years to come to fruition, and is valued at NZ$160 million. It will include 141 high-end home sites, plus 113 resort apartments, a members-only sports complex containing a 25 metre indoor heated swimming pool with spa and sauna and 41 hectares of ecological parkland encompassing a public walkway, indigenous wetland plantings, and horse/cycling track. The environmental wetland adjacent to the Styx River is to be gifted in perpetuity to Christchurch Council. The land is currently used for sheep and beef grazing.
Architect Guy Hockley is the lead designer for the course, on behalf of Nick Faldo's practice, along with Christchurch-based golf course architect Kristine Kerr of Kura Golf Course Design.
Sir Nick Faldo said: “It’s going to be a privilege to play a role in Christchurch’s regeneration after such a difficult few years.” Kristine Kerr added: “The design of the golf course seeks to provide a variety of shot-making, emphasising subtlety and strategy, and to deliberately integrate landforms into the strategy of each hole and create a natural, ecologically sound, attractive and harmonious landscape.”