91 Photo: La Moye Golf Club so high that better players are going to be tempted into going for the green, but it’s just a bit out of reach.” This first phase also included rebuilding the tenth fairway, which previously didn’t drain well. “MJ Abbott stripped the top 600 millimetres of heavy clay material, stockpiled it, excavated loads of sand and then swapped the material around,” says Howard. “It was a massive undertaking and a really important project.” The M&E masterplan includes significant proposals for the fifth, sixth and seventh holes – all aimed to create more variety of par-three and par-four holes. Mackenzie and Howard have proposed a par-three sixth. Mackenzie says: “It plays along the top of the slope down the beach way below, making better use of the beautiful landforms in this area. The seventh continues that theme and is a short dogleg left that will tempt some players into making rash decisions – it will be a short par four playing in the opposite direction to the twelfth.” “If the wind is one way, the seventh could be reachable,” says Howard. “And if the wind is going the other way, the new fourteenth could be as well. “The removal of the thirteenth green opens space to move the tenth green onto better ground at the side of dunes. The new greens have to blend. The site is very exposed so we can’t go over the top with contouring. It is more of a case of getting them to fit within the existing landscape. “The next phase involves building the new sixth and seventh holes. That then allows the existing par-three first to be removed and to be replaced with a giant putting green,” continues Howard. “This would free up those holes a bit, give them better facilities close to the clubhouse and make better use of the glorious landforms. The old fourteenth green would become the new short-game area. We couldn’t start with this phase because we had to produce all the material on site, which we now have from building the new thirteenth and fourteenth holes.” “La Moye gave us a fairly open brief, and this first phase is the start for them to make the most of the incredible land that they have. Once holes thirteen and fourteen reopen, I expect the club will focus on starting phase two.” The fourteenth is a short par four that has been built on duneland that was not previously part of the course
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