60 PARAGRAPH TABORI I’ve lost count of the number of times I had to clarify that it was the nation, rather than US state, of Georgia I was visiting for golf. I shouldn’t have been surprised that people jumped to the wrong conclusion; the state has over 400 golf courses, while the nation, in Eastern Europe, has a grand total of three. The nine-hole Ambasadori Kachreti Golf Resort, designed by Canadian architect Graham Cooke, opened in 2014 and is located just over 50 miles east of the capital, Tbilisi. Tbilisi Hills is the first, and still only, 18-hole course in the country. Designed by Finnish architect Lassi Pekka Tilander, it opened in 2017 on a rocky site south of the city centre. While Ambasadori Kachreti and Tbilisi Hills established a foothold for golf in Georgia, the arrival of Paragraph Tabori marks a stepchange in ambition, combining luxury hospitality with a course that caters for both locals and tourists. The ninehole layout was designed by Kevin Ramsey of Golfplan and has been complete for some time – construction finished in late 2018. However, it has only just been revealed to the golfing public, following the completion of the associated hotel and a cable car that transports guests from the centre of Tbilisi to Mount Tabori, upon which the course sits. The development has been spearheaded by the Georgian Tourism Development Fund. According to a recent report from the country’s leading news broadcaster, the cost of the development of course, hotel and cable car comes in at almost US$200 million. While the golf course was a relatively small portion of that total, its location meant this was not an easy build. “The site is a long ridgetop,” says Ramsey. “Generally, we knew where the hotel would be based. The challenges were finding enough topsoil and dealing with all the rock. It was difficult to cut the pine trees so we tried to minimise that impact as best we could. Finding water storage was also very difficult and required cutting into the rock. We wanted to play downhill with the starting holes, to get golfers off to a good start and initially wow them with the views, and finish downhill with the hotel in the background.” The opening two holes do indeed provide that dramatic start, with the city in full view. But it’s not just the backdrop that makes those holes – or the entire course for that matter – an enjoyable playing experience. Rugged bunkers – an aesthetic that Ramsey felt was ideal for the site and would appeal to European guests – riskreward opportunities, contoured greens and excellent conditioning all contribute. Ramsey realised early on that the pine trees were critical to the course’s character, framing holes and providing a maturity that complements the rocky landscape. “We had to be as minimalistic as possible as construction was difficult and we needed to balance our earthworks, as hauling material off site was not realistic,” says Ramsey. “We saved many pine trees and to make up for those we did remove, planted new trees, mostly on the perimeter of the course as added protection to the road. We wanted the native pine trees and vast views to be the stars of the show.” Ramsey visited regularly during construction, which was handled by Golf International Turkey’s Bora Yenigun and Mehmet Delice, and South African shaper Adam Kelland. “I would say holes one and two, for the views, set the tone and then the final three provide a very dramatic finish,” says Ramsey. “ Developing golf countries are limited in their resources and expertise, so green health is more important than speed” Photo: Kevin Murray
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