15 Photo: Zimbali Lakes water management. Additional water rights to the Tongati River allow the club to adopt an eco-conscious approach to course maintenance, with no potable water used for irrigation. “The main clientele includes real estate residents, tourists as well as golfers from nearby areas like Ballito and Durban,” said Roslee. “The KwaZulu-Natal North Coast has seen tremendous growth in recent years, and the golf course has quickly become one of the region’s key attractions. The number of rounds has steadily increased, and the course is already establishing itself as a must-play destination for golfers visiting the North Coast.” Construction has started on the new Douglas Links golf course on New Zealand’s North Island. The site for the new 18-hole layout is sandy duneland near Waikawa Beach – within the village of Ōhau – around an hour’s drive north of Wellington. “The property has some key features that were essential to include in the final routing, and in many ways these features made the overall layout puzzle less complex,” said Oliver. “Some of the ‘must-have’ holes will seem obvious, specifically the dune and the riverside holes, along with the beachfront area and its multi-green focal point. Others may be a little trickier to identify. For example, the first and sixth holes were essential to keep the layout walkable, while the likes of the second, third, fifth and eleventh were necessary to connect certain sections of the site, and to enable us to create an authentic links golf experience.” Construction is likely to take two years, with opening expected in 2028. Construction begins on Douglas Links in New Zealand Sandy was on Foxy, the legendary fourteenth hole at Royal Dornoch, in our last issue, a place where a great deal of GCA nerds have found their way over the years. By enormous irony, the first out of the hat, golf architect Stuart Rennie, has been a member of the Dornoch club since he was 12. Nevertheless, the hat’s word is law, and we congratulate Stuart on his win. This month, Sandy is in the southern United States, at one of the last flowerings of the Golden Age. The designer of this course really gained attention as the partner of a very famous Scottish architect, but later went on to build many great courses of his own. Quite enough of a clue: if you fancy a sought-after GCA golf shirt, send your entries, as usual, to gopher@golfcoursearchitecture.net. GOPHER WATCH Photo: Darius Oliver
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