81 of the site’s natural vegetation to be retained, explains Gregori, “opening up lines of play, circulation routes and visual readability of the course”. “My first site visit coincided with the end of the dry season,” says Pern. “Crops had been harvested, leaving desiccated tomato stalks and pepper bush twigs sticking up through the dried and crinkled weeds. Water supply to the irrigation system was a serious worry. My second visit came in the middle of a wet season where large parts of the site were either submerged or hovering just above the groundwater. Concerns turned from irrigation issues to drainage decisions.” Working with Christian Pace, agronomist and technical director of Gregori International, Pern tested different grass species to see what would best suit the site. Pure Dynasty seeded paspalum, supplied by Atlas Turf International and Pure Seed, was chosen. Most of the Ouidah site was originally less than half a metre above the wet season’s maximum high-water level. “With thoughts of rising oceans in the coming decades, raising playing areas to at least 1.5 metres above the water level was the only long-term solution,” says Pern. “By excavating the marshland and creating additional lakes, we moved 500,000 cubic metres of sand to raise the course out of danger. Topographically-speaking, a true links course has emerged with a height differential of only two metres, with not one square metre of flat land.” Despite the constraints, Pern always felt like he was working with “a blank slate”. That is rare for a golf course architect, as is designing a nation’s first golf course. “My response to the dilemma of creating the impossible Swiss Army Knife golf course that appeals to both golf’s superheroes and mere mortals is to imagine a course routing that Mr Average might enjoy, superimposed onto a championship layout,” says Pern. “I have laid out extensive tees, dispersed not just along the length of the hole, but spread laterally as well. On one hole, the forced carry off the back tee can be avoided by playing from a tee that is 30 metres to the side.” OUIDAH “ The relatively low-lying and open topography was ideally suited to the creation of a true links-style course” The shore of the Gulf of Guinea is only a few hundred metres from the opening hole Photo: Afrikafun Production/ Stephane Brabant
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=