LATEST
NEWS

Richard Humphreys
/ Categories: News

Second nine opens on new layout in southwest France

The new course at Navarrenx Golf Club in Aquitaine, France — designed by French professional golfer-turned-architect Nicolas Joakimides — has opened for play.

The first nine holes – which play as the course’s back nine – were completed in late 2017, with Joakimides helping to shape greens and bunkers. The owners hired a French team to take care of construction of the second nine.

“This place has amazing potential,” said Joakimides. “I would say the course now plays and looks like 80 per cent of what it was in my head and on the plan. I am happy because it’s a great place to play golf with old trees, creeks, and a mix of open land and holes that cut into a forest. The routing never changed.”

Joakimides said the thirteenth, a drivable par four with a creek in front of the green, was inspired by the tenth on the Brabazon course at UK Ryder Cup host venue The Belfry. “I have seen players losing balls in the forest when trying too hard to go for the green with their driver,” he said. “It’s too bad because it’s only a six iron and a wedge! I have also seen many players using the slopes around the greens to get close to the hole.

“My dream is to see this course totally finished with the bushes and trees that I hope will be planted soon, because they are part of the plan!”

To mark its official opening in October, the club hosted one of the French stages of the Mercedes Trophy, a Europe-wide amateur tournament.

Previous Article ASGCA releases 2019 list of ‘design excellence’ projects
Next Article First phase of Freiburger redesign is now complete
Print
2418 Rate this article:
No rating
Slideshow HTML
  • Navarrenx

    The new course at Navarrenx Golf Club has opened for play

  • Navarrenx

    Nicolas Joakimides designed the layout and helped to shape bunkers and greens

Richard Humphreys

Richard HumphreysRichard Humphreys

Other posts by Richard Humphreys
Contact author

Contact author

x
The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
Magazine, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!

Includes reports from Maggie Hathaway and Apogee, interviews with Martin Ebert and Dave Axland and a feature on golf art

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Magazine, News | Fri 14 Mar, 2025

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now

New issue asks whether the golf boom has led to an increase in municipal golf investment

FEATURE
ARTICLES

Bringing golf to Benin
Afrikafun Production Stephane Brabant
Report | Richard Humphreys

Bringing golf to Benin

Jeremy Pern and Gregori International are creating the first 18-hole course in the West African country, on an ‘almost perfect’ site that also includes a sacred grove and voodoo shrines

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt

Lukas Michel/CDP

Opinion | Mike Clayton

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt

Mike Clayton discusses Alister MacKenzie’s transformative impact on Australian golf and how clubs can avoid repeating previous mistakes by establishing a long-term plan focused on indigenous plants

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good
Stephen Barton – Second Collective
On site | Adam Lawrence

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good

The reconstruction of the nine-hole course in Los Angeles is the golf industry at its best, says Adam Lawrence

Designs for the big screen
Pizá Golf
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Designs for the big screen

Chad Goetz and Agustin Piza discuss their design decisions for the virtual holes that featured in the first season of TGL

The ties that bind
Crooked Stick
Opinion | Justin Olmstead

The ties that bind

Justin Olmstead of Profile Products talks about the relationships behind the renovation of Crooked Stick in Indiana

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz
Konrad Borkowski
Interview | Adam Lawrence

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz

The Australian designer has had a long career and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build
Kinsale Golf Club
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build

Florida course is a tribute to the Golden Age designs of Raynor and Macdonald

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?
Larry Lambrecht
Feature | Adam Lawrence

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?

Is the beauty of bunkering being over-emphasised at the expense of its function, asks Adam Lawrence

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor
Grant Books Ltd
Good Read | John Moran and Rand Jerris

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor

John Moran and Rand Jerris share insight into their book about Seth Raynor’s design at Chicago Golf Club

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam
Vinpearl Golf Leman
Report | Richard Humphreys

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam

The first of two Golfplan-designed courses at club near Ho Chi Minh City has opened for play

Seven Canyons: Desert drama
Brad Klein
Report | Bradley Klein

Seven Canyons: Desert drama

Brad Klein reports on a Phil Smith Design renovation in Sedona, Arizona

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025
Gopher Watch, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025

Which course has Sandy the gopher visited this month?

MOST
POPULAR

FEATURED
BUSINESSES