Construction starts on Wicked Pony
Architect Tom Doak has broken ground at Wicked Pony, part of the new Remington Ranch development outside Bend, Oregon. The course is scheduled for completion by July 2008.
Winchester Development is developing Remington Ranch. John Shaw, president of Winchester Development, has a recent history working with Doak as a founding member of Stone Eagle Golf Club in Palm Desert, California.
"This was the third call I had received about designing a course in central Oregon in less than a year, so my first reaction was, well, I guess I am going to keep getting these calls until I commit to a project," said Doak. "I hoped this would be the right one for us, and it was. I was impressed with John Shaw's commitment to the golf course; we really had our pick of the 2,000 acres, and there was a lot of good land to choose from." The course will be walking only. "I'm not saying we will be able to achieve all of the same things, but Pine Valley is a good case study for what we are building," said Doak.
"Since Remington Ranch will have three courses, they were comfortable with the idea that Wicked Pony can be a little rougher around the edges and a little more intimidating than the typical golf course." Unlike traditional projects where course architects are asked to fit their designs into a predetermined site or acreage, Doak was given the rare opportunity to survey the entire 2,079-acre parcel at Remington Ranch and select his preferred routing for Wicked Pony.
"Remington Ranch has some abrupt elevation changes, with three 'shelves' on the property that have 25-foot drops separating them," said Doak. "We are able to use those abrupt changes to give the course some dramatic features without having to blast them out of the lava rock."