A site for sore eyes

[Patrick_Mucci]

Recently I saw some photos of a golf course under construction in NZ.

You can Google it.

It's Mangawhai.

It sits on an isthmus of white sand, with the ocean on one side.

It's a site swept by good breezes.
Surfing sites provide wind and wave maps which are pretty neat.

I couldn't help but think of what a terrific site it was and that it had the potential to be a great golf course.

I also wondered, in these times, how many developers would be willing to roll the dice in their attempt to create a great golf course, even one in a relatively remote area.

Surely Mike Keiser has to get some credit for being a forerunner in that area.

Back to the site.

In addition to looking like a great site, wind and all, Tom Doak has been retained as the architect.

Tom's work at Pacific Dunes certainly prepared him for routing and designing on a windy site.

While some incomplete routing was available, what I saw looked pretty neat, especially given the prevailing wind direction.

Visit the site on Google Earth.

How many sites like this remain available for building a golf course ?

[Cristian]

Is this the site?



Makes me think of pre construction Diamante pics. I wonder what grasses can be used for this latitude, to ensure a f&f playing course.

[David_Tepper]

This must be the one:

http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/news/from-forest-to-top-flight-golf-course/1587347/

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10840868

[Patrick_Mucci]

David,

That's the one.

Cristian,

I couldn't tell from the photo you posted.

Perhaps someone can post the Google Earth image

[Bill_McBride]

Is this the site?



Makes me think of pre construction Diamante pics. I wonder what grasses can be used for this latitude, to ensure a f&f playing course.

Paspalum seems to be the grass of choice in waterfront sites these days.  It can be irrigated with saltwater.  It's a great surface, tight, can be firm.  I played on it at Forrest Richardson's terrific Links at Las Palomas on the northern shore of The Sea of Cortez and it was fun. 

[Tom_Doak]

Is this the site?



Makes me think of pre construction Diamante pics. I wonder what grasses can be used for this latitude, to ensure a f&f playing course.

Paspalum seems to be the grass of choice in waterfront sites these days.  It can be irrigated with saltwater.  It's a great surface, tight, can be firm.  I played on it at Forrest Richardson's terrific Links at Las Palomas on the northern shore of The Sea of Cortez and it was fun. 

I think the picture above is looking across to the point north of our site, from Mangawhai Heads.  Our site was covered in a pine plantation until a few months ago ... now, not as much.  I'll try to post the picture Patrick saw here in the next couple of days.

With regard to grass choices, we are using paspalum ... on Hainan Island in China.  But in New Zealand, we're going with fescue.  The site is meant to be a links, and the weather seems conducive to fescue.  Our client has hired C. J. Kreuscher, who was the assistant superintendent at Old Macdonald during grow-in [but had moved on], to manage the course in New Zealand.

The official name of the project is Tara-iti Golf Club, named after the endangered fairy tern that inhabits the dunes north of our site.

[Jim Colton]

Might this be it? (From Eamon Lynch's twitter feed):

[Tom_Doak]

Well, yes, that's it, as you might tell from the label at the top.  But I will try and post a clearer image later.  I'm pretty sure Brian Slawnik and I are in the photo, we're the little dots below/left of the arrow to the ninth green.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tom,

What impact did the prevailing winds have on your routing process ?

What impact did the prevailing winds have on your individual hole designs ?

[Randy Thompson]

iŽD LIKE TO HAVE THE MULCHING CONTRACT!

[Tom_Doak]

Tom,

What impact did the prevailing winds have on your routing process ?

What impact did the prevailing winds have on your individual hole designs ?

Patrick:

There isn't a single prevailing wind on this site, as far as we can tell.  There are two or three different winds that come into play.  We are just now starting to get to the "high season" when the members are most likely to be playing golf, so we'll pay closer attention now.  We are just starting to work on the individual holes, so there is still plenty of time to make adjustments based on the winds we see.


Randy:

We are buying a hydromulcher and doing the work in-house, to the disappointment of every contractor in New Zealand.

[Randy Thompson]

and then sell it for 80% of its value when you finish, it must be nice to work for some people that get it!

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tom,

This site might be of some interest to you,

http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Mangawhai-Heads

Go to the "Wind Map"  it shows daily directions and I think you can obtain the patterns.

[Jeff Bertch]

Tom,

I will be in NZ about a year from now. Any chance Tara-iti GC will be open next winter?

Jeff

[Brian Stewart]

Tom,

I will be in NZ about a year from now. Any chance Tara-iti GC will be open next winter?

Jeff

If you are in New Zealand a year from now it will be in the middle of the summer!

Site looks awesome.  Close enough to Kuari Cliffs that it should make it possible for a nice weekend combo when done.

[Jeff Bertch]

Brian,

You are exactly right...US winter/NZ summer. ETA?

[Tom_Doak]

We would be finished and the grass would be growing a year from now, if they would just let us get to work for real.  We're still just tinkering around there waiting for the green light, though, so I doubt it will be playable next January.  Hopefully it will be all grassed by then.

[Jeff Bertch]

Tom,

This site looks very interesting. Best of luck through the construction process. Look forward to checking it out in the future.

Jeff

[Scott Weersing]

So how many new Doak courses are actually going to open?

This is all I could think of right now:

Dismal River, 2013
Tara-iti Golf Club, NZ, 2015

Will Wicked Pony be completed someday?