[Frank Pont]

I was fortunate enough to visit Jonathan Davison's latest course at Penati in Slovakia last month (a short hour north of Bratislava). It was a quick two day visit, but it still gave me the time to absorb both what a great site it is and what a super job Jonathan has done on his first solo design. I made a ton of pictures of which I will be showing the highlights here, for the full monty go to GAP.com.

The land on which Penati lies is about as good as it gets, its pure sand, Pines and a bit of heath here and there, and a topography that reminds me of a cross between Morfontaine and St. Georges Hill. The first course that was built on site was done by Nicklaus; it has some great greens, but the routing and the way the course and bunkering fits the land could have been so much better. In that respect Jonathan's course easily trumps it, better fitting the land, a more varied routing and better and more natural looking hazards.

The course is composed of two loops, like the wings of a butterfly, the first one counter clockwise, the second clockwise. The land of the second nine is spectacular, the front nine is also very good but slightly flatter and has some areas of water to navigate.

When I visited the course was still in grow in, about a month from opening, so no flags on the greens yet.

Hole 1.  The first hole is a medium length par 4 playing into the pine forest with a tee shot that looks harder and narrower than it actually is.







The second shot into the green again looks fairly innocent, but it all depends on the position of the flag with the green bunker defending the left side. The green lies on a slightly raise plateau, with grassy hollow along the left hand side making recovery shots from that side more tricky.







The green is very short so accuracy lengthwise is important with the approach shot

[Frank Pont]

Hole 2.  The second hole is still on the flatter terrain, another shortish par 4, but in this case offering the player a number of options from the tee, namely to play a shot left with little risk, or go right on the more direct route to the green, but also take on a  lot more risk.







If you take the left route the view on the green is clear, but you have to play over a water hazard





Detail of the bunker left side of the fairway



Thre is a lot of room to the right of the green where you land if you take the aggressive line to the right of the green



This is the view of the green from that side of the hole



View over the green looking back at the hole

[Frank Pont]

Hole 3.  We now start moving into the more interesting terrain, with a long three shotter up the hill. Here is the view from the forward tees.



When walking up the fairway the views of the hole start opening up and the left cross bunkering start becoming clearer





The first glimpses of the green



The green is angles such that it is most receptive to a shot from the left



These picture show nicely how the green is well protected with a nob on the front deflecting slightly short shots and a bit of a Biaritz running through the middle.







The green as seen from above behind

[Ronald Montesano]

Frank,

thanks for the first three holes. here are my questions.

why did they keep the tree on two?

do you know the level at which the grass around the greens will be mowed? some of the slopes are severe, so a close cut send balls into some serious trouble.

Thanks for your answers.

[Niall C]

Frank

Thanks for posting and I look forward to the rest of the tour. Looks fantastic, well done Jonathon.

Niall

[Frank Pont]

Ronald,

The tree should go, I think the client had asked to keep it.

The grass around the greens will be cut short, I believe between 8-10 mm so that you can put.

Jonathan please chime in if you feel like it

[Jonathan Davison]

Sorry for the delay, just arrived back in the UK.

The tree has been a long debate. The plan was to cut it then the investors wanted to keep it. We will see, it may go in the Autumn.

Yes, the plan was to have a real short cut approach around all the greens, it was also to offer a contrast to the Nicklaus course which has the semi rough approach around the greens.

I have some new pictures which I will post over the next week.

[Frank Pont]

Hole 4  First par 3, downhill, fairly short if I remember correctly





The green and bunkers from the foregreen



Closer look at the green



Looking back at the tees








Hole 5.  A longish par 4,  tight driving hole, could loose some trees left



In front of the red tees



View to the green, quite tight so accuracy required in the approach shot





A look back over the green to the fairway








Hole 6.  A short dogleg right par 4, again a strong test of accurate driving requiring a fade.





View from the early and farther fairway towards the green, clear that the right side of the fairway is the preferred line.





Nice green bunkering and an undulating green





Looking back over the green

[Jon Wiggett]

Well done Jonathan, the course is looking good. Thanks for posting the photos Frank,

Jon

[Jonathan Davison]

To give a bit more information.
We started construction in April 2012 and finished seeding in late October. The site is mostly sand although a few holes were a clay & sand mix.
The resort has an exisiting Nicklaus Design course which opened in August 2012. The course was a huge success, a lot of clean lines within a wonderful landscape. The plan for the next course was to offer something completely different, something more natural and rustic and a course which blended within the landscape.
It was a wonderful site with great clients and maybe the perfect project and I feel extremely lucky!

[Ulrich Mayring]

The tree on #2 is great, I'd much rather keep that than some of the trees lining the fairways.

Ulrich

[Ronald Montesano]

To give a bit more information.
We started construction in April 2013 and finished seeding in late October.

And I thought Europe was only 6-7 hours ahead of the states!

[Ronald Montesano]

Hole #6: Is it short enough to play a right-to-left tee shot with an iron or hybrid? A tee ball in the 200-225 yard range?

Hole #5: I love the green. It's just begging to be shrunk down the road by a lazy superintendent...that means, it has so much great space that it should remain big and defined for ever.

Hole #4: It doesn't look to be THAT short. I would guess in the 180-yard range.

[Jonathan Davison]

Sorry, we started construction in April 2012.

Ronald
Hole 4 is 171 metres from the back tee, the course plays just over 6200 metres from the back.

Ulrich
We had a storm last week two days before the opening which did clear a few trees on the early holes.

[Ulrich Mayring]

I think anytime you offer two distinct routes, it is a good idea to alert the golfer to that. A tree in the middle of the fairway will do that. If you lose it, people will often simply go down the middle and let the slice or hook spin determine where the ball goes. But if you want them to make a decision on the tee, you have to break up the line of instinct in some way. You can also put a bunker there, but I think a tall and thin tree is often better, because it is more visible while at the same time it will not come into play as much. Even if you aim directly at it, chances of hitting it are slim.

The problem with the tree is, of course, that it may grow larger over time. But in this case the pine trees on the site seem to get taller, not wider, so I see little danger of that.

Ulrich

[Frank Pont]

Hole 7.   The second par 3 hole, with nice diagonal bunkering to confuse the distances for the player.







Nice detailing of the low profile bunkers





Looking back to the tee







Hole 8.  A short par 4 playing around the water, would have liked to have seen an alternative playing route.

First the view of the tee with the water left.



View from the beginning of the fairway.





View further on the fairway





Nice bunker detailing



Green details








Hole 9.  Almost a U shaped par 5 hole around the large lake on the property.





Fairway bunker threatening the tee shot



View on the green



Looking back over the hole from behind the green

[Frank Pont]

Hole 10.  The start of the second nine is another par 4 with a tee shot that looks harder than it actually plays, a trick Tom Simpson often liked to play as well.





The fairway as said is wider than it looks from the tee, and leaves a shot into the green that should ideally be played as close as possible to the line of the left fairway bunker.





The green is well defended on the right by two bunkers, but is tricky on the left as well due to a run off area.







Hole 11.  Now the best part of the golf course starts, with a long and interesting par 5. The tee shot still looks fairly straight forward.



On the fairway we first see a bit of water that isn't in play unless you really hit a very bad topped slice



And later this blind shot into the green if you want to go for the green in two, a trick that both Arana and Pennink used in several of their designs.



Over the hill we get this view on the green, and it is clear why a shot in from the left of the fairway is the preferred route.



Looking back over the green the fact that it slopes backward can clearly be seen







Hole 12.  The first par 3 of the back nine, a short uphill par 3 that has an narrow but very wide undulating green. Cool design!





The green has nice bunkering



And an even better green

[Steve Okula]

Hi Jonathan,

The course looks to be growing in nicely. Are the greens surfaces now coming along to your satisfaction?

[Jonathan Davison]

Steve,
We have a new grow in team from Germany and they are doing a great job. Its been a difficult year so far, a very wet spring and now an extremely hot summer but the course is looking great !

[Jonathan Davison]

A few more pictures from the course

A view over holes 1, 10 & 9.


A view to the 11th green.


View to 12, 16 & 17.

[Thomas Dai]

Frank and Jonathan,

Thanks for this posting. Most interesting. Well done.

How long is the playing season in Slovakia?

All the best

[Jonathan Davison]

Thomas,
The playing season at Penati is from April to October, the further east you go the shorter the season.

[Randy Thompson]

Jonathan,
Its been great following the progress and the course is really looking good and interesting. I remember the first post after you signed and the photos! Fantastic that you were able to gain the trust of the investors and it looks like you are delievering. What are the widths of the clearing corridors? It will be interesting on how the course is recieved and if you are pressured to cut some of the native áreas. I am finding it difficult to get golfers to accept hitting a couple meters off target and losing balls or spending a lot of time looking. Its pure art and you have captured and maximized the art form and hopefully they will accept the overall philosophy. Were you able to burn during the clearing process or did an outside contractor remove the tres for the lumber? What are the native grasses, fine fescues or sheep?  Hopefully we can see more in the future by next june its looks like it should be at almost full maturity. Great shaping..really blends in nicely and presents all kind of shots! Congrats!

[Jonathan Davison]

Randy,
Thank you for your comments. I feel extremely lucky to work on the piece of property with a great team of investors.
Fairways are around 44 - 55 metres wide and playing corridors at the dogleg point would be around 60 + metres.
What I wanted for the first year was to let the native go to give a real character to the course but I guess next year most of the native and the fescue will be cut.
The tree clearing was done by a local contractor who took the timber away. I am travelling the next few weeks once I get back home I will post some pictures from the Nicklaus course to show the contrast between the two. I was nervous to build something more rustic but I thought the site deserved something more natural.

[Frank Pont]

Now starts the best stretch of holes, namely 13-17.

Hole 13.   A rather unusual hole playing to a fairway sloping away to the left, whereas the best angle to play into the green is a s right on the fairway as possible.





A bit further on the fairway.



The green is quite thin and slopes from right to left allowing for a well placed bump and run shot to be played.



Notice the huge sand pit behind the hole!



A detailed look at the green







And a look back over the green to the hole








Hole 14.  A great par 3, sort of a reverse redan, where you have to look at the strokesaver to get to grips with the shot required, so much confusing visual information is at hand.

First the view from the tee.





Just in front of the first cross bunker



In front of the green on the right side





A detailed look at the green





Looking back over the green at the hole




Hole 15.  A tough par 4, where if you leave your teeshot short you are faced with a blind shot into the green. First a view from the tee





This is the view of the green if you do play a super tee shot



Again positioning of the tee is crucial, being on the right side of the fairway allows for a bump and run shot to be played.







Looking back over the green

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