Natadola GG - New course just openned - with pics

[David_Elvins]

Spectacular


Windy


Potential unrealised


Immaculate


Dissapointing


IMG Design


4 club down-wind


Raised flat greens


Hit it straight


really straight


uphill


uphill again


Finished!


The Damage


start again?

[Tom_Doak]

Gotta be the best course in Fiji, doesn't it?

Who built it?

[David_Elvins]

Gotta be the best course in Fiji, doesn't it?

Who built it?

Tom,  I just looked back through the Search Engine and there was a hint you looked at this site.  Is this the case? If so I am even more dissapointed in what i played.  It was designed by Vijay/IMG but VIjay took his name off it.  Not sure if another architect finished it but it looks IMG.

There are now 5 18 hole golf courses in Fiji - 2 town courses, RTJ jr's worst designed and maintained course in the world, and Denarau, a flat resort course that is saved by some cool greens and some cool Japanese quirkiness.  

I would say Natadola is the best but if I had to chose one to play a lot it would be Denarau.  

Natadola just doesnt have interesting shots on it - repetiviely hitting it straight or up hill.  Plus it hasn't been designed with the prevailing wind in mind which is almost of Barnbougle proportions.  Way too many raised greens and fronting bunkers.

[Emil Weber]

Who is IMG......?

[David_Elvins]

Who is IMG......?

International Management Group. 

As far as I understand it, there is an in house design firm that provides designs under the signature of IMG represented golfers - eg Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els, Stuart Appleby, Vijay Singh etc. 

They build a lot of bunkers.

[Chris Kane]

The winning score in the Fiji Open was 290 - which won by 11!

[David_Elvins]

The winning score in the Fiji Open was 290 - which won by 11!

Correct. Mathew Griffen is a good player too, as I am sure you know.

If you can make out some of the scores on the leaderboard photo, it is a trainwreck.  Single figure golfers that didnt break 100 over 3 rounds.  A fourteen handicapper shooting 120.  A 2 handicapper shooting 101. etc.

[Tom_Doak]

David:  I've never been to Fiji.  We did get a call a few years back about a potential project there, but we never really got any information about it, they must have been captivated by the idea of Vijay designing it.

And it is not at all surprising that a Tour player would design a course without thinking at all about the wind.  Every one of them does it except for Ben Crenshaw.  Ben is always talking about the wind.