Beauty means you don’t need a beast

The old adage of location, location, location sprang to mind this week when Chris May (General Manager of Emirates Golf Club) and I rounded the corner of the clubhouse at the stunning Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, an hour north of Dublin.

We were presented with what can only be described as “visual ecstasy” as the flora-rich mountainous dunes stretched out along the coastline, flanking the true links-style rolling fairways and inconspicuous pot bunkers.

Ireland is renowned not only for its friendly, welcoming nature, beautiful green countryside and a rather world-famous local brew, but many would argue more so now for its plethora of dramatic, striking championship golf courses that reside across and in every corner of the Emerald Isle.

BEAUTY

It is difficult to truly appreciate the natural beauty of the country unless you have witnessed it first-hand.

Photographs do little justice to the true sense of being, when over every hill and around every corner you are greeted by awe-inspiring beauty.

Chris and I were indeed blessed with the weather, as a clear blue sky with only a faint breath of wind presented itself to us, which will undoubtedly be one of only a few days of the year when this links course will allow you the humility of a mediocre round and spare you the humiliation of a complete battering.

When turning back to face the direction of the clubhouse on hole four at Royal County Down, the Mourne mountains towered above the course and together with the flora in rich bloom creating a sea of yellow across the dunes, it struck me right there and then that the key value to the success and sustainability of any golf course is not in its length or difficulty and “championship status” but in creating a visually inspiring canvas full of vitality, contrast and colour for all to enjoy.

DESIGN

Living in Dubai we are all fortunate to have access to golf courses that have been designed by some of the best in the business, and you really do have to hand it to them for what they create on what can only be described as a drab patch of desert in comparison to the naturally sculpted beautiful sites that are available in other parts of the world.

Given the need to create such visual masterpieces with little or in some cases nothing to work with, it is vital that developers put just as much [if not more] emphasis on the landscape architecture as the golf course design.

Often an area considered to be a function of “filling in sandy areas” or “greening up the course”, landscaping in my opinion is understated in the GCC and should take on a much more significant role in the development cycle of a golf course.

My advice – take a trip to Ireland – beauty speaks for itself!