Challenge Course Opens in Idaho
From the very beginning, Pascuzzo & Pate’s new Challenge Course built for The Club at SpurWing in Idaho received exactly the member response we hoped for: on opening day, after the formal ceremonies and golf, a dozen or so golfers all went out in one gigantic group playing whatever games they dreamed up on the first tee.
It looked like they were having a tailgate party on the tee, rather than playing golf. (And it apparently took them as much time to figure out the bets at dinner as it did to actually play the round!)
But that is what our Challenge Course designs are all about: injecting fun into the game however golfers want, whether it’s a big group, just a couple of buddies, or a family out there together.
The Challenge Course at SpurWing (as well as our 12-hole Challenge Course at Monarch Dunes in California) is built for many different experiences. Each of SpurWing’s nine holes is designed as a par 3 with two tee areas and a green that always accommodates two flag positions – one on a fairly level area (for easier access and putting) and another on a more undulating area (for more complexity).
SpurWing designates a White Tee and a Black Tee, with golfers playing to a White flag, or Black flag … whichever they want. They also play White to White, Black to Black, White to Black, Black to White, alternate colors, whatever. The combinations are limited only to the imagination.
Murasaki CC Project Wraps Up
The final phase of our project at Murasaki Country Club in Noda City, Japan, has come to a close, with the opening of the “B Greens” and bunkering on the Sumire Course, which is the 18-hole private layout at the 54-hole facility. (As is typical of many courses in Japan, Sumire features two greens on each hole.)
Phase I of our task was to develop a master plan that would create two different playing experiences; one challenging, the other easier, depending upon the greens being used. Phase II included the redesign of Sumire’s “A Greens” along with greenside bunkering, and we also repositioned both tees and fairway bunkering throughout the course. Phase III finished up with the other set of greens, greenside bunkering and select tree management.
The past two years has been a wonderful experience – both in creating new golf courses for the club and also absorbing philosophies that can be applied to our future golf course designs.
