Área Golfe has been selected to renovate the Vidago golf course in Chaves, Northern Portugal. The existing nine-hole MacKenzie Ross course will be renovated and expanded to 18 holes by British designers Cameron Powell.

The works are part of the much larger Aquanattur project, which incorporates the renovation of both the Vidago and Pedras Salgadas parks – both property of Unicer Group. The Vidago Palace Hotel will also experience a complete renewal at the hands of architect Siza Vieira.

The course seeding will be monitored by a Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro University technical team, who aim to match the grass seeds to the local microclimate conditions.

A RainBird Hybrid system has been selected as the irrigation and automation system – the first such setup in Portugal. The project is expected to involve a great deal of stone excavation. As such, Área Golfe is using RocKracker technology, which expands, rather than explodes stone blocks, avoiding excess damage to water tables and surrounding flora.

The course is expected to reopen in June 2010.