Golf Course Architecture - Issue 61, July 2020

66 DOMAINE DE MURTOL I The 55 acres of Murtoli Links has more than 50 possible holes of between 100 and 550 yards in sea or river, horse riding or relaxing on the private beach. Chefs create dishes using produce from the farm, sea and local suppliers, served at three restaurants – one at the beach, another in the farmhouse, with furniture crafted from salvaged driftwood, and one nestled into a natural cave with a terrace that overlooks the landscape. The overriding ethos at Murtoli is to remain true to its place, with meticulous attention to every last detail so that visitors have an authentic Corsican experience. So when Canarelli decided to introduce golf, the very last thing he wanted was for a course to impose itself on the landscape. He appointed Kyle Phillips, who turned to the history of golf for inspiration – in particular the original twelve holes of Prestwick, one of golf’s oldest courses. Old Tom Morris’s 1851 design was a playground of golf, including a double green, for the third and sixth, and crossing fairways in several places. At a time when many golf clubs have been compelled to contemplate the merits of their business model, out-of-the- box thinking might be called for. And what better place to start than with the origins of the game. Phillips’ design for Murtoli, which opened in 2014, consists of twelve greens but is unlimited in terms of the sequence or number of holes. Two of the greens are large enough to serve two holes at once, fairways blend into each other and many holes cross over the same terrain. Phillips introduced a rugged bunker style that complements the rolling terrain of the farmland Photos: Domaine de Murtoli