Golf Course Architecture - Issue 62: October 2020

41 TEE BOX Construction is now in progress on a second nine holes for the Arnold Palmer Design Company layout at Fasano Las Piedras in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The new holes, being built by ProGolf, will connect the new Fasano Las Piedras Hotel to the existing nine (pictured) which opened in 2012. Thad Layton, lead architect for the project, says that the site has an ideal amount of embedded slope; requiring minimal earthwork to create well drained, playable surfaces while allowing for ground-game options. “We were originally scheduled to start in July but that understandably got pushed back due to travel restrictions around the pandemic,” said Layton. “Uruguay, in particular, has been quite rigorous in keeping its borders sealed so it’s been a logistical challenge to get all of ProGolf’s personnel and equipment in place for the project. For instance, we have to show negative Covid-19 results upon entering the country and then take another test after completing a seven- day quarantine.” Construction began on 20 September, with an anticipated finish of late March. “We completed the first nine holes at Las Piedras eight years ago within the framework of an 18-hole route that took the golf course out to the very edge of the 1,200-acre property,” said Layton. “Since then, the client shifted their vision for the course, asking us to start and finish the course in close proximity to their newly completed Fasano Hotel. “After nearly two years of planning and countless routing plans, we arrived at five new holes to bridge the hotel to the existing course and added four more holes to the west for an out and back layout. The challenge will be to match up the new nine with the look and feel of the existing holes.” Construction of second nine begins at Las Piedras Photo: Thad Layton The new holes (sketched in image) have been routed to allow the full eighteen to start and finish at the new hotel