Golf Course Architecture - Issue 65, July 2021

46 Global round-up TEE BOX Photo: Scott Bordner Photo: Pacific Coast Design The new 18-hole golf course for Aquella Golf & Country Club, north of Phuket, Thailand, designed by Pacific Coast Design architects Paul Reeves and Phil Ryan, is opening for play in August. The layout has been built on the site of the former Thai Muang golf course, which closed in 2007. “Our new layout touches the beach at one point and is mostly played just back of the proposed beach resort and villas,” said Ryan. “The Thai Muang course had a pot style and timber-faced bunkers: we adopted the timber as the signature for the new course, although our bunkering would be considered more of a resort style. It pays homage to elements of the past while creating a unique future as timber-faced bunkers are not at all common in Thailand.” Union League National Golf Club in Swainton, New Jersey, is due to open all 27 holes for play in July 2022 following a Fry/Straka renovation of the former Sand Barrens course. Kafka provided its patented Wax Polymer Pathway Mix for natural looking, erosion resistant paths throughout the property. “We had tried many different strategies for paths throughout the course but continued to have washing issues before Kafka came along,” said Scott Bordner, course superintendent. “The entire crew loves not having to shovel or rake back up walk paths after heavy rains. Kafka has not only been an improvement aesthetically, but a game changer on labour savings and crew morale.” New Aquella course in Thailand to open in August Kafka provides paths for Union League National