30 Skamania Lodge, located in Washington, USA, close to the border with Oregon, is seeing increased play and revenue following a transformation of its golf facilities by Brian Costello of JMP Golf Design. The resort had an eighteen-hole golf course, a Gene Mason design that opened in 1993, routed over 175 acres of heavily forested terrain with dramatic views towards the Columbia River Gorge. But an inf lux of new layouts in the region combined with the resort increasing the range of other activities available to guests, led to a decline in play. “The owners and management realised that they needed to take a fresh look at the golf course to re-evaluate the asset and to completely reimagine the golf experience,” said Costello. He proposed a new masterplan that replaced the existing course with two shorter layouts, a nine-hole par-three course and an eighteen-hole putting course. Verde Sports Construction started work in February 2020 and, despite some Covid-related delays, completed ‘The Gorge 9’ course in June 2021, with a grand opening taking place a month later. “The original required a golf cart to navigate the hilly terrain and took close to five hours to play,” said Costello. “The new Gorge 9 is a fun, walkable short course that features some of the former ‘all-star’ signature approach shots, and typically takes under 90 minutes to play.” Holes range in length up to 201 yards. There are multiple teeing options on each hole, including forward tees that allow the holes to be played to lengths of around 50-75 yards. The routing also allows for a loop of four or seven holes. “We wanted to incorporate elements from some of the best holes and existing landscape features into the new routing,” said Costello. “The holes closest to the clubhouse provided the best terrain for a golf course trail which avoided the steeper slopes. We explored numerous routings to keep existing green sites, reverse holes and find new holes until we settled on one that kept six original green sites and created three new greens. “The final routing was fine-tuned to provide a variety of lengths and minimise forced carries. We removed the sand bunkers and created grass TEE BOX Short course decision pays off for Skamania Photo: Skamania Lodge
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