23 “One thing that I have been impressed by is the level of environmental surveillance and permitting, quite different to my past experience in Africa. There have been comprehensive environmental impact studies extending to social, cultural and financial issues including government compensation to the farmers. All the coconuts and palms in the playing areas will be transplanted into the rough. However, we have to avoid the forest clumps. If there is a special tree that we can’t move, then the golf course has to be routed around it. And with 100 hectares to play with, we have plenty of room.” It is not just trees that will be protected. “There are seven voodoo shrines on the site, of which there are several we can’t touch,” said Pern. “Three or four of the voodoo temples – they’re shrines and altars in the trees – can be moved by their priests. And in the middle of the site is a sacred grove, which is a clump of trees covering an area of about half a hectare, that has to be preserved and isolated. This sacred grove sits beside the big lagoon and is dedicated to the fishing deities.” Construction is expected to take two years, with 250 local people employed to help Gregori International build the course, which is expected to open by the end of 2025. Read more about the origins and design of Avlékété Golf Course on www.golfcoursearchitecture.net Städler & Reinmuth Golfdesign has been commissioned to plan the high-end 18-hole golf course for the ultra-luxury La Maviglia resort in the Puglia region of Italy, that will open in 2027. The resort spans 202 hectares of olive orchard less than a kilometre from the coast of the Gulf of Taranto and accessible from Bari International and Brindisi airports. “The golf course will integrate countless cultural sites dating back to the 16th and 18th centuries, in particular numerous trulli – traditional Apulian dry stone huts – which can be found everywhere on the resort grounds and come into play visually and strategically on numerous holes,” said Christoph Städler. “The landscape is also characterised by countless century-old olive and fig trees, dune landscapes and by the macchia – the typical Mediterranean scrub.” The design team, supported by irrigation designer Giles Wardle of Irriplan and agronomist firm Turfgrass, has been tasked with creating a high-end course that is also capable of hosting professional tournaments. Städler & Reinmuth’s design reveals closing holes for each nine to be played alongside one of three lakes to be excavated on the property. The designers have central fairway bunkers on several holes and formal hazards are complemented by large areas of exposed sand dune. Photo: Harris Kalinka Städler & Reinmuth design course for the new La Maviglia resort in Puglia
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=