This busy multi-national firm of golf course architects goes into 2008 with no less than 28 ongoing projects and another 12 on the drawing board. Headed by chief architect Peter Harradine, a former president of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects, the firm has designed and supervised the construction of over 200 golf course projects situated in every type of terrain: ranging from arid, rocky, dry, hot and saline deserts, to wet, agricultural fields, sea sides, and even at high altitudes.
The current project list continues this tradition with projects ranging from the contemporary, cutting edge architecture of the UAE to the floodplain of the River Nile, from a site near Hyderabad in India – see Golf Business News.com dated 16th August http://www.golfbusinessnews.com/news/news.asp?storyid=3941 – where construction was delayed due to a lack of irrigation water to Tatarstan on the banks of the Volga where the river is three miles wide – see Golf Business News.com dated of 15th October http://www.golfbusinessnews.com/news/news.asp?storyid=4106 – from ground-breaking new golf resorts including hotels, villas and real estate to an 18 hole layout where the client’s brief is that the course should be a place where the ‘normal player’ can have fun.
Projects in Europe include renovation work at Golf Club Seefeld in Austria’s Tyrol, where the original, beautiful course was designed by Don Harradine in 1969. The club has now decided to upgrade certain holes and Harradine Golf has been commissioned with this delicate task while at the same time conserving the original outstanding concept. The golf course at Bielefelder Golf Club, Germany, is another Don Harradine original but has only 13 holes. Now it will be extended to a full and regular 18 hole course and the committee has entrusted the work to Harradine Golf architects thus continuing a proud tradition.
A new course in Bulgaria for Harradine
The firm is making a major contribution to golf in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe. Work has finally started on the Pravets Golf Resort and Country Club after a lengthy and complicated procedure to obtain the building permits. The project is near Sofia and was definitely worth the wait.
This exciting and challenging complex includes an 18 hole tournament course, a luxury hotel, sports centre, indoor golf, casino, night club and an outdoor Olympic size swimming pool. The investor is Terra Tour Service – a well known hotel and real estate operator.
“The main challenge was to transform the flatish clay-based farmland into an interesting layout. Fortunately, the site descends gently towards a beautiful artificial lake which can be seen from most holes. We have placed the clubhouse at the highest elevation thus providing a magnificent view of the lake, the beautiful Stara Planina Mountain, the enormous 9th and 18th double green and the majority of the course”, stated Peter Harradine..
The course undulates gently in complete harmony with the surrounding landscape and is a classic Par 72 with 2 starting and finishing holes at the clubhouse and a total length of 6536 metres from the back tees.
The course certainly offers a challenging but fair test of golf and the natural features of the site coupled with the additional changes in elevation create a series of memorable golf holes. The proposed mounding and landscaping, the planting of 4,665 trees of different varieties placed at strategic locations and between the fairways will add character, safety and individuality to each hole.
The project boasts a very large and generous driving range and is complemented by putting and pitching greens thus offering excellent practice facilities which are so important to any existing course, especially in a new market!
Harradine Golf www.harradine-golf.com