Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design, a partnership with worldwide reach in award-winning golf-course design, will create Batu Bay Golf Club in Inner Mongolia, China. Dana Fry, a Fry/Straka principal, will oversee the project from start to finish. The resort golf course, perched on a bluff overlooking the Batu Bay reservoir, will be an 18-hole layout built on sand dunes, with a Banyan Tree Hotel located on site; the course will be open to guests staying at the hotel. The owner is Oriental Holding Group based in Ordos, Inner Mongolia.
“Batu Bay has the chance to become one of the world’s great courses due to the excellent soil conditions, natural sand scrub vegetation and awesome views of the reservoir,” Fry says. “It has a Sand Hills (Nebraska) or Bandon Dunes (Oregon) feel to it.”
The layout is on an isolated site, a three-hour drive from Ordos, with hundreds of acres of sand dunes on a hill above the large reservoir. Native scrub vegetation covers the entire site now; there are virtually no trees anywhere on the property. The project is now in the planning stage, with construction scheduled to begin in May 2013 and the course slated to open in late summer 2014. The closest airport is Yulin Airport in Yulin City, Shanxi Province, about a one-hour drive away.
The Batuwan Tourism Region is located in Wudinghe Town, Wushen Banner, where two bays are formed by the course of the Salawusu River, flowing from the north west. Legend has it that a long time ago, there lived a Mongolian family named Batu; thus the name “Batuwan” was derived. Batuwan, a national AAAA-class tourism area, is known for its natural beauty. By taking the “Bright Pearl” painted boat, visitors can enjoy the exquisite scenery on the two banks of the reservoir.
Award-winning golf-course architects Dana Fry and Jason Straka announced in 2012 the formation of their golf-course design partnership, Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design.
After having worked together for nearly 20 years, they now bring their collective design experience, talent and renowned client dedication to their new venture.
Although the pair collaborates on all projects, Fry resides in Hong Kong, China, while Straka remains in the United States, so that they can have worldwide reach and serve their global clients.
In addition, the new company has associates based in Lisbon, Portugal; Milan, Italy; Beijing, China; and Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design www.frystraka.com