Ryder Cup legend Colin Montgomerie and European Golf Design (EGD) are to design a new golf course next to one of Morocco’s finest beaches, Plage des Nations, near Rabat, Morocco.
The golf course will be the centrepiece of a major new 1,200-acre luxury resort and expansive residential community (10,000 units) that will also feature a golf clubhouse, beach club, hotel and shopping centre.
The Prestigia Group, part of the Groupe Addoha company, appointed Monty and EGD following a successful collaboration on another of the developer’s projects, The Montgomerie Course at Marrakech Golf City.
It is the eighth time Monty and EGD, the golf course design company of the European Tour and IMG, have worked together, creating one of the most successful design partnerships in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Previous joint ventures include golf courses in Bahrain, The Netherlands, Ireland, Wales, Turkey and Scotland.
Jawad Ziyat, the Managing Director of Prestigia said: “We have witnessed first hand, at Marrakech Golf City, what Colin Montgomerie and EGD bring to a project. We like the team’s approach and vision, and their ability to create golf courses that are unique in style, challenging but also enjoyable for all golfers.
“Our objective is to make the Plage des Nations Golf Resort an iconic venue inNorth Africa, and we know Colin and EGD will help us deliver this.”
The Plage des Nations Resort, one of the largest developments of its kind in North Africa, will occupy a site offering breathtaking elevated views of the Atlantic Ocean. The 18-hole, Par 72 golf course will wend its way through valleys and an undulating downland landscape set back from the beachfront.
Colin Montgomerie said: “We’ve got interesting terrain and changes in elevation to work with, which is helping us to create a lively and intricate, strategic design. We will be having some fun with the contouring, to encourage more golfers to play more creatively. I am keen on designs that test a golfer’s initiative & decision making, so Plage des Nations is going to be a definitive expression of that philosophy. It will be challenging putting it together and we’re confident that the end result will be a beautiful, testing and fun golf course.”
EGD is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2012, with its team of acclaimed architects making their mark on more than 50 golf courses on four continents, most notably, the Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor, venue of the 2010 Ryder Cup. As well as Colin Montgomerie, EGD offers signature design golf courses with Annika Sorenstam, Bernhard Langer as well as players from the European Tour.
Jeremy Slessor, Managing Director of EGD, said: “Signature design is proven to raise the profile of many developments, adding value to sales of golf tourism packages, membership and real estate.
“Colin Montgomerie and EGD have worked on a number of projects and what you get with Colin is a hands-on approach and involvement from a world-class player who has an instinctive talent for golf course design. He has a clear idea of what he expects of a course bearing his name and Plage des Nations is an exciting prospect that we look forward to working on together.”
European Golf Design www.egd.com