The new home of the St. Ives Golf Club in Cambridgeshire is nearing completion with the final weeks of growing-in underway on the course and furnishing of the new clubhouse and other buildings underway.
The project is the culmination of many years of effort by the members of the club, who have been successful in selling a portion of their existing 9 hole golf course to a major house builder and using the proceeds to purchase a new site outside of the town and construct an ambitious new facility. Opening of the course is scheduled for early 2010.
The principle designers of the new facility, Cameron Sinclair as the course architect and Charles Mador as the building architect have worked closely together and with the club to create a challenging new 18 hole, par 72 golf course with a beautiful new luxury clubhouse and separate practice facilities from a flat and windswept East Anglian landscape.
Cameron Sinclair has created a unique inland links course at St. Ives, with a length ranging from 5,800 yards to 6,800 yards from four alternative tee positions. He said: “About 250,000 cubic meters of earth as been moved in order to create this golf course. The remarkable thing is that the course looks as if it has been there for ever. It is always very satisfying to start with an uninspiring property and create such a natural product.”
Working within a budget of £3 million Charles Mador has designed and project managed the construction of the new infrastructure and access roads, state of the art maintenance facility, a superb new practice building and the new full facility clubhouse.
“The challenge of the site was to create a unique club with a strong individual character and a welcoming atmosphere,” said Charles. “The very exposed featureless landscape lead to a design based around a sheltered south facing courtyard constructed in a warm stone coloured brick. The involvement of Titleist Acushnet in the practice facilities has provided the opportunity to lift the quality of these far above those of normally found in a members club. The ambition and involvement of the club officers has been the key factor in the new club reaching such high standards.”
Titleist Acushnet have their European Headquarters in St. Ives and have worked with the club and the architects to create a new purpose made custom fit centre at the new course with the focus on practicing professionals and serious golfers.
Mador and Partners Chartered Architects www.mador.co.uk
St. Ives Golf Club www.stivesgolfclub.co.uk