Faldo has announced his purchase of Bartragh Island, a spectacular 360-acre dune land property situated near Killala in County Mayo, Ireland. The winner of six Major championships as well as three successive Irish Opens (‘91-‘92-‘93) has become a regular visitor to Ireland. He visited Co. Mayo in 1997 and was immediately captivated by the island and its dramatic setting.
Bartragh Island nestles in Killala Bay and is bordered by the salmon-filled River Moy estuary on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Faldo, well-known as a very keen fisherman, has described the island as the most magical and most extraordinary property he has ever seen.
The former world number one golfer and now acclaimed course designer, believes there may be the potential for his company, Faldo Design, to create a really exceptional links course on the island – “perhaps the best and most unique in the world”.
Faldo Design has completed projects in eight different countries and is currently working in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia-Pacific. Included in its worldwide portfolio are award winning designs at The Sporting Club Berlin in Germany; Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Resort in Palm Desert, California; Chart Hills in England and the Faldo Stadium Course at Mission Hills in Shenzhen, China. Faldo Design has recently been selected to design courses in The Dominican Republic and Russia.
Nick Faldo is very aware of the Bartragh Island’s special ecological status. “The golf links I envisage would be essentially ‘hand-crafted‘, a return to how courses were created long ago; it is an incredible site and it would not be a case of building a course so much as ‘discovering‘ it.
“It would be wonderful to restore the dilapidated Bartragh House and our plans would be appropriately ‘low key‘ and extremely sensitive to the environment. They will only be finalised after we have consulted fully with Mayo County Council and other interested groups in Killala, Ballina and the surrounding area.
“My goal is to draw from and enhance the island’s natural beauty. In so doing, I want to create something that the local community will welcome, diversely benefit from, and enjoy.
“My personal dream is to come here often to relax with my family; with luck, I will one day teach the local fishermen to play golf, and in return they can show me a few tricks of their trade.”
Faldo Design www.faldo-golf.com
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