The courses at Bled, set in the most popular of Slovenia’s Alpine resorts and always considered to be the best in the central and south European region, are to be renovated and remodelled by Howard Swan and his team at Swan Golf Designs, International Golf Course Architects.
The Kings Course, originally designed by Donald Harradine in 1936 is the first to be updated and refurbished in a phase programme of improvement and expansion to create Golf Resort Bled.
This will include an eighteen holes second course, presently nine holes since the mid-eighties, together with a new nine holes course, to be open to the public. This may eventually become a 54 holes complex.
The current practice ground is to be redeveloped into a two ended range and golf academy with chipping, bunker and putting practice and tuition facilities.
The overall plan includes the provision of new irrigation throughout to complement the renovation of greens, tees and bunkers, as well as the development of a long term, environmental management plan and programme. The courses already have a Committed to Green accreditation.
Ljubica Jovetic, SGD’s Croatian architect who will direct the renovation, adds, “It is a great privilege for us to be appointed at Bled and to have the chance to point the golf courses of the resort into the future fifteen or twenty years. We will look to keep the spirit of Mr Harradine’s original design in revitalising the Kings Course.
“Having been responsible for my country’s first two golf courses and the design of the Slovenia’s new one at Otocec, it is satisfying for us to turn our attention to such a famous course at Bled.”
Swan Golf Designs’ evaluation of the existing Kings Course and the recommendations for the way forward are already in place and work to the bunkering will begin in October.
Swan Golf Designs www.swangolfdesigns.com
