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Planning a golf course? The planning of a golf course development involves many different factors. Marketing studies, site suitability reports, planning permissions, project team selection, construction management and golf course operation are just some of those which must be considered, programmed and costed. As we work closely with the leading Golf Course Consulting companies like Braemar Golf, and also with leading local architects and consultants, we are in the position to offer services in all steps of a typical Golf course planning and design process. Site Requirements The amount of land needed for golf development will vary depending on the type of golf course planned (i.e. tournament, resort, residential, private, pay and play etc), how many holes, extent of practice facilities and so on. However, on average, an 18 hole golf course with a practice area will require between 60 and 90 hectares of usable land. Typically golf courses set within a residential development require more land because of the additional safety margins which are required. Sites which comprise steep terrain, protected zones or are of an irregular shape also need to be larger. Steep slopes often lead to extensive earthworks in order to make them suitable for golf. Similarly, very flat sites may also require considerable earth movement to facilitate surface drainage and to create fill material in order to build golf course features. The ideal site has gently undulating landforms which are capable of forming natural locations for greens, tees and fairways.
What Next? Once the feasibility of the project has been determined it is now time to develop a masterplan in order to investigate precisely the opportunities which are available and to fix the locations of the various project elements within the site. The masterplan should be developed by a project team typically consisting of some or all of the following; - Golf Course Architect - Land Planner - Building Architect - Civil Engineer - Irrigation Designer - Landscape Architect - Ecologist - Planning Consultant (the latter to identify local and national planning requirements and restrictions). Often the golf course architect will play the role of project leader, helping to coordinate the various disciplines. As well as establishing the layout of the golf course and practice facilities he will play a central role in locating the clubhouse and maintenance compound, determining the irrigated area and landscape character, and planning the location, style and size of lakes, streams, walls, bridges and pathways.
Planning Approval During the masterplanning stage the relevant authorities should be approached to determine the submissions which will be necessary to allow planning approval. Requirements for approval differ greatly from country to country and even between regions within the same country. Often the procedure for obtaining planning permission can be lengthy. It is important to fully understand the approval process and its likely programme at the start of the project. In Europe it is common for an Environmental Impact Assessment to be produced as part of the approval documentation and it will often be necessary for the design team to complete much of the detailed design package in order to fulfil the planning submission requirements. The Design Programme On a typical project, Golf Zona can, together with it's Consulting Partners, offer the following services: Carry Out Site Suitability Study; Establish Design Concept - identify clients objectives, assess design opportunities and restraints, review site surveys and prepare conceptual options showing potential locations of all major project elements; Develop Masterplan - Using information gathered from the marketing and site suitability studies and conceptual designs establish final golf course layout, locations of clubhouse and maintenance facilities, road and infrastructure layout. Determine development styles and landscape character. Prepare approximate construction programmes and budgets; Assist in the Preparation of Planning Applications - prepare documentation to enable project approval by local and national authorities; Prepare Detailed Design Documentation – Prepare contract documents, plans and specifications to allow the project to be tendered. These documents may include some or all of the following: - Grading Plans - Drainage Plans - Clearing Plans - Irrigation Plans - Grassing/Landscape Plans - Green, Tee and/or Bunker Details - Construction Details - Specifications and Bill of Quantities;
Contact us to assist you in your Golf Project Development, we would be glad to work with you. * some general guidelines of EIGCA were used in this article |
