Doak designs the first of three courses at Remington Ranch.
Traverse City, MI (February 12, 2007) – Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf Design have broken ground on Wicked Pony, a new private club which will be part of the new Remington Ranch resort development outside of Redmond and Bend Oregon. The course is scheduled for completion by July 2008.
Winchester Development is developing the new Remington Ranch Resort. John Shaw, President of Winchester Development, has a recent history working with Doak as a founding member of Tom’s Stone Eagle Course in Palm Desert, Calif.
"This was the third call I had received about designing a course in central Oregon in less than a year, so my first reaction was, well, I guess I am going to keep getting these calls until I commit to a project," said Tom Doak, President of Renaissance Design. "I hoped this would be the right one for us, and it was. I was impressed with John Shaw’s commitment to the golf course; we really had our pick of the 2,000 acres, and there was a lot of good land to choose from."
Wicked Pony will be an invitation-only, single membership private golf club stretched over a large swath of Remington Ranch’s 2,079 acres. The course will be situated in a private, gated community and will feature just 67 home sites averaging 2+ acres in size. Ranch cabins will provide overnight lodging for members and guests who will also enjoy a 12,000-square-foot clubhouse with locker facilities and member-only dining. In keeping with the tradition of great courses, Wicked Pony will be a "walking only" experience.
"The land features native sand areas, sage, and rock with patches of open sandy soil that popped up in places where the sage and juniper where present. Our goal is to expand those sandy areas and to use them as a playable transition area between the fairways and the native vegetation", said Doak.
Doak will use the great Pine Valley golf course as a reference to bring out the unique land features present throughout Wicked Pony. This will create island fairways and greens surrounded by the native sand areas, sage, and rock.
"Pine Valley is routinely ranked as the best course in America, and it’s also got a reputation for being one of the hardest courses in the world. I’m not saying we will be able to achieve all the same things, but it’s a good case study for what we are building," Doak explained.
Wicked Pony will be Tom Doak’s second design in Oregon following his award winning Pacific Dunes course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. How will Wicked Pony be distinguished from other Tom Doak-designed courses?
"I think the native areas I’ve described will give the course a feel of its own; certainly different than any other course we’ve designed to date. But more than that, I think John (Shaw) is really pushing us to be daring in our design and to try and create something exceptional. We’re trying to live up to that challenge. I’m not sure just how it will manifest itself; that is what the next six months of work will be about."
The Remington Ranch Resort will feature two private golf courses, and one public course, 800 homes, and 400 overnight units on the 2,100-acre resort. Half of the property will remain open space. The housing community will also have foot, bike, and equestrian paths. For more information visit www.remingtonranch.com.
Tom Doak has inspected over 1,000 of the world’s best golf courses on five continents and has established himself as an expert in classic golf course architecture. His designs are thoughtful and strategic, and he strives to make each new course an original work of craftsmanship. His firm, Renaissance Golf Design, is based in Traverse City, Michigan. Its website is www.renaissancegolf.com.
Contact:
Kevin Frisch (989) 614-0241, kevin@resortandgolf.com
Dave Richards (248) 642-6420, dave@resortandgolf.com