LIBERTYVILLE, Illinois (April 2, 2009) – With his practice continuing to thrive internationally, Chicago area golf course architect Rick Jacobson has completed the design on his firm’s fourth new layout on the Chinese mainland.
The Chengdu Wolong Valley International Golf Club is an 18-hole championship course located at the focal point of a thriving mixed-use residential, commercial, hotel, and retail development in the city of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province situated in southwestern China.
“We are very excited to complete the design on a new 18-hole golf course located in the midst of an incredible city that is both a large regional population center as well as a major hub for international business,” Jacobson said. “The Chinese view golf as a tremendous asset for businesses, families, and friends to build strong relationships in a recreational setting.”
Known as the world’s only breeding and research center for China’s famed giant pandas, Chengdu boasts a 12-month golf season thanks to its mild winters and temperate summer climate. The course is adjacent to a special economic development zone that is the home of numerous international high tech companies and is just 20 minutes from the busiest international airport in southwestern China.
Jacobson said his design has a “Pine Valley theme,” which takes advantage of the site’s gently rolling topography. The concept features large sand waste areas with scrub pines, junipers, and fescue grasses reminiscent of George Arthur Crump’s original New Jersey masterpiece.
“It will have a naturalistic look, not a manicured look,” Jacobson said.
The naturalistic design concept will reduce the need for irrigation and chemical application requirements on turf grass, resulting in an environmentally responsible golf operation, Jacobson said.
The course will be tournament-ready, measuring just under 7,200 yards from the back tees. But, as is the case with all Jacobson designs, the course will be playable for hotel guests and higher handicappers, with the forward tees playing approximately 5,100 yards.
Seven interconnected lakes are strategically located to create a number of distinctive water holes, including No. 2, which features a major waterfall; No. 9, a risk-reward par 5 that requires a shot over water to reach the green in two, and No. 18, where the approach shot to the green must negotiate a water hazard.
The facility will have a large practice area for full-swing, short game, putting, and private instruction. The practice range will feature both natural turf grass and artificial teeing areas with target greens guarded by bunkers that emulate conditions found on the golf course, Jacobson noted. The course is expected to feature a Tuscan-style clubhouse that will provide golfers with dramatic panoramic views across a lake to several golf holes.
In May 2008, Chengdu was 48 miles from the epicenter of an 8.0 magnitude earthquake that killed 80,000 people in the Sichuan Province – including 4,000 in Chengdu – and injured 26,000 more. The golf course project is moving forward as part of the area’s recovery from the tragedy.
Jacobson currently has three other courses under construction in China:
• The 36-hole Lion’s Lake Resort golf course located in a resort community setting near Guangzhou;
• An 18-hole resort course called Chaozhou (JOW-ZO) Golf Club located about an hour by air from Hong Kong.
• The Si Hui (SEE-WAY) Golf Club, a 27-hole “destination” course located in the Guangdong province near the city of Guangzhou (pop. 11 million), better known to the western world as Canton. Guangdong province is the home of Mission Hills, the world’s largest golf resort, just a half-hour by air from Hong Kong.
Jacobson’s other international designs include an 18-hole seaside resort course at the Jewel of the Sea in the province of Calabria in Southern Italy. Jacobson also designed World Country Club in Osaka, Japan, an 18-hole private course.
Jacobson is known nationally for such heralded18-hole designs as Augustine GC in Stafford, Va., Bull Run CC in Haymarket, Va., Bear Trap Dunes in Ocean View, Del., and The Club at Strawberry Creek in Kenosha, Wis.
Jacobson collaborated with Jack Nicklaus on Bayside Resort and Golf Club in Fenwick Island, Del., named among the top new courses for 2006 by both Golf Digest and Golfweek magazines. Jacobson worked with Nicklaus on many of his high-profile projects before starting his own firm in 1991.
Jacobson also is widely known for his renovations of several highly regarded classic courses, including Pete Dye’s Des Moines CC, site of the 1999 U.S. Senior Open; Oak Park CC and Bob O’Link GC, both Chicago area Donald Ross courses; North Shore CC in Glenview, Ill., an H.S. Colt/C.H. Alison course; Glen Oak CC in Glen Ellyn, Ill., a Tom Bendelow course, and Sunset Ridge CC in Northfield, Ill.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801
bcronin@cronincommunications.com
