Chicago Area Golf Course Architect Has Completed Phase One at Ibaraki Kokusai Golf Club
LIBERTYVILLE, Illinois (Sept. 24, 2010) – Chicago area-based golf course architect Rick Jacobson continues to expand his practice internationally, recently completing the first phase of a master plan renovation of the 27-hole Ibaraki Kokusai Golf Club in Japan.
By the time the project is complete Jacobson said he will have installed new greens on all 27 holes (sodding them with A-4 bent grass), renovated teeing areas, redesigned bunkers, and reconstructed cart paths. He also has been contracted to improve and update the practice facility.
“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to enhance the golf experience by upgrading the quality of the playing surfaces and improving various strategic design elements while remaining true to the spirit of the original course design,” Jacobson said.
The first 18 holes (the East Nine and West Nine) were designed in 1960 by noted Japanese golf course architect Giichi Sato, a highly successful Japanese amateur player in the 1930s and’40s. The third (North) nine was designed by noted Japanese golf course architect Osamu Ueda.
At the time the golf course was built, it was common in Japan for courses to be designed with two greens on each hole – one planted with warm season turfgrass such as Bermuda or Zoysia and the other to be planted with a cool-season turf, such as bent grass or bluegrass.
The conversion to a one-green system comes following recent developments in cool season turf grass (i.e., A-4 bent grass) that now can withstand Japan’s intense summer heat while continuing to provide a superior putting surface in the cooler seasons. In addition, many Japanese courses are currently converting to the one-green system to reduce turfgrass maintenance costs, Jacobson said. “The current golf market in Japan is similar to that in the U.S. as courses are now operating with conservative budgets while being challenged to attract and retain golfers during difficult economic conditions.”
Workers broke ground in May on the East Course for the first phase of the renovation, Jacobson said. All nine of its two-green complexes were converted to one green complex per hole, with each green now averaging 650 square meters. Immediate green surrounds were sodded with Korai grass and all other graded areas in the rough or around the bunkers were sodded with Zoysia grass.
In addition, the par 5 8th hole on the East Course was converted to a par 4 and the par 4 9th was lengthened and converted to a par 5.
The second phase of construction will be the renovation of the West Course in 2011, while the North Course will be completed in 2012.
Sato, who designed the East and West nines, is a highly regarded Japanese golf course designer. He designed the Rokko Kokusai Golf Club in Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, site of the Panasonic Asia Pacific Open. Ueda, designer of the North nine, designed Japan’s well-known Koga Golf Club.
Jacobson has been active in international golf course design since he opened his own firm in 1991 following many years with Jack Nicklaus. Jacobson’s first original 18-hole design was the World Country Club in Osaka, Japan.
Jacobson currently is working extensively in China, where his Moon Course at Lion Lake Country Club in Guangzhou was named “Best Golf Course Design for 2009” by China Golf Magazine. The Moon Course at Lion Lake was Jacobson’s first original design in China.
In recent years, Jacobson reunited with Nicklaus domestically when the two collaborated on Bayside Resort and Golf Club in Fenwick Island, Del., The course was named among the top new courses for 2006 by both Golf Digest and Golfweek magazines.
Voted Golf Course Architect of the Year in 2007 by the National Association of Private Clubs and Directors, Jacobson is known nationally for such heralded original 18-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’s work at Sunset Ridge CC in Northfield, Ill. was voted No. 1 Renovation of the Year in 2005 by Golf Inc. Magazine.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801
