of No 12, and on either side of that are the eighth and 11th holes. I always felt a trick was being missed at the old 13th with such a breathtaking launch pad to a green 300 metres away. Now, it is a risk-reward short 4 with substance and teeth to it. The burn catches the eye left of the fairway and then curves in front of a green that has so much more char- acter than its predecessor. The Norfolk pines which separated the 13th fairway from the seventh have been removed, so there’s room down the right side. CREATIVE SHAPING OF GREENS This is a part of the course where three greens and three sets of tee boxes congregate, so it could have been too busy. But Golf Data have managed the separation just right with mounding and clever use of space. The sixth has become the second shortest 4 on the course, 291 and 284 metres from the
back tees, with the green moved closer to the tees on a new site that gives it some breathing room from the tees at No 7. It will entice many club golfers to reach for a driver on the tee, yet any- thing crooked could run into trouble. The burn is crucially in play on the left. The green design at six epitomises the care, creativity and superior work- manship that has gone into the trans- formation of DCC’s greens complexes. Golf Data were fortunate to obtain the services of Canadian shaper Alex Li- gowski who has worked with them on previous local projects. The moment you step on to the raised green at No 1 you will see the wonderful shapes, con- tours and capes that run as a constant theme throughout the 18 holes. A talking point already has been the Biarritz “swale” in the middle of an en- larged tabletop green at the Prince of Wales par 3. It’s innovatively smart and
from the clubhouse. A refuse dump be- tween the fifth and seventh became a retention dam, and pumps and valves were installed to push excess water out through a channel at the neighbouring Windsor Park course and into the river. The burn is kept full by ground water. The burn is an attractive feature of the renovation, yet its routing is by no means haphazard. It was designed to influence a golfer’s playing strategy, from the sixth hole through to the 14th, and additionally serve to protect golf- ers. A dangerous area at DCC was the teeing ground of the par-4 11th. Golfers were in the firing line of a hooked tee shot from the elevated tee at No 13. The burn now separates the 11th tee from the 13th fairway, and the safe route on 13 is down the right side of the fairway. The 13th tee sits prominently on what was an old dune. A fabulous position to watch golf. Below the tee is the green
The new green at No 17 has been extended into the side of a dune.
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