Penati (Heritage)

Few people will have heard of the Heritage’s designer, Jonathan Davison, whose work to date has centred on Eastern Europe and Ireland. However, we predict that his Heritage course (skilfully shaped by Mick McShane) will become the star in his portfolio.

The rolling sandy ground presented the perfect site and Davison made excellent use of it. Routed in two returning nine-hole loops that at first turn counter clockwise and then clockwise through pine trees, the layout is reminiscent of fragments from the numerous classic courses that were laid out on the famous sand belts of London and Melbourne.

Built with strategy in mind, the Heritage provides golfers with the opportunity to play the running shot on many holes. The Heritage’s small and relatively flat greensites contrast with the big undulating greens on the Legend course and these smaller greens have been shaped thoughtfully with their size variation keeping the golfer guessing. Bunkering is subtle and some may even go as far as to say sophisticated with the sand traps relaxing naturally on the ground.

The following edited extract by architect Jonathan Davison is from Volume Seven of Golf Architecture: A Worldwide Perspective. Reproduced with kind permission. To obtain a copy of the book, email Paul Daley at fswing@bigpond.net.au.

“As it relates to this project, the journey started from the historic city of Prague, where I was completing a project for architect Jeremy Ford and USPGA golfer Alex Cejka. The visit was two-fold: to walk the Nicklaus Design project, which was under construction at the time, and to pitch a proposal for the planned second golf course on the property.

From the golf architectural point of view, much of the landscape we viewed while driving from the border town of Kuty was fairly uninspiring. But that state quickly changed once we approached our designated property. Pines and sandy blow-outs appeared, as did clusters of heather and tufts of fescue. Being overcome with sheer excitement, all of this unfolded within a rolling topography.

From the initial site visit, another five years lapsed before the opportunity to be interviewed for the design of Penati’s second course arose. A restructured investment team was in place, which harboured the desire to complete the resort. My three-part proposal was simplistic: a masterplan, a cut-and-fill plan, driven by spending an inordinate amount of time on-site during construction.

Detailed design plans were pointless, as my on-site attention to matters was the ideal method of gaining maximum return from this beautiful property. Renowned shaper Mick McShane agreed to join the team, prompting regular referrals to him as my ‘guardian angel’. The goal was to create a somewhat traditionally styled golf course, backed by a minimalistic approach to design and construction.

We envisaged a new layout that featured wide fairways, while the greens would become natural extensions of the fairways, with swales and hollows to create character and shot-options. Bunkers would be small and detailed, with rugged edges and high sand lines. Micro-contours and wind-blown landforms were to be left intact, even if this obscured several vistas to the greens.

Upon my appointment, the routing had already been established by a local engineer. Tree-clearance had been undertaken. The initial routing consisted of two loops of nine, and both returned to the clubhouse. The front nine culminates in an exciting Cape-style hole that wraps around a portion of the 24-hectare lake. The back nine features greater elevation changes and terminates under the clubhouse terrace.

Construction was hardly drawn-out. In fact, from the first blade of material moved, to the final seeding, construction was wrapped up in a total of eight months. Our team was diligent, yet it shows what is possible when favourable site conditions prevail. Commencing in April 2012, the course was completed by early November that year. The Heritage golf course opened in August 2013 and soon afterwards positive commentary flowed through.”