Comprehensive Report (golf).docx

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction

1

Site Selection and Evaluation

2

Site Criteria

3

Market Demand and Feasibility

5

Planning

5

Documents

7

Conclusion

8

References

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INTRODUCTION

According to Wikipedia, A golf course is the grounds where the game of golf is played. It comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick ("pin") and hole ("cup"). A standard round of golf consists of 18 holes.[1] Most courses contain 18 holes; some share fairways or greens, and a subset has nine holes, played twice per round. Par-3 courses consist of nine or 18 holes all of which have a par of three strokes. The design and execution of a golf course project, whether a new course or the renovation of an existing one, can be a complex undertaking. Every course and client is different, though much of the process remains similar. The decision to develop a new golf course is serious business. It requires significant time, land, resources and money. In this report, it provides information on how to determine the financial feasibility of your project, how much and what type of land to use, and various aspects of planning.

Types of Golf Course Not all golf courses are available to be played by all golfers. Some are private clubs; some restrict access in other ways or give preferential treatment to certain golfers over others. When grouping golf courses by access, here are how those groups are labeled: Public courses: A public golf course is one that is open to the general public. Everyone who plays golf is welcome at a public golf course. Within the public category, there are two main sub-types - the municipal course and the daily fee course. Resort courses: A resort course is a golf course that is part of a resort property, typically including a large, luxurious hotel, perhaps a spa and multiple restaurants. Some resort courses are open to the public in the same way a daily fee course is, with guests of the resort receiving preferential tee times and discounted green fees. Semi-private courses: A semi-private course is one that both sells memberships and allows non-members to play. Those purchasing memberships might receive preferential tees times and discounted green fees, or access to other club amenities or perks. 1

Private courses: Those that is open only to golfers willing to pay a membership fee to join the club. The costs associated with joining a private club vary widely, with the most expensive costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to join. Those ultra-expensive clubs typically cap membership at a few hundred golfers. At most such private clubs, however, non-members are allowed to play as guests of a member.

SITE SELECTION AND EVALUATION

Choosing the right site can make or break a golf project. The best golf courses throughout the world owe a great deal to their sites — and, of course, how these sites were transformed to create exciting and memorable courses. It’s a matter of viability mixed with appeal – and it is both objective and subjective. Your golf course architect can play an important role in site selection by helping to carefully evaluate alternative sites. And, when a site has already been chosen, a qualified golf course architect is able to provide an assessment of whether the site has the necessary character to create a golf course that will meet the project objectives. What are some of the key aspects in site selection? • Location • Terrain which requires minimal earthmoving • Suitability for an environmentally sensitive approach to golf course development • Quality soil suitable for excellent turf grass The golf course architect, if engaged early enough, can play an important role in selecting the construction site or evaluating alternative sites. The architect can quickly assess whether a prospective site has the necessary character for a golf course or if it has critical issues that would make development as a golf course a problem. Such factors as steep terrain, poor soils, difficult access, zoning and approvals opposition, adverse off-site conditions, lack of adequate water supply and other items should be identified as early as possible to avoid choosing a site that cannot produce a quality golf course.

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Also, environmental issues such as wetlands must be considered. The site must allow an environmentally responsible approach to the development of the new golf course. The source of water for irrigation, topography, overall site drainage and underlying soil condition are major considerations. The location of the site relative to population centers, accessibility, strong area demographics supporting golf and compatible surrounding land uses must be examined. An in-depth site analysis will usually involve a team of professionals such as the golf course architect, civil engineer, land planner, market analyst and legal counsel to provide accurate assessment of the most critical development factors.

TYPICAL SITE CRITERIA

The size of 18-hole golf courses can vary, sometimes drastically, but most courses are between 5,000 and 7,000 yards. But that's just the distance from hole to hole. It takes a large area when you factor in the rough, fairways, tee areas, clubhouse, driving range and practice greens. Most golf courses are spread across 110 to 190 acres. The number of of acres required was determined during a February 2001 survey by the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America. A standard 18-hole golf course requires about 175 acres of usable land in order to have space for safe golf corridors. This area can increase if the site is very open and subject to high wind speeds and can decrease if the course is well contained by topography or trees. Flat is better than too steep, but gently rolling is best. Sites with underlying rock strata or other poor soil conditions can be very expensive to construct. Open fields without too many trees are preferred to reduce clearing costs. The land configuration should not be too irregular with a lot of sharp angles that create difficult spaces for golf routing. Adequate golf play corridors must be provided for safety reasons and to allow for a good relationship between golf and adjacent uses. Having surface waters such as flowing streams or large ponds is a distinct advantage, both for aesthetic and strategic reasons and to provide a reliable source of irrigation water. Factors such as location relative to new growth nearby, markets that are under-served by existing golf or where there is demand for a specific niche in the market that has not been filled can all be candidates for good golf sites. It is good to know if a site has too many wetlands that may be impacted or 3

neighbors who are opposed to new development in their area before proceeding too far. All sites possess their own positive and negative characteristics. Site analysis by a golf course architect will lead to the selection of a site best suited for quality golf. What type of land is best? Gently rolling terrain is ideal, while flat terrain is generally better than steep. Land parcels that accommodate “returning nines” are generally better than odd-shaped parcels that limit options. A site should allow for orientation away from the sun when starting, finishing or practicing. Orientation may be driven by the clubhouse site, which ideally allows for panoramic views. What are the steps in the development process? While every project site and development program is unique, the principles and strategies remain constant. The process for developing golf courses begins with the aforementioned studies and ends after the completed golf course is grown-in and turned over to a qualified golf course superintendent.

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MARKET DEMAND AND FEASIBILITY



Market Analysis – This document will examine the existing golf facilities within the market area, look at demographic data and try to identify market factors that will influence the ability to compete for new members or additional golf play.



Feasibility Study – This document will be the heart of the reports produced. It will take the market data and analyze it in relation to the specifics of the proposed project and make observations about the economic viability. If the findings are not supportive of the project as proposed, most studies will recommend changes to the project such as reducing costs or filling a different niche in the market.

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Economic Impact Analysis – The information found here will be important during the Entitlements phase of the project as it will show how construction of the project will impact the local economy through the amount of jobs created, spending impacts from construction and operations and additional tax revenues generated for local government use.

It will be very important later in the process of obtaining financing for the project that the information presented in the Market and Feasibility Reports is as accurate and creditable as possible. If these documents are to be used for loan financing or investor presentations, a respected and noninterested third party must prepare them.

PLANNING

The role of the golf architect often overlaps the responsibilities of the master planner in decisions regarding the best routing for the golf amenity and allocating the proper amount of space for a safe golf course. The best and most successful projects find the balance between golf and real estate that can achieve high quality for both aspects of the plan. The planning process allows the master planner, golf course architect, engineer and other team members to build value into the project through effective design and planning decisions, while maximizing the opportunities of 5

the site. While every project site and development program is unique, the principles and strategies of the planning process remain constant. The following is a summary of the planning process.

1. Preliminary Program Definition The initial step of this process is to prepare a preliminary description of program elements to be included in the project. The preliminary programming exercise will synthesize the Client’s goals and objectives, project schedule, relevant market data and gather as much mapping information as possible. The golf architect will be involved in discussions about the style of golf course, type of course and the overall vision for how golf fits into the master plan. 2. Analysis/Site Reconnaissance During this phase, each discipline will coordinate with the master planner and begin its respective analysis, both physical and qualitative, to determine the development opportunities and project feasibility. This will include examination of requirements for acquisition of permits and approvals, costs of construction, physical constraints and other factors. The golf architect will contribute his analysis of the suitability of the site for golf and give input regarding the cost of construction of the golf component. 3. Conceptual Design The technical input from the team member’s analysis is interpreted into a series of conceptual land use diagram alternatives, which establish the location for the project elements on the site. These alternatives are reviewed and revised with members of the project team to verify consistency with the project goals and objectives. The golf architect will prepare initial routings of the course to fit within the master plan elements and submit ideas of the style and features of the course. 4. Master Plan Refinement Based on the final conceptual land plan and the market-based product and facilities program, the team will continue the planning process with Master Plan refinements. During this process, the physical and economic plans are combined to finalize the development and business strategy. Refined site plans, economic models, agency submittals and character sketches are coordinated into a cohesive design package. During this stage, the golf architect may be called on to speak at public hearings, meet with regulatory 6

staff and will make revisions to the golf routing as master plan refinements are needed. 5. Design Development During this phase, development areas are studied in greater detail. Site plan enlargements, site sections/elevations and other sketches are prepared to illustrate the critical relationships of project components of the site. These studies begin to establish project “character” and “scale,” and they are the prelude to final construction documents. Often, the golf architect will begin to create contour grading plans to get a sense for overall earthworks and more closely examine how the golf course ties into the real estate and other project amenities.

DOCUMENTS A routing plan has been completed that fits into the overall master plan and that meets the criteria of the developer, a preliminary set of golf course construction documents is often produced. This set of drawings usually contains enough detail to get an idea of earthworks quantity, and to see how the course will fit with environmental measures. Later, after the approval and financing parts of the project are more set, the architect will then need to complete a full set of construction documents. ASGCA architects have the proven ability to provide clear, accurate construction plans and specifications that allow for bids to be received that can be used as definitive guides to the construction process. If construction of a new golf course is to be successful, a set of plans that contain the following types of documents should typically be produced:          

Strategy plan Staking and layout plan Clearing Types and Limits Contour/Grading Cut and Fill Quantity plans Fairway Drainage Greens detail plans Feature construction of tees, bunkers and greens Grassing Construction details

In addition, such items as irrigation plans, cart path construction, master storm drainage, landscape design, environmental protection and others may be 7

produced by other team members or by the architect depending on their individual expertise. However, even if some plans are not actually done by the architect, their production will still be coordinated by the designer to fit within the theme and style of the golf course. Often, adjustments will have to be made to the plans in response to environmental issues that come up during the approval or construction phases. The architect must be able to find a solution to the issue that will protect the environment and still keep the course strategy intact. Other services that are done by most architects include producing a full set of specifications, cost estimates and assistance with contractor selection and bid evaluation.

CONCLUSION

The process of designing a Golf course is much more complex than the usual landscape planning. It takes another specialty on the said project for them to design an appropriate plan of a golf course. In this paper, the process of planning, considerations in selecting site and the feasibility are included to help the designer to come up for the best architectural solution they can create to provide the needs of the clients and also to sustain the environmental ambiance of the location, which are the goals of the project.

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REFERENCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_course https://www.thoughtco.com/the-different-types-of-golf-courses-1563526 https://golftips.golfweek.com/many-acres-needed-18-hole-golf-course1812.html https://golftips.golfweek.com/many-acres-needed-18-hole-golf-course1812.html

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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES College of Architecture and Fine Arts Department of Architecture Sta. Mesa, Manila, Philippines

COMPREHENSIVE REPORT On Golf Courses Submitted by: Oquendo, Francis Louie F. BS Arch 3-4

Submitted to: Ar. Angelito S. Soriano

Date: February 19, 2019