How times have changed. Today, all around the world and especially in Asia where golf course developments are increasingly being scrutinised, designing in simpatico with the environment is essential.
One design/development team fully embracing this new mantra is Paul Jansen and Laguna Resorts and Hotels. Together, the duo has just completed its second project – Laguna Phuket in Thailand – that put the environment first and foremost in redeveloping a 22-year-old layout.
Re-opened in January after an 18-month makeover, Laguna Phuket has become a new star in Thailand’s booming golf industry, demonstrating that sound environmental design enhances rather than hinders golfers’ playing experience.
Laguna Phuket’s resurgence follows the development of Laguna Lang Co in Vietnam, where Paul Jansen worked alongside Sir Nick Faldo.
Both courses have been widely hailed by golfers, media, architects and tour operators for their environmental responsibility, visual attraction and playability.
In a video message screened at the re-opening of Laguna Phuket Golf Club in January, Banyan Tree Holdings owner, K.P Ho, said the company had made environmental sustainability a key consideration in all its resort and golf course developments.
“I think every golf architect makes the environment a key consideration and particularly today where the focus is on sustainable and responsible design,” Paul Jansen says. “I would like to think the days of ‘excessiveness’ in golf design are behind us. Instead the focus should be utilising existing features on site and doing away with anything foreign – at least features that complicate playability and add to the cost of maintenance.
“For example, at Laguna Phuket we reduced the amount of sand areas by more than half. Instead, we highlighted and enhanced many natural features for both strategic interest and visual effect. In no way was the golf course compromised. In fact, it is now much more identifiable, strategic – and certainly more interesting and fun to play.”
Fairways and tees were also planted with zoysia matrella, a grass species that requires minimal input and is particularly drought tolerant.
Jansen is a strong advocate of ground contouring. “This is evident at both Laguna Phuket and Laguna Lang Co,” he explains. “Why wouldn’t you want to use more contouring in design, particularly from a sustainability perspective? Ground contours are cheap to build and maintain, offer as much interest as any other golf feature, help manage surface drainage and promote speedy play.
“My appreciation of ground contours came from more than 10 years living in Europe. I spent a lot of time studying coastal courses in the United Kingdom, Ireland and even Holland where there are many wonderful examples of ground contours that influence play. I have also been fortunate to spend a lot of time with Sir Nick Faldo, listening to him talk about ground contouring and strategic design. This has helped me to appreciate the fine art of contouring a golf course.”
Jansen is also committed to regenerative design. “We hear about sustainable, responsible design, with which I agree. But regenerating lost systems back into existence – where possible – makes me smile that bit more,” he says. “And what about a golf course being more than just a golf course? That is a step even further.
“At Laguna Lang Co, Sir Nick Faldo and I insisted on regenerating up to 3ha of rice paddy that had been fallow for some time. The result made the golf experience more unique, characterful and identifiable, while the resort is able to produce up to 30 tonnes of rice from two harvests a year.
“Having grown up in Africa, I spent a lot of time outdoors in the bush. When you grow up in that environment you have a close affinity with it. It is probably one of the main reasons why I am most attracted by golf courses that are identifiable through their surrounds – probably more than anything else. Golf courses like the Delhi Golf Club in India, Hans Marensky in South Africa and Utrecht de Pan in Holland are attractive to me because they embrace their surrounds so well.
Paul Jansen says “absolutely nothing” went to waste in the Laguna Phuket redevelopment. “Cleared trees were used as wood chips in the rough areas, and for steps and benches. We even used excess wood to build wood ties, which were placed on some of the steeper slopes. Instead of burying all the roots, we threw some in the water bodies for effect and to attract birdlife. This worked really well.”
The golf director at Laguna Phuket Golf Club, Paul Wilson, says many new water plants were introduced around the course to enhance existing lagoons during the redevelopment.
“Within weeks we saw an abundance of wildlife bring the golf course to life, including large fish, a variety of birdlife and other animals. Also, juncus grasses, bulrushes and water lilies give the surrounding lagoons a fantastic natural appearance and also benefit the overall ecosystem. Paul Jansen even introduced some traditional Thai fishing boats to the lagoons to give a real sense of place to the course.”
Australian golf course architect, Harley Kruse, who designed Greg Norman’s courses at Mission Hills China and Danang Golf Club in Vietnam, says there is “enormous potential” to achieve ecological balance in all new and redeveloped golf courses that occupy 80 to 90 hectares of land including 30ha of mown surfaces.
“It is more than simply a visual aesthetic,” he says. “Biodiversity, respecting an indigenous landscape (when it exists) and restoring landscapes that have meaning are very important considerations. If done correctly, they will become valuable pieces of land in all respects.”
Kruse, who works extensively in China and other parts of Asia and is a sustainability associate of the UK-based Golf Environment Organisation, says golf course architects have a responsibility to bring environmental considerations to the attention of owners and developers. “I’d like to think that, in time, it will become a requirement, but at the moment there aren’t many specific rules and regulations. This doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be. In fact, with courses increasingly competing for rounds of golf, the environment needs to be a characteristic of every course.”
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