Few of us, anywhere in the world, will be too sorry to see the back of 2020. But it is in my nature to seek silver linings in clouds, so I will remember the year that COVID shut the world down rather more fondly than most.
This year gave us a chance to sit down and think about where we are heading as a design firm and what is important to us. Re focusing our design philosophies and start planning for the future ahead has been a great success of this year.
Now, as the world appears to be waking up, it is important that we keep looking ahead and up. We in the golf industry know the positive effect that COVID has had on the game: it seems almost like a reset. That isn't a bad metaphor for life and work as a whole.
I hope everyone has a wonderful and peaceful festive season and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in 2021.
Tim
New Canadian client on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast
Lobb + Partners is pleased to announce that its Canadian office, run by associates Alex Hay and Oliver Tubb, has been appointed to conduct a course review and provide a hole-by-hole documentation of the nine hole Pender Harbour Golf Club, located on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast.
This review process and the resulting submission will enable L+P, in conjunction with course Superintendent Allan Dewald, and the volunteer member board, to prioritise a list of golf course improvement projects. The course review and priority list will then form the foundation for future planning, and course improvement decisions, driven by the understanding that PHGC is a smaller, community-focused club, which recognises the need to innovate and to provide consistency in course planning and improvements process.
 |
The dramatic tee shot on hole two at Pender Harbour Golf Club in Canada. |
"Not only is PHGC a memorable golf experience and wonderful example of a successful community golf course, it is also example of passionate, innovative, forward thinking people, who have come together over their love for golf. We are really excited for this opportunity and look forward to working with Allan and his team, along with the society members, to help craft a sustainable vision and plan for course improvements," said Oliver Tubb. The review work is scheduled to commence over the forthcoming winter.
Read full
press release here >>
Our new course in Ankara opens for preview play
The Regnum Golf & Country Club Ankara, the first full-size golf course in the Turkish capital, has opened for preview play. It is the third project that Tim Lobb has completed with developer Fikret Ozturk, joining the Regnum G&CC in Bodrum and Carya Golf Club in Belek.
The course is laid out on a 200 hectare site located 30 km from the Turkish capital and has over 70 metres of elevation change. Lobb says he is working closely with course superintendent Ufuk Dincer on "giving a wide and strategic playing experience on this rolling, open site, which is very different to most other tree-lined courses found in Turkey".
 |
Stunning long views dominate the new 18 hole course which opened in Ankara recently. |
"We tried to avoid straight uphill holes and worked hard to bounce holes off the contours in a natural fashion, slowly rising and falling in altitude," adds Tim. "It was quite a challenge to keep the course walkable because of the elevations and expansiveness of the layout but I think we achieved it and that is important for human well-being and golf enjoyment.
"The broad landscape and grand scale of the project helped to plan for a minimalistic and soft horizon design line to the holes and shaping. The immense long views back to Ankara were to be the star of the show with the dominant long vistas across the site, not fiddly mounding or small structures interrupting the scale."
Read the
Golf Course Architecture article here.
Tim reflects on twenty five years in the golf design business
Tim Lobb is celebrating twenty-five years in the golf design business, although he didn't at first know he had reached the milestone!
"We are bidding for a job in Asia, and the client asked for a CV of my life and work," he says. "In drawing up that resumé, I realised that it was exactly twenty-five years ago that I came into the industry, working for Ted Parslow in Malaysia. So I stopped to think about it, and on reflection, you cannot help but reflect on the way the business has changed since then."
Environmental issues, Tim reckons, are the single biggest change since the 1990s. "We have improved our environmental sensitivity - and our understanding of sustainability generally - massively since I first came into the industry," he says. "Additionally, I think architects are much more accountable for their designs these days. Back in the 1990s, some of the design work was really not very site-specific and was very cookie-cutter. Frankly, a lot of it was extremely over-the-top. I think there is much more understanding among architects now of the day-to-day issues of maintenance and management. Even designing greens has changed a lot. They have got bigger and faster, and there is more thought going into contours."
But there is one thing, according to Tim, that is exactly the same now as it was in the middle-nineties. "I still hand-draw everything!" he laughs.
Click the play button above to watch Tim talking about his 25 years in the golf business.
Worplesdon Golf Club starts final phase
The multi-year renovation programme led by Lobb + Partners at the historic Worplesdon Golf Cub in Surrey, England, will start its third and final phase this winter. The work, which will focus on holes 11-15, including the stretch of the course on the far side of the Bagshot Road, will incorporate the reinstallation of heather on bunkers, and the restoration of the necklace/horseshoe bunker on the famous par three thirteenth hole.
 |
Phase III commences at Worplesdon Golf Club with the restoration of the 'horseshoe' bunker at hole thirteen. |
"We have had a lot of joy and satisfaction working at Worplesdon," says Tim. "Obviously it is local to us, but also it has been a great opportunity to spend three years working on such a well-planned project with a very forward-thinking club. The landscape restoration element of the work, which is something I am very passionate about, has really been embraced by the club, which is very focused on its vision. Contractor Frank Lovell has been great to work with, and club secretary Chris Lomas and course manager Paul Robinson are both very high quality individuals. We are really proud of what has been done, and we're looking forward to finishing with a bang."
Virtual meetings - the way forward?
The COVID pandemic has hit golf designers hard, because of its effect on global travel. But one bright side to the crisis has been the increased use of technology to replace travel - which has obvious benefits, from both financial and sustainability perspectives.
Lobb + Partners has been adapting to this trend throughout the crisis, starting with Tim's popular 'virtual pub' sessions during the first lockdown, which kept many people across the industry in touch when travel was completely impossible. Just recently, the firm presented a session to a Canadian National Golf Course Owners Association 'virtual conference' about renovation, sustainability and ROI, along with Sam Thomas of the Golf Environment Organization.
 |
| LOBB + PARTNERS were asked to be guest speakers at the recent NGCOA virtual conference in Canada. |
Commencing in December we also started our own regular quarterly webinars to superintendents and general managers in North America and Europe discussing various design related topics.
Canadian-based partner and design associate Alex Hay said: "I was doubtful about the effectiveness of virtual events - but with today's technology they are really powerful, educational and give a great community spirit to our industry. Even when we get back to normal I think there will be an important place for virtual meeting and conferences."
If you would like to join our quarterly webinars in the future please email
ahay@lobbandpartners.com to express interest.
Who are we?
LOBB + PARTNERS is a multi discipline practice providing comprehensive golf development services for golf course design, existing course renovation/ restoration, master planning, architecture and landscape architecture.
To learn more about LOBB + PARTNERS
view our new corporate video.
Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
