At Home

One of the most beautiful—and most interesting—courses to open recently is APDC’s course at Newport Dunes Golf Club in Port Aransas, Texas. The privately owned club is currently open for public play, and it’s well worth booking a trip to Texas’ Gulf Coast to take advantage. Step onto Newport Dunes and you’re transported out of Texas to, believe it or not, Scotland. This linksstyle course winds through the natural dunes of the Texas coast and comes complete with fast greens, deep sod stacked revetment bunkers, oversized water hazards and plenty of native rough. Newport Dunes is certainly the only course of its kind in Texas.

Newport Dunes (Hole #12) in Port Aransas brings links golf to the Texas gulf coast.

A world away in terms of the style of golf, but not far away on the map, White Oak Golf & Equestrian Community is getting ready to open. The exquisite Arnold Palmer Signature course is located near Tryon, NC, on land first deeded to a local family by King George II in 1743. This residential community will feature horse trails, waterfalls, lush meadows, fishing areas, tennis facilities, an Activity Center with pools and a spa, and even a Celestial Observatory. The Palmer course will hold a great game, while the hills above it will hold a vineyard. With approximately 600 homes planned and a mild four-season climate, White Oak Golf & Equestrian Community is a great place to have an address—no wonder three time major winner Padraig Harrington will call it home.

On the other side of the state, the team at North Carolina State University is closer to practicing on a new course that will be all its own—finally. Up until now, the team has had to practice on public courses but APDC is setting them up well—perhaps they have a vested interest: APDC Architect Brandon Johnson and Executive Vice President Erik Larsen both graduated from the school. Good news for the team, Johnson says the course is close to finished.

“They’ve basically grassed the entire course,” he says. The heavy rain hasn’t helped, but Johnson says the course should be open mid- to late summer next year.

Another great facility in North Carolina opened this year. On June 7, the beautiful Seven Falls Golf & River Club near Hendersonville celebrated the opening of its practice facility and par-3 course. Featuring top-drawer residences and great golf on the banks of the French Broad River, Seven Falls will eventually offer one of the first Palmer Premier golf course developments. It will also offer great fishing and other recreational opportunities. Until the whole thing gets rolling the practice facility, which comprises a 20-acre driving range and 25-acre practice course, gives a taste of the good life that’s on the way.

“It’s more of a par-3 plus,” says Layton. “That was at the request of the owner. He wanted to be able to practice every shot you’d encounter on the golf course. You can hit every club in the bag, starting with a lob wedge and going all the way through to a driver. There’s even a 450 yard, par-4 in there.” Seven Falls’ full course should open in 2009.

Also if you missed it this summer, the APDC course at Balsam Mountain Preserve opened June 6 in nearby Sylva. As much an experience in nature as it is a residential golf development, 3,000 of the development’s 4,400 acres are protected by conservation easements, ensuring everyone who lives at Balsam Mountain Preserve will feel right at home for years to come. An onsite Nature Center and naturalist will help residents appreciate the community, while plenty of trails for hiking and mountain biking will ensure they get out and enjoy it.

U.S. courses in South Carolina, California and Florida are also in development and should be looking green relatively soon.

Tropical Game

Head south from Texas, and you will find Garabu, a new Signature course in Costa Rica under development. David Couch, the lead architect on the project, says “it’s beautiful, we’ve already completed the master plan and feel really good about the routing of the golf course” he says. “It’s going to be big” Couch says. The tropical course will provide a fairly friendly experience along with breathtaking beauty while still challenging the very best players. Additionally, Garabu will have a world class practice facility, and a short game area. Muy Bueno!

Further to the south, APDC Architect Eric Wiltse says a new course in Brazil is going to be fantastic, not least because of the amazing views. “It looks like Kentucky a little bit,” he says, explaining that the property, just outside of Sao Paolo, is on a horse farm, complete with rolling hills and white fences. “It’s really nice,” he says. “It will probably end up being the highest-end development in Brazil for a while.”

Off the continent, the West End development in the Bahamas is well underway. It’s more than halfway done, but likely won’t be grassed until the beginning of 2009. Wiltse says it should be playable by the end of next fall, and that it’s going to be great. “There’s one hole that’s right on [the water], and it’s probably the closest we’ve ever built to the water,” he says. “So you know it’s going to be a nice golf course.”

Another course is underway in St. Lucia, but we’ll have to wait for details. Don’t forget the sunscreen.

Passport–Worthy

On the other side of the world in China, a course in Kunming is progressing well.

“They’re in the middle of it,” says Johnson. “They’re working pretty diligently, pushing to get a March deadline completed. It’s very ambitious.”

Johnson says the team on the ground in China has been pushing hard to get the course done—and we’re happy about that. Not exactly down the street, this course is going to be amazing if not a little difficult, as Johnson explains. With elevation changes of 300 feet above a large mountain lake in Kunming, there are canyons, gorges and lakeside play—meaning challenges aplenty. In addition to the beauty on course, Johnson says the clubhouse will be something to see as well; built in a kind of Balinese style, with wide doors open to the wind that will allow incredible views. Should be great.

Another great Chinese course, Beijing Cascades (near Beijing, of course) features giant waterfalls, 7,000 newly planted trees and an amazing amount of hard work behind the 7,272 yards. It’s built to be the finest in the country, and it’s already been recognized as just that; Golf Magazine China awarded Beijing Cascades “Best New Course in China 2007–2008.”

Further south in Cambodia, APDC vice president John Hamilton says a 36-hole development at Hong Chu is going to set the bar for Southeast Asian golf. Currently in the design phase, the development is set in a national park just three hours south of Phnom Penh. Tigers, elephants, carnivorous plants and all manner of exotica could factor into play—no kidding.

Also in Southeast Asia, Hamilton says courses are planned for Vietnam: an 18-hole course at a casino resort complex in Da Nang, and a 36-hole development in Ho Chi Minh City that will offer both links-style golf and a resort-style course. All the more reason to keep your passport up to date.

Along the Way

Between China and Texas, APDC is planning an exciting new course for the island of Mauritius, off the west coast of Madagascar. Recently underway, Wiltse says the routing is basically finalized. “The whole place is being built from scratch,” he says. “There’s nothing out here but scrub; just coral and volcanic rock.” With a 1,000-foot mountain on the island and plenty of volcanic terrain, this should be a unique—and beautiful—place to lose a few balls among the rocks.

Other places soon to feature APDC courses include Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland and Portugal. We’re guessing there’s plenty more on deck for the U.S. as well, and with our frequent flier miles piling up, we can’t wait to see where the next course will open. Catch you on the road.

Costa Rica's Garabu will be a stunner