New course planned for Virginia
A new, non-real estate private golf course is planned for Roanoke County, Virginia.
The Kinloch principals - golf course architect Lester George and sports agent and amateur great Vinny Giles of Richmond, along course developer Landscapes Unlimited of Lincoln, Neb. - have added name-power with the participation of Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer and financial backing and development expertise from Roanoke architectural and engineering firm Balzer & Associates.
Situated on 370 acres and boasting 50-mile views down the Blue Ridge Mountains in some places, Ballyhack Golf Club will not be the typical private club, according to Landscapes Unlimited Chief Executive Officer Bill Kubly.
Kubly, who is a partner in Sand Hills Golf Club, the No. 1-ranked Modern Golf Course in America in remote Mullen, Neb., and has built and developed 16th-ranked Sutton Bay Golf Club in remote Agar, S.D., said Ballyhack will have the best of both worlds.
Let’s hope that Beamer’s participation is not finding the help - like the Vick brothers.
Laid over 190 acres, it will boast 50- to 70-foot elevation changes over a Scottish highland-type design, with old-style, gouged-out, roughed-edge bunkers, fairways as wide as 150 yards, and bunkers galore.
Two holes will share a double-green and the greens will average 8,000 square feet, allowing golfers to play a variety of different approach shots. Five sets of tees will give players the opportunity to play the course as long as 7,250 yards, or as short as 4,900 yards.
Construction of the clubhouse and cottages will take place next summer, and the club is expected to open in the fall of 2008 or spring of 2009.
Hmm… sounds interesting. So does “fairways as wide as 150 yards”. I’ll keep an eye on this one.
