GOLF COURSES
“ Kari and I have talked about working together for a long time ,” says Lobb . “ We met at European Institute of Golf Course Architects ( EIGCA ) meetings , and built a close relationship at EIGCA board meetings when I became the institute ’ s president . I quickly realised that this was the perfect project for us to partner on , and asked her if she was interested – which , thankfully , she was .”
“ The tender documents made specific mention of the needs of the club ’ s junior and senior membership ,” says Haug . “ But in our response , we went much further – we said we wanted to focus on all the golfers who don ’ t hit it far to make sure their game is as much fun . The course has to be open and inclusive for all the different body types who are going to play the golf course , so we will install forward tees to give everyone a choice of length to play . We will include rest stops along the way where needed , which is very important at Pirkkala , because the terrain is hilly and the average age of members is 59 – and a lot of them are finding it harder to walk the course . We are extending the golfing life at both ends : we see golf as a lifetime sport . I call my approach ‘ Playable Pathways™ ’; the way we lay out our forward tees ensures that each tee has a suitable landing area . We also ensure that the ground game is playable and hazards encountered are surmountable if in the pathway to the green . We also want an accessible green for the incoming shot of the slower swingspeed player . Not every woman or senior plays the game the same way , so we need more than one forward tee to make it as playable as possible . There must be a pathway from the tee to the green , but the hole ’ s strategy might not be the same from each tee .”
From left to right , Kari Haug , Tim Lobb , Mika Viitaharju ( Pirkkala chairman ) and Markus Junni ( Pirkkala general manager ) formalising the design appointmeent for the future expansion of Pirkkala Golf Club in Finland .
Jim Ferguson of Turnkey will serve as project manager for the build . “ The site is quite tricky , because it is hilly , rocky and in some areas forested ,” he says . “ We are hoping to sandcap certain areas , but we are going to have to use the native soil , and we don ’ t yet have a clear idea of what it is like – except that it is pretty rocky . For the forest holes , the clearing is not going to be straightforward in timing because of the nesting period for the native birds . We have to stop clearing trees in the spring to allow the birds to nest . But it is a very exciting project – the club is being extremely proactive in the actions it is taking to secure its future . I have never seen a junior section like this one !”
Club general manager Markus Junni says : “ For us this is a vital project to make the club sustainable in the long term – we have a very large membership with a huge demand for golf – and we look forward to seeing what the team – which we believe is an outstanding one – comes up with . We hope to break ground this summer .”
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GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | March / April 2024 27