9 DIGEST ASGCA Fellow John LaFoy has completed a three-hole project on the Windmill nine at Bent Brook Golf Club in Birmingham, Alabama. LaFoy has introduced classic template designs, including a Redan-style green for the short par-four sixth and a Biarritz green on the par-three seventh (pictured), featuring a four-foot-deep swale between two puttable areas. “Both putting surfaces are mildly sloped, as once the ball is on the proper level, the putt should not be terribly difficult,” he said. “Other Biarritz greens are flanked by two long and narrow bunkers, but here, the long bunkers were cut in half – making four of them – to facilitate surface drainage from the swale. “The rear platform, unlike many Biarritz greens, is kicked up a little with a significant center-rear mound to help hold shots that are in most cases hit with a long iron or fairway metal.” Photo: GDS Golf Design Services Furber completes ‘epic journey’ for Canadian course Photo: Mike Klemme GDS Golf Design Services has completed work on the remote RotaryLinks course in Fort McMurray, five hours north of Edmonton in the Canadian province of Alberta. GDS founder and principal Les Furber, ASGCA, says the project has been “an epic journey” ever since he developed the first master plan in 2006. The club has overcome the 2008-10 financial crisis and associated funding challenges, and a huge fire that burned a substantial area of the golf course property. The front nine officially opened in 2019 and construction of the back nine started in August 2020, after the club had received a recreation grant from the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo. “Three of the new holes are integrated into the middle of the existing nine, three others are adjacent to other holes or the driving range, and three are somewhat remote, which was per the original 18-hole design and were to be separated from the rest of the course by real estate,” said Tim Birnie, design associate at GDS. The back nine will have a soft opening in late summer 2022 ahead of an official opening in 2023. John LaFoy designs Redan and Biarritz greens for Bent Brook
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