Masterplan

The site is divided in main landscape character areas as follows:

- Peaty swampy area on the north side of the site.
- Woodland crossed from west to east by the Finnley River
- Ross Park that borders the SSSI area on the eastern side.
- Woodland with the lake on the eastern edge and crossed from west to east by a natural burn

The site offers many opportunities such as the lake, two streams, and specimen trees in the Ross Park; all of those features will be used in the design. There are also many good views towards the north, the east and the south of gentle rolling hills especially from Ross Park. The south-east part of the site offers amazing views of the lake and the hills. The site is quite flat, but there are some mounds that could be used as high points in the woodlands in the southern part of the site.

Due to environmental concerns I decided to mainly develop the golf course in the Ross Park area, because of the superior condition of the soil, and less tree clearings are required.
I tried to clear woodlands as least as possible, especially in the southern part of the site, of course in order to use the shore of the lake to built golf holes, some tree cutting activity is necessary.
The northern side of the site is covered by peat, which is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter that forms in wetlands, for that reason the soil here is very poorly drained and it needs to be filled with backfill material in order to be suitable for golf course development.
Due to the challenging ecological conditions of peat wetlands, some environmental organizations and scientists are trying to protect them, when developing the golf course I tried to avoid these areas as much as possible, and when I had to use them I create short holes with target landing areas.

Considering all the natural features existing on the site, I took the maximum advantage from them, designing a strategic course, giving multiple routes on almost every hole, balancing risk and rewards and giving to the high handicap golfer a safe route to reach the green with one shot more than is required. In some holes hazards have to be faced, those holes imply strategy as well, because the decision of carrying the hazard or laying up makes higher rewards for the brave player.

In starting my design process I chose 3-4 natural locations for the greens, I fixed 2-3 holes that are from my point of view already designed into the landscape, I tried to use many of the few high points existing on the site.

I started to design my first routing and I realized that having too many consecutive holes in Ross park, then I realised that it could be boring for the players staying in the same landscape character for an extended time.

In my first routings the holes on the lake were in the first part of the round, but this area is one of the main features of the site and therefore I changed the layout in order to let to the player remember this amazing location as later as possible. However, the location of the clubhouse is on the opposite side of the site and that made it impossible to have these holes at the end of the round.

In the following routings I tried to bring the players to the lake on two different ocasions, but that gave me problems in the spacing of the holes due to too many crossing points and safety issues.

The design process was coming to an end, I did not have anymore problems with the crossing points, I had used almost all of the features of the site: the lake, the high points, the streams, but the flow of the game was too slow.
At that time I changed the position of the final eighth green, this location was in my mind from the beginning of the design process, moving it a little bit south gave me another interesting route to get to the hole.

By looking at my first routings I got the ideas to solve the flow problems. The final layout encountered all the basic ideas that I had at the beginning and also the ones I develop during the process, The layout is characterized by a core and an external loop, the holes change their sequence of landscape character areas often during the round, offering a variety of views, all of which enhance the golf experience.

Holes

Hole no.1 The round starts with a dog leg right, hole is a par 4. Closer to the trees on the right edge of the fairway is the tee shot, shorter will be the second. I created two target landing areas for the first shot and the approach to the green to have as minimum an impact as possible on the peaty area.
Hole no.2 This is a long par 5 played into the prevalent wind, the fairway becomes narrower at 290 yards from the tee where there are two specimen trees, there is a 30 yard gap in the fairway 150 yards before the green.
Hole no.3 This long par 4 has a tree on the right hand side of the fairway, 170 yards from the tee, a specimen tree on the right side of the green frames the green complex with the woodland in the background.
Hole no.4 The tee shot is elevated and the green is between two earth mounds, the river is 70 yards from the tee, so it is not in play for good-medium players.
Hole no.5 The first part of this hole is in the woodland area and then the player comes back into Ross Park. Specimen trees separate different routes to the green.
Hole no.6 This is the longest par 3 of the course, it is characterised by a specimen tree between the tee and the green.
Hole no.7 The main feature of this hole is the river that crosses the fairway, 50 yards before the green.
Hole no.8 This short par 5 offers many routes to the green. An amazing view on the mountains in the background make this hole memorable.
Hole no.9 To get to the green in regulation the player from the tee should aim between two specimen trees, an alternative route is given, but an extra shot is required.
Hole no.10 This is the first of two holes on the lake, a burn crosses the hole 90 yards from the tee.
Hole no.11 This par 5 gives multiple routes to get to the green, playing near the lake, there is a chance to reach the green in two.
Hole no.12 This hole runs through the woodland.
Hole no.13 This par 3 has an elevated tee, a creek runs just before the green.
Hole no.14 The tee is elevated, there are many routes to reach the green, balancing risks and rewards.
Hole no15 This is a drivable par 4, a specimen tree and the river make the tee shot to the green very difficult.
Hole no.16 This par 5 is reachable in two shots, the river and a tree in the middle of the fairway make the player think which way to reach the green.
Hole no.17 This is a short uphill par three, a good opportunity for a birdie in the last few holes.
Hole no.18 The round finishes with a dog leg left hole and is a par 4. Two target areas are created to have less impact on the peaty soil area.