Magazine - N.Z Resort will be in a League of its Own

By Editor in Golf on 1st Jul 2009 11:55

The 18-hole golf course in the approved $300 million Gibbston Valley Station resort will not vie with The Hills to host the New Zealand Golf Open, the company says.

Gibbston Valley Station managing director Greg Hunt said the Greg Turner-designed course, on the terrace between the Kawarau River and State Highway 6, would be different from other courses in the district.  It would be a "Central Otago-style" course, where golfers could enjoy the unique terrain, rather than a championship-style golf course.

"We're in an environment where we're not going to have bunkers. We'll be using the existing schist outcrops, the clumps of old man matagouri and the Kawarau River boundary to create our hazards."  Mr Hunt said the affordable resort would be marketed in New Zealand and Australia to mature travellers interested in wine, food and golf, and to active families and couples keen on the recreational equestrian, walking and cycling trails.

"Golfers will play in the spring and fall, so it adds a strong tourism element in those shoulder seasons for the entire Wakatipu basin."

The project was being privately funded by partners Phil Griffith, Greg Hunt, Bill Hartman, Mike McPherson and Mike Stone. Outside financial institutions were not involved, Gibbston Valley Station said.

Mr Hunt said it was a relief resource consent was granted to build the resort after more than two years of consultation and refinement of plans.

The rest of the year would be spent on planning, preparation of working drawings and marketing ahead of the official project launch at the Gibbston Harvest Festival, in March 2010.

A marquee would feature a model of the resort, present information and Gibbston Valley Station representatives will be on hand to answer community questions.  "We're looking at summer 2010 into 2011 to start the first stage of construction," Mr Hunt said.

The Vintners Village hub of the resort would feature 13 commercial buildings, including staff accommodation, on 3000sq m of land.



Source & More: www.odt.co.nz

Read more articles in Golf, by Editor or from July 2009.