Golf Course Architecture vefmiðillinn tók viðtal við vallarhönnuði stækkunar Urriðavallar

Hér fyrir neðan er viðtal á ensku við vallarhönnuði stækkunar Urriðavallar sem Richhard Humphreys hjá Golf Course Architecture tók við Bruce Charlton og Mike Gorman sem sjá um hönnunina. Setjum smá fyrir vara á opnun á stækkun enda verkefni ennþá í hönnun en gaman að fylgjast með fyrstu skrefunum. 

Bruce Charlton and Mike Gorman of Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects are designing new holes for Oddur Golf Club near Reykjavik, Iceland, and will reconfigure the existing 18-hole golf course to create a 27-hole facility.

“This project grew out of the club’s ambition to evolve into one of Iceland’s premier destinations for golf, while enhancing the golf experience for their avid members,” said Charlton, president of RTJ II. “Oddur also wanted to attract golfers from the expanding international traveller popularity that Iceland is currently experiencing.

“The vision is to expand from 18 to 27 holes while maintaining the club’s natural character and emphasising a walkable, fun golf course, with three, nine-hole loops returning to the clubhouse. Our goal is to enhance Oddur’s existing, lofty reputation by creating a new nine that is timeless, strategic and fully integrated with the existing course.”

The new holes will weave through a lava canyon and the base of a lava-formed mountain (Photo: RTJ II)

Gorman, senior project architect at RTJ II, said: “The new holes sit on land that is ideally suited for golf. We’ll be moving very little earth, instead, we’ll be working carefully with the extraordinary lava rock formations that Mother Nature has given us. We’ve spent considerable time walking the site to identify the best holes, how they connect and to establish a routing that flows naturally, with very short green-to-tee connections. It will be golf that feels discovered rather than constructed.”

Feature shaping is schedule to begin in 2026, with the 27-hole facility ready for play in 2027.

“The new holes occupy some of the most dramatic and natural land on the property,” said Charlton. “One part weaves through a lava canyon, offering both strategic interest and striking visuals. Another sits at the base of a lava-formed mountain, where the natural topography provides ideal golf ground. With minimal land movement, the holes will retain their rugged quality, playing into bowls and along ledges, ridges and all sorts of interesting terrain.”

“The new holes occupy some of the most dramatic and natural land on the property,” says Bruce Charlton, president of RTJ II (Photo: RTJ II)

Gorman says that the project will comprise 11 brand-new holes and parts of the existing course will be reconfigured to create a transformed 27-hole golf experience.

“Iceland is a phenomenal country for golf, shaped by dramatic landscapes,” said Gorman. “It boasts an avid golf community and a culture that values the outdoors. Oddur reflects all of this. We’re excited to contribute to the club’s evolution and look forward to welcoming golfers from around the world to experience a truly unique setting and golf experience.”

The project also includes the relocation and design of a new nine-hole short course.

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/rtj-ii-set-to-transform-icelands-oddur-club-into-a-27-hole-facility