Architect of His Own Success
30/10/08
Acclaimed American golf course designer Kyle Phillips made some subtle alterations to the Valderrama course layout ahead of the 2008 Volvo Masters and the man himself was on site during the first day of the end-of-season showpiece to gauge how his changes have been received.
Club de Golf Valderrama is already one of the great golf courses in the world, but with the advance of new technology and equipment, at just under 7,000 yards, the spiritual home of the Volvo Masters is now one of the shorter layouts in the world’s top 100 golf courses.
As a result, Felipe Ortiz-Patiño, President of Club de Golf Valderrama decided that some modifications to the iconic original design by Robert Trent Jones, which had been fine-tuned by Severiano Ballesteros ahead of the 1997 Ryder Cup.
Then the renowned American designer Kyle Phillips, whose signature designs include Kingsbarns in Scotland and The Grove near London was called-in by the Patiño family to carry out the latest subtle but significant changes.
“First, let me say Valderrama is a world class golf course, one of the best in the world and [Robert] Trent Jones created an icon,” says the American adding, “But equipment has foreshortened the course so we lengthened the first and 13th as well as lengthening and realigning the 16th.”
He explains, “The aim was to maintain the integrity of the Trent Jones design, keeping it a strategic thinker’s golf course but just adding a few metres where possible and encouraging the players to take the driver out of the bag more often, take some risks.”
One man who is impressed is 2006 Volvo China Open and Volvo Masters champion Jeev Milkha Singh, who says, “The changes add a lot to the course, especially the 17th, which is now much more of a risk-and-reward hole.”
www.europeantour.com / www.kylephillips.com / www.valderrama.com
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