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PRESS RELEASE The Winning Team Over the years there has been a great deal of interest in the combined talents of Steve and Dimitri and having successfully worked together on several prestigious projects over many years and currently on a number of different courses in Montenegro, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Belgium, all of which are at various different stages of development, Steve and Dimitri can offer their joint services to clients who feel their project would benefit from a joint approach. For the right project this collaboration will enable clients to benefit from Steve's wealth of experience and knowledge and Dimitri's new approach to development. Enjoying the very best of both. "Over the years Dimitri and I have worked on many varied and interesting projects. I have watched and supported as his skills have developed and as he has become a creative, dynamic and more complete golf course architect. Together we are a very strong team with an approach and ideas that allow us to challenge the boundaries of our own design concepts." "We work well together because we have the same high standards of technical skill and expertise but more importantly, Steve and I share the same vision and this creates some fantastic work that I am very proud to be a part of."  Following years of discussions the Knokke-Heist City Council have been studying the possibilities of the long awaited second golf course for the town and now plans are submitted for a massive new development on this famous piece of Belgian coastline. After a presentation to the City Council, the Mayor of Knokke-Heist, Count Leopold Lippens personally selected Scottish golf Architect Steve Marnoch, Director of golfmarnoch Ltd and Belgian Architect Dimitri van Hauwaert of Diamond Golf Architects from the many other world class golf architects available to design the new golf facilities for Knokke-Heist. As part of a major recreational development for Knokke-Heist the twenty-seven hole course is included within the overall improvements to the area which are substantial. The master plan for the golf course complex and the improvements for Knokke-Heist are now being shown as part of a public exhibition in Knokke and featured in the book entitled Horizon 8300. Second Golf Infrastructure Complex The development of a second golf complex in Knokke-Heist is part of, and considered a top priority for, the further development of the tourist/recreational infrastructure. As far as the municipal authority is concerned the implementation of the 3 x 9 hole course is vital. Golf is one of the fastest growing and most frequently played sports in the world and appeals to all ages. This rapid advance (which involves children as young as 5 and people at the age of 70 learning to play) means that there are an increasing number of players without the necessary experience and expertise to complete a difficult course successfully. Hence the proposal put forward by Steve Marnoch and Dimitri Van Hauwaert for a 3 x 9 hole course because it can facilitate many combinations depending upon the player's experience. In this way the municipal authority of Knokke-Heist aims to continue the democratisation of golf in Flanders. In order to sustain the development of its future reputation and status Knokke-Heist requires extra golf capacity for various reasons. The provision of a second golf complex supports hotel and congress activity in Knokke-Heist and acts as a spearhead for the further expansion of the tourist/recreational infrastructure of this famous seaside resort. Following the Flemish government's approval of the second golf infrastructure complex, the golf architects Steve Marnoch and Dimitri van Hauwaert developed a master plan that would accommodate international tournaments as well as providing a variety of golfing experiences within the three x 9 hole loops with six tees per hole. Each course has been given an individual character with the eastern course focusing on the theme of water and will link with the existing 'Putten van Dujardin'. The central course is designed as an open, windswept links and the westerly course will be partly integrated into the proposed 35 ha public woodland on the outskirts of the city. The complex will also include practice area, driving range and new clubhouse and parking. A new congress hotel will be developed along Natienlaan to create a direct link to the new golf course. The company Leisure Property Invest nv in cooperation with the community of Knokke-Heist will realise the project. The concept for the golf course presented to Count Lippens was wholeheartedly accepted and approved who wants a splendid golf course and has therefore appointed Steve Marnoch and Dimitri van Hauwaert to produce the designs. The over-riding character for the new complex will be in a natural rolling links style not so dissimilar to the current course at Royal Zoute but introducing new wetland and woodland features and incorporating existing ones. This mixture of pools and wetland dunes within a traditional links landscape is very characteristic of this area of coastal Belgium. As part of the overall Knokke-Heist improvements the Zeno Project in the Zwin Dunes and Polders will aim to protect endangered species and biotypes whilst the new golf project can create areas within the golf course for new habitat creation within former farmland. Detailed designs shall commence during 2010 through to summer 2011 and construction work is due to commence on site in 2012. For more details please contact steve@golfmarnoch.com or info@diga.be
Steve and Dimitri will be attending 'Golf10' in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. www.golf10.be Friday March 5th, 2010 from 1:00 pm till 9:00 pm |
 golfmarnoch Limited  |
 Diamond Golf Architects  |