Russia is perhaps not the destination that first comes to one’s mind when planning a golf holiday, but this may soon change. The country has 27 golf courses, and many offer the same high standards that can be found elsewhere in the world. The latest addition in this category is the Gelendzhik Golf Resort.
This is the first Russian golf course located on the Black Sea coast. It is nestled in the hills that overlook the beautiful Blue Bay and offers scenic views of the Caucasus Mountains. Gelendzhik is officially set to open in September 2019.
Paul Thomas of Dave Thomas Limited designed the course at Gelendzhik and it was constructed by Football Technology/Russia Golf Design, headed by Michael Puchkov. It is located on more than 90 HA (222 acres), and cleverly routed to offer a sea view on every hole and some significant elevation changes. At each hole, a different variety of flowerbeds and plants are used to give each hole a distinct character.
The Rain Bird IC System™, controlled by Stratus II Central Control, was chosen for the irrigation system. The course also uses the MI Series, providing the team the ability to control the system from the facility, or on a mobile device from anywhere in the world. During construction, the IC System proved to be a valuable monitoring and troubleshooting tool.
“It allowed us to constantly monitor the site during construction, flagging up if machines hit cables and once the system was integral again, we could move on to the next hole. This time-saving, problem-solving monitoring wouldn’t have been possible with a decoder system.”
– Michael Puchkov, Football Technology/Russia Golf Design
