St. Anna Golf Club 40+ years in the making!

ST. ANNA GOLF CLUB

Arenzano, Italy

I'm shocked! I thought I would write something about this course we have been working on for "several years". Thinking we have worked on this project for about 6 years, I searched our file and discovered we first visited St. Anna in May 1995 - 12 years ago! I'm sure I have pictures of the first site visit, but I'm also sure I can't easily find them. I remember overlooking a very dramatic (i.e. steep topography) site and wondering how we would ever design quality golf in this landscape.

St. Anna is located approx. 20km from Genoa, Italy, near a small and historical fishing village named Arenzano. This region of Italy is comprised of steep mountains that end abruptly at the Mediterranean Sea. The landscape is severe, and years of subdividing land interests have resulted in tiny land parcels with diverse ownership. These conditions conspired to make golf a difficult prospect. Consequently, very few golf courses occupy this region.

The physical constraints are only part of the story: St. Anna’s developer; Sr. Mario Valle, first conceived the idea of a golf course in 1963! It is difficult to comprehend today but he embarked on a journey that would take 44 years to complete. In the 1960’s, Robert Trent Jones Sr. was probably the most internationally recognized golf course architect. Sr. Valle contacted Mr. Jones to design the golf course. With Mr. Jones help, Sr. Valle identified the land needed for the golf course, and started, what would become a 30 year process to acquire the land and entitlements for the golf course.



Ing. Mario Valle instructing the Mario (Superintendent)

 In 1995, we were working on a golf course near Milan – Circolo Golf Bogogno. We were invited by our client, a close friend of Sr. Valle, to visit Arenzano and the proposed site for the golf course. Around 1999, we entered into an Agreement to design the golf course.

 

 The file for this project is intriguing. For example:
· In 1998, our Microsoft “Word” version changes.
· In January 2000 we sent a facsimile announcing our newly acquired AutoCad capability.
· In 2001, the facsimile transmissions diminish, signifying the beginning of e-mail predominant communications in our office.

Early in the project, when I was still harboring concerns about the feasibility of the golf course, I met with a local geologist to discuss the geomorphology of the site. The site, which is between 60m and 145m above Sea level, was underwater centuries ago. (A bypass channel, excavated during construction, contained a petrified tree that was carbon dated to several thousand years BC.) The geologist warned of the instability of the subsoil, making excavation on hillsides precarious. This warning would prove sound, as we needed to excavate a hillside adjacent to the 6th hole. The mountain did start to slide and we ended up installing an expensive drain system that eventually stabilized the slope.

Fortunately, Mario Valle’s main business is engineering and construction. So, they were well suited to provide expert advise and assistance with all the technical matters related to the construction. In fact, Dr. Massimo Gazzo, the project engineer and supervisor (for Mario Valle) was instrumental in designing and coordinating all the complex earthmoving and drainage for the project.

In another installment, I will attempt to summarize the construction process, which was far more complex than anything we’ve previously attempted in Europe; for example, we filled a 35 meter (100 feet) deep river valley to create 5 golf holes. Also, I will provide some thoughts about the design process for a golf project that spans more than 10 years (in fact, we have just completed another lengthy project, Anfi Tauro Golf Club in Gran Canaria.) The process has been enlightening for me and it may be interesting for you.