Marriott Golf Unveils Nick Faldo Designed Championship Course at Cottonwood Hills Golf Club

Course, Located In Hutchinson, Kansas, Combines The Modern Features Of Today's Contemporary Golf Designs With The Rugged Terrain Of Scottish-Style Links Courses

by C&RB Staff (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
June 2007
 

Marriott Golf one of the world’s premier golf operators and the world’s largest resort golf management company, in partnership with Cottonwood Hills, LLC, today unveiled the Nick Faldo-designed Championship Golf Course at Cottonwood Hills Golf Club, in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Faldo, a Six-Time Major Champion and highly acclaimed International Golf Course Architect, carved this masterpiece out of the natural sand dunes of Central Kansas to provide a unique golf experience that is unparalleled anywhere in the Midwest.  

“As golf sites go, this is an incredible piece of land.  When I first visited Cottonwood Hills, I was immediately struck by the rugged sandy terrain that reminded me of the classic links land of the British Isles.  There are also similarities to Pine Valley and Royal Melbourne in Australia so this has been a very interesting canvas on which to work,” said Faldo.  “We were asked to create an exceptionally challenging but fair golf course that would offer a championship-standard test of golf.  I think that our design perfectly responds to that brief and may have even exceeded it – in fact, I feel that we may have produced a golf course here at Cottonwood Hills that is truly worthy of hosting a Major championship.”

An open-to-the-public daily-fee course, Cottonwood Hills is beautifully woven into 620-acres of gracefully rolling native sand dunes that are reminiscent of the great Scottish courses.  Complementing the overwhelming natural beauty of the course are indigenous plants that frame each hole, while cedar, willow and cottonwood trees provide shade for the vast blue stem, yucca and plum thickets.  The golf course, which features over 70 fairway and greenside bunkers, plays to a par 72 and offers five sets of tee boxes to allow golfers of all skill levels the opportunity to truly enjoy the golfing experience.  The course measures 7,213 yards from the Tournament Tees, 6,778 yards from the Championship Tees, 6,386 yards from the Middle Tees, 5,858 yards from the Forward Tees and 5,372 from the Front Tees.   

In addition to the 18-hole championship golf course, Marriott Golf will soon unveil one of the finest practice facilities in Kansas at Cottonwood Hills Golf Club, including an expansive practice tee area, a spacious putting green, a chipping green and a practice bunker with a target green.