It’s called differentiation. When a firm has designed 22 separate golf courses in a particular market, the 23rd course must somehow set itself apart. This was the task facing course architect David Dale and his colleagues at Golfplan, whose 23rd course design in South Korea — Haesley Nine Bridges — opened last fall. It has since garnered a great deal of attention for its course design, its clubhouse and, yes, its agronomy.
Courses of quality are certainly not news in South Korea, which has arguably the world’s most dynamic golf course market. More projects are being built in South Korea, at a faster pace, than anywhere in the world save, perhaps, China. What’s interesting about Haesley Nine Bridges is how the owners chose to differentiate the project amidst all the development.
The job 
was particularly difficult because, in a sense, developer Cheil Jedang Corp. was competing with itself. In 2001, Cheil Jedang opened The Club at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, another Golfplan design that is considered the country’s top course (it cracked GOLF Magazine’s most recent World Top 100, at No. 60).
Haesley Nine Bridges was undertaken specifically to leverage the Nine Bridges brand in the economic center of that market, Seoul. But still, “That’s a tough act to follow,” Dale says.
A tough act, but not impossible, as guests might realize when they see the striking, modernist clubhouse. In March 2010, the Haesley clubhouse earned a World Architecture Award and was one of 20 projects honored, from a field of more than 5,600 entries in 127 different countries.
Dale says the layout was crafted in direct response to its sister design in Jeju. “There is a concept for each hole at Haesley, and those were informed by the concepts we used at Nine Bridges,” Dale says. “We adapted these ideas, refined and improved upon them.”
At Haesley, there’s a “sky” hole with a horizon green surrounded by bunkers (the 15th), a speed slot hole (12th), a Cape hole (the 9th), an island hole (the 16th), even a two-island hole — the inimitable 10th. Dale is particular proud of the way these concepts work on their own, and then together in the context of an 18-hole routing: “For example, the 10th is a short par-4, just 300 meters or so, but hazards totally surround the fairway and green. It’s risk-reward taken to the highest degree. However, the 11th hole — a 530-meter par-5 —features a single central fairway bunker that really serves more as a target. It’s wide open. After the 10th, it’s a liberating experience to hit away on 11.
“At 12 and 13, the lateral hazards are reintroduced and I’m still in love with the bunker complexes guarding both greens. I love all the bunkers at Haesley. They’re quite grand in scale and different from anything we’ve done in Korea: high sand flashes, as high as 2 meters. You can stand at the bottom and the lip is over your head! They are reminiscent of Augusta National in scale,” says Dale.
There’s another Augusta connection at Haesley, and here’s where the agronomy differentiates Haesley from every other course in South Korea: Dale worked closely with Marsh Benson, Augusta National Golf Club Director of Agronomy, to set a new agronomic standard for a country where maintenance can, frankly, be a puzzle.
The chief complicating factor for course maintenance here is South Korea’s location in a transition zone — that is, a latitude directly between colder climates (served by bentgrasses) and warmer climates (served by bermudagrasses). For decades, the standard in South Korea has been zoysiagrass, which can survive the heat and cold but does not, in the opinion of Korean players themselves, produce world-class playing surfaces.
Of course, no blade is out of place at Haesley, but Dale and Benson did far more. Working with JacklinGolf and consultant Jim Connolly, they equipped all 18 greens at Haesley with T-1 bentgrass and Sub-Air capability. The latter allows the superintendent to remove excess water from the green’s soil profile and pull oxygen into the root system during rainy, high-stress summer months. Sub-Air, whose technology Benson helped develop in the 1990s, literally pipes oxygen into the root-zone at the superintendent’s discretion.
Dale and Benson went a step further at Haesley, equipping all 18 greens (plus all middle and forward tees) with sub-grade hydronics. This system of heating and cooling coils is a first for Korea, and Benson brought a high degree of familiarity: A similar system is used to warm the root-zone of the famed 12th green at Augusta National GC.
“The client here wanted the ball responding to the greens as if it were a summer day, regardless of the season,” Dale says. “Normally the trade-off would be more intensive management practices on those fairways from mid-June through late August, similar to a Northeastern U.S. high-stress period, which is typical here. But the bentgrass varieties we specified for Haesley had been bred to resist these pathogens, and these root-zone measures have eased that burden. We also wanted to reduce fertility requirement. These bentgrasses allow that, too.
“It was a given that we would sand-cap the fairway corridors, greens and tees,” Dale continued. “The real issue came down to how we would treat those greens and tees, below grade, because the client at Haesley desired a green-up earlier in the spring and lasting color in the fall. With the summer months so very hot and humid here, that’s very difficult balance to achieve here but the early returns have been excellent.”
Dale recommends enhancing the root-zone in Korea wherever cool-season grasses are employed. The quicker the water moves through the soil profile, the less standing water (a benefit for golfers) and the less plant stress (a benefit for superintendents).
This wasn’t an option in the non-maintained areas at Haesley Nine Bridges, where Dale and Connolly went with Jacklin’s Scottish Links fescue blend. “We wanted a dried out look in the fall, a grassland. Seasonal color,” Dale says. “There was a pre-plant fertilization program but the fertility requirement for the Scottish Links is minimal. Every three years. It naturalizes very quickly and if you can keep it clean at seed-bed level, you won’t get an invasion from other species. We soil-capped those areas, which increases chances of taint, but we kept it clean and didn’t have a problem. This is something you need to keep an eye on going forward. Otherwise, it’s very low maintenance.
“It’s worth that little bit of worry. It really accentuates the features of the course, adds visual backdrop and framing. We also used it in areas off the tee for Hogan paths. It’s really striking at 8-15 inches, green in summer and golden in fall.”
It’s not often that agronomics sell memberships. However, while South Korea is traditionally a zoysia haven, the play characteristics of bentgrass are preferred. Why? Because Korean golfers travel a great deal and they pay attention to world golf. They believe what the U.S. Golf Association believes: Bentgrass produces the finest playing conditions. The bentgrass, the Sub-Air, the hydronics all help Haesley Nine Bridges stand out from competitors in this hyper-competitive club market.
“There’s an aesthetic consideration, as well,” Dale says. “There are visual dynamics we cannot achieve without bentgrass. When you frame a bentgrass fairway with bluegrass rough, it feels rich and refined. There’s a distinction in growing heights that provides a scale and texture. Because of that definition, that change in color, it feels comfortable — like every fairway occupies its own room.”
Dale says he was aiming for something more awe-inspiring on the first tee, where the golf course and clubhouse come together.
“It’s more of a vista there, where the scope of the club can be fully grasped and appreciated. The first is a gorgeous opening hole, downhill with the sweep of the front nine stretching out before you. Turn 90 degrees and you see the peninsula green at No. 9, which has got to be one of the top par-4s in the country. Turn 90 degrees more and you’re looking up at that amazing clubhouse.
“The goal was for Haesley to stand out, and I believe that goal has been met. I’m biased, but it has a sophistication and flair that frankly none of our courses in South Korea have, including Nine Bridges. It’s sassy and dramatic without ever sacrificing the balance you need to create a world-class experience. There’s nothing like it in South Korea, or anywhere else.”