January 15th, 2024 (Laveen, Arizona USA) — Forrest Richardson completes plans for an innovative 20-hole golf experience with a musical theme to save an abandoned course on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona
Originally opened in 1993 as a 36-hole facility with design input from PGA player-consultant Dan Pohl, The Cottonfields in Phoenix, Arizona is inching closer to a new beginning. Golf Course Architect Forrest Richardson has created a fresh concept to transform the regulation 18-hole version of the course that ceased operations in 2018. That left the 140-acre golf property fully abandoned with dead turf, creating what has become a sore spot for neighbors who once enjoyed golf views with landscaped open space. The project is currently in the approval process where an existing neighborhood is being asked to ‘vote’ on the new design that will facilitate bringing golf back after six years of desolate conditions.
“It’s sad to see a community golf course closed, let alone to see it overgrown with weeds and dying trees,” said Richardson. “During the past few years, the new owners have cleaned up the property and done all they can to get the hole corridors looking as good as possible — even though there is no golf being played. Finally, we’re closing in on getting golf back in the mix.”
The new owners, Laveen 140, purchased the golf course in 2022 and have spent the past 18 months working with the neighborhood on redevelopment plans that include restoring golf and adding roughly 400 new homes. The neighborhood ‘vote’ is expected soon, opening the door to an innovative golf concept. According to Laveen 140’s plans, the vision is to restore 70% of the old golf land with the balance of the acreage becoming new single family residences. Plans put before the community show all existing homes buffered by new golf holes. Those new golf holes total 20, a concept Richardson brought to the table early on when tasked with figuring out how to retain golf that borders the community’s established neighborhood. Those 450 homes were built in 2004, the same year that the original course was downsized from 36-holes to 18-holes.
“The first reconfiguration paved the way for homes,” notes Richardson. “When the 36-holes was built it was all golf with no residential areas — the change to 18-holes was positive in many ways, but it unfortunately resulted in a golf course that simply had difficulty attracting play.”
Golf plan of The Score at Cottonfields, a 20-hole all par-3 design.
Richardson’s new plan creates 20 all par-3 holes that form two loops of 10-holes. Hence the name “The Score,” which also reinforces the integration of music to the golf experience. Through geofencing technology and a simple phone app, the concept will allow golfers to be able to listen to music selected to complement the golf holes as they make their way from hole to hole. Richardson, designer of the innovative Mountain Shadows 18-hole par-3 course, also in Arizona, explains the concept and how it was developed. “A few years ago I was watching two young couples playing Mountain Shadows and enjoying music in their four-person ‘party cart.’ It got me thinking how neat it would be if their music could fit the mood of the golf hole. When they got to the tee at the tricky 7th, a short half-wedge water hole, I smiled by imagining their speakers suddenly playing the ‘Jaws’ theme music. I kept thinking of music that would match certain holes — The Beatles ‘Long and Winding Road’… ‘Nothing to Lose’ by Kiss … A French melody for the Biarritz … I knew it could be done, we just needed a place to try it.”
When plans move forward, Richardson will get to fulfill his music themed concept. Arizona-based IZON Golf has laid the groundwork for a smart phone interface that will allow the golf staff to create a daily playlist of licensed music. As players transition from one hole to another, the music will change. Plans are also being refined to allow players to select a preferred music genre, such as rock, country-western, movie themes, etc.
In terms of the course design, Richardson and his team looked at multiple configurations, ultimately settling on the 20-hole routing, primarily to retain capacity for tournament outings. That decision was driven by National Golf Foundation (NGF) Consulting based on analysis of the most viable golf uses for this area of the Phoenix metropolitan market. Ed Getherall, Director of Consulting for NGF, summarized their findings by saying, “The conclusion was that a less-time-consuming course, and yet a course that could host 100 players for a tournament, would perform the best in this area of the Phoenix-Scottsdale market.” That became a foundation for Richardson’s concept, and the 20-hole format.
“Some will say that 20 holes is too many,” notes Richardson, “But we also had the goal to provide enough golf frontage so all of the homes that were built on the old course would have golf under the new plan.” Richardson’s 20-hole design meets that objective, and can be played as two 10-hole loops or combined for a three hour round of 20-holes. “We also built-in the flexibility to combine a few holes to create an 18-hole, executive format with two par-4s,” he adds.
Plans have been shared with the community over the past year, with Richardson and golf course builder Landscapes Unlimited answering questions about timing and how the finished course will be operated. Landscapes Unlimited was brought in as a strategic resource to set the project in motion so construction can begin as soon as final approvals are in place. As Richardson points out, “The most asked question we hear from the community is ‘How fast can the course be finished?’ I can understand that because the abandoned golf course was something they never expected. With Landscapes at the table, we’re getting ready with a plan of attack that allows things to happen sooner than later.” Pending approval by the current homeowners to allow the redevelopment, Laveen 140 is preparing to begin golf construction by Spring 2024. “We’re doing everything possible to get the ball rolling,” reports Richardson. “It’s been a steady process by the team to get individual homeowners to vote, and the results are looking very encouraging to save the golf and create this new concept.”
The project’s website has been the point of contact for neighbors, and can be accessed at https://cottonfields.godaddysites.com
———
For more information contact:
Valerie Richardson
valerie@forrestrichardsongolf.com