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Rick Robbins to Join Executive Committee

Robbins receives high praise at SAS Tournment from Officials
Robbins signs on for unique opportunity

 

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Rick Robbins to Join Executive Committee

 

Rick Robbins, ASGCA has been chosen by the ASGCA Nominating Committee, led by Immediate Past President Bruce Charlton, ASGCA, to join the Executive Committee.

 

Robbins will take over the position of Secretary in March after the election by the Board of Governors. At that time, Erik Larsen will move to President, Rick Phelps to Vice President, Bob Cupp to Treasurer and Doug Carrick to Immediate Past President.

 

“Rick is a great choice for the Executive Committee and I’m very happy that he accepted Bruce’s invitation to serve,” notes President Doug Carrick, ASGCA. “Rick’s been an involved member, having served with distinction as the Membership Chairman. He’s known to have great judgment, common sense and a good grasp of what goes on in ASGCA. He’s also well-liked among the members.”

 

Robbins lists the following representative courses: Millcreek Golf Club, Mebane, N.C.; Palm Garden Golf Club, Kajang Selangor, Malaysia; Crow Creek Golf Club, Calabash, N.C. and Water’s Edge Golf Course, Worth, Ill. Robbins is President of Robbins & Associates International, based in Cary, N.C. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University with a degree in Environmental Design. Robbins began his golf course architecture career with von Hagge and Devlin, Inc., moved on to work in the Nicklaus organization and formed Robbins & Associates in 1991. He served as Membership Chairman from 2007 – 2009. He is currently working primarily in China and lives in North Carolina with his wife Ginger and has two grown daughters.

 

 

SAS Champions Tour event held on recently renovated Rick Robbins course

 

The SAS Championship, an annual Champions Tour event in Cary, NC was held at the Prestonwood Country Club inSeptember. The event is held on portions of the Meadows and Highlands Courses at Prestonwood which has 3, 18-hole courses. The Meadows Course utilizes 9 of its holes to comprise the back 9 for the tournament. Rick Robbins provided design services for a complete renovation of all 18 greens complexes and the SAS Tournament marked the reopening of the course for play.

 

Tournament players, officials and long-time members of the club have had high praise for the results of the renovation work. “Prestonwood Country Club’s courses were built over a long period of time and in many stages of expansion from the original 27-hole facility to its current 54 holes.” “This resulted in the use of different grasses, different construction methods and different design standards that provided great inconsistencies from one course to another and even within each course”, explained Rick Robbins. “The owner wants to get all 3 courses into a more uniform condition and then be able to provide a maintenance program that works for all the facility”, Robbins continued.

 

At this time, plans have been prepared and bids received for the next phase of work which is scheduled to begin on the Fairways Course in November. The Highlands Course will then be renovated in 2011, completing the work on all 3 courses. “This is a great opportunity and responsibility for me”, says Robbins. “Since I live on the 14th hole of the Fairways Course and have been a member here since 1993, there is a lot of “suggestion and oversight” from my golfing buddies who are quick to let me know if they like what I am doing or not.”

 

Robbins signs on for an unique opportunity

 

Robbins & Associates signs a contract for the master planning of a new resort in Yunnan Province, China. The firm has also been retained to design the golf courses for the resort. The possibility of five to six more courses over the next several years is also in the works. The Yunnan Province resort site is located only 50 kilometers from the border with Myanmar (Burma) and is in a region known for its hot springs.

 

“The land is one of the most amazing pieces of property I have ever seen in 37 years of golf course design” says Rick Robbins, President of Robbins & Associates. “I never expected to go to south China and be able to find over 4,000 acres of land that looks just like the Highlands of Scotland” he added.

 

The site sits on top of a mountain with views for miles in all directions and a large portion of the land is open meadows that have great natural contours for golf. The owner of the property wants a world-class resort with golf, horseback riding, walking trails and many other amenities. There is discussion about having the world’s longest escalator leading from the lower elevations of the property to a tourist attraction on the top of the mountain.