SHIFTING SAND
Golf course near Jura’s golden beaches fills bunkers with a shipment from Isle of Man
WITH its golden beaches and stunning scenery, the island seemed the perfect spot for a millionaire’s golfing dream to come true.
And, with tons of sand nearby, building the exclusive 18-hole course would be a bit easier – and maybe save a few bob into the bargain.
But plans for the ambitious project on Jura hit the rough when it was found that sand on the island is the wrong grain for golf courses and cannot be removed in large quantities.
Now 870 tons of sand has been shipped in from the Isle of Man to create bunkers for the spectacular course.
Ardfin Estate on Jura was bought f or £3.5million in 2010 by Australian millionaire Greg Coffey and he has since spent an estimated £50million renovating Jura house and farm buildings into luxury accommodation.
Nicknamed The Wizard of Oz after making a reputed £430million as a young City hedge fund trader, Mr Coffey has also spent around £20million creating his dream golf course – including buying his own sand.
Island Aggregates supplied the sand from its Point of Ayre quarry on the Isle of Man, shipping it in one journey to Ardfin to be used as top dressing on the course.
Company boss Stephen Smyth said: ‘ The remote location of the Ardfin Estate on Jura means that all materials for course maintenance have to be brought in by sea.’
he added: ‘We know the sand we produce is excellent for topdressing sports surfaces.
‘This led to the sand being specified for use on l ocal football pitches and endorsed for topdressing by the Sports Turf Research Institute. Thankfully when we sent gradings and other technical data to the golf course manager at Ardfin, he agreed and the order for a first bulk cargo was placed.’
The cargo left Ramsey, on the Isle of Man, on November 12 and arrived in Jura two days later after a delay sheltering from bad weather off Northern Ireland.
The Ardfin course is designed by Bob harrison, former lead architect for golfer Greg Norman’s design company, who has said: ‘I’m convinced that this is one of the most beautiful and spectacular courses in the world.’
It is now ranked in the world’s top 100 golf courses.
Mr Smyth said: ‘hopefully we can turn this into a long-term arrangement. I ’ m obviously itching to get across for a look, once t r avel becomes more straightforward.’
Eighty-five workers, equivalent to almost half Jura’s 190- strong population, were drafted in to complete the project.
The course is said to be one of the most challenging ever built, with rough peatland replaced with imported soil, and grass brought in from Yorkshire for the greens.
It was constructed by SOL, which built Donald Trump’s Scottish courses, and has spectacular sea views from every hole.
‘Materials have to be brought by sea’