The Rumanza Golf and Country Club is the first signature golf course in Pakistan, and the latest course designed by golfing icon Sir Nick Faldo. With a truly global footprint of 34 courses across five continents and 20 countries, the luxury development marks Faldo Design’s first venture in South Asia and the most ambitious course construction project in Pakistan’s history.
In addition to the 7,533-yard, par-72 Championship course, the Club also boasts a double-sided driving range, a short game area, and soon a golf academy. Located in Pakistan’s fifth largest city, Multan – famed for its stunning architecture, religous shrines and delicious mangoes – the golf course is the centre-piece of the aspirational DHA Multan residential community which includes high-end apartments and villas, a five-star hotel, commercial retail space, multiple sports and lifestyle facilities, state-of-the-art education facilities, health care services and extensive F&B outlets. It is one of Pakistan’s most advanced residential developments
It is one of Pakistan’s most advanced residential developments, and it has big aspirations for Pakistan’s golf tourism industry. “Runamza will have multiple spin-off effects for Pakistan’s economy, sports tourism and will definitely galvanise the country’s positive image on the golf scene,” said Project Director Brigadier Shoeb Anwar Kayani, SI(M). We caught up with legendary six-time Major champion Faldo ahead of the club’s grand opening.
Worldwide Golf: How did you come to be involved in the Rumanza project and what attracted you to it?
Sir Nick Faldo: When first contacted by DHA Multan, I was not only intrigued by their plans for a championship golf course, but also for it to be part of a larger new community development. Then, after learning more about the potential site and its natural features I was all in on the opportunity to design a truly unique golf course in a new golf market such as Pakistan.
WWG: How much did you know about Pakistan before taking on this project?
SNF: My knowledge of Pakistan was very limited prior starting work on the Rumanza project. I have travelled extensively over the years, playing in golf tournaments and designing golf courses, but had never been to Pakistan. The opportunity to experience a new country such as Pakistan and expand my Faldo Design portfolio was also of great interest to me.
WWG: What has your experience of the country been like so far?
SNF: Luckily, I was able to visit Multan and the Rumanza site two times prior to the COVID-19 travel restrictions which allowed me to understand the site and review the golf course construction progress. My experiences off the golf course were just as rewarding and it was so nice to tour the city of Multan and to experience the local food and culture. One very special evening was spent at the Multan Garrison Mess which is one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in the world, especially when it is lit up at night. I hope to be able to travel to other parts of Pakistan in the future as I know is a very large and diverse country.
WWG: Talk us through the key features of the course and overall development?
SNF: First of all, I wanted to ensure that the golf course had a strong local identity. Amongst other things, that meant retaining some of the existing fruit trees, retaining the on-site deras and also using those deras as inspiration for other features around the course. On the playing side, we wanted to create an interesting, strategic and memorable golfing experience. Once we had scraped off the top surface of material on this very flat site, we found pure sand. That moved us towards creating something of an inland links-style golf course. Alongside some links-like shaping, revetted bunkers seemed the obvious choice.
Given the location, it is a warm season turf project, and it’s difficult to revet satisfactorily with warm season grasses, which is why we used EcoBunker (recycled astroturf). The bunkers are revetted in traditional style using Ecobunker, with turf rolled down over the edge. We also used EcoBunker to create a revetted edge to certain sections of the waste areas adjacent to the fairways, which provides another nice feature of the course, and which compliments the bunkering. For the out of play areas, we were inspired by some local landscapes for the shaping and landscape treatment of these. The layout of the course is such that the holes move through three different zones, with desert, trees (largely existing orchards) and water (lakes we developed as part of the design for irrigation water storage and strategic interest) characterising those zones.
The course should challenge the top players from the back tees but be eminently playable for all other standards of golfer from the other tees. The farthest forward tees will make the course short enough for beginners and juniors. Fairways are quite generous and so that helps golfers keep the ball in play, whilst at the same time the shaping of the fairways and placement of the hazards challenges the better players to put the ball in the right place. The greens are designed within the entire strategy of the hole they belong to. Often the strategy of the hole is created with the green design as the starting point. Here each green features a range of pin placements that will be either hard, medium or easy. There is noticeable movement in the greens but the surface areas are large enough to accommodate that movement. As with the fairways, it is about being in the right place on the green to give yourself the best chance of a good score. The golf academy has a fantastic double ended practice range which also incorporates a 6 Hole Par 3 course at one end, aimed primarily at beginners.
