The famed Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket is to undergo a two billion baht ($379 million) facelift - and bid to host its third Johnnie Walker Classic.
The two award-winning courses - the Canyon and Lakes - will undergo refurbishment but the bulk of the investment will go towards transforming the clubhouse and spa lodge, upgrade existing apartments and build new villas around the Canyon course, scene of the Johnnie Walker Classics in 1994 and 1998.
'Blue Canyon is a landmark of Thailand,' BCCC chairman and chief executive Sia Leng Yuen said at the 15th anniversary celebrations last week. 'Blue Canyon is all about building a legend of golfing excellence and creating a lifestyle and community around golf, nature and space.'
Sia said the club would not rest on its reputation and needed to look to the future. 'We are keen on making improvements. We must keep on developing. It takes a lifetime to build a legend. Even Augusta [home of the Masters] is constantly making improvements.'
The two courses will be made longer and more difficult and Sia said they would be maintained at a higher standard.
Having hosted the Thailand Open, the Tiger Skins and the BMW Golf Cup International World Final for amateurs in 2005, Sia hinted the club had its eyes on a bigger prize in 2007. It is believed to be the Johnnie Walker Classic, which attracted the best players to Phuket in 1998, including Tiger Woods. The world number one left an indelible mark, driving the signature 13th hole, 390 yards across a canyon.
