Naples, Fla. (May 17, 2005) - Gulf Bay® Group of Companies, the developer of The Golf Club at Fiddler's Creek®, one of the showcase amenities at its Fiddler's Creek® master-planned community in Naples, Florida, has selected the team of Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry to design the private club's second championship course.
The new layout will complement the Arthur Hills-designed Creek Course that opened Feb. 1, 2002. Aubrey Ferrao, president of the Gulf Bay Group of Companies, also unveiled his plans to construct a new world class clubhouse that will surpass anything ever done in the private golf Mecca of Naples.
Ferrao is excited about the hiring of Hurdzan/Fry Golf Course Design, regarded as one of leading architectural firms in golf. "I think they are great, great architects," Ferrao said. "They are totally committed to doing only the best designs. It is very evident with the way they work and follow through to the last detail. This commitment only complements our vision in developing one of the finest golf facilities in the world."
Ferrao also is pleased to point out Hurdzan/Fry will ensure the new course at Fiddler's Creek remains true to the environment. For example, Hurdzan is a noted expert in turf grass and agronomy, and sits on the Golf and Environment Committee that wrote the list of ten principles to guide the sighting, construction and maintenance of golf courses in the U.S.
In all, Columbus, Ohio-based Hurdzan/Fry has designed nearly 300 courses worldwide and has received numerous industry accolades. According to Fry, with the commitment and resources of Ferrao's Gulf Bay Group of Companies, Fiddler's Creek portends to be one of his firm's most remarkable designs, and a top rated course in America.
"(Aubrey) is going to create one of the most dramatic statements in golf,"said Fry, who was honored as one of Golfweek's "40 under 40" in 2000. "Number one, when you meet Aubrey and see Fiddler's Creek, the attention to detail from the roads to the landscape to the architecture and the amenities. . It's just an impressive place. Everything he does from
high-rise condos in Pelican Bay and Park Shore Beach to the proposed new clubhouse, he wants it to be the best. And he expects the golf at Fiddler's Creek to uphold that standard."
At completion, residents of Fiddler's Creek will be surrounded by 72 holes of championship golf, 36 holes of which will be available to members of The Golf Club at Fiddler's Creek.
Fiddler's Creek is a world-class resort community situated on some 3,932 acres in south Naples. Upon completion, Fiddler's Creek will have approximately 6,000 residences in 100 villages, a 54,000-square-foot health club and spa, planned tennis facilities, a multi-pool complex, casual and formal dining venues and numerous other amenities. Residents who join the offsite Tarpon Club® will have wet and dry dock facilities, with offsite beach access at the Marco Beach Ocean Resort®.
ABOUT GULF BAY® GROUP OF COMPANIES
Gulf Bay® Group of Companies is currently one of the largest privately owned development companies in Florida, with headquarters in Naples, Florida. It is a multi-faceted real estate development company with capabilities that include planning, development, real estate construction, sales, mortgage brokerage, and hospitality management and operations. Gulf Bay has vast experience in successfully master planning large multi-faceted communities with outstanding amenities. Far more than a "developer" in the traditional sense, Gulf Bay is vertically integrated and performs these ancillary functions for its own account in order to maximize the value of its holdings.
Gulf Bay's completed and envisioned build-out value of luxury residential properties is in excess of $7 billion.
