Golf legend Greg Norman made a flying visit to the Illawarra yesterday to inspect construction progress on the golf course at Huntley he is designing.
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The former world No 1 golfer was hired by proponents HTT Huntley Heritage to lend his expertise to the course design, which will become one of 80 courses around the world carrying the Norman name.
The 18-hole course is set to be the centrepiece of a golf lover's paradise planned for the site, which was once an operating coalmine.
Building plans include 62 stay-and-play lodges, a stylish clubhouse and state-of-the-art teaching facility for players to perfect their golfing technique.
Flanked by HTT Huntley Heritage owners Ken Tugral and Robert Renshall, Norman yesterday inspected the first two holes marked out on the course, recommending changes.
He said he was happy with the way works were progressing.
"All in all it's early stages. It'll start taking good form here in the next year or two as we finish the project," he said.
"I'm very happy with it."
Norman reserved special praise for the site's natural beauty, saying course designers were seldom given such spectacular backdrops to work with.
"You only have to look at the backdrop behind the green to see from a designer's standpoint, [designers] love to frame greens like that," he said.
"Mother Nature gave us what we needed to work with here."
Mr Renshall said Norman would likely visit Huntley twice a year during construction, but was regularly in contact with his workers on the site for the latest updates.
The course is tipped for completion in 2015.