This study centers on G golf course development case and the assessment techniques of natural landscapes to establish a golf course by categorizing it into three different aspects: natural-environmental, humanistic -environmental, and visual-environme...
This study centers on G golf course development case and the assessment techniques of natural landscapes to establish a golf course by categorizing it into three different aspects: natural-environmental, humanistic -environmental, and visual-environmental aspects. The review of the impact on landscapes by their types was carried out by analyzing mountains and hill areas and the skylines of building structures, water-scapes of lakes and wetlands, farms’ scenery composed of farmlands and villages, historic-cultural scene, and ecological scenery.
For landscape analysis of different types of scenery, main perspective points were selected by their familiarity to the locals in their daily settings, their crowdedness or the amount of floating population, then they are classified by three different range views - short, long and medium. Along with the skyline assessment area, five selected places were reviewed and analyzed paying particular attention to the degree of changes in landscapes before and after the project, visibility assessment, changes in perspectives, harmony between a building and its setting, and changes in vision in main perspective points among others. In addition, when analyzing visible ranges from each perspective point from the main national roads, four places were selected and distinguished as short, long and medium range views. This resulted in a concrete plan of where to employ covering plants and ornamental plants for the areas where changes in landscape were expected. The landscape for the green zone and forest is determined by the existing vegetation on the mountains and hill areas as well as the expected damage to the forest and the conservation value of the existing landscape. Also, focusing on cultural heritages and traditional regional relics, the conservation of the historic-cultural scene and harmony with the natural setting were reviewed. Water-scapes and ecological scenery within the golf course site were linked so as not to cut off the ecological axis, thereby highlighting the importance of the need for the use of surrounding lands and the appropriateness of the plan.
Thus, by applying the natural landscape assessment technique to G Golf course case this study revealed the following. First, some changes in topology and vegetation are inevitable due to the creation of a golf course, club house and other facilities and it is advisable to gradually improve the quality of the overall scenery by planning facility arrangements in a way that minimizes the damage to the natural features of the land, assigning a certain portion of the land to green zone, and introducing various forms of vegetation within the golf course. Second, the changes in the skyline, which is a major flaw in the surrounding natural scenery, has to be mitigated by covering or ornamental planting and should minimize its impact on the natural scenery by achieving more consistency with the setting through the use of natural materials such as granite and western red cedar.
In conclusion, by applying natural landscape assessment techniques in developing golf courses, it is possible to minimize the negative impact of the project and contribute to promoting tourism and income increases for locals by building more environmentally-friendly golf courses that preserve natural settings. Businesses in charge of such projects have to commit themselves to continue the preservation of the natural environment and landscapes during and after projects and through post-management plans.