Course news

The El Paso International Airport Golf Course is in development.

Course in El Paso being developed
El Paso, Texas – Tom Fazio was in El Paso for the groundbreaking ceremony of the El Paso International Airport Golf Course project in February. The project is part of the first phase of the development of El Paso’s first resort hotel.

“Integrated within a planned 150-acre industrial park, this new addition will function to complement the largest, most modern Air Cargo Center on the U.S./Mexico border,” says Patrick T. Abeln, director of aviation.
The 18-hole golf course will merge the beauty of the desert with modern golf course design. The golf course is part of an overall plan to support the airport’s growing air cargo industry, as well as associated industrial and commercial uses.

Steve Smyers is helping the Bridgewater Golf Club in Florida.

Course in Florida under construction
Lakeland, Fla. – A meshing of a 7,300-yard golf course and 260 acres of lakes and wetlands will be the hallmark of the Steve Smyers-designed Bridgewater Golf Club, which is under construction. The 600-acre Bridgewater property will contain 800 houses around five lakes.

Crucial to the project, which is being built by Phillips Development of Raleigh, N.C., is the restoration of 32 acres of distressed wetlands on the property. The development will turn an overgrown marsh into a water-cleansing and wildlife-enhancing habitat, as well as make earth available to design movement on the course and build up areas of the flat property.

John G. Walton Construction of Mobile, Ala., started rough-shaping the course March 1, and Smyers expects it to be grassed in August and open in January.

Smyers and Walton will create a 165-acre wildlife corridor, including 64 acres of upland native plantings of trees and grasses. The remainder will be lowlands and wetlands.

Course to open in North Carolina
Raleigh, N.C. – Fred Ward, project manager for Atlanta-based Bluegreen Golf, selected NewCourse Golf of Carthage, N.C., to be the general contractor for golf course construction of the Chapel Ridge Golf Club in Pittsboro, N.C. The course will be the centerpiece for an 800-unit housing community. Work began in September 2004, and the scheduled completion date is July 2005. The architect for the 7,100-yard layout is Robert Moore of JMP Design Group.

“Throughout the bidding and negotiation process NewCourse Golf displayed a great understanding of our needs and budget limitations,” Ward says. “They provided us with many construction alternatives, all of which will allow us stretch our dollars and still achieve the high-quality finished product that is our trademark.”

For further information about the course, visit www.chapelridgeinfo.com.

Coco Beach course opens
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico – Coco Beach Golf & Country Club opened in March. Tom Kite, PGA Tour professional and co-architect of the 36-hole championship course, assisted the Diaz family and others in a ribbon cutting ceremony and officially opened the golf resort.

The 36-holes at Coco Beach were designed as four different nines (the Mountain Course, the Ocean Course, the Lakes Course and the Palms Course) to provide golfers with four different experiences within one golf resort.

Guest fees for 18 holes are $130 and include: green and car fees, a divot repair tool, a ball marker and tees.

The facility includes a 36-hole Kite/Besse-designed layout with a practice facility and a 46,000-square-foot oceanfront clubhouse.

L’Auberge, Fazio developing new course
Lake Charles, La. – L’Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino, a $365-million Texas Hill Country-themed resort currently under construction, teamed up with golf architect Tom Fazio to bring a championship golf course to Southwest Louisiana.

Contraband Bayou Golf Club’s course will complement the marsh lowland features of the natural Louisiana environment to enhance the 7,000-yard, par-71 championship golf course. A combination of aquatic and natural vegetation on the edges of eight lakes will challenge golfers.

The Contraband Bayou Golf Club will include a driving range, and each hole will have four sets of tee boxes to provide a challenge for all skill levels.
L’Auberge will sit on 227 acres of land and is scheduled to open this month. For more information about the course, visit www.ldlcasino.com.

The Kaanapali Golf Courses' Resort South Course is being renovated.

Kaanapali course gets makeover
Maui, Hawaii – Kaanapali Golf Courses – a USGA-selected site for U.S. Open Local and Sectional Qualifiers for 2005 – is renovating its Resort South Course and clubhouse that will include a new irrigation installation, regrassing of greens and tee boxes and renovations to the bunkers and landscaped areas surrounding the course.

Robin Nelson, who has designed or redesigned more than 30 courses on the Hawaiian Islands, will oversee the enhancements to the original Arthur Jack Snyder-designed layout. The Resort South Course closed April 1 and is expected to reopen Nov. 15.

In addition to the on-course improvements, the Kaanapali clubhouse interior will be redesigned with an a new retail look, including built-in shelves and storefront displays, and the spacious practice range and teaching facility will be revamped to include new target greens and new turf within the tee line.

Nelson has been hired to modernize to the 6,555-yard, par-71 Resort South Course, which opened in 1976.

ClubCorp to renovate three courses
Dallas – ClubCorp plans to invest more than $3 million in capital improvements to three of its Dallas-area clubs, including Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Las Colinas Country Club in Irving and Shady Valley Golf Club in Arlington.
The investments are part of the company’s $60 million in capital renovations, expansions and improvements for 2004. It plans to spend $68 million in 2005 improving its clubs and resorts.

Improvements at Gleneagles Country Club and Las Colinas Country Club include complete golf course renovations. The $1.5-million project at Gleneagles includes a complete renovation to its Queen’s Course with rebuilt bunkers and the addition of new 419 Bermudagrass fairways and L93/Crenshaw bentgrass greens. At Las Colinas, the $1.5-million project includes resurfaced greens, rebuilt bunkers with the addition of white sand, a new irrigation system around the greens and new cart paths. Shady Valley Golf Club spent more than $300,000 renovating, refurbishing and improving its clubhouse.

A bunker renovation was completed recently at Sumner Meadows.

Renovation completed at Sumner Meadows
Sumner, Wash. – A major bunker renovation project at Sumner Meadows Golf Links was completed recently. Thirty-five bunkers at the William Horn/John Harbottle III-designed layout were completely revamped, including removal of the existing sand, reshaping of interiors and faces, installation of new drainage and refilling with new, high-quality sand. Kip Kalbrener of Ridge Top Construction performed the bunker work. New benches, ball washers and tee signs also were installed.

Additionally, Billy Casper Golf will oversee the construction of a new clubhouse and the implementation of new player development programs and group lessons for women, beginners and juniors on the course’s spacious, all-weather practice range.

Open since 1995, Sumner Meadows Golf Links is a 6,765-yard, 18-hole layout.

Emerald Greens establishes course in North Carolina
Tampa, Fla. – Emerald Greens at Carrollwood, developers of Emerald Greens Golf and Country Club, established a new ownership group, Longleaf Florida, and purchased a private 18-hole golf course and its facilities formerly known as The Club at Longleaf in Southern Pines, N.C. The country club features practice facilities, tennis courts, a pool with pool house and a 13,000-square-foot clubhouse. Members of Emerald Greens are able to enjoy reciprocal playing privileges with Longleaf Golf & Country Club (www.longleaf.com).

Additionally, Dan Maples Golf Course Design is working on the renovation of the golf courses at Emerald Greens Golf & Country Club (www.emeraldgreensgcc.com). Currently, the Cypress course is under major reconstruction and will reopen in August. The Meadow course was the first of the 27-holes to be renovated and opened in September 2004.

Puakea earns certification from NGCOA
Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii – Puakea Golf Course’s Robin Nelson-designed layout received a “Beginner Friendly Certification” from the National Golf Course Owners Association. AOL founder Steve Case owns the 18-hole facility.

Puakea was selected from more than 6,000 NGCOA-member courses throughout the United States and Canada. Courses were evaluated on a number of criteria including availability of clinics, loaner clubs, special playing times for beginners and other initiatives. All courses receiving beginner-friendly certification are listed on a national Web site, www.getlinkedplaygolf.com.

Billy Casper Golf adds to portfolio
Middlefield, Conn. – Lyman Farms chose Billy Casper Golf to manage Lyman Orchards’ 36-hole golf facility. BCG will provide management services at the multicourse property including clubhouse operations, course maintenance, financial management, merchandising, oversight of food and beverage, staffing and training, and marketing and public relations.

Lyman Orchards, set on an 1,100-acre farm, houses two regulation length courses designed by Gary Player and Robert Trent Jones Sr.

Billy Casper Golf, which has a portfolio of 52 properties, also was selected to manage the 27-hole Village Golf Club in Panorama Village, Texas. BCG’s plans at The Village Golf Club call for rebuilding nine greens on the Winged Foot Course and regrassing the putting surfaces with Miniverde, a new variety of Bermudagrass. Also, there are plans to remodel the banquet hall and kitchen, create a separate golfer lounge area, bring on new course equipment and a cart fleet, structure a new membership pricing plan and undertake other course conditioning and facility beautification programs.