Fought preps for busy 2025

While he puts the finishing touches on a new 18-hole course at Windsong Farm Golf Club, west of Minneapolis, golf course designer John Fought is ushering in the new year with a long list of new projects.

Fought, who won the 1977 U.S. Amateur and recorded two victories on the PGA Tour, will rack up plenty of frequent flyer miles in 2025 as his work travels will take him from his home base in Arizona to California, Utah, Minnesota and South Carolina. Here’s a closer look at the new projects:

Indian Wells Golf Resort in Indian Wells, California: Beginning next month, Fought will tackle a renovation of the resort’s Players Course, which he initially re-designed 17 years ago. The Players Course is one of two 18-hole layouts at the resort, along with the Celebrity Course.

Fought will move the 17th and 18th holes of the municipal course back to the north side where the other 16 holes are located. This will provide the course with returning 9s, make it more walkable, and provide for better flow and improved pace of play. When the two holes are moved, the back nine’s final three holes will provide striking vistas of the San Jacinto Mountains.

The par-71, 7,000-yard layout is owned by the City of Indian Wells and managed by Troon.

“We’re very excited about this project,” Indian Wells Golf Resort GM Robin Graf said. “The course was due for a renovation since John last did the work so, in addition to moving the two holes, we’ll also improve the irrigation, and John will redo some greens, bunkers, and tee boxes.” 

Graf said the course will close on March 5 and re-open in November, timed with the start of the region’s busy season. The project will cost between $4 million and $5 million.

“When we are completed, this will be a superior layout,” Fought said. “It’s a very open course with beautiful views and this renovation will make it so much easier to walk and perfectly suited for tournaments.”

Ironwood Country Club in Palm Desert, California: Fought has a long history with Ironwood, dating back 25 years. This summer, the North Course — featuring some of the most scenic and challenging holes in the Coachella Valley — will close while Fought and his team begin a renovation. The work will involve a redo of the three greens complexes, all bunkers, fairways, tee boxes and irrigation lakes, as well as tree removal.

“This will give the golf course a facelift and a much better identity,” Fought said. “When completed, even though the routing will essentially be the same, the course will be completely re-imagined.”

The par-71 North Course, the sister layout to the club’s South Course, will re-open in November.

Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina: Fought will perform a renovation of the North Course, originally designed by Tom Fazio. The course is lined with magnificent oak trees and tall airy pines, giving way to scented salt marshes at the edges.

Fought will rebuild the North Course’s greens and greenside bunkers, and provide a general refresh of the layout, complete with tree removal.

Alpine Country Club in Highland, Utah: An all-American collegiate player at Brigham Young University, Fought is returning to Utah to design a state-of-the-art practice facility and renovate some of the existing holes at Alpine Country Club, a private course in the booming area of Highland, 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. The $6.8 million project, part of a three-phase, 10-year plan at the club, is scheduled to begin in early July and be completed in Fall 2026.

Elsewhere in Utah, Fought is renovating the 18-hole resort course at The Homestead Resort & Golf Club, located in Midway, 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. The Wasatch County resort was constructed in 1866 and is known to generations of Utahans for its rustic character, hillside golf course (originally designed in 1990), and unique hot spring crater.