Lester George selected to create master plan for Bella Vista Country Club

Lester George, ASGCA, has been hired by the Bella Vista Property Owners Association to create a master plan of renovations for their Bella Vista Country Club Course in northwest Arkansas. Bella Vista, voted by Forbes and Money magazine as one of top 25 places to retire in United States in 2017, is one of the nation’s largest property owners associations, with 3,100 residents. Development of amenities-rich Bella Vista began in 1965, and the BVPOA now has five 18-hole golf courses, two nine-hole courses, tennis facilities, seven private lakes, miles of nature trails, swimming pools, a beach, recreation centers, parks, pavilions, and a RV park and campground.

 

Originally Designed by Joe Finger in 1966, the BVCC course the premiere course in the Bella Vista collection and has been the cornerstone of the golf development since its opening. The course has experienced a lot of flooding along Little Sugar Creek, which cuts through the golf course and acts as a water hazard on several holes.

 

“The population upstream is exploding with growth, which has made the flooding of Little Sugar Creek. Upstream development will certainly continue so we want to do what we can to prevent – or at the very least decrease – future flooding on the golf course,” said Tom Judson, Chief Operating Officer of the Bella Vista Property Owners association.

 

“We want to be proactive, rather than reactive. We are motivated to fortify the golf course ahead of future flooding to hopefully avoid damage to the course,” Judson added. “We sent an initial request for qualifications to six individuals and groups, asking specifically about their experience mitigating flood damage. We narrowed the field down to three, and Lester’s experience with similar flooding problems at other facilities impressed us, so we selected him to design the plan.”

 

“The Bella Vista Property Owners Association has 30,000 members playing on six golf courses, three of which are in continuous jeopardy of flood damage,” George said. “Although the primary focus of the master plan includes floodplain modeling, flood prevention and flood damage prevention, George Golf Design will be incorporating a complete renovation plan for the property to bring the course back to its original splendor.”