Trey Kemp and John Colligan have started work at Crown Colony Country Club in Lufkin to restore greens plus much more.
Golf course architects Trey Kemp and John Colligan have started a project to restore the playing conditions at Crown Colony Country Club in Lufkin in eastern Texas.
Originally designed by Bruce Devlin and Robert Von Hagge, Crown Colony opened in 1979. The semi-private club offers stay-and-play packages.
“The course has been kept in great shape over the years, but the greens have gotten smaller, the bunkers have lost their original shapes and the time has come for many of the components to be updated,” Kemp said in a media release announcing the news.
Work will include expanding the greens, which have shrunk, as most greens do over time. Kemp and Colligan have enlisted Sanders Golf Course Construction to help rebuild the greens and the bunkers. Other work will focus on the course’s bridges, tree trimming, tees and drainage.
“The renovation will address aesthetics, playability and maintenance elements of the course in an effort to take it back to its original grandeur,” Colligan said in the media release. “Trey and I are very honored to have this opportunity to restore such a great piece of Texas golf history.”
Kemp and Colligan’s renovation began April 1 and is scheduled to be completed in October.
Kemp and Colligan have teamed up on past projects such as Brackenridge Park Golf Course in San Antonio, Stevens Park Golf Course in Dallas and Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington, Texas.
Check out the photos of the renovated host site for the 2024 men’s and women’s NCAA Championships.
Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California, has announced June 1 as the full reopening date of its Championship Course, which has been rebranded the North Course after an extensive renovation by the architectural team of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner.
The opening to resort guests and members follows the NCAA Division I Women’s (May 17-22) and Men’s (May 24-29) Championships on the North Course. The layout is also slated to host those college championships in 2025 and 2026.
Hanse and Wagner implemented significant changes to the North layout. Among the renovations: A new drivable par-4 11th was built, the green of the par-3 16th was repositioned in a fashion reminiscent of Augusta National Golf Club’s No. 12, and the par-5 18th was stretched to more than 600 yards with water on both sides of the fairway.
Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California (Courtesy of Omni La Costa Resort and Spa)
The revised layout will feature six sets of tees that play from 4,500 to 7,500 yards. Other changes include transitioning irrigation lines that will continue to use reclaimed water, the removal of several man-made ponds and the reintroduction of natural barrancas that feature drought-tolerant and native species of plants.
“The North Course is now positioned to return to its stature as one of the top venues for championship golf in Southern California,” Hanse said in a media release announcing the opening date and completion of work. “We were able to combine a respect for the natural contours, landforms and vegetation with an emphasis on strategic design. This combination of beauty and interest should prove enjoyable for everyday play by members and resort guests, while asking compelling questions to be answered by the best players in the world during championship events.”
Originally designed by Dick Wilson and opened in 1965, the North layout had been renovated previously several times. It was part of a resort with a tournament pedigree that includes hosting the PGA Tour’s Mercedes Championship from 1969 to 1998, the inaugural WGC-Accenture Match Play in 1999 and the LPGA’s Kia Classic in 2010 and 2012.
The resort also announced its Legends Course has been rebranded to South Course. Both the North and South were the courses’ original names before being changed to Champions and Legends.
A renovated guest room at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California (Courtesy of Omni La Costa Resort and Spa)
The resort also will feature a reimagined practice facility designed by Beau Welling that will include Toptracer technology. It’s all part of an extensive multi-year renovation to the entire resort that stretches from guest rooms and villas to the spa, lobby bar and meeting spaces.
“Working with the ‘best of the best’ course architects like Gil Hanse and his design team is a prime example of our continued commitment and investment to be in the highest echelons of U.S. golf destinations,” the resort’s managing director, Craig Martin, said in the media release. “This transformation signals a full return to championship glory at Omni La Costa and joins the now-completed renovation of the property as a whole resulting in an elevated experience for our members and resort guests to enjoy for decades to come.”
Trev Dormer plans to do some “different, quirky things” in his renovation of a Nebraska nine-holer.
Canadian golf architect Trev Dormer, perhaps best known in the industry for his work as an associate for the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, has signed on for his first solo project.
Working with the farming family behind the development of the popular new Landmand Golf Club in eastern Nebraska, Dormer will completely renovate the family’s nearby nine-hole course at Old Dane Golf Club in Dakota City, Nebraska.
The Andersen family bought an 18-hole course in 2007 and converted it to nine holes, the current Old Dane. Dormer’s plan is to tear out the entire course and introduce a 12-hole routing that can be played as loops of six, nine or 12 holes across 93 acres of what is currently flat ground. Dormer’s team will build a lake that will provide fill to introduce elevation changes.
“There will be different ways to play the course – I just wanted to get as much golf on the property as I could,” Dormer, who recently completed his work at the new Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, said in a media release announcing the renovation of Old Dane. “It’s a dead flat site, so I’m trying to do some different, quirky things – a tee shot over the previous green for example. I think it will be significantly more fun and more interesting, and I hope it raises some questions among those who play it.”
Trev Dormer’s routing plans for the soon-to-be-remodeled Old Dane Golf Club in Dakota City, Nebraska (Courtesy of Old Dane Golf Club/Trev Dormer)
The current version of Old Dane will shut down in October, with Dormer and his crew immediately beginning the renovation, which will include the removal of the current driving range. Dormer expects the new, walking-only version of Old Dane to open in 2026.
The operators expect the green fees to remain substantially near the current $15 for nine holes and $25 for a double-loop of 18 holes. Dormer said he hopes to attract new players, especially children and families, to what will be an entirely new course.
“There will not be a single square yard of ground on the property that is untouched by the plow,” Dormer said.
The Andersen family has been in the golf news in recent years after employing King-Collins Golf Course Design to build the large-scale Landmand, which opened in 2022 to become the Golfweek’s Best No. 1 public-access layout in Nebraska and tie for No. 26 among all modern courses in the U.S.
Old Dane sits even closer to the Iowa border, about an 8-mile drive to the northeast of Landmand. Old Dane is about a 15-minute drive from Sioux City, Iowa, and is close to Sioux Gateway Airport.
“This project is about finishing what we didn’t completely do when we built the course originally,” owner Will Andersen said in the media release. “We bought the course because my dad wanted a place to go and hang out with his friends, and we achieved that, but we didn’t do that much with the golf course. The irrigation system is 23 years old, and it’s falling apart.”
Trev Dormer, right, speaks with Bill Coore, center, and Ben Crenshaw during construction of the recently completed Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
Dormer worked briefly with King-Collins on Landmand, and Andersen was impressed with Dormer’s efforts. Dormer started his career in the early 2000s and has worked with several top architects including Ron Prichard, Rod Whitman, Nicklaus Design and Gil Hanse.
“When I thought about rebuilding Old Dane, I had a chat with Rob Collins (of King-Collins), and he confirmed my thought that Trevor would be the right candidate to do the job,” Andersen said.
Check out the photos of architect Beau Welling’s renovation to Atlanta Country Club.
Atlanta Country Club in Marietta, Georgia, has completed a renovation of its golf course that was originally designed by Willard Byrd and opened in 1966.
Beau Welling and his firm undertook the multi-faceted work that included new grass, rebuilt greens, extensive bunker renovations and more as the club attempts to attract top-tier tournaments.
The club hosted the Atlanta Classic on the PGA Tour from 1967 to 1996. It also was home to the 1968 U.S. Senior Amateur, the 1971 U.S. Women’s Amateur and was the site of the first Players Championship on the PGA Tour in 1974, which was won by Jack Nicklaus.
Welling and senior designer Scott Benson’s goal was to increase playability and foster a communal golf experience while modernizing the layout.
No. 18 of Atlanta Country club after the recent renovation by Beau Welling (Courtesy of PGA Tour)
“Our team is very proud of the work we’ve done to reinvigorate both the golf course and the larger campus while preserving the long-standing ideals of which Atlanta Country Club is rightfully proud,” Welling said in a media release announcing completion of the project. “For many years Byrd’s design challenged the game’s greats as a prominent venue for championship golf. With this renovation, Atlanta Country Club will no doubt continue to be a true test for the elite player, but I’m even more excited about what this will do for the membership and their guests who will enjoy the elevated playability and sense of community that we hope to inspire with all of our designs.”
Of particular note, the par-3 third and par-5 11th holes were extensively redesigned. Other work included:
All the greens were rebuilt with new 007XL Bentgrass.
Hydronics temperature control systems were placed under each of the greens, through which water can be pumped to cool down the greens in the hot Atlanta summers.
The fairways were switched from Bermuda grass to Zorro Zoysia, which should provide firmer playing conditions.
Thirteen forward tees were added.
Several fairway and greenside bunkers were adjusted to recalibrate strategy, and the traps received Bunker Solutions technology to increase drainage and improve appearance.
All the irrigation and drainage systems were replaced.
Several cart paths were rerouted.
The practice area was reworked to include a range that is 40 percent larger, and a multi-green short-game area was added.
A patio was added to the back of the clubhouse overlooking the 18th
“As a membership, we are excited that the exceptional golf and overall experience at Atlanta Country Club is getting even better,” World Golf Hall-of-Famer and three-time major champion Larry Nelson, a club member, said in the media release. “We recognized now is the right time to look toward the future and how this renovation can help us achieve our goals as a club, and we could not be happier with the work Beau and his team have done to cement our legacy as stewards of the game for generations to come.”
Architect Jay Blasi shares how he reshaped Golden Gate Park Golf Course into a community treasure.
Editor’s note: Architect Jay Blasi works with Golfweek as a rater ambassador and contributes occasional stories.
Golden Gate Park Golf Course is what is right about golf. It is accessible, affordable, playable, sustainable and charitable.
Most importantly, it is repeatable. Every city in America, big or small, could have its own version of Golden Gate Park, and our communities and our game would be better off for it.
The course officially reopens Friday, Feb. 16 after The First Tee of San Francisco invested $2.5-million in a 2023 renovation that I had the good fortune to design.
Perched on a small parcel packed with sand dunes and majestic cypress trees just a few hundred yards from the Pacific Ocean, the course is expected to host 40,000+ rounds a year. Highlights and results of the work include each of the following:
Accessible: The course is located in San Francisco, within Golden Gate Park, a few hundred yards from the beach. Golfers can arrive on foot, by bike, by bus or by car. The course is nine holes of par 3s and is an easy walk for all. The clubhouse and practice greens will be open to all and are certain to become a community hub.
Affordable: The course will cost between $20 and $25 for locals or around $40 to $50 for out-of-town guests. Children – including those who participate in First Tee or Youth on Course programs – will pay even less. That’s compared to $75 to $120 at several other top par-3 layouts.
Playable: The tees, fairways and surrounds are all maintained at fairway height, and there are no forced carries. The course plays firm and fast, so balls roll – even topped shots. Players of all skill levels, including first-timers, will be able to enjoy the course. It can be played with just a putter if golfers want to try it.
Sustainable: The smaller footprint and use of fescue turf will make Golden Gate Park Golf Course one of the most efficient users of water and chemicals in the U.S. golf industry. The single height of grass allows the maintenance team to mow the whole facility quickly. The use of only one formal bunker means all raking can be done in one minute.
Charitable: The First Tee makes the course available to its students for practice and play. The kids are learning valuable lessons that will enrich the community for decades to come. By investing in the course and offering an architecturally interesting layout, beginners will get hooked on the game.
Repeatable: Golden Gate Park Golf Course sits on only 20 acres of land. It was designed in a way that the man-hour equivalent of 2.5 employees can maintain the course. The money invested in the course came from wealthy local golfers and corporations that wanted to support underprivileged kids through golf. This formula can work in New York, Dallas, Denver, Seattle and Atlanta. It also can work in smaller towns in every region of the country.
Former U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk is planning a nice practice spot for former British Open champ Cam Smith in Jacksonville.
Glen Kernan Golf and Country Club’s new ownership group has one Claret Jug to its credit, plus a U.S. Open trophy won by its new course designer.
The Jacksonville, Florida-based private club was purchased Friday by local developer Corner Lot, which counts 2022 British Open champion Cam Smith as an investor and 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk as heading up the course renovation. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
“I’ve had the pleasure of becoming friends with Cam and Jim over the past couple of years,” wrote Andy Allen, CEO of Corner Lot Development Group, a privately-owned real estate developer in North Florida, in a text. “When this opportunity came up, I wanted to put a team and partnership in place with an aligned vision for a golf club that will have a greater impact on our community by bringing a golf experience second to none in Jacksonville. Corner Lot’s mission is to build up our city through smart development and partnerships. This one may take the cake.”
Smith, who defected to LIV Golf shortly after winning the Open at St. Andrews in 2022, the same year he won the Players Championship, initially struggled to find a permanent place to play in his adopted hometown after losing access to TPC Sawgrass in the wake of his leaving for LIV. He has since become a member at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club and March Landing Country Club. But this will be Smith’s first foray into the golf ownership business.
“Andy Allen kept saying I want you to meet with Cam Smith, and that’s how it happened,” said Travis Norman, an executive with Hampton Golf, which will manage Glen Kernan. “I went and met with his business team, and he’s in.”
Smith may have to wait a little while to make Glen Kernan, which was designed by Robert Walker and opened in 1999, his home course. The plan is to shut it down for a year and renovate the course, which sits on 260 acres. Lot lines and home sites are more removed from the golf holes than on some other courses in the area, leaving wide corridors for the golf.
“There’s a significant amount of deferred maintenance to be addressed in the first year to make it a premier club in the area,” Norman said. “We know that demand is high for a high-end private club with limited membership, and the supply is lower in this market.”
Norman said they also will expand the clubhouse and freshen other amenities at its athletic park including pickleball, tennis and a fitness center.
Furyk, a 16-time winner on the PGA Tour who at age 53 remains active on PGA Tour Champions, already has been engaged by another course to be managed by Hampton Golf: Glynlea Country Club at Wylder, a new community planned for Port St. Lucie on the southeast coast of Florida.
“I got the opportunity to walk the first six holes at Glynlea with Jim, and just to hear him talk and see the shaping and his green complexes and bunker design, it was very impressive,” said Norman, whose company already manages Palencia Club, Blue Sky Golf Club and Eagle Harbor among others on Florida’s First Coast. “So his design ability coupled with his knowledge and passion for this golf course made him an obvious choice. Plus, he’s been around this golf course for 20 years. He’s played it with his son and father and he knows every mound on this golf course.”
Furyk has been a longtime member at Glen Kernan. His parents eat there regularly. Furyk said the course is one exit away from Pablo Creek Golf Club, where he practices often, and so it will be convenient to make regular visits.
“The golf course has a lot of promise and good bones,” Furyk said. “Our plan is to make a few holes a little more playable for our average golfers and extend some tee boxes to lengthen the course for our better players.”
Asked if he expects Smith to be involved in some of the design decisions, Furyk said, “I’m sure he’ll be interested. I think Andy has let him know that he can have some input on the practice facilities (at the double-sided range) and such, so I’ll talk to him a little bit about that. I’m sure Cam will want some privacy at the back of the range to get his work done and get ready for tournament golf.” (Smith’s management team didn’t return a call seeking comment.)
Friday was the last day the club was open for play as Corner Lot officially assumed control, and construction is scheduled to begin next week. “We want to create the premier experience in this market,” Norman said. “We think we have the right footprint, the right designer and we’re going to make something special.”
The seller (the Hodges family) also sold land to a local developer who plans to build in the neighborhood of 100 homes.
Check out the photos of the freshly renovated Lagoon Course at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Florida.
Architect Bobby Weed has completed a nine-month renovation of the Lagoon Course at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in northeast Florida in which the greens were rebuilt and resurfaced, among other improvements.
Partnering with MacCurrach Golf Construction and Joey Flinchbaugh, the director of agronomy at the club, Weed restored the greens of the Lagoon Course to their original sizes. The contouring of each green was enhanced to accommodate modern green speeds, and new irrigation was installed. The putting surfaces are now TifEagle Bermuda grass.
The Lagoon is one of two courses at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, alongside the longer Ocean Course that was redesigned most recently by Weed in 2020. The front nine of the Lagoon was designed in 1961 by Robert Trent Jones Sr., and the back nine was added in 1978 by Joe Lee. In 2007, Weed redesigned the Lagoon and lengthened it to 6,025 yards with a par of 70.
The tees, fairways and rough of the Lagoon were re-grassed with TifTuf Bermuda; the bunkers were restored to their original flat-bottomed design with new drains, liners and sand; and the short-game and practice areas also were improved.
“Led by Herbert Peyton, chairman of Gate Petroleum, the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club has entrusted our firm for nearly 30 years to guide the evolution of the Ocean and Lagoon courses,” Weed said in a media release announcing the completion of the renovation. “The Lagoon’s shorter layout, with numerous half-par holes, offers a diverse, faster playing experience that perfectly complements the bolder Ocean Course.”
Check out a selection of photos of the course and resort below.
The Peninsula Club will be renovated by architect Beau Welling.
The Peninsula Club in Cornelius, North Carolina, has broken ground on an extensive golf course renovation project led by Beau Welling and his associate, Chase Webb.
The layout opened in 1990 with a design by Rees Jones on the shores of Lake Norman about a half hour’s drive north of Charlotte. The renovation is slated for completion in October 2024.
The routing of the private Peninsula Club will remain largely the same, but Welling plans a number of improvements. The course, including the greens, will be re-grassed with TifEagle Bermuda. Infrastructure will updated with a new irrigation system and drainage. Strategic tree clearing will improve views, fescue will be added to out-of-play areas and the total square footage of bunkering will be reduced.
Beau Welling (from left) with Nick McLennan, director of golf course grounds at the Peninsula Club, and Nick Mazzella, owner of the Mazzella Partnership (Courtesy of the Peninsula Club)
“After a couple of years of planning and preparation, we are excited to break ground on a project that will create a brand new feeling and playing experience for the golf course as well as other facilities for the club’s membership,” Beau Welling, founder and CEO of Beau Welling Design, said in a media release announcing the renovation. “We are proud to add to the tradition of excellence that the Peninsula Club has curated for decades, and we believe this project will enhance the guest and membership experience both on and off the course.”
A putting course will be added and the club’s practice area will be expanded to include two state-of-the-art teaching bays, among other capital improvements away from the course.
Refreshed greens make this coastal South Carolina layout by Jack Nicklaus play like new.
Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, reopened this month after a renovation by Nicklaus Design. The layout on Pawleys Island near the Atlantic Ocean was originally designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1988.
Over the decades, trees had grown to encroach on the resort course, and many of the greens had shrunk dramatically – both those conditions are common at many courses. Working with a plan laid out by Nicklaus during a 2018 visit, associate Troy Vincent set about a renovation that could improve conditions while making the course more playable.
Besides selective tree removal, the work included:
Each green was stripped and restored to its original size, then re-grassed with TifEagle Bermuda grass. The resizing efforts reclaimed nearly 40,000 square feet of putting surface across the course.
The collars of each green also were resurfaced with a variety of Bermuda grass that can withstand mutation and be mowed lower.
Sprawling fairway bunkers on 10 holes were replaced with smaller traps, native areas and expanded fairways.
The club is also undertaking a clubhouse renovation.
“We followed Jack’s ideas from 2018,” Vincent, who has worked alongside Jack Nicklaus for 15 years, said in a media release announcing the reopening. “It was our intention to make the course more playable, to give players more options, and we have carried that out. I think everyone will be happy.”
The club, which features six holes on the back nine along a tidal marsh, is owned by Founders Group International, which owns 21 courses around Myrtle Beach.
Check out several photos of the finished work below.
Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner looked to the past to set up Olympic Club for the future.
SAN FRANCISCO – From the first tee to the 18th green, golfers will notice plenty of differences on the recently renovated Lake Course at the Olympic Club, a layout that already had seen plenty of changes since it was first designed in 1924.
As they did at several other major championship courses including 2023 U.S. Open host Los Angeles Country Club, Hanse and Wagner planned for the future by studying the past.
Hanse Design associate Tommy Naccarato said that meant researching old aerial photos from the 1920s and ‘30s as well as Spring Valley Water Company’s plans. That allowed the team to identify fairway bunkers that had been abandoned over the decades, and the historic research also provided clues on fairway widths, approaches and green surrounds.
The Spring Valley Water Company’s historical plans show the routing of the the Lake Course at Olympic Club. (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
Ultimately the Hanse plan would call for the reintroduction of fairway bunkers on Nos. 4, 9, 14, 16, 17 and 18. Other refinements included the expansion of greens by roughly 33 percent to provide more pinnable space, widening fairways by roughly 25 percent to better fit the land, expanding approaches to greens to offer more ground-game options and converting numerous green surrounds from fairway to rough for consistency course-wide.
The final piece of the plan was the creation of a new seventh hole to better connect Nos. 6 and 8 after the 2009 shifting of the tees on No. 8. The new No. 7 remains an uphill and drivable par 4, but the green was shifted down a hill to the right. The tee shot offers numerous options, the best of which come when players challenge a new fairway bunker about 50 yards from the green, Hanse said via zoom at a September reopening event.
The land for the new No. 7 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco before the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)No. 7 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco during the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)No. 7 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco during the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
Players can notice the differences from the first tee shot, where the removal of dense shrubs between the first tee and second green has opened a view across the property and down to Lake Merced, all the way to the 18th, where fairway bunkers were added and the green was expanded.
All told, the refinements have provided the Lake Course with a more consistent Golden Age look and feel as well as improved playability for day-to-day play.
The Lake Course offers a rich history that Hanse and Wagner were able to tap into. William Watson and Sam Whiting designed the first version of the Lake in 1924, but storm damage led to a Whiting redesign in 1927.
Starting in 1955 the Lake Course became a familiar home to USGA championships, hosting U.S. Opens in 1955, ‘66, ‘87, ‘98 and 2012. It also hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1958, ‘81, and 2007, as well as the U.S. Women’s Open in 2021.
Throughout its championship history, plenty of work was done to the course while leaving the routing intact. Before the 1955 U.S. Open, architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. toughened the course. In 2009 the uphill par-3 eighth hole was shifted to the north and the greens were converted from poa to bent grass. And in 2016 a bunker renovation was executed under the direction of Bill Love.
No. 1 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco before the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)No. 1 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco after the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
The course played beautifully during a media event thanks to the work of director of grounds Troy Flanagan and his team that worked closely with Hanse’s team, including shaper Shaymus Maley who was on site every day throughout the project.
“Tapping into his knowledge and enthusiasm allowed us to do a better job and be much more responsive on how the golf course plays,” Hanse said of Flanagan. “I can’t think of better greens I’ve played on for an opening day.”
The praise of the course was music to the ears of Olympic Club president Jim Murphy, who led the club through what is always a nervous time for a membership.
“First there was uncertainty, then there was anticipation and now there is jubilation,” Murphy said of his members’ response to Hanse and Wagner’s work.
Those sentiments were echoed by longtime Golfweek’s Best rater and Olympic Club member Pat Murphy, who said, “I’ve been a member of the Olympic Club for 65 years, and previously served as green chair, on the board and as vice president. I feel this renovation has done a great job of honoring our past and positioning us for the future. The golf course is as beautiful, fun and engaging as it has ever been in all my years.”
No. 18 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco before the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)No. 18 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco during the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)No. 18 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco after the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
There is no doubt the course refinements will be embraced by the membership, but perhaps the bigger question is how will the course play in championships. The Lake Course is set to host the 2025 U.S. Amateur, 2028 PGA Championship, 2030 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 2033 Ryder Cup.
The amateur events and the Ryder Cup should be able to tee off while maintaining the added fairway width thanks to their match-play formats. It will be interesting to see how chief championships officer Kerry Haigh and the PGA of America prepare the course for the 2028 PGA Championship, for which conventional wisdom would suggest the narrowing of fairways to add challenge. But a potential ball rollback, more hole locations from which to choose and more rough around the greens may see them embrace the added width – we can only hope.
