It will mark a record 20th time that the Ardmore, Pa. club has staged a USGA Championship, and its seventh Amateur, also a record. The event will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
New Funding Secured to Accelerate “Monarchs in the Rough” Program
(Photo at LaCumbre CC by Wayne Mills/Audubon International) The Audubon International program to establish habitats for the endangered monarch butterfly in out-of-play areas of U.S. golf courses was launched in 2018 with the help of funding from the United States Golf Association. Now the National Fish and Wildlife Association is adding support, with a goal…
CC of Rochester (N.Y.) Votes Down Hosting U.S. Senior Women’s Open
The vote for the club to host the event, which debuted in 2018, fell short of the 66 percent required and led to some “mixed emotions” and reported divisiveness among the membership as a result of the outcome. Had it been approved, CCR would have become the the only club in America to host a…
National Organization Names Lions Municipal GC as Threatened Site
Despite being added to the National Park Service’s Register of Historic Places, the West Austin, Texas property is being looked at for possible mixed-use development. A national education and advocacy organization has named Lions Municipal Golf Course in West Austin, Texas as a threatened site, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The Cultural Landscape Foundation, a nonprofit…
Video Documents Lakeside CC’s First Year of Recovery from Hurricane Harvey
The seven-minute film produced by the United States Golf Association documents the yeoman efforts by the club’s grounds maintenance team, led by Superintendent Terry Hutcherson to get the golf course at the Houston, Texas property reopened in just over a month, after last year’s Category 4 storm dumped 50 inches of rain on the area…
Pinehurst Resort & CC Set to Debut ‘Reimagined’ No. 4 Course
The course at the Pinehurst, N.C. property is scheduled to reopen on September 20, 2018, after a restoration, directed by architect Gil Hanse, that sought to return the original landscape to the course while creating new features, slopes and green locations. Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort & Country Club will unveil a completely reimagined No. 4 course—the…
Philadelphia Country Club Starts Approval Process for Pool Project
The proposal by the 128-year-old Gladwyne, Pa. club calls for removal of its old pool and construction of a new one. The club wants to start the project in September, for completion in time for the 2019 season. Improvements to the club’s golf course, driving range and short-game area are also planned. Officials at Philadelphia…
Natural Grass Helps Course at Cottonwood Creek GC Stand Up to Brutal Heat
Prairie vegetation planted four years ago through a cooperative venture with the United States Golf Association, the Ladybird Johnson Wildlife Center and Baylor University ecologists has thrived as a wildlife haven while also creating maintenance efficiencies for the Waco, Texas municipal course. While Course Superintendent J.D. Franz was concerned in the first years of the…
Chicago Golf Club Hosts Inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open “For Love of the Game”
The “hyperexclusive” club in Wheaton, Ill. is hosting the new USGA championship July 12-15, marking its first tournament event since the Walker Cup in 2005. Chicago Golf Club, with the oldest 18-hole golf course in North America, was one of five founding members of the USGA and hosted three U.S. Opens between 1897 and 1911.…
Cohasse CC Looks to Change “Best-Kept Secret” Status at Age 100
The Southbridge, Mass. property boasts a Donald Ross-designed nine-hole course that has been ranked in North America’s top ten, but is taking steps to raise awareness and boost membership by welcoming public play through Groupon discounts. Two years ago, it also developed a new revenue stream by renting seven acres adjacent to its course to…
Scientists Study Ways to Minimize Golf Course Runoff
In work partially funded by the United States Golf Association, researchers compared the effects of hollow-tine core cultivation (HTCC) and verticutting on controlling pesticide runoff by simulating rainstorms at a test site at the University of Minnesota, and concluded that the HTCC practice is more effective at absorbing more runoff. Scientists from the United…
Former Springwood GC Set to Reopen as Bridgewater GC
The rebranded York, Pa., club will be part of a new Bridgewater Community and will feature a newly redesigned and renovated nine-hole course. The developer, Keystone Custom Homes, has contracted with Bridgewater Golf Club and Daniel Baker, PGA, to manage the golf operations, and with a local restaurant operator to run the clubhouse and dining…
Clubs Face Lawsuits Over Workplace Violations, Noisy Greens Fans
Biltmore Forest Country Club in Asheville, N.C. has been sued by a former employee of its Men’s Grill and by its current golf shop manager over allegations of discrimination based on disability and age and other violations. Residents who live near The Kansas City Country Club have filed an action against the club over the noise created by the greens fans that are run during especially hot periods to help fight fungus and other turf damage.
USGA to Build Fan Bridge at Shinnecock Hills GC
The Southampton, N.Y., property will host the 2018 U.S. Open on June 14-17, and the USGA has offered to build a 210-foot long bridge to give fans access to the tournament. When the county built the bridge in 2004, it cost $200,000, but for the 2018 event, construction was budgeted to cost $1.5 million. U.S.…
Viewer Call-ins On Golf Rules Violations to be Banned Starting Jan. 1
Golf’s governing bodies will now assign one or more officials to monitor video broadcasts of competitions to help identify possible rules issues. The additional two-stroke penalty for failing to include a penalty on a scorecard when a player was unaware of the infraction will also be eliminated.