(Photo by Mike Lang, Sarasota Herald-Tribune) The Florida city hired architect Richard Mandell to develop an ambitious plan to restore and renovate the historic, 45-hole golf complex after years of neglect. But a business plan prepared by the National Golf Foundation showed that even after the renovations, annual losses of as much as $1 million…
Aliante GC Earns Major Savings from Turf-Conversion Project
Using six months of data gleaned from GPS tracking units that were issued to golfers at the North Las Vegas, Nev. course, almost 129,000 sq. ft. of grass that was found to be in areas with little or no play is being ripped out and replaced with fine-grain rock and desert landscaping. The project will…
Awbrey Glen GC Resumes Major Course Improvements
The Bend, Ore. club has partnered with David McLay Kidd for the next phase of a Golf Course Master Plan originally adopted in the spring of 2011. The latest project aims to improve sight lines, aesthetics and strategic aspects of playing the course.
Marias Valley GC in Tiny Shelby, Mont. Has Big Plans
(Photo by Rich Sanders/Great Falls Tribune) The picturesque town of 3,100 near the Canadian border once tried to put itself on the map by hosting a heavyweight boxing title bout with Jack Dempsey. Now it’s restoring an 18-hole championship course once considered to be one of the state’s best. A new clubhouse and event gazebos…
Seattle Latest City to Study Need for Municipals
After the findings of a consultant’s $100,000-plus study of the city’s four golf courses were released, suggesting that their total of 528 acres could be rebalanced with other recreational options or affordable housing, a larger-than-expected Save Seattle Golf group quickly mobilized. There are no other public options for golf in the city, advocates note, and…
Bucknell GC, Hawaii’s Ocean Course at Hōkūala Select Billy Casper Golf
(Pictured: Ocean Course at Hōkūala) The 89-year-old club affiliated with the Lewisburg, Pa. university features a golf course that has been ranked among the top college courses on the East Coast and has hosted multiple U.S. Open qualifiers. The Hawaiian property features the only Jack Nicklaus Signature Design course on the island of Kaua‘I and…
Service-Job Crunch Continues Even As Overall Growth Slows
While the overall report on U.S. jobs gains in May was well under forecast, service industries expanded at their best pace in three months, and leisure and hospitality remained one of the leading job-gain sectors.
Dead Tree Turned Into Signature Sculpture at Pottawatomie GC
(Photo by Brian Hill, Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald) After a donor stepped forward, a carver was commissioned to create the 16-foot-high piece from a dying white oak that was properly positioned on the 80-year-old St. Charles, Ill. property, which features a scenic and highly rated nine-hole course originally designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr.…
Cape Fear National to Undergo Major Course Renovations
The property located outside Wilmington, N.C. has already begun work to restore each sand bunker on its Tim Cate-designed golf course to its original integrity, prior to disruptions caused by Hurricane Florence in the fall of 2018. Greens will also be converted from bentgrass to hybrid Bermuda, with a reopening scheduled for September 2.
Historic Excelsior Club Faces June 12 Demolition Deadline
The African-American social club in Charlotte, N.C., now listed as one of the most endangered historical properties in the U.S., was once one of the largest private clubs of its type on the East Coast, with a heritage that includes hosting artists including Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong. The building needs $400,000 in repairs…
Illinois Clubs Face New Business Realities
(Pictured: Banquet facility at Mistwood GC) Declining rounds have forced many golf clubs in the state to close or look for buyers that are more interested in developing the property than repositioning them with more well-rounded club offerings. But some, like Mistwood GC in Romeoville, Ill. are reemphasizing their restaurant and banquet business to pull…
CDC Drops Heat-Stress Screening Threshold to 85 Degrees
After an analysis of 25 heat-related illnesses, 14 of which were fatal, the Centers for Disease Control now suggests that employers start screening workers for heat stress at the lower heat-index level, rather than the 91º F currently recommended by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Six of the fatal cases that were studied occurred…
Greenbrier Insurance Lawsuit Kicked Out of Court
A federal judge dismissed the attempt to recover $100 million in unpaid insurance claims after an historic 2016 flood swamped the White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. resort property, because dozens of the insurers were never officially notified that they were being sued. The dismissal is without prejudice, so the lawsuit could be refiled.
Naperville CC, Mink Meadows GC Form Management-Firm Partnerships
(Pictured: Naperville CC) The 98-year-old Naperville (Ill.) CC, with a Tom Bendelow-designed golf course that was redesigned by Steve Forrest, has selected Troon Privé for its management. Ninety-one-year-old Mink Meadows GC, on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts’ Cape Cod and with a nine-hole course designed by Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek, has arranged a consulting partnership…
Application Period Opens for Green Start Academy
The two-day event, hosted in October in the Raleigh, N.C. area by John Deere Golf and Bayer, awards all-expenses-paid opportunities to 50 assistant superintendents to advance their careers and benefit from the opportunities that the Academy offers to develop critical business skills, expand business networks and learn from notable industry experts.