Olympia Fields CC has also backed out of an agreement with Foster to work on its championship course, as the golf course architect faces up to five years in prison following a guilty plea for illegally transporting endangered species, migratory birds and other wildlife for his Virginia antique and specialty shop.
Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. has decided to cut ties with golf course architect Keith Foster, reported The Fried Egg, a golf newsletter. The club’s Board of Governors came to the decision December 22 and will begin the process of finding a new architect, The Fried Egg reported.
Congressional had engaged Foster in September to direct a full restoration, starting in 2019, of its historic Blue Course, as part of the announcement that it had been awarded a PGA Championship in 2031 and a Ryder Cup in 2036, along with six other PGA events, that would all take place on that course.
Congressional’s decision to not use Foster for the project came following the report on December 18 that the architect had pleaded guilty to illegally transporting between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of items made from endangered species, migratory birds and other wildlife for his Virginia antique and specialty shop (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/golf-course-architect-pleads-guilty-to-smuggling-endangered-wildlife/).
Foster’s sentencing for violations of the Lacey Act, which bans the trafficking of illegal wildlife or plants into the U.S., is scheduled for March 8, 2019. He potentially faces up to five years in prison for the violations.
In an e-mail to the Congressional CC membership, club President Bev Lane remarked, “The permitting phase of the Blue Course restoration project will continue as planned. A list of golf course architects has been developed and initial discussions with them have already begun.”
Foster’s plan called for Congressional to restore the Blue Course, which has hosted three U.S. Open tournaments and a PGA Championship, to its original 1924 Devereux Emmett plan. Sources told The Fried Egg that Foster’s restoration plan called for a $30 million overhaul of the Blue Course and the club’s practice and teaching facility. Over the years, changes to the Blue Course had been made by Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones and most recently Rees Jones.
Foster has also been disengaged from a project at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club following the news of his guilty plea, The Fried Egg reported. The club and Foster were in the early stages of master-planning for course renovations at the club, which has two historic courses originally designed by Willie Park Jr. and Tom Bendelow.
Olympia Fields released a statement to its membership that said “we have done our best to mitigate the club’s damages resulting from [Foster’s] admitted offenses and are proceeding to formulate a plan to move forward with another architect,” The Fried Egg reported.
The newsletter also reported that Foster was rumored to have also been let go from pending projects at Omaha (Neb.) Country Club and Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas, Texas.
C&RB also reported in January 2018 Foster’s involvement in a project for the A. W. Tillinghast-designed course at Golden Valley (Minn.) Country Club (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/golden-valley-cc-stay-member-owned/). No reports have yet been seen on whether a change may also transpire for that project.
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