Directed by course architect Andrew Green, the $5 million project at the public-access facility in Crownsville, Md. will see the removal of all bunkers on the 18-hole layout originally designed by Ed Ault. Other highlights when the results are unveiled this fall will include installation of Bermuda grass fairways, increasing wetlands by more than 13 acres and a new irrigation system.
Eisenhower Golf Course, located one mile outside the capital city of Annapolis in Crownsville, Md., and named after the 34th U. S. President and avid golfer Dwight D. Eisenhower, is scheduled for completion of a major course renovation this fall under the guidance of course architect Andrew Green.
Opened in 1969, the original design of the Eisenhower course was crafted by renowned architect Ed Ault on more than 220 acres of splendidly wooded landscape and is an area favorite for Anne Arundel and surrounding counties.
The $5 million renovation project involves a complete overhaul of the public-access facility that is managed by Billy Casper Golf, highlighted by the removal of all bunkers on the 18-hole golf course for greater sustainability.
When inspecting the property for the first time, Green “saw so many fun shots using the character and topography already there. And I thought we could do something special here, and don’t need bunkers.
“There will be plenty of interesting and engaging holes for strategy and ‘trouble’ without sand,” Green adds. “Each shot is special; it’s not a course with a bunch of thoughtless swings. Giving something no one else has will excite golfers.”
Green is also engineering a makeover of Congressional Country Club’s famous Blue Course in Bethesda, Md., in preparation for major tournament play over coming decades, and modernizing the East Course at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. in time for the 2023 PGA Championship. At Eisenhower, he has taken an environmentally friendly approach to the classic layout by installing Bermuda grass fairways that require less water and chemical inputs.
His imprint features native fescue and strategic mounding for visual appeal and playing challenges, and Bentgrass greens for true-rolling putts. Several holes have been lengthened or shortened with different sightlines from fairways to greens, and the renovation will leave five sets of tees from 4,700 to 7,100 yards, to satisfy golfers of all abilities.
Undertaken in tandem with the Anne Arundel County Watershed Protection and Restoration Program as a stream-restoration and stormwater management project, the new features of the Eisenhower course will increase wetlands by more than 13 acres, bringing wildlife to the area.
Eisenhower enjoys longstanding designation as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” by Audubon International. For more than a decade, it has maintained sound practices in six key areas: environmental planning, wildlife and habitat management, outreach and education, chemical use reduction, water conservation and water quality management.
Additional improvements include an expanded driving range, abundance of new boardwalks, creek restoration, state-of-the-art irrigation system (with precise targeting for reduced water usage) and new golf carts.
“We are fortunate to have the creative eye of Andrew Green directing the course transformation,” says Damian Cosby, PGA, the Chief of Anne Arundel County Golf Operations. “The result will be a beautiful course with immaculate conditions that doesn’t require the fuel, equipment, sand and labor needed to maintain a traditional layout.”
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