Champions Retreat in Evans, Ga. will be resurfacing putting greens and collars across all three courses, while the Charlie Yates Golf Course in Atlanta, Ga. is converting all nine greens and the practice green from Bentgrass to Prizm Zoysia, in addition to other enhancements. Course-wide improvements at TPC Louisiana included a total renovation of the irrigation system, and renovations to the bunkers, fairways, greens, and waste areas.
Champions Retreat in Evans, Ga.—the only club in the world featuring three individually designed courses by Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus—announced the resurfacing of all putting greens and collars across all three courses.
The property will undergo the greens renovation, replacing the bentgrass surfaces with Tif-Eagle bermudagrass during the summer of 2021—after hosting the first two rounds of the second Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“While we’ve received phenomenal feedback on our courses during the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, we won’t rest on success and are dedicated to providing firm, fast, crisp and clean conditions year-round at Champions Retreat,” said General Manager Cameron Wiebe. “After significant research and exploration, Tif-Eagle has proven to be the ideal choice for premier putting surfaces on our property, delivering the speed and consistency we necessitate for an enhanced golf experience.”
The schedule of the project over the summer has been carefully planned to minimize membership disruption and is slated for completion in the Fall of 2021.
In Atlanta, Ga., East Lake Golf Club, announced upcoming renovations to the Charlie Yates Golf Course and practice facility. The club is also selected prominent Atlanta-based club management company, Bobby Jones Links (BJL), to manage the golf and food-and-beverage operations at Charlie Yates Golf Course as well as the renovation project.
“We are honored to support the operations of Charlie Yates Golf Course and bring our management systems, expertise, and resources in addition to our significant experience in golf course maintenance and renovations,” said Whitney Crouse, Founding Partner of Bobby Jones Links. “Charlie Yates and Bobby Jones were significant figures in golf, and we are proud to honor their legacy through this partnership.”
To assist in the golf course renovations, Charlie Yates Golf Course has hired Medalist Golf to oversee construction. In addition to converting all nine greens and the practice green from Bentgrass to Prizm Zoysia, the renovations will also include several tee repairs, cart path refurbishment, and a restoration of the practice tee on the north end of the practice range.
“We are excited to embark on these new enhancements to the course and customer experience,” said Chad Parker, PGA, President and General Manager of East Lake Golf Club. “Bobby Jones Links puts tremendous emphasis on service excellence. Medalist Golf has been involved with our facility for many years. Their familiarity with the course, our team, the neighborhood and our mission make these Atlanta-based companies the perfect partners.”
Work on the course will begin in late-May and will conclude by the first week of July when the grow-in process is finished. Upon completion, the course will offer exceptional putting surfaces that are much more heat, shade, and traffic tolerant. The new Prism Zoysia grass greens will offer a highly consistent putting surface year-round.
In addition to the golf course renovation project, Charlie Yates Golf Course has hired the architecture and design firm of Kuo Diedrich Chi to reimagine and expand the food-and-beverage operation at Charlie Yates and to renovate the interior of the clubhouse. Work on the clubhouse is expected to begin later this year and will be completed prior to the 2022 golf season.
Duininck Golf completed the third phase of golf course improvements at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La. Designed by golf course architect Pete Dye, in conjunction with PGA Tour player Steve Elkington and Louisiana native Kelly Gibson, TPC Louisiana garnered high accolades when it debuted in 2004 and played host to the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The course plays from 5,121 yards to 7,400 yards and water comes into play on several holes, including the signature 18th with water along the entire length of the right side of the hole making for an unforgettable finish to a round.
In an effort to maintain TPC Louisiana’s stature in the New Orleans market, TPC Network embarked on a three-phase improvement plan to address areas of the course that had lost its original character and restore the layout to the standards of a tour course.
A member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary program and the Audubon Golf Trail, TPC Louisiana is in an area well known for long rainy seasons and wet conditions. TPC Louisiana also has the unique and challenging opportunity of being built alongside the wetlands of the Mississippi River Delta affording stunning scenery, but frequently saturated soil conditions add limits to playability after sustaining heavy rains.
“Working in Louisiana presents challenges due to the wet climate, but we are happy to know that the improvements have been well received,” said Ahren Habicht of Duininck Golf.
The TPC Network initially engaged Duininck Golf in late 2018 to undertake Phase One golf course improvements that included updating irrigations heads, a new pump station, and new irrigation controllers.
Phase Two improvements, which included a complete re-grass and renovations of the formal bunkers were completed in spring of 2020. During this phase, organic material was stripped off all fairways and greens surfaces. The fairways were then replaced with new celebration sod and the greens were sprigged to TifEagle.
In October 2020 through the spring of 2021, Duininck Golf, alongside PGA architect Leslie Claytor and Course Superintendent Brandon Reese, completed the third phase of work consisting of improvements to drainage in waste areas along with new bunkers and new bunker sand.
Course-wide improvements included a total renovation to the irrigation system, renovations to the bunkers, fairways, greens, and waste areas.
“The course improvements that took place over the last few years have been well received by the club, the Tour, and the players from the most recent 2021 Zurich Classic,” said Judd Duininck of Duininck Golf. “It was a great opportunity to see the results of our work shine on one of the biggest stages.”
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