Brad Faxon is one of several investors in an agreement to purchase the Metacomet Golf Club in East Providence, R.I. The group is working with Gil Hanse’s design team with hopes of bringing the Donald Ross design back to its glory and returning it to status as one of the state’s best courses.
Aiken (S.C.) GC Earns “Best-Kept Secret” Nod
The 107-year-old club with a course designed by Donald Ross disciple J.R. Inglis dominated the voting by the South Carolina Golf Course Ratings Panel. “Golf courses like ours got lost in the shuffle during the boom of the ‘80s and ‘90s,” said Jim McNair, Jr. whose family has owned the club for 60 years.
Interlachen CC Opens New Facilities from $10.5M Renovation
The Edina, Minn. club has opened a new member dining outlet, the Bobby Jones Pub & Grille, and a new golf performance center and lounge. Additional parts of the project to be completed in 2019, to coincide with the 100thanniversary of the redesign of the club’s golf course by Donald Ross, will include creating a…
Hawthorne Valley GC Closes for Second Time in Three Years
The Solon, Ohio course has been operated by Davey Golf since 2016, though the division of Davey Tree Expert Co., chose not to renew at the end of 2018. The owners said the nearly 100-year-old, Donald Ross-designed course would still be maintained with the hope of finding a new buyer, but Solon’s mayor thinks the…
Biltmore Hotel Continues $30M Project with Opening of Restored Course
In addition to having golf course architect Brian Silva restore the original Donald Ross design at the Coral Gables, Fla. property, its guest rooms, corridors, main lobby, Spa and fitness club have been redesigned.
Deaths of Golf Icons Gus Andreone, Willie McRae Reported
Andreone, the oldest member of the PGA of America, died at the age of 107 on October 27 in Sarasota, Fla. He was the long-time golf professional at Pittsburgh’s Edgemont Country Club and a decorated World War II veteran. McRae, 85, died on October 28. He had caddied at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort for 75 years,…
Donald Ross Signature Course at Bradenton (Fla.) CC Reopens
The grand re-opening of the 94-year-old course was scheduled to be held on October 26, after a seven-month, $2.5 million renovation that included complete green replacements and many other enhancements directed by World Golf Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin. The club also renovated its pool facilities to create a resort-style experience, with private cabanas, a…
Metacomet CC Listed for Sale
The 117-year-old private, member-owned club in East Providence, R.I. features a Donald Ross-designed golf course. It is located across from an area along the East Providence waterfront that has been targeted for regentrification through development of a mixed-use district with commercial, residential and public open-space opportunities. Metacomet Country Club, a private, member-owned golf club in…
Greens and Bunkers Get Fresh Look at Forsyth CC
Improvements made over the summer to the Winston-Salem, N.C. club’s Donald Ross-designed course included new Champion ultradwarf Bermuda putting surfaces, whiter sand in bunkers with improved drainage, and a new short-game area with a long, undulating practice green, two bunkers and two generous chipping areas. Tree removal was also done throughout the course. The…
Congressional CC Lands Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, Six Other Events
The Bethesda, Md. club will host the new schedule of championships for the PGA of America on its Blue Course over the next two decades, to add to its storied history that has already included a trio of U.S. Opens, the 1976 PGA Championship, and many other Tour events. The Blue Course will receive a…
Biltmore Plans Hotel Modernization Along with Ross Course Restoration
Designated a National Historic Landmark, the hotel opened in 1926 and will now be part of a total of $25 million in improvements for the Miami property. “You want to keep the hotel as the icon, but not be old and musky and dreary,” the Biltmore President and CEO said in describing the planned improvements…
Detroit GC Gets PGA Tour Stop
The club will host an event sponsored by Quicken Loans in June 2019, with the parties signing a four-year deal to bring professional golf to the Motor City as the PGA released its 2018-2019 schedule. The Detroit Golf Club will be the host for the first PGA Tour tournament to be played inside the Motor…
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…
Miami’s Biltmore Hotel to Restore Historic Donald Ross Course
The $2.5 million project will start July 5thand be overseen by Brian Silva, with an expected reopening in December 2019. The project will add new Bermuda grass on existing tees, fairways and greens, incorporate new bunkers, establish challenging signature holes and extend the course’s overall length to over 7,100 yards. The property’s short-game practice and…
Sarasota’s Bobby Jones GC Holds Public Forums
In a guest opinion column in the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, Golf Course Manager Sue Martin detailed the history of the nearly 100-year-old property, outlined the operating challenges it now faces, and invited “golfers and non-golfers alike” to come to meetings on June 13 and 14 to “continue the community conversation about how to drive Bobby…