Trinity Forest and Bluejack National are garnering global attention for the state, while projects at Maridoe GC and Squaw Creek GC are also of note.
The Dallas Morning News recently provided this update on golf-course construction or renovation projects of note in Texas:
• The Trinity Forest Golf Course, called “one of the most important projects in Texas golf history” by the Morning News, is set to open in fall, the newspaper reported. Course designers Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have been busy with the project, which will transform a 400-acre landfill area along Loop 12 east of Interstate 45 into the course that will become the future site of the AT&T Byron Nelson tournament.
The Trinity Forest complex, which also features a nine-hole layout, short-game practice area and facilities for the Southern Methodist University (SMU) golf teams and the First Tee of Greater Dallas, is scheduled to open as early as September 1st, the Morning News reported.
The facility, just five miles south of downtown Dallas, is the culmination of a plan hatched by the city, in partnership with Dallas-based AT&T and SMU, “to create a world-class golf course to put Dallas back on the golf map,” according to Mayor Mike Rawlings.
The old dump site, now capped and topped with vegetation, will feature “the kinds of humps and hollows inherent in classic courses,” the Morning News reported. The unique layout will evoke “a seaside links tucked in the forest with dunes [with] sandy waste areas and native grasses swaying on the rolling hills,” the paper said.
Record rains delayed the originally targeted spring opening of Trinity Forest, but the mild winter and spring rains hastened the grow-in of the zoysia fairways and Champion ultra-dwarf Bermuda greens, the Morning News reported.
Routing of the 18-hole championship course, the short-game area and the driving range were completed in December. SMU teams began using the range and short-game areas, as well as an eight-hole loop of the course, several months ago.
The AT&T Byron Nelson tournament is scheduled to move to Trinity Forest no later than 2019. “It [has been] exciting to see the whole thing come together,” said Crenshaw, the two-time Masters champion who helped with the original design of the course at the Four Seasons Dallas at Las Colinas, where the Nelson tournament has been staged since 1983.
“It was the most challenging course we’ve done because we’d never done a landfill,” Crenshaw added. “But I fell in love with the site the first time I saw it. It’s a great piece of land that had all the features you’re looking for. We didn’t change anything from the original plan.”
The Trinity Forest course was created to give Dallas a marquee golf venue that would shine under the spotlight of big amateur and pro tournaments, the Morning News reported. With AT&T being a longtime sponsor of the PGA Tour, there has been much talk of the Byron Nelson tournament becoming a potential FedEx Cup Playoffs site.
C&RB has had several reports in recent years on the planning and progress of the Trinity Forest project:http://clubandresortbusiness.com/?s=Trinity+Forest+Golf+Course
• Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, is undergoing a facelift that began in November, with a target opening of spring 2017, the Morning News reported.
The redesign at the property formerly known as Honors Golf Club Dallas is headed by Steve Smyers, President of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the Morning News reported.
The par-71 layout will measure more than 7,700 yards from its longest tees, with other tees set at about 7,200, 6,600, 6,000 and 5,300 yards, through a design intended to challenge accomplished players while still offering a fair test to other skills levels.
• At Squaw Creek Golf Course, described by the Morning News as “a hidden gem in Willow Park [Texas], west of Fort Worth,” a $2.75 million renovation project of the course originally designed by Ralph Plummer is being executed under the direction of Arlington, Texas-based Colligan Golf Design.
Greens and their surrounds have been redesigned and reshaped at the Squaw Creek course, the Morning News reported, and green sizes have also been increased. The putting surfaces will change from bentgrass to MiniVerde Bermudagrass.
Also as part of the project, Squaw Creek’s traditional-style bunkers have been designed to improve the strategy of the layout and improve the aesthetics, all of the tees were renovated to increase the length of the course where possible, and the tee boxes were made larger. More forward tees were also added to make the course more enjoyable for every level of play.
The new course is complemented by a 14-acre driving range and short-game practice facility, which was designed by Colligan Golf Design and opened in 2015, the Morning News reported.
• The Morning News’ report also included an update on Bluejack National Golf Club, which was featured as C&RB’s January 2016 cover story (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2016/01/27/major-aspirations/).
Bluejack National, featuring the first U.S. golf course designed by Tiger Woods, is making “a major impact on Texas golf” with its “high-end, player-friendly layout near Montgomery, about 50 miles north of Houston,” the Morning News reported.
“Bluejack National’s rolling hills and elevation changes are unique to the area but fit perfectly among the towering trees, including the oaks from which the course derives its name,” the Morning News said. “And Woods’ desire to create a fun experience for players of all abilities was a major victory, given the national publicity it has garnered.
“Most of the greens feature run-up areas, providing multiple options. The course was made with families in mind, but Woods also created a 3,008-yard set of junior tees on the 7,552-yard championship layout as well as a 10-hole, par-3 course,” the Morning News reported.
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