Crews at the club near Asheboro, N.C. are laying Zoysia Prizm sod on the greens. Pete Skirpstas, Director of Operations for Tot Hill Farm owner Pat Barber at a course near Charleston, S.C., says other renovations at Tot Hill Farm over the next few months will include the restoration of two bunkers that were overgrown with grass and eliminating some high grass that had covered a boulder. The new ownership is also making improvements on the old barn that has housed the pro shop.

Tot Hill Farm Golf Club near Asheboro, N.C. is reported to be on schedule to reopen later this summer, Triad Business Journal reported.

Pete Skirpstas, Director of Operations for Tot Hill Farm owner Pat Barber at a course near Charleston, S.C., said crews were laying Zoysia Prizm sod on the greens June 12 at the Randolph County course.

Skirpstas, who works at Stono Ferry Golf Club, said Tot Hill Farm remains on schedule for the Labor Day opening planned when the course closed on May 15, Triad Business Journal reported. Designed by acclaimed architect Mike Strantz, the course is about 2.5 miles southwest of Asheboro.

“Everything is going great,” Skirpstas told Triad Business Journal on June 12. “We should be ready on Labor Day.”

Designed by Mike Strantz, Tot Hill Farm features several unique and scenic holes winding through wild grasses, rock formations, boulders and Betty McGee’s Creek, Triad Business Journal reported. The par-72 layout measures 6,543 yards from the back tees, plays to a 72.5 rating and a 138 slope. The 180-yard No. 3 hole has a tee box set on rocks.

According to multiple websites, rates at Tot Hill Farm for greens fees and cart ranged as high as $74 on weekends, which would make it one of the Triad’s most expensive public courses.

Skirpstas said other renovations at Tot Hill Farm over the next few months will include the restoration of two bunkers that were overgrown with grass and eliminating some high grass that had covered a boulder, Triad Business Journal reported.

“We’re bringing everything back to Strantz’s original design,” Skirpstas said.

The new ownership is also making improvements on the old barn that has housed the pro shop, Triad Business Journal reported. Previous to the course opening in 2000, the property had been owned by Ogburn Yates’ family, which used it for horses and cattle.

Skirpstas did not reveal the cost of the renovations.

Strantz designed only seven courses prior to his death in 2005, but they were among the most heralded courses in the Carolinas and Virginia, Triad Business Journal reported. After working for famed architect and Hendersonville resident Tom Fazio, Strantz created Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, his first solo design, in the mid-1990s in Pawleys Island. a few years later he opened a sister course, True Blue Golf Links.

He also designed Bulls Bay Golf Club near Charleston, S.C., as well as Tobacco Road Golf Club in Sanford, and Stonehouse Golf Club and Royal New Kent near Williamsburg, Va., Triad Business Journal reported. He also renovated Silver Creek Valley and Monterrey Peninsula Country Club in California.

Strantz’s courses are known for their artistic flair and dramatic topography, Triad Business Journal reported.  Despite its pedigree, its spectacular scenery and its collection of difficult holes, the remote Tot Hill Farm has struggled under different management teams over the past decade.

Subpar course conditions were a constant complaint by customers, many of whom have traveled from the Charlotte area as well as the Triad and Triangle to play the layout, Triad Business Journal reported. In the past few years, several of the greens had very little grass.

Barber bought the course from a local group in late 2022 with plans to improve the greens and tee boxes, repair cart paths and bridges, build on-course restrooms and update the clubhouse, Triad Business Journal reported.

In addition to Stono Ferry, Barber also owns The Plantation Course at Edisto, on Edisto Island near Charleston, S.C.

Bladerunner Farms of Poteet, Texas, developed Zoysia Prizm, which is low maintenance, requiring “half the mowing” of the Ultradwarf Bermuda grasses that many top North Carolina courses use, Triad Business Journal reported. The grass also has a short grow-in period, making the Labor Day opening possible.

Several other notable North Carolina courses have had Zoysia grasses from Bladerunner Farms installed, including Greensboro Country Club’s Farm Course, Biltmore Forest Country Club in Asheville, Carmel Country Club in Charlotte and Country Club of North Carolina Dogwood Course in Pinehurst, where it was used in renovations by Greensboro architect Kris Spence, whose renovations at Woodlake Country Club in Vass are expected to be ready for play this summer.

Tot Hill Farm isn’t the only high-profile Triad course closed until late summer. Old Town Club, near Wake Forest University, generally considered the region’s top course, is installing Tif Eagle Bermuda on its putting surfaces.

The reduced maintenance includes less damage from ball marks and greater heat, shade and cold tolerance, Triad Business Journal reported. Unlike Zoysia predecessors, Prizm can provide a competition level speed of 10 to 13 on the Stimpmeter. Plus, the grass can be used from tee to green, leaving no transition areas between fairways and no difficulty maintaining the size of greens from encroaching collar areas.