Golf development and construction company Landscapes Unlimited, golf course architect Tripp Davis and the Atlanta Athletic Club are teaming to turnkey a complete renovation of the venerable club’s Riverside Course.
AAC boasts a rich history of hosting the best events in the game, including the 1976 U.S. Open, the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open, the 1981, 2001 and 2011 PGA Championships, and the 2014 U.S. Amateur.
Work started in early January on changes to Riverside’s tees, fairways, greens and bunkers. Infrastructure upgrades also include installation of a new state-of-the-art irrigation system, sand capping of fairways, and enhanced drainage. AAC’s Highlands Course remains open during the project.
In addition to enhanced playing surfaces, the rebuild will create more strategic features course-wide affording multiple set-up options to make rounds as challenging, fun and interesting as desired. While each hole will be memorable, highlights include No.4, a precision-oriented par 4 with a green sitting just above the Chattahoochee River, and No. 14, a drivable par 4 with the river more in play as a lurking risk from tee to green.
Tripp Davis & Associates, Landscapes Unlimited and AAC leadership began collaborating on strategies last year, with the advance planning allowing for generous lead time for purchases of pipe, sand and other materials to offset supply chain delays.
“I’m always excited to work with the highly talented and organized Landscapes Unlimited team,” Davis said. “Landscapes eases the process of managing construction that allows me to focus more time on the creative details, which make a world of difference to the playing and visual quality of the golf course.”
AAC is a homecoming for Davis who spent his childhood in Atlanta, where he learned about the history of golf and how to play. Davis described his work for AAC, a club the legendary Bobby Jones called home, “a dream come true.”
Landscapes Unlimited will utilize its next generation “M4” premium UAV/ drone-data service to map, measure, model and manage the project lifecycle and budget. This technological advancement, supplemented by terrestrial survey equipment data, ranges from digital surface modeling and topographic contour mapping to real-time, comprehensive documentation. M4’s sophistication promotes real-time, symbiotic and collaborative opportunities between Landscapes, TDA and AAC from pre-construction to the grand re-opening of the Riverside Course.
“Long-term relationships are borne from solid communications with ultimate transparency,” Landscaped Unlimited COO Brian Vitek said. “Tripp’s vision and deft creative touch, along with AAC’s institutional knowledge led by its talented director of agronomy, Lukus Harvey, is destined to make AAC one of the best renovations in recent history.”