Courtesy of Duininck Golf
A Georgia club whose history includes Donald Ross and legendary pro Fred Haskins has completed a bunker renovation involving Duininck Golf and superintendent August Rocco and his team.
The work at Country Club of Columbus modernizes course infrastructure while ensuring characteristics of the Ross design are maintained. The course originally opened in 1909 as a 13-hole layout before being converted to 18 holes by Ross nearly 100 years ago.
“We take a great deal of pride in our classic restorations,” said Duininck Golf CEO Judd Duininck, noting it’s always a humbling honor to be asked to take on such distinguished assignments.
“I’ve been most fortunate in my career to both renovate and visit Donald Ross courses with various architects,” Duininck project manager Chris Kleinsmith said. “Understanding what Mr. Ross was trying to achieve helps greatly in our efforts to bring that back.”
Duininck’s work focused on fairway and greenside bunkers with careful attention to retaining the architectural character. Duininck restored nearly 9,000 square feet on top of the existing 50,000 square feet. Capillary Bunker Liner and new sand was installed. Country Club of Columbus superintendent August Rocco said although he had not worked with Duininck Golf in the past, “they came very highly recommended from other superintendents within the region and industry.”
“This will be a game-changer for our maintenance staff,” Rocco added. “We spend between 5 percent to 8 percent of our annual labor budget repairing washed out bunkers after storms, and the installation of Capillary Bunker Liner, along with new sand will allow us to achieve more consistent playability and shift the constant cost and time to more productive needs.”