The Course at Keowee Springs, a 7,100-yard championship design, opened earlier this month in Six Mile, S.C. This addition, bringing The Cliffs’ collection of completed golf courses to six (two of which are designed by Tom Fazio), brings a new twist to tradition by featuring a distinctive layout of three sets of six holes as well as the incorporation of family tees. The Keowee Springs course will also be home to the state-of-the-art International Institute of Golf led by Steve Bann and Dale Lynch – the famous Australian coaching team who has worked with Geoff Ogilvy, Stuart Appleby and KJ Choi, among others.
South Carolina’s Fort Mill Golf Club unveiled the results of a comprehensive $3 million renovation program earlier this month. “Fort Mill Golf Club is the product of two of the country’s most storied and prolific golf course architects, Donald Ross and George Cobb,” says Gene Roper, director of golf operations for course owner Leroy Springs & Company. “We’re thrilled today to share the restored luster of their original designs with golfers around the region.” The renovation included the rebuilding of all tee and green complexes, and the conversion of the greens from bent grass to the heartier and more heat tolerant MiniVerde grass, a Bermuda hybrid that retains the smoother and quicker putting characteristics of bent grass. Additionally, all the bunkers on the course.
The Players Club at Deer Creek, Omaha, Neb., will continue its string of major additions when $1.6 million in new construction begins this fall. General Manager Chris Jacobson said F&B Constructors will begin work around Oct. 1 that will triple the size of the dining room as well as add locker rooms, a members’ grille, lounge, offices, restrooms and storage area. Construction should be complete in time for a 2009 Memorial Day weekend opening, Roberts said. Last year the club, which transitioned from a semiprivate to a prive club, added nine new golf holes to the Arnold Palmer-designed golf course as well as a swimming pool area and fitness facility.
Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, unveiled the Sawtooths Putting Course. "People who don't play golf can participate in the golf experience via the Sawtooths Putting Course," says Sun Valley General Manager Wallace Huffman. "Simultaneously, accomplished players will find the challenge to be top-notch as this is a true course and not simply several holes cut into a relatively flat, constricted putting green. I can see people enjoying cocktails and having a round of putting before lunch or dinner on Sawtooths.”
Schmidt-Curley Design – the full-service golf-course architecture, master-planning and construction-management firm – has partnered with Nick Faldo, current captain of the European Ryder Cup team, on its first Canadian design project at British Columbia's Revelstoke Mountain Resort. The 18-hole course will be situated at the base of Mount Mackenzie along the shores of the Columbia River. "The course's location adjacent to the river is ideal," says Brian Curley. "We'll be working with relatively sandy soil and terrain that's less rocky and undulating than the typical mountain course. We can't wait to start earthmoving next Spring as Revelstoke presents a fantastic opportunity to showcase our skills in the Canadian market."