The Rose is blooming in Georgia

Tripp Davis is part of the team bringing The Rose to bloom just outside Athens, Georgia.

Scheduled to open in 2026, Davis is designing The Rose, a new private course developed by 2001 Walker Cup golfer Nick Cassini and his brother Dimitri.

“It is a beautiful site, fairly open,” Davis said. “200 of the 300 acres we are using for the golf course were harvested for pine trees, so we have mostly cleared lesser quality hardwoods and volunteer underbrush. The land has a Shinnecock feel to it, with really nice rolling contours.”

The layout will feature 105 acres of turf and 195 acres of thinner native grasses near play — “and what we are calling our ‘heathland’ areas of native grass and small indigenous shrubs more out of play,” Davis said.

As he has during other recent projects, Davis turned to the Zline system for the course’s bunkers.

“We are now grassing the course, and will be doing so until into the fall,” he said. “And the bunkers are being lined at the moment as well. … The developers want the course to be in the style of early American classics, so the sand lines on the bunkers are very high. When you have a high sand line, you need to be sure that the sand will hold on the bunker faces, and ZLine holds extremely well. Additionally, the bunker sands used in Georgia need to drain quickly to perform well, and ZLine drains better than any other bunker liner product I have come across.

“The course has turned out really well, and I can’t wait to see it finished — I think members and their guests will love it.”