Courtesy of Sullivan County Golf Club (2)
After a dramatic rescue and inspired redesign, Sullivan County Golf Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Nestled in the scenic mountains of upstate New York, the nine-hole course has been revitalized by a new ownership group and the SCC Design team.
The story began with a simple, direct message on social media from the club’s superintendent, Shaun Smith, to golf writer and designer Tom Coyne, asking for help to save the course. Moved by the plea, Coyne assembled an ownership team that includes notable figures like Bill Murray, Jason Kelce, Mike Madden, and local hospitality entrepreneur Sims Foster and Chris Monello.
The redesign, led by Colton Craig and Coyne of SCC Design, in collaboration with Smith, has completely rerouted the course. The new layout takes full advantage of the dramatic, rolling terrain and flowing creek, creating a more engaging journey. Staying true to the SCC Design philosophy of creating walkable courses, the team made significant improvements to the walkable flow. Embracing a “folk style” of golf architecture, the updated course features smaller, subtle greens, tactical bunkering, playful grassy ridges and hollows that blend seamlessly with the natural landscape.
A grassy wall now stands as a gateway, separating the clubhouse, the 9th green, and the 1st tee from the rest of the course. “The golfer begins their journey by ‘leaving home’ as they hit their first shot over the wall,” Smith said. “They then ‘return home’ on their final approach, hitting over the wall for a semi-blind shot to the 9th green, completing the journey.”
Among the new additions is a driving range and a unique putting course that wraps 360 degrees around a small grove of trees, and ties seamlessly to the 1st tee and 9th green.
The project holds a special significance for the design team.
“All projects are special, but this one will always be particularly special because our business partner, Tom Coyne, became a client,” Craig said.
The centennial celebration was marked by a moment of pure magic when Craig returned to the course for the first time since the redesign and made a hole in one on the 6th while playing with Murray.
“It rolled, hit the pin, which shuddered, and she fell in,” Murray wrote of the shot.
This project has also inspired Coyne’s next book, A Course Called Home, which is set to be released in 2026. “I have always written about the consumption of golf,” Coyne said. “Now this book will be about the operations and ownership of golf.”
