Some Exciting New Golf Course Projects (Part 2)

Continuing off of last week’s post, which started to sort through the significant amount of golf course construction that’s happening now, here’s some more color on a range of courses in the building phase. We will continue this exercise for the next couple of weeks as we work our way through the dozens of notable projects on the horizon. Read Part 1 in the series here.

The Lido (Nekoosa, WI)

C.B. Macdonald / Tom Doak

Private

This will be without a doubt the most covered opening of 2023. The Lido, the latest golf course built by the Keisers and Sand Valley, will be a private club with limited public access to resort guests.

If you are unaware, The Lido is a restoration of the original Lido on Long Island. The design was digitally recreated by Peter Flory and Brian Zager and those renderings were used by Tom Doak and his Renaissance team to rebuild the Lido as close as possible to spec. This is a groundbreaking restoration because of the digital technology being used to build features to spec, rather than the practice of manmade creation and interpretation of features from an array of old photos, aerials, and articles as traditionally used by most top architecture firms. This course, which should probably be termed a “restoration” rather than new build, will be a smash hit thanks to the audacity of the original design and the popularity of Macdonald’s templates.

The work will be formative for the future of golf design because of the technology behind it. On a recent episode of The Fried Egg podcast, Doak discussed the idea of copying fairway features of his favorite links courses on new designs. I think that is the direction I’d like this to go, but it might stretch further and lead to a boom of replica courses, especially overseas. I could foresee a run of America’s greatest courses being ripped off and recreated in areas where there is plenty of capital and not many courses. Long term, I don’t think this is a good trend for golf design and one we might look back on and regret starting. For new designs, I prefer to see the talented architects given the opportunity to build new, innovative ideas that push the direction of golf architecture forward as opposed to looking backwards.

Brambles (Middletown, CA)

Coore & Crenshaw

Private

Because of environmental restrictions, this might be one of the last 18-hole golf courses built in Central/Northern California. The founding group, which includes long-time Coore & Crenshaw associate James Duncan, is striving to build a club with a laid-back ethos, more along the lines of Scotland than Long Island. Brambles will provide a sustainable version of golf, with sheep maintaining the rough areas and an ultra-drought-resistant zoysia grass that should require minimal inputs.

At first glance, Brambles looks like an uninspiring plot of land but it has enough movement for compelling golf. The setting, a meadow surrounded by mountains, is splendid. The course is filled with elegant, refined golf architecture. The grow-in process at Brambles has been methodical, but the recent rains in California should lead to a summer with ample water. Look for play to start this fall.

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McArthur GC (Hobe Sound, FL)

Coore & Crenshaw

Private

The hottest area of golf course development is South Florida. There are about 10 new courses being built and/or planned in the West Palm Beach area. This part of the country has a ton of golf courses already, but very few great ones. That’s what makes this Coore & Crenshaw design quite exciting. Over the course of their career, we have seen C&C work on a ton of stellar sites for golf, but it always excites me to see what world-class architects come up with when they have less to work with, and that’s what we will get at McArthur.

Panther National (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)

Jack Nicklaus/Justin Thomas

Private

Does South Florida need more golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus? No. Am I intrigued to see what groundbreaking design ideas Justin Thomas has given his track record of commentary on the subject over the years? No.

While I have very little interest in this project, I can’t get enough of the social content.

The Loop at Chaska (Chaska, MN)

Ben Warren

Public

This is a project that everyone in golf should follow closely. It’s a nine-hole course that has been redesigned by a group of talented shapers and funded by a partnership between the Town of Chaska and Barrier Free Golf. The project, led by Ben Warren, is a form of golf that should be adopted all over the country: a par-3 course that’s not short on interesting design features. Destination resorts have recently proven that there’s demand for this type of golf, and the game at this footprint makes much more sense for a number of communities. The Loop at Chaska is set to open in June.

Next up in this series: more updates on construction projects around the U.S., and maybe elsewhere…

What are your thoughts on the effects that the methods used at the Lido could have on the future of golf architecture? And what do we need to do in order to allow more projects like the Loop at Chaska to happen?