Lanny Wadkins Vision For TPC Craig Ranch's $22 Million Renovation

Forbes

06-05-2025

A D6 Caterpillar tractor bulldozes the practice green at TPC Craig Ranch to kickstart Lanny Wadkins ... More course renovation of the home of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Invited
Ten minutes after the trophy ceremony at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson wrapped, a Caterpillar D6 rumbled across the practice green at TPC Craig Ranch—breaking literal ground on a $22 million renovation with a roar.
It was a high-octane show of force from country club giant Invited, which is doubling down on one of its flagship properties and has clearly tired of those ho-hum photo ops with gold-plated shovels.
After 21 years, the McKinney, Texas, course was due for a major makeover—one that promises sharper teeth, revamped bunkers, and reimagined green complexes to elevate the experience for both members and top-tier pros. Lately, the latter had grown used to torching the place. On Sunday, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler went so low he could've won a limbo contest. The Dallas native steamrolled the field, his 31-under 253 tying the PGA Tour's lowest 72-hole score on record (since 1983).
Overseeing the renovation of the 21-year-old track is World Golf Hall of Famer Lanny Wadkins, who, fittingly, notched 21 PGA Tour wins during a career that also included eight Ryder Cup appearances. The former player, TV broadcaster, and now architect's focus is on refining the course's character without compromising its core identity.
In practical terms, that amounts to reshaped and, in some cases, repositioned greens, upgraded sand traps, and new turf varieties. Rowlett Creek, which crisscrosses the course over a dozen times, will also factor larger. The net effect, Wadkins hopes, is a course that requires increased shot making prowess for professionals while keeping things a lot more copacetic when attacking the course from more forward tee markers.
While the original routing by Wadkins' longtime friend and fellow major champion Tom Weiskopf will largely remain intact, the upgrades are intended to create a more engaging experience.
'I think we are going to give them something unique. This is a big, big property and we would like it to feel a little more intimate,' Wadkins explained. 'The routing is staying the same—so you'll have the same golf course, it's just going to be much improved and the bunkering and green complexes are going to be different.'
'I think it will be something they will never get tired of playing. That's what I'd like to see, a golf course where the members really have fun, every single time they go out there,' he added.
As far as the pros go, they'll need to do their homework and study up on TPC Craig Ranch as if they were cramming for a calculus quiz.
'They are going to have to play some serious practice rounds and pay attention to some things because we are moving a few of the green complexes—No. 3 and No. 4 off the bat and No. 5 probably. No. 7 is going to be moved a little bit left. They're basically the same overall holes but when you start moving green complexes and changing the shot quality—the greens will be smaller and the bunkers tighter—that's one thing they'll notice right off the bat. They're going to have to be a little more exact with their approach shots.'
As for scoring expectations for the 2026 edition of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Wadkins isn't turning Craig Ranch into a player slayer—he is simply tightening things up and making the view from the tips no picnic.
'I would love to see the winning score 12 to 15 under. That would be what I would hope for, but with today's guys I don't discount anything. I hold the tournament record at Riviera which is one of the hardest courses, at 20 under, so stuff happens. When guys get going like Scottie did, nothing slows them down. If they hit every fairway they're going to shoot some numbers.' Go-To Designer
Wadkins has become Invited's go-to architect, having already put his indelible stamp on Westlake Country Club in Austin, Braemar outside Los Angeles, and the Hills Course at Stonebridge Ranch. But Craig Ranch marks his highest-profile assignment yet.
'As he's been getting into it more, now that he's retired from being a commentator on the Golf Channel and before that CBS for many years, he's really done a lot more than just putting his toes in the water, Bob Morse, president and chief operating officer of Invited, said.
'I think he's going to get a lot of accolades for when we are done Craig Ranch and I think that will be his most high-profile golf course due to the fact that it's a tour stop.'
When the course reopens in November, the initiation fee for new members will jump to $125,000—making Craig Ranch the priciest club in Invited's extensive portfolio. Does that high price tag add pressure to deliver a showstopper?
'Not really,' Wadkins says. 'We know what we're doing, and that's Invited's gauge, not mine. I've been tasked with making sure it gets done—and gets done right. My partner Kurt Bowman and I have high goals and high hopes for what we can accomplish out here.'
Wadkins isn't trying to reinvent Craig Ranch, but he is putting serious spit-shine on the rolling land to take it to the next level. It's an approach he believes his ole buddy Weiskopf would have truly appreciated.
'I hope he would be happy with what we're going to do,' he said. 'I wish I could sit and talk to him about it. He was a special, special friend.'