Latest news with #Golfweek'sBest
USA Today
2 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
This Texas golf club is getting a $22 million makeover
This Texas golf club is getting a $22 million makeover Golf architect Chet Williams is well known for his work in Texas, including his design of the state's top private golf course on Golfweek's Best list, Whispering Pines. Now, Williams is being tapped for a full course redesign at a club close to the state's capital in Austin. According to a release, a $22.3 million master plan that includes a full golf course redesign, expansive clubhouse updates, and racquet sports facility enhancements is set to begin at Great Hills Country Club, which sits in Northwest Austin. This announcement came alongside news that Chip Gist will join the club as general manager and chief operating officer on June 10. 'After an extensive national search, Chip stood out as the clear leader to guide Great Hills through this exciting transformation,' said John Ellett, Board President. 'His proven ability to elevate member experiences, lead complex renovations, and engage meaningfully with both members and staff made him the unanimous choice of our Board.' According to the release, the golf course improvements will include: Signature hole redesigns that create more memorable, scenic, and challenging experiences for players of all levels. Upgraded practice facilities, including expanded short-game areas and advanced TrackMan/TopTracer technology on the driving range. New irrigation system to enhance water conservation and year-round course conditions. 'This project has the potential to elevate Great Hills into one of the premier courses in Central Texas,' said Williams. 'I believe hole 13 will be one of the best par 4s in the state when completed.' The original golf course was designed by Don January and Billy Martindale. Construction on the project is due to begin in October, with full completion expected in early 2027.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Check the yardage book: Muirfield Village for the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament
Check the yardage book: Muirfield Village for the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio – site of this week's Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour – was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened on Memorial Day in 1974. Nicklaus has since completed multiple tweaks to the course and two major renovations. Muirfield Village ranks No. 10 on Golfweek's Best list of modern courses built in or since 1960 in the U.S. It is also the No. 1 private course in Ohio. It has hosted the Memorial since 1976. The course will play to 7,569 yards with a par of 72 for this year's tournament. Thanks to yardage books provided by PuttView – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week. Check out the maps of each hole in the embedded photo gallery.
USA Today
20-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Legendary California golf course upgraded its gorgeous greens. Why?
Legendary California golf course upgraded its gorgeous greens. Why? Editor's note: Jay Blasi is a golf course architect based in California who works with the Golfweek's Best program hosting rater events and contributes stories to Golfweek several times a year. Pasatiempo Golf Club, with one of the great golf courses in the United States, features some of the most dramatic greens in golf. Marion Hollins, the driving force behind Cypress Point farther south along the Pacific Coast, founded the club and hired Golden Age architect Alister MacKenzie to build the course that opened in 1929. Pasatiempo is a rarity in American golf. It's essentially a private course that allows limited access to outside play. It ranks No. 36 on Golfweek's Best list of classic courses in the U.S., and because it allows some public play, it ranks No. 2 among California's public-access courses. But Pasatiempo's 'push-up' putting surfaces had changed in recent decades. Their health was in danger, and despite the best agronomic efforts of the grounds crew, the playing conditions could be inconsistent. The club decided to act, and architect Jim Urbina began a project in April 2023 to restore the putting surfaces to MacKenzie's original intent and introduce new grass that is healthier and much more consistent. With the course never closing, Urbina's greens restoration was completed in December of 2024. The front nine was the focus of work in 2023, followed by the back nine in 2024. The decision to work on a beloved classic golf course is always difficult, with numerous questions to answer. Some of those questions are based in science while others are more art. The golf world, especially the social media side, is largely focused on how things look – the art side. But it is important for members and guests to understand the science as well. To better understand that side of the project at Pasatiempo, I reached out to Justin Mandon, the longtime superintendent at Pasatiempo. Following are excerpts of that conversation. Can you explain what type of grass you had on the greens before the restoration? The old greens were 100 percent Poa annua. How deep were those roots? The roots on the Poa annua greens varied, depending on the time of year, from three quarters of an inch to three inches. Can you explain what a push-up green is? A push-up green is a non-engineered medium consisting of the original sand mix used to establish the green with additional layers of sand top-dressing. Generally lacking sub-surface drainage. What were the stresses on that turf? Push-up greens typically have low percolation rates. Over 100 years of sand top-dressing and varied cultural practices create layers within the soil profile. Low percolation rates can create anaerobic conditions, or what we refer as black layer making it difficult to grow healthy turf. The use of recycled water and lack of rainfall in the West also contribute excess accumulation of sodium and bicarbonates, which will also hinder your ability to maintain full turf coverage throughout the season. Even with the use of some aggressive cultural practices such as monthly deep-tine aeration, sand injections and compressed air to fracture the soil, the overall health of the greens continued to slowly decline prior to the restoration. These cultural practices were successful as they bought us more time, but in the end the overall feeling of the membership was at some point we needed to rip the Band-Aid off. The greens at Pasatiempo are quite large, averaging around 7,000 square feet, but only had three to four pin placements. The concentration of traffic in these areas also aided in the overall decline, as we average 50,000 rounds annually. You chose to build USGA greens. Can you explain what a USGA green is? A USGA green is an engineered green with specific thresholds for the greens mix, pea gravel and drainage. They consist of four inches perforated drain pipe on 10-foot centers built within the subgrade, four inches of pea gravel and 12 inches of greens mix. Can you share what bent grass type you selected and how you came to that decision? We selected the Prestige blend from Tee-2-Green. The Prestige blend is a 50/50 mix of Pure Distinction and Pure Select. We worked closely with Lewis Sharpe, the Tee-2-Green agronomist, to help select the mixture. We visited five courses in California utilizing similar blends and spoke with superintendents and members at these clubs. Why did you believe USGA greens and bent grass were the right solution for Pasatiempo? I have no reservations about the use of bent grass at Pasatiempo. Our goal was to restore the golf course and create a sustainable environment for the next generation. Our greens are now more consistent and easier to maintain with less inputs. Prior to the restoration, we communicated to our members the Poa greens are great 80-100 days a year. Now with new bent grass greens, we can have those same conditions, if not better, 300 days a year. The other 65 days it is raining in California, sometimes. How are things different in terms of managing the putting surfaces, post-renovation? The Poa annua greens were more susceptible to disease, sodium damage and inconsistent playing conditions from morning to afternoon. We were spraying multiple fungicides every 14 days on Poa annua and are now making seven to 10 applications annually. It is easier to control growth on bent grass due to the numerous growth regulators labeled for use, which in turn creates more consistent playing conditions. We now mow greens 3 days per week and roll them two days per week. Previously, on Poa annua greens, we mowed six days per week and rolled three to four days per week. The firmness of the greens is more consistent throughout the year and we no longer see lakes and rivers persist after heavy rain events.
USA Today
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
LPGA becomes third major golf circuit to tackle El Camaleon at Playa del Carmen
LPGA becomes third major golf circuit to tackle El Camaleon at Playa del Carmen El Camaleon Golf Course Mayakoba was the first official venue to host a PGA Tour event outside of the United States and Canada, but it's 16-year run as a PGA Tour stop ended in November 2022. The tournament had a few names over that stretch but the World Wide Technology Championship moved to Tiger Woods' golf course in Cabos San Lucas, El Cardonal at Diamante, at the same time that El Camaleon decided to welcome LIV Golf. In 2023 and 2024, LIV hosted events at El Camaleon but then that circuit moved on to a different Mexican golf course, Club de Golf Chapultepec, which is another former home for the PGA Tour. Here in 2025, it's the LPGA's turn to take up tournament residence in Playa del Carmen, about 35 miles south of Cancun on the eastern side of Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula. It's the first LPGA event in the country since 2017. Many of the world's best women's golfers will use the event as final prep for the 2025 U.S. Women's Open. While doing so, they'll have to navigate one of the more unique features to be found anywhere in competitive golf. El Camaleon is famous for a cave bunker in the fairway You'll hear the term cave bunker or perhaps sinkhole, but that large opening in the fairway at El Camaleon is called a cenote (pronounced see-NOTE-ay), and it is indeed a giant natural sink hole. These are mostly found on the Yucatan Peninsula. Course designer Greg Norman, who designed the layout and opened it in 2004, built the golf course with these cenotes in mind. How does the El Camaleon Golf Course rank? According to the 2025 Golfweek's Best: Top 50 courses in Mexico, Caribbean, Atlantic islands, Central America, El Camaleon Golf Course at Mayakoba ranks 24th. Who's in the field for the LPGA's Mexico Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba? There are 136 golfers in the field, headlined by Sei Young Kim, Linn Grant, Charley Hull, Leona Maguire, Gaby Lopez, Ruixun Liu, In Gee Chun, Sophia Popov, Yani Tseng and Albane Valenzuela. New title sponsor of LPGA Mayakoba event has signed on According to a news release:
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
This Oklahoma golf course was just named the host of the 2032 PGA Championship
This Oklahoma golf course was just named the host of the 2032 PGA Championship Southern Hills Country Club, designed by Perry Maxwell and opened in 1936, will make it an even six-pack of PGA Championships, the PGA of America announced on Tuesday. The course in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will host the 2032 PGA Championship, making it the first venue to host the event six times. 'We could not be more excited to return to Southern Hills Country Club for the 114th PGA Championship in May 2032,' said PGA of America President Don Rea Jr., PGA Master Professional and Owner/Operator of Augusta Ranch Golf Club (Arizona). 'Southern Hills and its incredible members as well as the entire Tulsa community have always welcomed the PGA of America, our PGA Members and our Major Championships with authentic, neighborly hospitality. We look forward to bringing the PGA Championship back to not only a first class community, but a world renowned golf course that will challenge the world's best golfers as they compete for the iconic Wanamaker Trophy.' The course was renovated multiple times by the likes of Robert Trent Jones and Keith Foster, and in 2019 Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner wrapped up work on a restoration that put much of Maxwell's original intent back into the layout. Southern Hills has been host to a slew of championships, ranging from the U.S. Women's Open to the Senior PGA Championship and counts among its men's majors five past PGA Championships (1970, '82, '94, '07, '22) and three U.S. Opens ('58, '77 and '01). In 2022, with help from Mito Pereira's heartbreaking debacle on the 72nd hole, Justin Thomas hoisted the 2-foot tall, 27-pound silver Wanamaker Trophy for a second time after defeating Will Zalatoris in a three-hole aggregate playoff. The layout is No. 1 among private courses in Oklahoma in Golfweek's Best rankings, and it is No. 38 on Golfweek's Best list of classic courses built before 1960 in the U.S.
