By Design - Spring 2019

Renovation FSU in progress with $8 million renovation F lorida State University is in progress with an $8 million renovation of its Don Veller Seminole course. The work is being overseen by Nicklaus Design, with the involvement of Jack Nicklaus, ASGCA Fellow, Jack Nicklaus II, ASGCA, who is responsible for design strategy and Chris Cochran, ASGCA, who is heading up the project. “We are creating a brand new golf course,” said Cochran. “The university needed to free up as much property on the southern portion of the existing golf course as possible, for future road expansion and possible commercial development. “After much study, Nicklaus Design was able to re-route the golf course to generate 35 acres of land for the university. Only one hole is left from the original routing—the eighteenth—but we were able to use the majority of the old golf corridors. All tees, fairways, rough, bunkers, greens and cart paths are new. “We will be able to transform what was a nice but pretty ordinary golf course into an incredibly well- balanced golf course that will be a real joy to play.” The redesigned course is expected to open in autumn 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Florida State University The FSU project team with Jack Nicklaus, ASGCA Fellow (third left), Jack Nicklaus II, ASGCA (second right), and Chris Cochran, ASGCA (far right) W est Bay Club in Estero, Florida, has reopened following a golf course renovation project by Fry/Straka Golf Course Design. With a primary goal of improving playability, Fry/Straka has made changes throughout the course, including new greens, bunkers and re-grassing. “Upon conducting a lot of agronomic and historical research on the greens, it was discovered the greens had shrunk by around 50 percent since they were originally constructed, and the original construction was of poor quality,” said Jason Straka, ASGCA. “So, the club decided to redesign and rebuild all of the greens as part of the project. “The entire course was re-grassed, but only around 65 percent was regraded. New tees were added and about 50 percent of the others expanded. All fairway bunkers, green complexes and surrounds were redesigned.” Fry/Straka used GPS data loggers to identify areas of turf that could be removed. “We actually have our own ‘fleet’ that we use for renovations. We track hundreds of rounds, and they can be categorized and analyzed by gender, age and handicap. It helps us identify and communicate to our clients where areas of turf can come out without impacting play.” The course reopened for play in November 2018 and a grand reopening took place in January 2019. Photo: West Bay Club West Bay Club reopens following Fry/Straka project Renovation DIGEST 10 | By Design