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By Design
NEW BUILDS
The Country Club at The Golden
Nugget sits alongside the Calcasieu
River, mostly on land that has been
reclaimed from the river since the
creation of a levee system some
years ago. “A few small hills of pure
sand remained in the middle of the
site, covered in loblolly pines,” says
Eckenrode. “We routed the golf
course to maximize their impact,
with a variety of tees and greens
playing off them. The site is open, so
many acres of waste bunkering are a
dominant feature of the course. Bold,
dramatic green contours abound,
creating diverse and interesting play.
But the real jewel of the site is the
river frontage, where the five closing
holes are located. Two par threes and
a drivable par four hug Indian Bay, a
natural cove in the river. These lead
into two challenging finishing holes,
a par four and a par five, both along
the Calcasieu River, where it’s not
unusual to be playing alongside a
massive freighter, a group of
kayakers or a local fisherman out
after some redfish.”
The Falls at Grand Falls
Up in the north of Iowa, at the
Grand Falls casino resort, another
course is underway, designed by
ASGCA Past President Rees Jones
and his associate Bryce Swanson,
ASGCA. Opening in Spring 2015,
Jones describes the course as ‘a new
style,’ with fewer bunkers and more
ground game options. “The budget
at Grand Falls is not elaborate—it
is intended to be a $50 daily fee
operation,” he says. “We were
building courses that were too
expensive to sustain themselves.
Now, we have to find new ways of
making our courses interesting and
enjoyable, while keeping the cost
of construction and maintenance
under control.”
The Falls at Grand Falls
Location: Larchwood, Iowa
Architect: Rees Jones, ASGCA Past President
Image: Jason Brown, Trident Image Group
Images: Grand Falls Casino
