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By Design
and another day take your kids out to play three or six or nine
or however many par-three holes after work.”
Clubs don’t need to rely on an epiphany to work out
how best to approach an overhaul of practice facilities.
The Club at Mirasol
in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
commissioned a comprehensive study to determine how
the entire facility was used and should be used. “The
findings informed our work for the practice facility,” says
Drew Rogers, ASGCA, who oversaw a complete renovation
and reorientation of the practice range, short-game facility
and putting greens at this 36-hole club, formerly home to
the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic.
The new practice facility bears all the markings of a true
collaboration of club, architect and superintendent. From a
design perspective, there is elegance and efficiency: Rogers
took a two-tier tee and made it single-tier, increasing square
footage by 20 percent. He added a second putting green to
reduce turf stress and provide players more elbow room.
Perhaps most important, he created a seamless flow of traffic,
where players park once and use the new range, short-game
area and putting greens without getting back in a cart.
“The practice facility has become one of the primary
drivers of golf usage here at Mirasol,” says director of
golf course maintenance Michael Thomas. “Members
increasingly hang out with their buddies, have lunch,
hit balls and don’t necessarily even go out on the golf
course—that’s the trend we see.
“The new practice facility is right over the cart path from
the new grille room, which is now under construction.
That’s no accident. The new grille won’t be called the
PRACTICE FACILITIES
Getting a golf ‘fix’
Cascade Hills Country Club
in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
decided to upgrade its practice facilities to address growing
demand for a quicker golf experience. “With evolving time
constraints for families and their use of the club, many turned
to spending short periods on the driving range to get their
golf ‘fix’ in, versus up to four hours on course,” says Adrian
Joliffe, head golf professional at the club. “In order to fulfil
that demand, a redesign was necessary to maximize the
entire space.” Bruce Matthews, ASGCA, created a design
that would transform its worn hitting area into a visually
interesting and inviting space that could accommodate
multiple golfers of all skill levels. Matthews has incorporated
a 55-yard short game area, 6,000-square-foot green and
4,500-square-foot practice bunker, plus a dedicated lesson
tee separated from the main practice tees. Brick pavers that
were reclaimed from a previous clubhouse renovation have
been used as surrounds for the artificial tees. The project
has achieved its objectives: “The response was immediately
positive from the first posted drawings to the membership,”
says Joliffe. “Use of the practice area continues to grow
along with the membership. The ability to use the space in
all weather conditions with the addition of the artificial turf
space allowed us to stay open longer into the fall, open
earlier in the spring, and open on Monday afternoons when
the driving range had normally been closed for the day.”
BEST PRACTICE
Cascade Hills has seen a significant growth in the use of its
practice facilities since the redesign