By Design – Issue 52, Spring 2021

20 ASGCA DESIGN EXCELLENCE THE LINKS AT SAGEWOOD S agewood – a senior living community in Phoenix, Arizona – was embarking on the second phase of an expansion in 2016 when it decided to transform a little-used open space into a world class amenity for its 600 residents. It hired golf course architect Gary Brawley, ASGCA, to design a new putting course for the 50,000-square-foot area. Brawley visited four putting courses in Arizona prior to starting work at Sagewood. “The owner and I had discussions about the positives and negatives of single hole routings, artificial turf versus natural turf, construction means and methods, all of which were foundational in the design directives given to me,” said Brawley. “The owner’s directive was to build the highest quality, natural playing surface putting course that would be both a fun and unique challenge for the residents.” Brawley knew that the residents would quite likely play the putting course multiple times a week, so the design, dubbed The Links at Sagewood, had to be engaging. New putting course brings residents of Arizona senior living community back to the game. Golf rises again in Phoenix Photo: Gary Brawley, ASGCA The new putting course at the Sagewood retirement community provides residents with a “fun and unique challenge”