Golf Course Architecture - Issue 60, April 2020

19 TEE BOX F ry/Straka has completed six holes of a massive renovation project at the former Sand Barrens Golf Club in Swainton, New Jersey. With a layout originally designed by Hurdzan & Fry, the club was purchased by private city club The Union League of Philadelphia in 2017 and renamed Union League National. The club hired Dana Fry and Jason Straka’s firm to create a master plan, and construction work began in February 2018. “The project is a 27-hole renovation that began as somewhat of a facelift on the property,” said Jacob Hoffer, general manager at the club. “As the project began to take shape, we felt it necessary to go deeper into a renovation. We realised we were about to embark on something pretty special.” “The League wanted to make a splash early on, so all six starting and finishing holes were completed first,” said Jason Straka. “We are now working to complete the South nine, which has been renamed the Sherman nine. There is some work being done on adjacent holes of the other nines to accommodate the shifting and rerouting of the Sherman holes. “The next nine to be tackled later this year is the Grant nine. However, there may be some mixing and matching by region.” On five holes, fairways tie directly into one big fill area that covers over 35 acres. “This gives the other 22 holes an incredibly unique low-profile look with the very rough-edged natural looking bunkering built into many of today’s newer courses,” said Dana Fry. “The combination of the massive earthmoving and the low-profile looking areas is something people that are into golf course design will really find interesting.” Straka said: “The freedom to do something quite unique essentially from scratch in the United States is the most exciting thing about the project. That is quite rare these days. Once Dana and I were given the freedom to really push the envelope we developed a concept that is a cross between Calusa Pines and Pine Valley. The old Sand Barrens did not have very much topographic relief to it, so given the budget we decided to create one massive, meandering fill that impacts over nine holes – spread over all three nines. “For those who have played Sand Barrens and have not toured the new project, they won’t even recognise it. The scale is immense, from the rolling and dramatic Calusa-like hills to the lower profile rugged holes, nothing looks the same.” Fry added: “I have been designing courses for over 30 years and to me the single most unique thing about this project is that it combines two dramatically different styles that I have never seen on any other course in the world. It has massive earthmoving that, in time, will appear to look natural, much like we did at Calusa Pines.” Hoffer said: “I truthfully believe that this property can contend to be one of the best golf experiences in the country following the renovation’s completion.” Fry/Straka is currently working on the Sherman nine, which has been shifted and rerouted Photo: Evan Schiller “I truthfully believe that this property can contend to be one of the best golf experiences in the country”