Brookings (S.D.) CC Begins Course Renovation

To improve overall course conditions, the club completed a six-month long-range master plan, which concluded that removing trees, reconstructing the existing sand bunkers and constructing new forward tees would benefit the course the most.

Brookings (S.D.) Country Club’s golf course is working to complete a major renovation of its lakeside golf course, the Brookings Register reported.

“The improvements are being made in an effort to increase membership and outside guest play by improving overall course conditions and making the golf course more enjoyable and more playable for a wider range of golfers,” said Tedd Evans, the club’s General Manager.

Course designer Kevin Norby said the club began construction August 13, immediately after the South Dakota Women’s Amateur Championship Golf Tournament came to a close. The project is expected to take six to eight weeks, so improvements will be ready for play in the spring of 2013, with the course remaining open throughout the renovation, the Register reported.

“On weekends, all of the holes will be open,” Norby noted, “but during the week, we might have a hole or two closed or some temporary tees. No golfers will be greatly inconvenienced.”

Earlier this year, the club completed a six-month, long-range master plan study intended to identify opportunities to improve the golf course and to assist in prioritizing the need for long-range improvements, the Register reported.

The study concluded the club would benefit most from:
-the removal of some trees and the realignment of some fairways to restore the original playing corridors;
-the reconstruction of the existing sand bunkers; and
-the construction of new forward tees to make the course more enjoyable for women, seniors and beginning golfers.

“Our goal in rebuilding the bunkers is to bring back some of the historic character that makes this course unique,” Norby said. “In doing so, we believe that we can make the course more attractive, more playable and easier to maintain.”

Evans said the course will use a new, finer type of sand imported from Ohio to make play more enjoyable, the Register reported.

“We hope that improving course conditioning and bringing back some of the unique historic character will attract new members and increase guest play from communities as far away as Sioux Falls and Watertown,” said Norby.

Tags: brookings country club course renovation Kevin Norby Sioux Falls S.D. South Dakota Women’s Amateur Championship Golf Tournament tedd evans Watertown S.D.