The former Twin Wells Golf Course in Dallas, is reopening as Irving Golf Club, after John Colligan, ASGCA (Colligan Golf Design), completed an extensive renovation, including working around numerous areas incorporating overhead electrical lines.
“Several of our best projects had sites of 125 acres or less with budgets under two million dollars,” Colligan told Golf Course Architecture. “This is when real creativity comes into play; not only in design but with a tight budget and time frame.”
The renovation has included the rerouting of eight holes and installing a new irrigation system.
TifEagle greens and surrounds have been reshaped and built to USGA specifications; the 419 bermurda tees were reconstructed and leveled; and the 419 bermuda fairways have been re-contoured to drain better, increase strategic interest and to be more user friendly.
“In order to reinforce the links appearance over 20 acres of blackland prairie, native blend was planted,” said Colligan. “These grasses will help to provide definition and beauty to the course while reducing the amount of acreage to be maintained.
“The end result is a course which is unlike any other in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, incorporating an appearance, style and play values reminiscent of many of the great links courses in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland.
“Incorporating wide user-friendly fairways, greens that beg for an approach shot played on the ground and flat bottom bunkers with steep grass faces, the only things missing are a few sheep.”
Colligan has aimed to improve the course’s strategy definition and beauty by incorporating 27 bunkers.
Read more: our coverage from the construction phase includes more about the changes at Irving Golf Club.
“The property was flat, so we turned that into a positive by creating a links style course,” said Colligan. “We moved a minimum amount of soil so that the result did not look contrived and this helped to keep the budget down.
“There are no courses with this look and playing characteristics in the market and very few golfers get to experience the true links courses over the pond. Irving Golf Club will give them a taste of what people enjoy in the UK and the Republic of Ireland without the cost of a plane ticket.”