ASGCA Past President Robert Trent Jones Jr., and his team are currently have projects underway on four continents, from Stevens Point, Wis., to Beijing, China.
The firm provides updates to a number of ongoing efforts around the world:
In Argentina, construction has begun on the new 18-hole Rio Hondo Golf Club, part of a government-sponsored project to create a high-end touristic zone for discriminating travelers. The sandy site features wetlands and lagoons adjacent to the Hondo River.
In Colombia, the firm has completed the second nine holes of the Mesa de Yeguas Country Club, near Anapoima, which will officially open as a 27-hole layout in December. The course is situated along the huge valley of the Bogota River with many holes playing along high cliff-top plateaus.
In Pebble Beach, Calif., Joens is completing the construction phase of a complete rebuilding of Poppy Hills Golf Course. Jones, in partnership with the Northern California Golf Association, greatly reduced the amount of irrigated turf to conserve water and introduced transitional zones of sandy areas between turf and forest.
The company has also finished grassing the SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point, Wis. Opend in 1987, the layout has undergone extensive upgrading to drainage and irrigation to bring it up to modern standards. The RTJ II team created four entirely new holes, enhanced the parkland experience by thinning overgrowth, and re-strategized options from the tees while offering more opportunities to play shots along the ground near the greens.
Jones has also completed a multi-phase renovation of The Wisley near London. This project presents an example of how a thorough master plan can allow courses to accomplish complex goals within set budgets while still remaining open for play. Jones’s work at The Wisley delivered firmer, faster, more easily-maintained turf by sand-slitting the fairways, brought the nearby River Wey into play, and otherwise improved conditions on three nines over several years.
“Our work at The Wisley shows what a forward-thinking facility can accomplish through a well-crafted master plan created in consultation with highly-experienced golf course architects,” Jones said. “Members never lost a day of golf while we improved conditions and brought their golf holes into the modern era.”
Jones also recently delivered the keynote speech to the Club Managers Association of China as the company’s second course at Changbaishan, north of Bijing, Jilin Province, nears completion. Jones’s 36 holes there complement a resort and religious pilgrimage site in mountainous terrain separating China from North Korea.