Preserving playability a priority
BIRMINGHAM – Three of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail courses are undergoing a little more than routine maintenance this winter.
In Muscle Shoals, the Schoolmaster course has undergone a complete bunker renovation. The same thing is under way at Hampton Cove’s Highands course. And in Prattville, the Judge course will be closed until the fall for a more extensive renovation.
It’s all part of the grand plan to keep the Trail courses at the forefront in what has become an increasingly crowded destination space nationally.
Mike Beverly, president and CEO of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, said the bunker renovations are something that must be done about every 10 years. The Trail went to a capillary bunker design on the Schoolmaster and Highlands courses. Also, one bunker was removed on Schoolmaster. Additionally, several bunkers on Fighting Joe were renovated – edges were added, sand was added and some general cleanup was done. Beverly said he hopes that will extend the life of Fighting Joe’s bunkers for “two or three more years” until an entire refurbish can be scheduled.
“Generally, bunkers have a 10-to-12-year shelf life,” he said. “Once you get into older bunkers — especially ones with mesh in the bottom — sometimes they get contaminated. You get sand mixing with soil, and that’s old technology. The industry has moved on to things like Better Billy bunkers or capillary systems.”
Capillary concrete bunker liners are innovative solutions designed to enhance drainage and reduce maintenance. Water flows through the liner at up to 100 inches per hour, preventing erosion and maintaining optimal moisture levels.
Beverly thinks the capillary system holds up a little longer than other methods. For these renovations, he said they modified the process by putting capillary material on the bunker facings.
“The concrete on the faces helps keep them from washing,” he said. “There’s less labor, less sand to push back down. The more you move sand around, that’s when contamination starts.”
Keeping play on RTJ courses moving
Play continued uninterrupted on Schoolmaster during the process as work was done on only a few holes at a time. Bunkers under construction were played as ground under repair. The Highlands course at Hampton Cove will undergo a similar process. Work on the Highlands is scheduled to begin later this month and expected to last several months.
“The good thing about how we’re doing this is we never had to close the course,” Beverly said of Schoolmaster. “We can keep play moving. That’s a big advantage when you’re renovating bunkers but not relocating them — you do one or two holes at a time. Once you start relocating bunkers and moving dirt, reshaping approaches, that’s a whole different mess. You end up closing holes, and we didn’t want to do that. We’ve got to keep customers happy and keep golf available. People have been really patient working around one hole at a time, and I think they appreciate the improvements.”
Highlands bunkers had a rubberized base when it was built as one of the original Trail courses.
“You’ll see black specks in the sand that almost look like chunks of asphalt,” Beverly said. “That was something we tried at the time. Technology changes, and sometimes you look back and say, ‘Okay, that didn’t age the way we hoped.’ So we’re going to put capillary bunkers in there, get things consistent. It actually raises the bunker floor a bit, even though we’re not redesigning them. It softens those four-inch lips and makes it a little easier to get the ball out.”
Renovating The Judge
No question that the Judge course at the RTJ Golf Trail Capitol Hill has one of the most stunning opening tee shots anywhere. With views of Montgomery in the distance and water on the right, the 200-foot downhill tee shot is a spectacular way to get a round started at the 54-hole facility.
But it’s going to be a while before anyone gets to experience that tee shot. The Judge closed in December for renovations and is scheduled to reopen this fall. The Legislator course underwent similar renovations last year.
Unlike Schoolmaster and Hampton Cove Highlands, which are undergoing bunker renovations, the Judge is getting some much-needed repair work.
“What we’re focusing on is wall replacement,” Beverly said. “There’s a lot of wood in the water, and that just doesn’t last. We’re replacing it with metal sheet piling, which should give us another 25 years. We also have island tees that sit on old wood platforms that have started to wash out underneath. Those need full reconstruction.”
Beverly said part of the work being done “is making it more playable, not easier, but fairer.”
“The Judge is a hard golf course,” he said.
Proof of that statement is found at No. 7, a man-sized par-5 that plays 575 yards from the white tees, 625 from the purple and 675 from the black. Water runs down the right side the entire length of the hole. Previously, the elevated, long, narrow green was guarded in front by a finger of water and bunkers.
“I watched two older players hit really good shots that rolled back into the water because of the false front,” he said. “That tells you something. We’re going to lower the green slightly, take out the two front bunkers, and create a run-up option. We’ll keep the challenge on the right side for tournaments, but make it playable for average golfers. That’s really the philosophy — challenging from the back tees, enjoyable from the right tees.”
Beverly said the changes being made in an effort to keep up with the changing times.
“The golfing population is aging,” he said. “Swing speeds go down, mobility changes. You’ve got to plan for the next 20 years. We’re not changing the routing or the character — just improving playability.”
Moving forward on renovations at the RTJ courses
Beverly said continued improvements along the Trail are necessary.
“What I’m really trying to do is develop a 30-year master plan,” he said. “Everything has a lifespan — like a roof on a house. We need to know what’s been done, what hasn’t, and what’s coming next so we can communicate clearly with ownership. You can’t bunch big projects together. When you close holes, you’re displacing revenue.”
Part of the beauty of the RTJ Golf Trail is that because of its multiple sites – most within an easy drive of each other, officials are able to provide plenty of options for visitors.
“Even with renovations last year, we still had a really strong year,” he said. “We were able to move rounds around the Trail and keep the package business going. That’s one of the great things about the Trail — you don’t have to book two years out. We can accommodate people. Our busiest sites are Grand National, Capitol Hill, Birmingham, and a few others. About 40 percent of rounds are packages; the rest is local play. It’s a really healthy mix.”
Gregg Dewalt is the editor of Alabama Golf News
Have a story idea or a news item to report to Alabama Golf News? Email gregg@alabamagolfnews.com
Featured image by Gregg Dewalt
