I got out to Bedford Springs Resort today as we had to measure it in preparation for a Course Rating. The course is scheduled to open some time in the summer, possibly around 7/1. They were hoping to get it earlier but the cool spring has hurt the grow in.
The newly redone course looks great, although I'd have to say that with the different colors of grass on the fairways and rough it does look more like a new course than an old one. The bunkers are quite deep with flat bottoms and grassy faces.
The original routing has supposedly been restored. Here are the changes from the previous routing:
New Previous Par
1 1 4
2 14 3
3 15 5
4 16 3
5 5 5
6 6 4
7 7 4
8 8 4
9 9 5
10 10 3
11 11 4
12 12 4
13 13 4
14 2 3
15 3 4
16 18 5
17 New 3
18 New 4
Gone are the old 4th and 17th holes, which were both par 4s. With these changes the par is now 72 (previously 73). The yardage has gone from 7003 yards to around 6800.
The new 18th hole is where the driving range was and the old 4th hole will be the new driving range. The 17th is a par 3 that goes back away the hotel along the side of a ridge above the valley. The old 17th is gone. Its green is still there but the fairway is gone as the creek has been widened throughout the course to provide better flood control and in that area it took much of the old fairway. If you were there before and saw the old
The new creek looks much more natural than the old channeled one. They have done a wonderful job of improving the drainage at the course and the new creek allows them to drain a lot more water away instead of flooding the course as it did in the past.
I have a few pictures that I'll try to post later this weekend.