Lester George

[hhuffines]

I had the pleasure of meeting this gentleman at our club
recentley.  

Outside of Kinloch, which apparently was done with Vinny
Giles, has he done anything of note in either new designs
or renovations?

Thanks!

[Jonathan Cummings]

Lester completed the redo of CC of Florida (Delray Beach) and it is excellent.  He also did 9 holes at Shenandoah CC in Front Royal.

JC

[wsmorrison]

From his website:

Abenakee Golf Club     Biddeford Pool, ME     Master Plan of Improvements. Renovation of Nine Holes.

Aspen Hill Golf Club*    Farmville, VA    Master Plan of Development. Residential, Golf Routing.

Belle Haven Country Club    Alexandria, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Renovation Design and Bid Construction.

Birkdale Golf Course
   Richmond, VA
   Design and Construction of Range Renovation and Regrassing.

Boonsboro Country Club    Lynchburg, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction of Renovations and Additions.

Captain’s Cove    Greenbackville, VA    Design of New 18 Hole Course. Construction

Carolina Country Club    Raleigh, NC    Master Plan of Renovations. Practice Facility Study.

Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club
   Virginia Beach, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design of Improvements. Construction.

The Colonial Golf Course*    Williamsburg, VA    Feasibility, Planning, Design and Construction of New 18 Hole Golf Course with PGA Tour Design Consultant Robert Wrenn.

The Country Club of Florida    Boynton Beach, FL    Master Plan of Renovations.
Design and Construction.

Country Club of Petersburg    Petersburg, VA
   Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction of Greens Renovation.

The Country Club of Scranton    Scranton, PA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design of two new holes.

The Country Club of Virginia
Tuckahoe Creek Course    Richmond, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction of Bunker and Tee Renovations.

The Country Club of Virginia
Westhampton Course    Richmond, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction of Bunker and Tee Renovations. Redesign and rebuild driving range

The Country Club of Virginia
James River Course    Richmond, VA    Renovation of 18 Greens. Regrassing of Fairways.

Disney’s America Theme Park    Haymarket, VA    Feasibility Study and Design of 18 holes.

The DuPont Country Club
The DuPont Course
   Wilmington, DE    Master Plan of Renovations For 18 Holes and Practice Facility. Design and Construction of Renovations.

The DuPont Country Club
The Nemours Course    Wilmington, DE    Master Plan of Renovations, 18 holes.

Elizabeth Manor Country Club    Portsmouth, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction of Greens Renovation.

Fauquier Springs Country Club    Warrenton, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design of Renovations. Construction

The First Tee*    Chesterfield, VA    Planning, Design and Construction of 21 Hole Golf Course.

The First Tee*    Richmond, VA    Planning and Design and Construcction of Two 9 Hole Golf Courses.

The First Tee*    Columbia, MD
   Planning and Design of One 12 Hole Golf Course.

The First Tee*    Philadelphia, PA
   Planning and Design of Two 9 Hole Golf Courses.

The First Tee*    Roanoke, VA    Planning and Design of One 6 Hole Golf Course With Practice Facility.

The First Tee*    Washington, DC    Planning and Design of One 3 Hole and One 9 Hole Golf Course.

The First Tee*    Pendleton County, KY    Planning and Design of One 3 Hole Golf Course.

Forest Hills Golf & Resort*    Hiroshima, Japan    Design and Construction of New 18 Hole Daily Fee Course.

The Fountainhead Golf Club    Amelia, VA    Master Plan of Development. Feasibility Study.

The Greenbrier
Old White Course    White Sulphur Springs, WV    18 Hole Master Plan of Restoration. Construction.

High Vista Country Club    Arden, NC    Design and Construction of 5 New Holes to Golf Course and Residential Development.

Hillendale Country Club    Phoenix, MD    Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction of Renovations.

James River Country Club    Newport News, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design, Construction of Greens, Tees and Bunker Renovations.

The Kanawah Club    Goochland, VA    Planning and Design of 9 Hole Golf Course and practice facility.

Kiln Creek Golf & Country Club    Newport News, VA    Design and Construction of Additional 4 Holes.

Kincaid Lake State ParkThe*    Pendleton County, KY    Design and Construction of New 18 Hole Course.

Kinloch Golf Club    Goochland, VA    
Design and Construction, 18 Hole Golf Course and Residential development with Design Consultant Vinny Giles.

Lambert’s Point*    Norfolk, VA    Design and Construction of New 9 Hole Golf Course.

Langley Air Force Base    Langley, VA    Master Plan of Renovations for 36 Hole Golf Course. Design and Construction of Greens, Tees and Bunker Renovations.

Lakeview Golf Course*    Harrisonburg, VA    Master Plan and Design of New 9 Holes.

Meadowbrook Country Club    Richmond, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction of Renovations.

Ocean City Golf & Yacht Club*
Newport Bay Golf Course*    Berlin, MD    Design and Construction of New 18 Hole Course. 36 Hole Master Plan of Renovations.

Ocean City Golf & Yacht Club*, Seaside Course*    Berlin, MD    18 Hole Master Plan of Renovations.

Princess Anne Country Club    Virginia Beach, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction of New Practice Facility.

Providence Golf Club*    Richmond, VA    Design of New 18 Hole Course.

Roanoke Country Club    Roanoke, VA    Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction of Renovations.

Rock Manor Golf Course*    Wilmington, DE    Master Plan of Renovations.Construction.

Salem Municipal Golf Course*    Salem, VA    Feasibility and Design of New 18 Hole Municipal Golf Course.

The Salisbury Country Club    Midlothian, VA    Master Plan of Renovations.
Design, Construction of Greens, Tees and Bunker Renovations.
Design of 9 Hole Addition.

Starmount Forest Country Club    Greensboro, NC    Master Plan of Renovations. Design and Construction.

Sun 'N Air Driving Range*    Danvers, MA    Design and Construction of 3 Hole Practice Facility.

Sundance Golf Course*    New Braunfels, TX    Feasibility, Planning, Design and Construction of New 18 Hole Executive Golf Course.

Surrywood*    Surry, VA    Design of new 18 Hole Daily Fee Golf Course.

University of Richmond    Richmond, VA    Design and Construction of Practice Facility.

Willow Oaks Country Club    Richmond, VA    Master Plan of Renovations.Design of Renovations.Construction Ongoing.

[Rob_Waldron]

We are working with Lester on the Rock Manor Project in Wilmington. It will be a completely new golf course on the basically the existing site. There have been some site modifcations to accomodate road infrastructure.

[Jim Franklin]

The renovation at Old White Course at The Greenbrier was terrific. I highly recommend playing if you are in the area.

[Jason Mandel]

Lester George did a fantastic job at Kinloch.  The place is a lot of fun to play and there is tons of strategy involved.  

I have also heard very good things about the Dupont renovation that Lester did, I'm supposed to get down there this summer to play it and am looking forward to it.

I think Lester also did some work at CC of Virginia as well.

Jason

[mike_malone]

 Rob,

   The "Rock" work looks interesting from I-95. When is it expected to open?

  Nothing has happened with the Nemours plan. Those first two holes should definately be replaced by a driving range. Do the plan Uncle Dupie!

  The work done on The DuPont course defines "renovation" as a positive word.

[RJ_Daley]

Lester has been nice enough to come on GCA.com and contribute interesting observations in the past, and I suspect too modest to jump in on this.  But, I'll bet he is reading it.  

He shared some very interesting thoughts on his work at Greenbrier.  

[Cory Lewis]

I'm hoping to do a My Home Course profile on Dupont sometime this summer to highlight Lester's work.  He did a fantastic job at renovating the course.  At the US Open local qualifier we had this past Monday everybody was very complimentary of the course.  

[Paul Sinclair]

I'm happy to say that I have had the pleasure of working with Lester over the last 4 years in preparing for and now undertaking a comprehensive renovation of my home course, Willow Oaks Country Club in Richmond, VA. Our renovation is currently in progress with an expected reopening date in late spring/early summer of 2008.

Willow Oaks is a somewhat unique course that has hosted the State Open of Virginia 14 times in the past 20 years. It's right on the southern bank of the James River (right smack in the flood plain); minutes from downtown Richmond; and right beneath the major bridge linking the north side of Richmond to the south side. Due to the aesthetic opportunities of the river, its location, and the excellent original routing (William Gordon, 1957), it has always had the potential to be a great course but has been waiting for an architect to bring it out. As we have watched the renovation unfold under Lester's direction since the project started in January this year, it's clear to see that Lester is truly bringing out that potential. It has been extremely exciting to see what Lester has achieved.

There is a web page with more information about this renovation here:

http://www.willowoakscc.net/renovation

The page includes numerous on-course videos we've taken to keep our members informed about the project. Lester appears in several of the videos and you might find those of particular interest. There's a really cool video with Lester in which he talks about his proposal for a major redesign of our 17th hole which includes a computer rendered animation produced by his design firm - slick.

Paul Sinclair

[Rob_Waldron]

Mayday

The Rock will open the driving range soon. The golf course has a way to go. It was originally grassed with rye. The decision was made to go with bent tee to green. The course will open Spring 2008.

[JSlonis]

I think the work he did at the DuPont course was first rate.  I played the older version over 15 years ago I didn't remember much of it.  The newly remodeled course is an excellent test of golf, with some great par 4's and a solid set of par 3's.  The bunkering is tough.  They are well placed and quite deep. They definitely add to the strategy of the course.  The greens are also very challenging.  I've played there twice over the past two weeks and would go back for another round anytime.

[Lester George]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for all the kind words here.  We at GGD really do try to take every project to it'd fullest potential.  It is nice to know that every now and then someone notices.  

Lester George
George Golf Design
ASGCA

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have only played Kinloch and his renovation of the CC of Virginia Tuckahoe.  The job he did at Kinloch has been well chronicled.  What he did At the Tuckahoe course was wonderful.  I keeps the old flavor and is a ball to play.  \Lester, did you change any of the routing at CC of V?

[Mike Hoak]

Lester did a fantastic job blowing up the old Pocoshock Creek Golf Course outside of Richmond and replacing it with a great new low-cost daily fee named Providence.  The 4th hole at Providence is one the best drivable par 4s I have played and can stack up with any of the holes at Kinloch.  I'm surprised this course does not get more press.

[Cabell Ackerly]

I have only played Kinloch and his renovation of the CC of Virginia Tuckahoe.  The job he did at Kinloch has been well chronicled.  What he did At the Tuckahoe course was wonderful.  I keeps the old flavor and is a ball to play.  \Lester, did you change any of the routing at CC of V?

Tommy,
What about his work at the Tuckahoe Creek course do you think is wonderful? It's by no means all Lester's fault (there wasn't a ton to start with), but it is one of the most bland and least strategic golf courses I have ever played. I believe his marching orders were to make it easier and less expensive to maintain. To his credit - he succeeded at both.

Mike - I agree regarding Providence. Lester did a great job there, and the 4th hole is probably better than anything at Kinloch. It probably doesn't get much press because it's in Virginia for one; and secondly - it can be hard for a lot of people to see beyond the conditioning and appreciate the architecture.

[Lester George]

Tommy,

Cabell is right on with his comments on Tuckahoe Creek.  I was charged with reducing over 215,00 square feet of bunkers, adding a few forward tees, and rebuilding the 13th hole, thats it.  The bunkers were reduced to somewhere in the 125,000 (still too big ) area.  I agree with Cabell that the course has a tremendous amount of "unmet" potential, and, if given a chace, I believe I could substantially improve it.  If I had been given a shot at the greens and their surrounds, I guarantee it would be better.  It is really an exceptional peice of property but the course does not take advantage of the creek the way it should and could be much better.

They could improve it by rerouting about 5 holes, planting the fairways to bent grass and taking advantage of what is there better.  If you like what you saw this weekend at Oakmont, think of that as what Tuckahoe Creek could be like, AWESOME.

Cabell,

Thanks for recognizing the quality of four at Providence, it is one of my favorites ( like four at CCV!).  Conditioning is always an issue, but Providence took no less thinking and problem solving than Kinloch.  In fact, with 42 acres of judictional wetlands and ultimately, zero impacts to those areas, I'm sure Providence was harder to figure out than Kinloch.  Anyway, thanks for the compliment, I knew you were balanced and fair.  

Lester