I'll play.
I'll also play in a manner that says I need the club to be viable financially in the small(er) market it exists, so a full scale renovation is almost certainly off the table.
In reality, I'd interview someone like Dave Esler to put together a long term plan, depending on cost.
Assuming I'd go at it myself, I'd do the following near term:
- Remove about 40% of the trees planted when our newer 9 was built (now 35 years old), including almost every tree within 40 yards of a green.
- Increase use of native areas for both budget, visual and strategy purposes. There are some "shorter" dogleg holes where they planted trees everywhere in the last 100 yards to prevent "long hitters from bombing it", while some native grass through the dogleg would make me think much more than the trees.
- We have some very interesting green surrounds mowed at fairway height (1 inch - bluegrass), but at that height, the ball will not roll down a hill. I'd have the surrounds and approach mowed at 3/4 inch or slightly under.
- Discontinue fairway striping and begin a "half and half pattern", not only because it looks better, IMO, but because it's easier to reverse and not need cross mowing to prevent "laying over" grass when mowed at 1 inch.