A new Muni in South Carolina....

[Steve_ Shaffer]

A renovated Wellman Golf Club re-opens after being closed for more than a decadeJOHNSONVILLE, S.C.   The Wellman Golf Club is holding its official re-opening today, having undergone a complete renovation of the original golf course layout.  Rees Jones, along with his design associate Bryce Swanson, oversaw the project, which was funded primarily by the Florence County penny sales tax.  The revitalized Wellman Golf Club, which has been closed since 2010, will now operate as a municipal course of the City of Johnsonville. 
“It will play like an old-style, classic golf course.  We took a minimalistic approach to the layout, largely preserving the original Ellis Maples routing and allowing the holes to fit the land.  The trees have matured over the years, giving the layout the character of an older course,” says Jones.
“The finished course will look a lot like a Pinehurst area golf course, with sandy soil, pine trees and gently rolling topography.  Golfers will be able to play the ground game and the aerial game.  Shorter hitters can have a way to get to the green and the longer hitters can have a challenge,” continues Jones.
Adds Swanson, “The bones were good.  The natural elevation changes create movement, so each hole has its own unique feel to it and yet they all tie together.”
“This has been a long time coming” said Mayor Johnny Hanna. “City council initially started discussing the possibility of locating someone who would consider opening the club or the possibility of a joint venture as early as 2016”.  But with the hiring of Jim Smith as City Administrator in 2017, reopening the course became a real possibility. Later in the process of formulating a plan, then City Attorney Ben Zeigler, who served as South Carolina Golf Association Junior Golf Chairman, set the wheels in motion with his many contacts.

The mission of the town officials for the revitalized golf course was to provide a recreational facility for everyone in the region to enjoy at an affordable price, as well as potentially spurring economic growth on the highway 41/51 corridor.  The location and the site characteristics will enable the dream to be accomplished.


https://www.firstcallgolf.com/industry-news/release/2023-11-13/a-renovated-wellman-golf-club-re-opens-after-being-closed-for-more-than-a-decade

[Steve_ Shaffer]

[Tom_Doak]

Rees Jones, minimalist. (!)

[Chris Hughes]

Very cool!

[Tim Gavrich]

I enjoyed playing the course in October; at under $50 it will be a really good value as long as it stays in good shape. It's an hour from Myrtle Beach and I think it'll draw people wanting to get out into the country a little bit.


The price tag for the whole project was about $5 million, I read. If so, that's a pretty good number for all they got. The big question seems to be long-term maintenance prospects but if they can keep things tidy, I think it's a winner.


The greens have some really good contours - nice mix of ridges, tilts and hollows where you can have some pretty fun hole locations. The 11th is a cool par 5 with a short-porch feature that compares favorably to the famous 13th at The Dunes Club in MB. 18 is a strong finishing par 3 right below the clubhouse.