Just received the mid-winter report form my home course, St Andrew's Valley in Aurora, ON. Buried in the middle was the following statement:
"We will continue with tee deck and bunker reconstruction under the supervision of leading golf course architect Ian Andrews (sic)."
I'm very happy to hear that, since the bunkers were a bit of a sore point with the members.
So, inquiring minds, at least mine, want to know whether this "reconstruction" will be a restoration to the original Muylaert style, or a renovation to some other style, or just reconstruction in a physical sense. Certainly the bunkers needed work, particularly in drainage, sand depth and sand consistency, but they have also been modified considerably over the years from their original style. I, for one would like to see them returned to their original style, although being a quasi-public course I could see why ownership might not want to do that.
Now, the bad news is that they've raised the membership fees in these hard economic times, although I'm sure we can't blame that all on Ian's fees.
Their business model is that since they are not encumbered with excessive operating costs related to a large clubhouse, they can keep the daily player fee relatively low and attract more players coming down from more expensive CCFAD's and private clubs.