From golfcoursenews.com
French Lick, Ind. – With a $350 million resort restoration and casino development as its backdrop, the Hill Course by Donald Ross at the French Lick Springs Resort & Casino is undergoing a transformation, as it begins to reassume the look of the course where Walter Hagen won the 1924 PGA Championship. A $3.5 million project, the completely refurbished course is slated to open in May 2006.
Executives from the French Lick Springs Resort & Casino, which operates the Hill Course, met Feb. 22 with lead golf course architect Lee Schmidt, principal with Schmidt-Curley designs, and Michael Fay, president of the Donald Ross Society, to review the restoration progress. The resort is committed to its goal of ensuring the course is restored as closely as possible to Ross’ original plans.
Must-play courses, must-see destination
Steve Ferguson, chairman of Cook Group, Inc., which owns 50 percent of the resort project that includes both the French Lick Springs Resort & Casino and the West Baden Springs Resort, described the Hill Course renovation as an “impact project.” Coupled with the construction of a Pete Dye-designed course near the West Baden property, Ferguson says, “We soon will have two must-play courses in Indiana. This truly will be a special place.”
Ferguson emphasized the Hill Course and new Dye course are vital components in the overall restoration and development project. “French Lick will be the Midwest’s premier resort, casino and golf destination,” Ferguson says.
A true master
Serving as architect for the course restoration is Schmidt and his Scottsdale, Ariz.-based firm. Schmidt, a Carmel, Ind., native and Purdue University graduate, has developed a master plan for the project. Using the original Ross plans and 1920s aerial photos of the course, Schmidt and his team are bringing back Ross’ signature style, marked primarily by squared undulating greens and deep unforgiving bunkers.
“The greens are the heart of the golf course,” Schmidt says. “They give the Hill Course its character and personality. Over time, the greens here have become smaller and rounder. We will give them the squared-off appearance indicative of Ross’ original design, as well as make them about 40 percent larger.”
With approximately 70 bunkers, the Hill Course remains a force to be reckoned with. Schmidt’s team is not only adding several bunkers, but also expanding a few and touching up the rest. Sand will be replaced to ensure consistent texture throughout the course, and archaic clay drain tiles will be replaced with plastic corrugated ones.
The bunkers’ drain tiles won’t be the only water-related adjustments. The “new” course will feature a fully automated, computerized irrigation system. “This system will give the golf course superintendent better control of watering, thus improving the overall playability and quality of the course,” Schmidt says.
According to Schmidt, other improvements will include an environmentally friendly drainage and water redistribution system, wider concrete cart paths with less obtrusive routes, and re-leveled tee boxes. Bermuda grass will be planted on all fairways to maintain consistency, and native fescues will be planted to add contrast and texture to the course.
The stamp of approval
No one knows more about how a Ross course should look than Fay. So, it’s no wonder he was asked to consult on this project from the very beginning.
Fay has been with the Donald Ross Society since it was launched in 1989. The society is currently involved in 130 Ross-related projects nationwide. And, according to Fay, 375 of Ross’ original 413 golf courses are still in play today.
Fay stressed how important it is for the course’s owners and architects to do their homework before restoring a Ross design.
“When I came to French Lick, I was thrilled to find that the homework had been done,” Fay says. “They had the original plans and aerial photos, and they had studied them intently. This is one of the most comprehensive plans I’ve ever seen, and the project is going along about as well as any restoration could go.”
Fay reiterated some of the Ross signature stylistic elements, adding that details like augmented, squared greens add to the overall experience of playing the course. For instance, Fay noted that the greens’ size and shape offer unique pin placements, giving golfers additional challenges each time they play.
“This will be a very exciting golf course,” Fay said. He believes the Hill Course will present golfers of all skill levels with a number of challenges.
“If there’s any place that will be able to defend par, it’s this course right here in French Lick,” he says.”