OXFORD,
Miss. – The University of Mississippi Golf Course, which reopened in
October after a yearlong, $3.5 million renovation, has been named among
the top five renovated courses in America by the international magazine
Golf Inc.
The public course was a finalist in the 2009 Golf Inc.
Renovation of the Year Competition for the daily fee/semiprivate
category. It is to be featured in the magazine’s March-April issue.
“It’s
an exciting day for Ole Miss and for all those who have seen the course
go from what it was two years ago to what it is now,” said Jeff
McManus, director of landscape services and airport/golf course
operations. “You never know what’s going to happen when you enter an
award category. We’re ecstatic to be recognized as one of the top
renovated courses.”
The courses were judged on such criteria as playability, routing, maintainability and aesthetics, said Keith Carter, the magazine’s managing editor.
“Judging was based primarily on how well the renovations improved the course,” Carter said. “They were also judged on how the renovation achieved its purpose through concrete results.”
Judges prided UM’s course for its beauty, describing it as “outstanding,” as well as the publicly funded renovation budget, which was smaller than some of the other competing courses.
Renovations included the addition of bank tees and rebuilding of sand bunkers, which took the course from 6,670 yards to a playing area of more than 7,000 yards. Additional forward tees were also added to make the course more player-friendly for senior golfers and beginners. The course features 60 new electric golf carts, a state-of-the-art irrigation system, and new bunkers and green complexes, which are much larger, more receptive and built to USGA standards.
Along with university and golf course staff, the renovation team included Watermark Golf/Nathan Crace Design, Garver Engineering and contractors Eagle Golf and Athletics.
“This was the epitome of a team project,” said Nathan Crace, the course’s architect. “The award is great, not just for my firm but for the university, the Oxford area and really the entire state of Mississippi.”
Crace will represent the UM course at an awards ceremony March 30 in the World Golf Hall of Fame, as part of the Golf Inc. spring conference in St. Augustine, Fla.
First place in the daily fee/semiprivate category went to the Tournament Player’s Club Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, followed by runner-up Cog Hill Golf & Country Club’s Dubsdread Course in Lemont, Ill. Joining UM as finalists were Brackenridge Park Golf Course in San Antonio and The Links at Bodega Harbour in Bodega Bay, Calif.
For more information on the UM Golf Course, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/golf/ and http://www.watermarkgolf.com/olemiss .