Work began on the Travis Club Austin, a new par-72 design from Beau Welling, in the spring. Located on the banks of Lake Travis, the new course will be the centerpiece of a 1,500-acre community west of Austin, Texas, that will feature 10,000 feet of lake frontage.
"Our team and I are excited to have broken ground at the Travis Club and to start working on bringing the design to life," said Welling in late April. "Travis Club is going to be a truly special addition to the Texas golf scene and anchor to the outstanding Travis Club community. Our goals with the design were to honor the stunning Hill Country landscape along Lake Travis and create a course that people would enjoy playing time and time again, regardless of their skill level."
Beau Welling Design senior designer and vice president Scott Benson is assisting Welling in creating the new layout. The firm has enjoyed spectacular success in Texas in recent years, with their well-received designs at Bluejack National and Fields Ranch West at Omni PGA Frisco.
"From the first tee to the final putt, this 18-hole golf wonder will never cease to amaze, whether it’s green-ribboned fairways winding past oaks, low-cut green surrounds, or the abundance of panoramic vistas and technicolor sunsets," said Jimmy Terry, Travis Club vice president of development. "Welling and his team have walked the land countless times with a mind toward creating a golf experience that takes advantage of the drama the land presents and at the same time helps foster the human connections inherent to the game."
In addition to the golf facilities, Travis Club will offer residents access to more than 65 miles of water, 30-plus miles of private hiking and biking trails, a lakefront clubhouse, private marina, event lawn, pool and racquet facilities.
Travis Club is expected to open late in 2025.
SOCIAL ASPECT
Helllllloooo Hazeltine’s short course!
little bit of sodding taking place. Eventually it will all be green, we promise! pic.twitter.com/sOWunziCQz
— Love Golf Design (@Love3GolfDesign) September 20, 2024
EAGLEBROOKE TO UNDERGO RENOVATION
The Club at Eaglebrooke, a semi-private facility in Lakeland, Florida, will undergo a golf course renovation beginning in April 2025. The project is expected to take six months to complete and will focus on the course’s greens, while replacing bridges and bulkheads throughout the property.
Mondragon Golf, a Bartow, Florida-based golf course construction company, will oversee the project. The Club at Eaglebrooke will reopen for member and limited non-member and public play in October 2025.
During the project, crews will rebuild all 18 greens to their original size and shape, and resurface with Tifeagle Bermudagrass. The two bridges on hole 13 will be rebuilt, and the large bulkhead on hole 17 will be rebuilt. In addition to these projects the agronomy team at the facility will make select drainage, irrigation, tee box, and bunker improvements while the course is closed.
“The upcoming renovation will boost our goal of becoming the best semi-private facility in the Lakeland area,” said Ryan Roberts, general manager at The Club at Eaglebrooke. “When the course reopens next fall, non-member/public play will be more restricted. Therefore, if you are interested in joining The Club at Eaglebrooke, now is the best time — before initiation fees increase.”
The Club at Eaglebrooke golf course was originally designed by architect Ron Garl and opened for play in 1996. Next year’s enhancement project will mark the first substantial renovations to Eaglebrooke’s greens since the course opened for play. The 6,917-yard, links-style course features natural lakes, abundant wildlife and has 100 feet of elevation change, which is unique in this part of Florida.
JEREMY PERN HAS THE HONOR
Benin, a French-speaking West African country where the religion of Voodoo was created, has turned to architect Jeremy Pern to conjure up the nation’s very first golf course, Avlekete. Pern, a Brit who now resides in Toulouse in southern France, is teaming with construction firm Gregori International on the project, benefitting from that firm’s expertise in building African courses.
The 18-hole layout, located in Avlekete, near Cotonou, Benin’s largest city, is expected to measure 7,100 yards from the back tees, and 4,400 yards from the front tees. “It will be the longest course I’ve ever designed,” Pern told GolfCourseArchitecture.net. “The government wanted it to be a championship test.”
Avlekete was selected by the government as the ideal town to attract tourists, given its coastal setting 15 miles west of Cotonou, roughly 90 miles west of Lagos, Nigeria and 200 miles east of Accra, Ghana, putting the development within reach of 17 million people.
"It’s a tourist development, and as well as Europeans, one of the main sources of visitors will be coming from the burgeoning West African middle class," Pern said. "I was in Rwanda last year and saw how golf there has been taken up by locals on the Kigali Golf Club [designed by Gary Player and built by Gregori International]. It was very encouraging to see."
Pern acknowledged that the site — located less than a mile from the coast — has plenty of positives and a few negatives.
"It’s a long, thin stretch of land of about [250 acres],” he said. "Parts of the land are great, and parts are a bit of a challenge. About half of it is rolling sand, very linksy, plus or minus a couple of meters in height, where farmers were growing tomatoes, peppers, manioc, maize and all sorts on the sand. Surrounding the sandy area is swamp land and a coastal lagoon. There’s also a wide range of trees, including a variety of palms, coconut and mango."
Unlike in the early years he worked in Africa, Pern and Gregori had environmental and cultural restrictions in play while designing the course. Every tree had to be accounted for, with some protected, others transplanted. In addition, respecting the local religion factored into the equation as well.
"There are seven voodoo shrines on the site, of which there are several we can’t touch," Pern said. "Three or four of the voodoo temples — they’re shrines and altars in the trees — can be moved by their priests. And in the middle of the site is a sacred grove, a clump of trees covering about half a hectare, that has to be preserved and isolated. The sacred grove sits beside the big lagoon and is dedicated to the fishing deities."
Avlekete Golf Course is scheduled to open in late 2025.
