Webbs Reserve Golf Club, a new 18-hole course from Nicklaus Design, has opened to public play in Punta Gorda, Florida.
Located 50 miles south of Sarasota on Florida’s southwest coast, Webbs Reserve Golf Club is the centerpiece of the new Webbs Reserve at Babcock Ranch community, currently under development by Lennar. The semi-private club has a limited number of memberships available with the purchase of a home.
Webbs Reserve’s par-72, 7,034-yard layout meanders across the coastal plains and wetlands of the south Florida community. Twenty lakes add to the challenge and beauty of Webbs Reserve and come into play on all 18 holes. The Nicklaus Design team, led by designer Chris Cochran, crafted the course to be playable for golfers of all skill levels. The new course features Bimini fairways, tees and rough and Tifeagle greens.
"Webbs Reserve is a fantastic layout that truly has something for everyone," said Andrew McGrath, head golf professional. "The course offers a great mix of challenging holes that test your skills and more forgiving ones that let you relax and enjoy the game. Every hole is thoughtfully designed, with opportunities to play strategically or take some bold shots, depending on your style. The stunning natural scenery of the area adds so much to the experience — it’s not just a round of golf; it’s a chance to immerse yourself in the beauty of south Florida."
WENTWORTH'S EAST TO BE RESTORED
The Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, is best known for its vaunted West course, host to countless significant championships since it opened in 1926.
Current venue for the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship, the West is a top 100-level H.S. Colt design that was revamped on several occasions during the past two decades. The comprehensive renovation efforts were intended to provide more difficulty and drama for today’s class of tour pros— mission accomplished. However, the club has another Colt creation, the East, which was designed two years before the West opened. Rather than redefine the East, the club has elected to restore it.
European Golf Design will collaborate with Wentworth club officials to restore the par-68, 6,201-yard course to its heathland origins. EGD is perhaps best known for significant re-dos at Ryder Cup venues The Twenty Ten at Wales’ Celtic Manor Resort and at Marco Simone near Rome. Here, however, the task is to update infrastructure and course features while restoring Colt’s original design precepts. EGD architects are studying archived files and historical images to form the strongest foundation for restoration.
Work has already started and will include bunker recontouring and realignment, reworking green complexes and fairway lines and tree management. EGD will also help create a new par-3 course, as well as a state-of-the-art academy that will house an outdoor short game area, three indoor teaching studios, a putting studio and nine outdoor hitting bays.
"The renovation work on the East course is a clear sign as we continue to strive to make a classic heathland test even greater while recognizing the original roots that have made the layout so iconic," said Stuart Boyle, club manager at Wentworth. "The development of our new golf academy will only enhance the golf offering we have here."
Don’t be fooled by the East’s paltry par of 68. It offers up only one par 5, the 526-yard ninth, and dishes out a slew of rugged par 4s, three of them stretching better than 455 yards. While the West course has sparkled with all of the tournament glitter, the East has plenty of advocates, including Tom Doak, who once called the East, “a more charming and less brutal course [than the West] and a fine overall test.”
One of the most prestigious clubs in the U.K. and headquarters for the DP World Tour, Wentworth currently has three championship courses and a nine-hole par-3 course. It’s clear that even with its exalted standing, the club is not content to stand still.
ALBERTA'S GLENCOE GOING THE RENO ROUTE
Alberta, Canada’s venerable Glencoe Golf and Country Club has voted in favor of a renovation plan from the architectural firm of Whitman, Axland & Cutten (WAC Golf).
The suburban golf outpost of the downtown Calgary-based Glencoe Club features 45 holes of golf adjacent to the Elbow River. Both the 18-hole Forest course and the 27-hole Meadows course were designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. in 1984 and 1985, respectively.
WAC Golf’s plan for revamping the Lakes and Slopes nines of the Meadows course was approved by Glencoe in July 2024. Getting to that point was a circuitous journey.
“It all started back in 2015 when the club and its committee began evaluating deficiencies on the Lakes and Slopes,” Cutten told GolfCourseArchitecture.net. “A year later, Rod Whitman was selected to create a comprehensive masterplan for the Meadows course. At the time, the scope of the proposed work was a little too grandiose for the club to digest. So, in 2018, the board set new priorities for capital investment, naming the clubhouse and maintenance buildings as additional priorities. Rod and I later presented a revised scope of work but sadly, any forward momentum was lost with the onset of a worldwide pandemic.”
Since 2022, various club committees formulated a new scope document and retained WAC Golf to produce a modified plan.
“The approved plan for the Meadows course seeks holistic changes — to maximize necessary investments in infrastructure — through the reimagination of a tired golfing landscape,” Cutten said. “The site will see significant rerouting aimed at shortening green-to-tee walks. An abundance of artificial shaping work will be removed, letting the ‘air’ out of the property and allowing new golf features to blend seamlessly within the beautiful river valley setting.
“Much needed tree clearing in select locations will allow the golf to make the most of several natural ridges that transect the property. Existing wide corridors will provide the canvas needed to create thoughtful and varied strategies on each hole. And finally, the inclusion of at least seven teeing areas along a ribbon of turf, hidden amongst natural and man-made contours, will allow golfers with all levels of swing speed to enjoy the new course. Standout holes should include the second, sixth and eighth on the Slopes and the second, fifth, seventh and eighth on the Lakes.”
Preliminary work revolving around trees, lakes and creeks is expected to begin in fall 2025, with golf course work shooting for a 2026 start.
