Reynolds Lake Oconee announced in late May that architect Steve Smyers is designing a new golf course for the oft-honored Greensboro, Georgia, community. Fenmoor Golf Club, the development’s eighth course, will be private, for members only, and is slated to open in fall 2026.
Situated in the northeast corner of the 12,000-acre community, the new course site features a variety of landscapes at the headwaters of Lake Oconee, characterized by marshy edges, native grasses, and rolling hillsides. The unique topography offers elevated tee boxes, undulating fairways, multiple water crossings and several holes positioned along the water’s edge.
“The land is absolutely ideal for golf,” Smyers said. “We’re very fortunate to have a piece of property this diverse, with the movement of the land — gentle rolls, swales, valleys, hummocks, mounds, and ravines — combined with the presence of water running through it. This site allows us to create a course with a distinct look and feel unlike any other at Reynolds Lake Oconee.”
As the name “Fenmoor” implies, water will be a defining feature of the course. In addition to Lake Oconee itself, the property is interwoven with rivulets and streams branching from Richland Creek, creating an ever-changing landscape of wooded wetlands, grassy fields, marsh and meadow. The lake will be visible from much of the course and directly influence play on numerous holes, including nine greens positioned along the water.
Smyers, known for integrating the natural landscape into his designs, plans to use native plant material throughout the property, blending the course seamlessly with its natural surroundings.
“The native plants will connect the course to the marsh, the lake, and the tree line,” Smyers said. “We want the golf course to feel as if it simply emerges from the landscape.”
In addition to the championship course, Fenmoor will feature a dedicated putting course, numerous short-game areas and expansive practice facilities designed for game improvement.
THE SOCIAL ASPECT
Our renovation of the par-3 2nd at Golf de Fontainebleau is settling in well. More of the site's trademark granite rocks are now exposed in the carry, and a Simpson-style "finger" bunker resides in the run-off to the left of the green.
📷: Alex Villet pic.twitter.com/yjZL1akWjX
— Clayton, DeVries & Pont (@cdpgolf1) May 4, 2025
TPC CRAIG RANCH WASTES NO TIME ON RENOVATION
Invited, one of the world’s most prominent owners and operators of private country clubs, kicked off a $22 million renovation of the golf course at TPC Craig Ranch in the north Dallas suburb of McKinney, Texas. Ground was broken by a Caterpillar D6 tractor bulldozer a mere ten minutes after the trophy presentation to Scottie Scheffler at the PGA Tour’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson in early May.
Led by Hall of Fame legend and Dallas resident Lanny Wadkins, the comprehensive renovation will represent a complete overhaul of the existing course, incorporating new turf varieties that will enhance conditions and durability, bringing them on a par with those seen at the nation’s top facilities. In turn, this will significantly elevate playability for TPC Craig Ranch members, delivering premium conditions for the course year-round that can challenge the world’s best players, while also maintaining a member-friendly golf experience.
Wadkins is a long-term design partner for Invited and has reimagined the company’s numerous golf courses. The golf course overhaul at TPC Craig Ranch is the first one since the club opened in 2004. Designed by Tom Weiskopf, the 1973 British Open champion and one of golf’s most respected architects, the course has long offered a balanced test of strategy, risk-reward play, and playability for a wide range of golfers. The course features dramatic elevation changes, natural creeks, and thoughtful use of the Texas landscape.
“TPC Craig Ranch is a magnificent property and we’re modernizing this beautiful course for the first time since it was created by Tom Weiskopf, one of my closest friends, which makes the project very special to me,” commented Wadkins. “Invited is an incredible partner to the game of golf, investing millions into golf course renovations and consistently creating incredible experiences not just for its members, but for the PGA Tour.”
“Lanny has an impeccable track record and brings an incredible amount of hall of fame knowledge to course design,” said David Pillsbury, CEO of Invited. “Lanny’s storybook relationship with Tom Weiskopf will create a magical tribute to him. We believe that together with Lanny and his team, TPC Craig Ranch will have one of the top golf courses in Texas for the next couple of decades and we’re confident that we will unveil a masterpiece once the project is finished.”
Wadkins will seek to maintain the balance of challenge and playability by updating the turf across the course’s fairways, tees and rough. Stadium Zoysia on the fairways, greenside collars and approaches will provide dense coverage and other ideal lies for players, while 777 Bentgrass on greens will deliver elite-level speed and smoothness. TifTuf Bermuda for the course’s roughs and tees will offer a year-round durability to withstand Texas heat. It is a sturdier grass that stays green deep into the winter months and re-greens earlier than other varieties.
TPC Craig Ranch will undergo a complete bunker redesign and repositioning to improve the strategy of play, while enhancing drainage and aesthetics. The reshaping of the greens will allow for expanded pin placement options and yield superior putting surfaces.
Additionally, the existing 20-year-old irrigation system will be replaced with 2,000 new sprinkler heads and a more efficient pump station that maximizes the amount of water distributed in a shorter period of time. This will reduce water usage and ensure consistent playing conditions throughout the year. A revamped drainage system will ensure more playable conditions and fewer cart path-only days. The course is expected to reopen in November.
ROYAL DORNOCH TURNS TO AMERICAN GROUP FOR MASTER PLAN
Scotland’s Royal Dornoch Golf Club has chosen King Collins Dormer Golf Course Design (KCD) to create a master plan to help further burnish the club’s already sterling reputation. Best known for their designs at Tennessee’s Sweetens Cove and Nebraska’s Landmand, this will be the firm’s first foray in the U.K. The club will open a new $18.5 million clubhouse in 2026 and there is likely more golf soon to follow.
“These are exciting times for everyone connected with Royal Dornoch and with the clubhouse on target to welcome golfers from around the world next season, our thoughts are already turning to the next project, which includes the creation of a new 18-hole course,” said general manager Neil Hampton. “Golf has long been the key economic driver in this part of the country and additional, high-quality, eco-friendly championship courses created by highly regarded designers can only enhance our reputation as a golfing destination and encourage visitors to extend their stay in the Highlands. It is early days in the process, but the nine panel members were unanimous in selecting KCD as the preferred architects we will be working with in the years ahead.”
Royal Dornoch, where Donald Ross learned his craft before emigrating to America, has a storied architectural history, with Old Tom Morris responsible for much of the design of its championship course in the 1880s. King Collins Dormer will add to that lineage.
“KCD have also been invited to create new holes for the Struie Course which will complement those being preserved on the existing course,” said Hampton. “The 50-acre parcel of land we have secured provides scope for us to offer three fine courses at Royal Dornoch in the future. In addition, we are looking to add a driving range and a par-3 course, along with short game and putting practice facilities.
“The KCD team’s imaginative concept and passion for Royal Dornoch and using the land at our disposal in a different way, captured our imagination. They will be very much hands-on from start to finish, taking the project from the drawing board to the construction phase and completion.”
Principal designer Rob Collins said: “Tad, Trevor and I, along with our COO, Mark Allen, are deeply honored to have received this commission. Our team at KCD is thrilled with the prospect of spending many seasons in Dornoch, helping our shared vision with the club come to life.”
