King’s North at Myrtle Beach National closed its back nine on May 26 as architect Brandon Johnson returned to lead the final phase of the course’s two-year renovation project.
Owned and operated by Founders Group International, King’s North, an Arnold Palmer design, has long been one of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina’s most popular layouts, and Johnson, who transformed the front nine in summer 2024, has once again been given creative license to elevate the experience even further.
“Brandon has free rein to shape this golf course as he sees fit,” said Steve Mays, president of Founders Group International. “What makes him so unique is that while he gives you a plan up front, he’s not bound by it. Once he gets on the ground, he and his team really work with the land and the shaping. That’s where the magic happens, and we saw that firsthand on the front nine.”
As the course anticipates an early October reopening, the upcoming work promises significant changes. On the back nine, Johnson is expected to reinterpret the famous SC-shaped bunkers on the island green 12th hole, continuing the project’s blend of tradition and innovation.
Other anticipated highlights include: a new teeing area on the 13th hole and an updated shared waste bunker with the third; a redesign of the massive waste bunker on 14 and the full-length bunker on 15; a creative refresh of the dramatic beach-style bunkers on hole Nos. 16 and 17; and a completely new look for the 18th hole, long known for its 40-plus bunkers and water-lined fairway, which will provide an unforgettable finish.
“How Brandon chooses to reimagine 18 is something I’m really looking forward to,” Mays said. “It’s such a great finishing hole, and he’s got a blank canvas to make it even more memorable.”
The excitement for Johnson’s work on the back nine is rooted in the success of his work on the first nine holes at King’s North. Johnson, who worked for Arnold Palmer Design Group for 17 years, reinvigorated the course’s bunkering, reenvisioning the shape, visibility and scale of the traps to dramatic effect. The changes to the course are immediately visible on the par-5 first hole, where Johnson raised the profile of bunkers that are now visible from tee to green.
He also leaned into the rugged aesthetic that King’s North has long enjoyed, and the course’s greens and their surrounds enjoyed substantive changes. This dramatically increases the strategic options players have on the approach and recovery shots. Now, Johnson is returning to complete a project that is close to his heart.
“We are looking to honor some of the things Mr. Palmer was trying to achieve here,” Johnson said. “He always wanted his courses to be fun to play and pleasing to the eye and that’s what this course is, but there are some strategic and playability elements we can add to enhance the experience. We are looking to build upon what’s here by using the existing contours and landforms more efficiently and incorporate them into everyday play.”
Renovating the course in two stages allowed FGI to avoid a full closure and gave Johnson the time and space to be creative without tight constraints.
“This is a significant renovation,” Mays said. “Breaking it into two four-month windows gave us eight months total to do this right — without rushing — and still keep the course open for part of the year.”
THE SOCIAL ASPECT
The Naples Grande Golf Club is undergoing a renovation to update the championship course's infrastructure with tees, greens and fairways re-grassed and reconstructed.
Other improvements are being made to enhance the playing experience starting this fall.#BWDgolf #NaplesGrande pic.twitter.com/VusCa9cWh0
— Beau Welling Design (@beauwelling) June 2, 2025
GREAT HILLS TURNS TO AWARD-WINNING ARCHITECT
Great Hills Country Club, located 20 minutes northwest of downtown Austin, Texas, has selected award-winning architect Chet Williams to lead a comprehensive redesign of its 52-year-old golf course that was originally designed by Don January and Billy Martindale. Known for his work at three of Texas’ top five courses, including Whispering Pines and most recently The Covey at Big Easy Ranch, Golf Digest’s top new private course of 2024, Williams will begin work this October.
Williams is charged with creating a more sustainable and playable course. Improvements will include signature hole redesigns that create more memorable, scenic and challenging experiences for players of all levels; and a new irrigation system that will enhance water conservation and year-round course conditions. Also on tap are upgraded practice facilities, including expanded short game areas and advanced TrackMan/TopTracer technology on the driving range.
“This project has the potential to elevate Great Hills into one of the premier courses in Central Texas,” Williams said. “I believe hole 13 will be one of the best par 4s in the state when completed.”
Full completion of the $22.3 million project that includes expansive clubhouse updates and racquet sports facility enhancements is expected to occur in early 2027.
COUNTRY CLUB OF HARRISBURG ENVISIONS RETURN TO WILLIAM FLYNN DESIGN
The Country Club of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania’s capital city has retained architect Jim Nagle and his Nagle Design Works to create a master plan. Nagle’s vision is to bring the golf course back closer to its original William Flynn design. Flynn, a Philadelphian by way of Boston, was best known for designing Shinnecock Hills, Cherry Hills and 2024 U.S. Women’s Open venue Lancaster Country Club. Harrisburg was one of Flynn’s earliest efforts.
“The club was founded in 1896, but Flynn built the golf course in 1917—it was one of his first designs,” Nagle told GolfCourseArchitecture.net. “A few years later, another architect came in, and eliminated a large proportion of Flynn’s course, and over time, other holes have been wholly redesigned. The club’s desire—and the reason for this plan—is to bring back as much of the Flynn look and feel as they can.”
Nagle’s admiration for the existing terrain makes him optimistic that a truly outstanding course will emerge. “The course possesses a combination of violently heaving and gently rolling topography and has the potential to uncover some of the most beautiful vistas in Pennsylvania, with views to distant ridges and to the valley of the Susquehanna River.
“It has a wonderful set of varied par 3s, and the par-5 11th has enormous potential. It was a Flynn hole, but the green was moved and rebuilt at some time and is not good. We can build a more Flynn-like green. It has a number of short par 4s, much like the opening five holes at Lancaster—which is not far away and was built around the same time—which are strong in interest, variety and intrigue.”
Further master plan discussion and refinement will take place over the coming months. “We will use this year to develop our ideas,” said Nagle. “The club is planning a new irrigation system, and that will drive the scheduling.”
Cynthia McComsey, the Country Club of Harrisburg’s general manager, sums up the appeal of the master plan: “Jim Nagle is a recognized authority on Flynn courses. His goal is to preserve the Flynn design aesthetic while modernizing the infrastructure.”
