Wild Dunes Resort is nearing completion of a comprehensive renovation of its Tom Fazio-designed Harbor Course. With a $9.5 million investment in strategic golf course design enhancements and sustainable infrastructure, the project, which began in March 2025, will be complete later this month.
The Harbor Course, located in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, has been a centerpiece of the Wild Dunes 36-hole golfing experience for more than four decades. The Fazio Design team, Heritage Links Golf Course Construction and the Wild Dunes Resort Golf Course agronomy team collaborated to rebuild and expand all 18 greens to improve the playability, variety, and unique challenge of each golf hole. Several of the course’s bunkers have been reshaped and moved to accommodate modern driving distances and playing areas have been expanded on multiple holes to enhance shot values and strategy.
All of the Harbor Course’s tee boxes have been rebuilt, leveled and, in some cases, expanded while the irrigation system has been replaced to help optimize turf conditions and water usage. Holes nearest the Intracoastal Waterway that runs alongside the Charleston-area course were raised several feet to curb flood risk and multiple golf cart bridges have also been restored.
“We’re thrilled about the enhancements to the Harbor Course which have elevated the overall experience for our players,” said Jeff Minton, the course’s director of golf. “When the Harbor Course reopens, golfers can look forward to newly designed putting surfaces that will challenge their skills, smoother upgraded golf cart paths, and strategically placed bunkers thoughtfully integrated into the existing hole designs. When you factor in the 2015 renovation of our Links Course [also a Tom Fazio design], Wild Dunes Resort is now a must-play 36-hole coastal golf destination. This was the first property to bring top-tier resort golf to the Charleston area in 1980. Now a whole new generation of golfers is about to fall in love with this captivating golf vacation experience.”
Wild Dunes leadership, golf and hospitality staffs will host a grand reopening at the Harbor Course on Nov. 13, though tee times for the renovated par-70 layout will resume Oct. 26.
“We cannot wait for golfers to experience the improved character of the Harbor Course with the expanded and redesigned putting surfaces and a golf course that fits the land beautifully while presenting a playable, approachable design that can test golfers of every skill level in fun and intriguing ways,” said Bryan Bowers, a Fazio Design associate. “Wild Dunes is meaningful because it represents the early era of Tom Fazio’s design career and stands the test of time with an enduring and quintessential Lowcountry golf experience.”
THE SOCIAL ASPECT
Fantastic day at the opening of the New Course at Royal Malta Golf Club. It’s been a great privilege to work with the club over the past 13 years and I am delighted with the course. Thank you to all the members and staff who have played such a big part in its success. 👏🙏 pic.twitter.com/V1o2duRhcK
— Scott Macpherson (@macphersongolf) September 19, 2025
BRIAN CURLEY CLEANS UP PLANTATION BUNKERS
Nearly 30 years after he teamed up with Fred Couples on its design, Brian Curley, of Curley-Wagner Golf Design, has completed upgrades to The Plantation Golf Club in Indio, California. Major bunker renovations were finished in August.
Designed by Curley, with input from Couples, the bunker plan revolved around subtle adjustments to modernize aesthetics, enhance strategic play and address the demands of the modern game. Curley, then part of Schmidt-Curley, opened the Palm Springs area layout with Couples in 1996.
"Over the years, the course has gone through minor and major adjustments, including land acquisition, to ensure a core golf experience with no surrounding housing, a rarity in the Coachella Valley," Curley said. "With this new work, Fred and I believe the course is at its peak quality and is well positioned as one of the finest pure golf experiences in the country."
Throughout the project, which began June 15, Curley worked closely with LaBar Golf Renovations to shape bunkers that reflect today’s architectural tastes, while retaining the integrity of the club’s original design. Drainage in all the bunkering has been upgraded, along with the addition of Better Billy Bunker liners. Some bunkers have also been repositioned to better defend against today’s equipment.
The most significant course change has come on the par-4 14th hole, which has been modified to revive its original strategic challenge and aesthetics. Those changes include removing palm trees to provide a better view of the fairway, green and distant mountains, along with the addition of two carry bunkers on the left side of the fairway. Curley and Couples both believe that those modifications enhance the hole’s playability and visual appeal.
SINGAPORE'S SEMBAWANG RECEIVES SIGNIFICANT RENO
Golfplan, led by architects David Dale and Kevin Ramsey, is well into a significant renovation of Sembawang Country Club in Singapore. Situated in the northern reaches of the island country, Sembawang opened in 1967 with nine holes crafted by British Royal Marines. A decade later, the club added another nine holes and the entire spread was redesigned by New Zealand architect Chris Pitman in 2013.
"Over the past 12 years, the golf course has continued to serve members well," said Jerrom Tan, the club’s marketing executive in a statement. "However, over time, it has experienced wear and tear, with those effects more strongly felt in a tropical climate. Often, blind holes are the culprit of dangerous and slow play. From unnecessary waiting to hasty shots, golfers may not always make the right assessment. With these insights, a timely refreshment of our golf course is well deserved, so that it can continue serving the members well into the next decade."
To alleviate many of these issues, Golfplan hatched a bold idea — reversing the routing of holes 11 through 17. Additional work included renovating greens, tees and bunkers, carpeting the fairways with Stadium Zoysia and putting surfaces with Primo Zoysia and enhancing irrigation and drainage.
"The golf course routing changed on seven holes and these now slice into the course rather than out, thus adding protection to the adjacent properties and roads," Dale told GolfCourseArchitecture.net.
Another critical aspect to the redesign was lowering the fairway landing area on the fourth hole and eliminating trees from the inside elbow of the dogleg. The intention was to increase visibility on what had been a semi-blind shot for shorter hitters.
"We have also had to pull the green back away from the entry road as this is being expanded by the air base for improved access," Ramsey said. "We have designed four new greens and preserved three of the original greens from the seven holes that we rerouted. All green surfaces are being softened to add more pinnable areas."
Also getting a makeover are the bunkers. "All bunkers are being reimagined with repositioning and reshaping to improve access, playability and visual aesthetics," Dale said. "CapillaryFlow and Loksand are creating better drainage and more stable bunker faces."
"Overall, we feel we are improving the playability, safety and strategy of the golf course and when reopened it will feel like a new experience for members," Ramsey said.
"The course renovation is a once-in-a-decade opportunity for us to reset and reshape the foundation of our golf course for the next generation, preserving its beauty and ecological health for years to come," Tan said. "As the club is uniquely located next to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, a vital carbon sink, we have an incredible opportunity to contribute by aligning ourselves with Singapore’s ‘City in Nature’ vision. To that end, the club has taken actionable steps towards this vision, by partnering with Target15 SG, an organization dedicated to mitigating climate change through reforestation and afforestation efforts."
The redesign started in December 2024, with an anticipated reopening in May 2026.
