Keowee Key Golf & Country Club in Salem, SC
|  #1 (par 4; 393 yards): The old green axis was parallel to the centerline of the hole flanked by sand on both sides (penal). I rotated the green on a diagonal to introduce an heroic element and brought the creek on the left into play. |
Originally designed by George Cobb in 1973, Keowee Key Golf & Country Club is a typical golf course residential development. The emphasis was on lot sales when the project was first conceived and the golf course suffered immediately as a result. The greens complexes Cobb initially designed were compromised during construction. What was built were mediocre putting surfaces and uninspired bunkering.
Richard Mandell Golf Architecture was hired to re-design the greens complexes as well as two fairways and a few tees. The biggest design challenge was diverting water from the surrounding property because almost every hole was placed in a valley overlooked by home sites. Other design tasks included creating softer putting slopes to accommodate green speeds and making the green surfaces more visible. Many of the original greens complexes were unnecessarily built up, creating blind surfaces. Constraint and playability were necessary design tools for a membership that averages 65 years old.
The first step in the process was gaining membership approval. This was accomplished through a thorough club educational process culminating in two membership presentations attended by almost four-hundred people. Armed with the proper analysis, concrete costs from three contractors, and sensible design solutions, the club voted in favor of greens renovation. We then secured all permits directly through the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control.
In addition to solving the basic issues of green speed and visibility, my design efforts included creating short game options around the greens and developing some much-needed character while still preserving the 1970’s design style of Keowee Key. Most greens had bunker left and bunker right which were built up to the point that the bunker floors were above the putting surfaces.
The final product has been so well received that membership has swelled and the operations staff limits daily rounds. There are now eighteen individual greens complexes surrounded not only by sand, but hollows, swales, and other landforms. Today, the course is much more interesting and playable for the members. In addition, the best golfers in the Upstate are challenged to make proper decisions around the greens as well as on subtle putting surface contours.
Richard Mandell Golf Architecture was hired to re-design the greens complexes as well as two fairways and a few tees. The biggest design challenge was diverting water from the surrounding property because almost every hole was placed in a valley overlooked by home sites. Other design tasks included creating softer putting slopes to accommodate green speeds and making the green surfaces more visible. Many of the original greens complexes were unnecessarily built up, creating blind surfaces. Constraint and playability were necessary design tools for a membership that averages 65 years old.
The first step in the process was gaining membership approval. This was accomplished through a thorough club educational process culminating in two membership presentations attended by almost four-hundred people. Armed with the proper analysis, concrete costs from three contractors, and sensible design solutions, the club voted in favor of greens renovation. We then secured all permits directly through the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control.
In addition to solving the basic issues of green speed and visibility, my design efforts included creating short game options around the greens and developing some much-needed character while still preserving the 1970’s design style of Keowee Key. Most greens had bunker left and bunker right which were built up to the point that the bunker floors were above the putting surfaces.
The final product has been so well received that membership has swelled and the operations staff limits daily rounds. There are now eighteen individual greens complexes surrounded not only by sand, but hollows, swales, and other landforms. Today, the course is much more interesting and playable for the members. In addition, the best golfers in the Upstate are challenged to make proper decisions around the greens as well as on subtle putting surface contours.
Richard Mandell Golf Architecture
©2007 All right reserved
©2007 All right reserved
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