PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (August 31, 2016) – Bobby Weed Golf Design (www.bobbyweed.com) has been retained for some on-course upgrades to the golf course at Spanish Oaks Golf Club, a private club in Bee Cave, Texas, near Austin, in the Hill Country. The course, which opened on October 26, 2001, is an original Bobby Weed design.
“Spanish Oaks is a growing club, an outstanding development with a young, vibrant membership and with fantastic amenities,” said Bobby Weed, president and CEO of Bobby Weed Golf Design. “The intent is to improve overall conditions on a more consistent level, and to accommodate future events and challenge the best players in the country.
Spanish Oaks Golf Club is the site of the 2016 Texas Mid-Amateur, to be played Sept. 23-25. The club also hosted the 2013 Trans-Miss Golf Association Four-Ball Championship.
“What makes Spanish Oaks so special,” Weed said, “is Daniel Porter, its founder and chairman. He is very passionate about the game of golf and the community at Spanish Oaks.
“He’s always been a competitive golfer, having played college golf at the University of Houston. He’s a successful businessman, but more importantly, he has had a great vision for this club and golf course.”
The Renovations
The renovation project at Spanish Oaks Golf Club includes work on the practice areas as well as on the golf course.
In the short-game area, bunkers have been added, the two greens have been enlarged and more hitting area has been added surrounding the greens, resulting in greater practice variety. The main tee on the driving range will be expanded, as will the tee area at the far end of the range. At the far end, an academy building will be constructed, with two hitting bays as well as another short-game area and putting area.
“When we finish, we should have some of the finest practice facilities of any private club in Texas,” Weed said.
On the golf course, Bobby Weed Golf Design is renovating every bunker, installing state-of-the-art subsurface drainage and new sand to allow the bunkers to play more consistently and more firmly throughout the year. Some of the bunkers are being enlarged to restore them to their original shape, as over time many had grown in or edged out. Visibility of all the bunkers will be improved by raising the floors and lowering the fronts to where they once were.
Scott Hamilton, golf course superintendent, is overseeing the day-to-day improvements and coordinating with Cornerstone Golf and Signet Golf on the course improvements.
Additional upcoming and future improvements include adding five to seven new championship tees throughout the golf course.
About Bobby Weed Golf Design
Noted golf course designer Bobby Weed specializes in design, renovation and repurposing. His work features a balance of visual appeal, sustainability and playability, all informed by an environmentally-sensitive aesthetic and an exceptional hands-on, holistic approach. Bobby Weed Golf Design is a leader in golf course repurposing – a means to update layouts through redesign and reallocation of partial acreage for higher value land uses. Repurposing helps clubs and communities preserve golf while surmounting economic and other challenges. Weed’s skill, vision and business acumen coalesce to result in successful, refined and durable golf course design.
Weed began his professional career with an extended apprenticeship with Pete Dye, launching a collaboration of over 35 years’ duration and a lifelong friendship. Hired in 1983 by the PGA Tour, Weed was the Tour’s in-house designer from 1987-1996. He was responsible for the design of many of today’s best-known TPC venues, which continue as host sites for prominent Tour events.
Weed also was able to collaborate with many of golf’s most familiar names, including Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd, Jerry Pate and Chi Chi Rodriguez – a rare cross section of experience.
In 1994, Weed’s career reached an apex with the formation of his own design firm, where he continues to “handcraft” golf courses. Today, Bobby Weed Golf Design has amassed an impressive list of new and renovated courses that consistently are ranked at the top of their respective categories, including The Olde Farm Golf Club, Spanish Oaks Golf Club, The Golf Course at Glen Mills, Medalist Golf Club, StoneRidge and Timuquana Country Club.
Bobby Weed is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the Historical Committee of the Donald Ross Society, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and the Florida Turfgrass Association.
For more information on Bobby Weed Golf Design, see www.bobbyweed.com.
Contact:
Sally J. Sportsman
407-248-1144
sjsport@earthlink.net
