Beau Welling Design leads wide-ranging golf and campus improvements.
Stowe, Vermont – Stowe Country Club (SCC), the scenic golf course in the heart of Stowe, broke ground on an extensive renovation project on May 2, 2024.
Directed by Beau Welling Design (BWD), the project will feature noteworthy renovations to both the 18-hole course as well as other amenities which will result in an elevated playing experience for the club’s membership.
“As a design team, we are collaborators at heart, and we are excited to be working alongside Stowe Country Club to breathe new life into one of the best golf courses in the region,” says Beau Welling, Founder and CEO of Beau Welling Design. “This project will make the golf course more approachable for the average player while retaining the precise challenge that members and guests have enjoyed for over 70 years. We’re honored to play a role in refreshing this historic club to be enjoyed by the current membership and generations to come.”
While the footprint of the golf course will largely remain the same, the improvements will elevate all facets of the course—from new and improved tees to new and differently shaped green complexes. The goal of the redesign is to create a more consistent and playable course while offering more challenges for advanced players. Led by Welling and BWD Senior Design Associate Chase Webb, the renovation will improve the playability of the course for the less experienced player while focusing on strategy and challenging the lower handicap golfer. Additional structural changes will also improve the environmental sustainability of the golf course to protect the future of the renowned club.
Some additional major improvements and updates to the course include:
- Renovation of all greens that will also enhance approaches and surrounds to promote creativity and fun.
- Shape and re-grade select fairways to enhance playability and reward quality shots.
- Thoughtfully replace and modernize all fairway and greenside bunkers.
- Enhance turf quality from tee to green with a complete re-grassing of all fairways utilizing bentgrass for greens, tees, and fairways as well as integrating a Kentucky bluegrass and fescue blend for rough areas.
- Add length where possible, emphasizing approach angles to challenge experienced golfers while ensuring playability for all skill levels.
- Complete a long-term tree plan to ensure consistent turf conditions throughout the property and further highlight the beautiful long-range vistas and movement of the golf terrain in every direction.
- Dramatically expand the beautiful fescue stands throughout the property.
- Improve drainage on every hole, focusing on known problem areas.
- Secure the water future and sustainability of the golf course through a new irrigation system, pump station, and the addition of a supplemental river pump.
To ensure that golf play and practice is always available to the membership and the Stowe community, the renovation project will take place in two parts with construction on the front nine holes in 2024 and the back nine targeted for renovation in 2025.
Beyond the golf course renovation, Beau Welling Design assisted the club with campus planning that includes an entirely new golf facilities area, practice area, expanded amenities and a future residential community. “We are thrilled to partner with Beau and his team to create one of the best private clubs in northern New England, right here in Stowe,” remarks Sam Gaines, President and CEO of Mt. Mansfield Company, the developer of Stowe Country Club. “These dramatic golf course improvements to Stowe Country Club, when combined with our spectacular Mountain Course at Spruce Peak, will create one of the most unique and diverse 36-hole experiences for members and guests.”
The renovation also kicks off a unique new membership program in Stowe. SCC intends to create a four-season community-oriented club centered around golf, racquet sports, fitness/pool, and dining.
While there are exciting amenities planned on-site that Stowe Country Club members will enjoy in the future, members have been provided interim benefits at The Club at Spruce Peak, including the 18-hole Bob Cupp-designed Mountain Course and its facilities. Members of The Club at Spruce Peak will continue to receive full access to Stowe Country Club.
“It’s an exciting time for our Membership,” says Michael Harger, General Manager of Stowe Country Club and The Club at Spruce Peak. “So many of us have a vested interest in this historic course, and it’s been a thrilling process to lay the groundwork for the next generation of golf enthusiasts in the Stowe community.”
For More Information, please visit: https://stowecc.clubhouseonline-e3.club/Renovation
About Stowe Country Club
Stowe Country Club, located in the heart the Stowe Village, occupies what was once a turn-of-the-century dairy farm and has evolved over seven decades into a pleasant 18-hole course showcasing undulating fairways and manicured greens. Opened in 1950 and expanded in 1962, the historic Laliberte Dairy Farm provided a rolling landscape that fit nicely with the routing we see today. The club’s practice facility is among the best in the state, as is the personalized instruction that is offered by PGA Professional Staff. Stowe Country Club offers 360-degree views of the green mountains and a sense of connection to its natural surroundings. Memberships are available for those looking to enjoy a first-rate golf experience in Stowe, including member specific events, instruction opportunities, promotions and tournaments. For more information on Memberships to Stowe Country Club, visit: https://stowecountryclub.com/Membership/Become_A_Member & visit Stowe Country Club on Instagram and Facebook.
About Mt. Mansfield Company
For over 75 years, Mt. Mansfield Company (MMC) has been a steward of Stowe’s growth as a world-class destination. In that time, MMC has carefully created world-class ski amenities, residential developments, and hospitality, while preserving and protecting natural resources. After modernizing the iconic Stowe Mountain Resort with extensive lift and snowmaking upgrades, MMC created Spruce Peak, the world-class resort community located at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort. Spruce Peak, now with over 500 owners, is an Audubon-certified sustainable community and is surrounded by over 2,000 acres of preserved Vermont land. Mt Mansfield Company also founded the Club at Spruce Peak in 2004. The Club offers winter amenities, access to the 20,000 square foot spa, along with social and dining facilities. It also boasts the Mountain Course at Spruce Peak, a brilliantly designed Bob Cupp creation offering unprecedented views and dramatic shots. Now, MMC looks to continue its track record in Stowe with the redevelopment of its Stowe Country Club, which will offer 18 redesigned and renovated holes along with world-class social and recreational facilities.
About Beau Welling Design
Beau Welling Design is a golf course design and land planning firm providing innovative and responsive solutions to clients around the world. The multi-faceted firm works in close collaboration with clients to envision captivating experiences built upon core principles of form, function, and sustainability. For nearly two decades, the expert team of designers at BWD led by founder, CEO and lead designer Beau Welling have brought to life exceptional golf designs at some of the game’s most prominent venues including Fields Ranch West at Omni PGA Frisco, Pelican Golf Club, Omni Amelia Island, along with significant renovations at Ocean Forest Club, Atlanta Country Club, and others. In addition to their work on-course, BWD specializes in land planning and site design with an impressive body of work featuring urban projects at Camperdown in Greenville, SC, and BullStreet in Columbia, SC as well as community development projects that include Bluejack National in Montgomery, TX and GlenCove by Old Edwards in Cashiers, NC. For more information visit https://beauwellingdesign.com/ and follow on Instagram, Twitter (X) and Facebook.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Nathan Moore
706.934.7411
nmoore@buffalogroupe.com
