John Fought is to lead a bunker renovation project on the South Course at The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club near Portland, Oregon.

A native of the area, Fought will return to the course he originally designed back in 1997 to lead the project.

The project includes the removal of 50 of the course’s 110 bunkers, with the remaining 60 to be reconstructed. The Better Billy Bunker technology will be used as part of this, helping to minimise sand erosion and contamination from native soils.

The work is set to be completed before the course’s 20th anniversary celebrations take place on 8 October. Golfers at The Reserve Vineyards will still be able to play the South Course while the bunker work takes place.

“When we built The Reserve 20 years ago, bunkers didn’t have liners like they do today,” said Fought. “Liners are a huge improvement as they allow you to create incredibly beautiful bunkers that are a lot more sustainable and help drive down maintenance costs.”

Fought will work alongside Duininck Golf to carry out the project.

“We are very fortunate John is a key part of this renovation since he was the original designer,” said Chris Rogers, director of golf at The Reserve Vineyards. “It gives the project so much more credibility. Credit also goes to John for allowing his design philosophies to keep maturing as evidenced by his recommendation to dramatically reduce the number of bunkers and enhance playability.”