Dusenberry Design has completed a renovation project at the Keney Park Golf Course in Hartford, Connecticut.

Owned by the City of Hartford, work began at Keney Park in August 2014. Dusenberry Design was hired to oversee the design and execution of the renovation, which cost around US$5.7 million.

Originally designed by Devereux Emmet, Keney Park was constructed in 1927. In recent years the course had fallen into disrepair however, and the City of Hartford hired Dusenberry Design to bring it back to its former glory.

“We were really surprised to find such a hidden gem on our first visit to the site,” said Matt Dusenberry, principal of Dusenberry Design. “The property and elevation changes are ideal for golf. It was built before all of the modern earth moving equipment and that preserved the quirky character of the terrain.”

The project focused on the course’s greens tees and bunkers, while a new irrigation system was put in place and improvements to the drainage were also made.

The course has also been slightly lengthened and will now play 6,449 yards, with a par of 70, having previously only played 5,995 yards.

“This project was all about embracing the character, aesthetics, and appeal of a 1920’s Emmet design,” Dusenberry said. “It’s our philosophy that the only way to do this effectively is by daily supervision and participation in the construction. It was really a collaborative effort by our design team including two of my design partners, Tad Burnett and Jim McKenna.”

The areas of the course that the renovation focused on are currently growing in, with a scheduled reopening of May 2016.

“It was a tremendous amount of work, but we are really proud of the finished product,” Dusenberry added. “It’s been a lot of fun resurrecting the course and we can’t wait for all those golfers to come back out and reignite that love affair next spring. It’s a special place.”