Architect Dick Wilson designed both the North and South courses that year, with the South becoming more renowned for hosting multiple major championships, most recently the 2022 US Senior Women’s Open.

The North has remained largely untouched since opening in 1954, aside from some minor renovation and irrigation work. However, the course had reached a point in which a large renovation project was needed – greens had shrunk, it was overcrowded with trees, and bunkers no longer influenced play as Wilson intended. The club resolved to restore and modernise the North, appointing architect Jim Nagle to lead the project. He would be supported by NCR’s chief operating officer Jeff Grant, director of grounds Jim Campion, North course superintendent Zach Koppin, South course superintendent Nate Ellerbrock, director of golf Rob Karnes, contractor Aspen Construction, project manager Jason Hurwitz of Mazzella Partnership, and Joel Braun of irrigation company Technical Choice.

“From a design and planning standpoint, we are keeping both the North and South strictly independent of one another,” said Nagle. “The club recognises that they’ve always had two different golf courses, and their desire has been to maintain that. The North is a museum piece. We’re not necessarily keeping it exactly as is, but the intent is to adjust for today’s maintenance standards and play.”

The restoration is grounded in a careful study of the course’s history. Nagle has worked from aerial photography from the 1950s and 1960s, supplemented by 3D laser scans from GreenScan 3D and other imagery, to identify the original edges and contours of Wilson’s greens.

An aerial from 1956 has been instrumental in the development of Nagle’s masterplan (Image: NCR Country Club)

“The historic aerials and photography were foundational to the development of the masterplan,” said Nagle. “And the scans suggested where the original surfaces likely were, and I then scaled the 1956 aerial to today’s course and overlaid it in the computer. That gave us another layer of detail and helps to confirm, as accurately as possible where the greens originally were.”

A programme of 22,000 square feet of green expansion across 14 holes is underway, reinstating lost edges and restoring Wilson’s irregular putting surfaces. Each green expansion is being cored out, rebuilt with fresh mix, and then grown in. This will allow for hole locations to be moved closer to hazards, demanding a more strategic approach to the course.

“We’re obviously going to see a much higher percentage of usable area on greens,” said Nagle. “So, there’s a reinstatement of a lot of strategies and angles to approach these greens, because the swales and ridges are becoming more prominent. If you’re coming from the wrong angle, it’ll be harder to get to some of the new or restored hole locations. And if you don’t execute your shot correctly, those ridges and swales can take you away from the hole. This will all make shot selection and putting more important.”

Bunkering is another focus for Nagle. Many of Wilson’s original hazards were positioned at distances no longer relevant in the modern game. If they did happen to be hit, their small size meant that the ball would often end up directly against the face, making recovery challenging. Nagle’s plan repositions and expands sand traps on ten holes, in several cases adding the paired, or “duet,” style Wilson used frequently on the North course.

Nagle’s masterplan for NCR’s North course (Image: Nagle Design Works)

“With how far the ball travels today, [the old bunkers] weren’t influencing play at all,” said Nagle. “Now, recovery will be more realistic. They’ll remain hazards, but with drainage, fresh sand and Better Billy Bunker liners, the consistency and fairness will be much improved.

“I’d love them to be difficult, but there’s also a certain level of playability that we want to have in them for ease of recovery. It doesn’t necessarily mean because you’re in a bunker that you can still reach the green, but being able to advance the ball forward will be done with greater ease than what they are right now.

“And then there’s the scale and visibility. When you used to look across the property, you saw sand, but many of the visuals were similar because of how small the bunkers were. Our work will bring a greater variety in bunkers and, as you look across that landscape, the amount of sand that you see will be varied, which provides an improved aesthetic and something more memorable.”

The renovation includes green expansion, new drainage and irrigation and the rebuild of bunkers (Photo: Nagle Design Works)

The fairways are also being widened and reseeded, bringing natural undulations back into play and giving golfers stronger incentives to take on hazards for better angles. “Just like the swales on greens, there are similar features on fairways, but on a much broader scale,” said Nagle.

Tees are being rebuilt and expanded, with new forward and back sets ensuring flexible playing lengths. “That flexibility means juniors, newcomers and seniors have manageable options, while collegiate players from the University of Daytona, who regularly use the course, can also be challenged,” said Nagle. “They’re going to have options to play the golf course at a variety of lengths, and that’s a key component in all of this.”

Tree management has further transformed the North. Years of unchecked growth had narrowed corridors and hurt turf quality. Selective removal is opening up sightlines and improving growing conditions, while giving prominence to a smaller number of specimen trees.

“There’s not a single evergreen remaining on the property,” said Nagle. “We’ve highlighted specimen trees but removed weaker species with dense canopies and surface roots. You can now see more of the property and it’s more playable. And again, this provides a contrast between the North and South because the South was truly routed through a heavily wooded area, and it remains that. And so now the membership can one day be playing a tree-lined, tight and difficult golf course, and the next they can go play a parkland, relatively open and more free-flowing course.”

Work began in August 2025, with a reopening planned for Memorial Day next year (25 May 2026).