Kinloch Golf Club in Richmond, Virginia, has closed this summer as the club implements the second phase of renovations from a 2014 master plan, created by original designers Lester George and Marvin ‘Vinny’ Giles. Construction work is being handled by Landscapes Unlimited.

Renovations were initiated by the need to update Kinloch to modern standards of maintenance technologies and sustainability as well as fortifying the structural elements of the course. “The master plan was created to improve strategy, length, bunker modifications, and all the fine details synonymous with Kinloch,” said George.

Kinloch is located in a transition zone with cool season bentgrass fairways and bluegrass/fescue rough areas. Over the past 20 years, rough has been contaminated with bermuda and bentgrass. In order to maintain turf quality, 35 acres of contaminated turf will be eradicated and replaced with new varieties of bluegrass/fescue in rough areas and the intermediate cut.

“The timing of the closure is being dictated by the most effective manner of eradicating the corrupted turf,” said Kinloch club manager Jonathan Ireland.

The club will also renovate 100,000 square feet of bunkers and install a modern bunker liner system.

“The length people are hitting the ball now has rendered some of the original bunkers less strategic,” said Giles. “So, Lester and I will be adding several bunkers and removing others to modify and enhance the strategy of certain holes. The greens are better than ever right now and will remain untouched during this renovation. This phase was part of the master plan all along, but it’s great that it happens to coincide with the 2020 USGA Mid-Amateur Championship.”

This article first appeared in the July 2019 issue of Golf Course Architecture. For a printed subscription or free digital edition, please visit our subscriptions page.