Rees Jones, Inc. is returning to its design at LedgeRock Golf Club in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, for targeted renovation work.
The firm is currently working on the downhill par-three tenth and the uphill par-four seventeenth – with plans to adjust other holes going forward.
“Every golf course needs to be re-evaluated from time to time,” said Rees Jones. “At seventeen, we are taking out the cross bunker to make the hole more playable for every calibre of player. On hole ten, we are building more tee locations to create more shot variety on a daily basis.”
Jones’s design associate Bryce Swanson will direct the renovation work. Swanson said tree clearing on the tenth got underway in 2018, with ground broken this spring.
There will be six new angles and elevations to play from at the tenth. “These new tee positions make sense agronomically – more sun, more air movement, spreading the wear and tear around more tees – but they will also create some really cool, new angles of attack,” said Swanson. “The club deserves credit for taking the initiative here. They’ve demonstrated a real sophisticated vision for LedgeRock.
“What they did with that teaching facility, for example, was way ahead of its time – clubs just weren’t doing that sort of thing ten years ago. We relish the opportunity to complete that vision with the renovation of these two holes.”
LedgeRock opened in 2006, on 212 acres of terrain featuring elevation changes and several brooks.
“I caddied at LedgeRock a few times when I was in middle school,” said head golf professional Zach Halvonik. “Back then I never realised I would be leading the LedgeRock golf operation one day.
“Folks know it as a pure, golf-only club where Rees Jones did some of his very best work – over truly dramatic terrain. When we finish these renovations, it’s going to be close to perfection.”
Despite many private clubs and courses in Pennsylvania closing in recent years, LedgeRock has thrived by focusing on golf. General manager Gerry Heller said: “It’s a very lively, social place but our members are here for their golf. They’re devoted to it.”
Renovations to the tenth expected to be complete by Memorial Day weekend (25-26 May). The club’s course superintendent Alan FitzGerald will oversee the project using in-house construction crews. The plan for the seventeenth calls for construction is to be completed in late 2019.