Architect and contractor hope to renovate bunkers and tees on the muni’s Blue Spruce course
By Richard Humphreys |
Architect Todd Quitno and contractor Golf Creations are eyeing up a renovation of the Blue Spruce course at Brighton Dale Links in Kansasville, Wisconsin
The 45-hole municipal facility is operated by Kenosha County and is bordered on one side by the Richard Bong State Recreation Area. The original 27 holes (the 18-hole White Birch and the nine-hole Red Pines) opened in the early 1970s and were designed by Ed Ault. Around 1990, the 18-hole Blue Spruce course, designed by Steven Halberg, opened.
In the early-mid 2010s, irrigation on both the White Birch and Blue Spruce courses were overhauled. Also completed during this period was the removal of 276 Ash trees. As part of Kenosha County’s reforestation plan, some new planting was undertaken. In 2018, Quitno and Golf Creations renovated the White Birch course, with the project covering bunkers and drainage. Six years later, the municipal facility turned to them again to rebuild bunkers and tees on Red Pines, as well as revamp the driving range that serves all 45 holes.
This year, the pair seek to oversee work on Blue Spruce, which includes bunker and tee renovations, plus drainage upgrades.
“After talking with the director of golf at Brighton Dale, we’re looking to get the next phase planned out here soon,” said Quinto. “But municipal jobs require a public bid, so there’s no guarantee Jim [Lohmann] and Golf Creations will get that work. One would hope they do: they do great work and they’ve worked there for years.
“But when you extend masterplan work over a period of time, in the municipal context, it’s harder to guarantee the consistency you’d want from having a single contractor handling all the components. Golf Creations goes the extra mile, especially with their municipal clients. The client at Brighton Dale has always been really happy with Jimmy’s work and the public loves it. But there are no guarantees.”
Lohmann, president of Golf Creations, said: “Staging is a super-important consideration for any municipality gaming out course upgrades. For example, knowing irrigation is already complete on a job like the Blue Spruce project, we need to be extra delicate when the next part of the job is undertaken. Golf Creations doesn’t handle irrigation, but if new irrigation is laid before the course renovation, it requires more skill and attention when renovating bunkers or expanding fairways.
“That’s a good rule of thumb for any municipal course operator: install the irrigation during the renovation, or once reconstruction is finished, because you don’t want a course contractor moving new irrigation heads. That essentially doubles the cost of installing those heads – no one wants that. That’s the kind of strategising being done right now, and we’re more than willing to weigh in on what makes the most sense – no matter which contractor wins the bid.”