Rees Jones redesigns the Old Course at Broken Sound Club

Rees Jones and his design associate Bryce Swanson have completed a multi-million-dollar renovation project on the Old Course at Broken Sound Club in Bacon Raton, Florida.

The course originally opened in 1978 to a design by Joe Lee, before being renovated in 2004 by Gene Bates. It has been renowned for its classic-style bunkers but, in recent years, the club found that players were struggling to play around them.

Broken Sound Club hired Jones and Swanson to restructure the entire course to position bunkers so that they are more accessible and playable.

“We had to design it for the senior players as well as the members, so it had to have really good greens, but they also needed to be accessible,” Jones told By Design magazine earlier this year, referencing the fact the Old Course will host a PGA Champions Tour event. “There are also plenty of different choices – if we can do courses with more options, we’ll have a healthy game. 

“In the future we’ll be getting a lot of less proficient golfers coming into the sport. So, we’ll be doing more things around the greens, rather than surrounding them with sand. Chipping areas, grass bunkers and grass pockets. And even if you have a slightly elevated green, we’ll design a ramp.”

All greens have been regrassed with TifEagle bermuda for easier maintenance. Celebration bermuda and Sunday bermuda have been used on fairways and tees, respectively, to enhance playability.

The redesigned course reopened in early March and will host the TimberTech Championship in November.

Alice ChambersAlice Chambers

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