94 REPORT For Wichita Country Club, the time was right for infrastructure updates to its Bill Diddel golf course. Over the past decade and more, the Kansas club has regularly turned to golf architect Tripp Davis to oversee renovations to Diddel’s 1950 design; completing a regrassing in 2014, bunker work in 2016 and revamping practice facilities in 2023. And in 2024, he returned to undertake the biggest phase of his long-range masterplan. For this work, the course was closed to allow contractor Total Turf Golf Services a clean run. “The design objective was largely infrastructure,” says Davis. “All but a few greens were still original to when Diddel designed the course in the early 1950s, which were soil push-up greens. The putting surfaces had amazing contours, so the objective was to ‘restore’ the greens to fit modern speeds and the modern game. “There was a significant emphasis on not doing too much for 12 greens other than to enlarge them back to the original size. For some, we’ve added a few feet of width, and in a few spots, softened the contours to get old hole locations back that can cope with faster green speeds. The other six greens, including two that we relocated, were reworked to have a similar design intent to the other 12.” An important aspect of the greens work was the installation of new drainage in the approaches and short-cut surrounds to ensure firm playing conditions and to allow course superintendent Curtis Schriever and his team to maintain a lower height of cut for these areas. “We also reworked all bunkers, restoring the size and shape of many original greenside bunkers, while there were opportunities to reposition, delete and/or move some to better fit the modern game and/or enhance the visual impact strategically and stylistically,” says Davis. “Uniquely, we used two different bunker liners to help promote the playing quality we were looking for – ZLine for greenside bunkers and Tripp Davis oversees renewal of infrastructure and subtle design changes to Bill Diddel layout Wichita set for the future Image: Tripp Davis Davis has restored the size and shape of many bunkers, as well as repositioning them for modern play
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