17 TPC Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico has reopened its West course following a renovation by Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects (RTJ II). Both the West and East courses were nine-hole layouts when they first opened in 1958, with both becoming 18-hole courses in 1966. All 36 holes were designed by Robert Trent Jones. “About 10 years or so ago, we restored the East to much of Robert Trent Jones Sr’s original design,” said Bruce Charlton, president at RTJ II. “That course is a Jones Sr. outdoor museum.” The West was closed in 2020 with real estate development impacting several holes. The club then brought in RTJ II and contractor Heritage Links to restore and modernise the course. “The West became overgrown due to inactivity, and when we got to work on it, we were very cognisant of where we were placing green complexes,” said Charlton. “We didn’t automatically go where they used to be. We moved half a dozen for better air movement and sunlight.” Pure Dynasty seeded paspalum, supplied by Atlas Turf International and Pure Seed, was used on tees, fairways and greens. Also, all bunkers now feature Capillary Bunkers technology. “The West is more our style: strategic with options off the tee,” said Charlton. “The idea was to keep the West shorter while making it wider and more fun. We were able to do all those things and use a lot of the original corridors and reimagine them.” RTJ II revamps Dorado Beach’s West course TEE BOX Faldo course on Maderia on track to open in 2027 Grassing is under way on a new Faldo Design course at Ponta do Pargo on the island of Madeira, Portugal. The project is 17 years in the making, with Faldo’s original design halted at the preliminary civil engineering stage, due to the global financial crisis of 2008-10. “The site is as dramatic as any site that I’ve seen,” said architect Paul Jansen. “We’ve got eight holes along the cliff edge – that’s a rarity. The holes away from the sea are equally dramatic because you’ll be playing through cavernous valleys and wonderful rock formations.” Find out more about the project by listening to Jansen speak on The Greenprint podcast. Photo: Faldo Design Photo: TPC Dorado Beach
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