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Nashville’s Percy Warner golf course closes for Bruce Hepner renovation

  • Percy Warner
    Percy Warner golf course

    Architect Bruce Hepner has developed a renovation plan for Percy Warner golf course in Tennessee

  • Percy Warner
    Percy Warner golf course

    A rendering of the new short-game area

  • Percy Warner
    Percy Warner golf course

    The biggest change will be replacing the two-green system to one green per hole

Amber Hickman
By Amber Hickman

Percy Warner golf course in Nashville, Tennessee, has closed to undergo an 11-month renovation project led by architect Bruce Hepner, the former associate of Tom Doak at Renaissance Golf Design.

The nine-hole municipal layout is located at the northeast corner of the Edwin and Percy Warner Parks. The parks are managed by the Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation Department and span more than 3,100 acres.

Nashville’s parks department and the Tennessee Golf Foundation are partnering with Friends of Warner Parks, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation and protection of the parks, to renovate the course and surrounding landscape.

Hepner is focusing on improving the sustainability and playability of the golf course.

The biggest change will be replacing the two-green system, which has been in place since the course first opened in 1937, to one green per hole.

Other aspects of the project include the expansion of tees and bunkers, installing a new irrigation system, restoring surrounding woodland, and building a new short-game area.

“After a decade of collaboration and planning, we have achieved the public-private partnership necessary to complete this historic restoration project and enhance the game of golf for all of Nashville,” said Jenny Hannon, president of Friends of Warner Parks.

In addition to the renovation project, which is expected to cost $2 million, a grant will be introduced to support annual needs for equipment, maintenance, junior golf programming and staffing at the public facility.

“As a foundation, we are proud to partner with Metro Nashville and Friends of Warner Park to assist in the rebirth of such a historic venue,” said Whit Turnbow, president of the Tennessee Golf Foundation. The foundation aims to expand junior golf opportunities at Percy Warner, through programmes such as First Tee and the PGA Junior League.

The course is expected to reopen in September 2023.

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