LATEST
NEWS

Steve Smyers to redesign Errol Estate course in Central Florida
Sean Dudley
/ Categories: News

Steve Smyers to redesign Errol Estate course in Central Florida

Golf course architect Steve Smyers is leading a project near Apopka, Florida, which will see the conversion of the course at the Errol Estate into a brand new 18-hole layout.

The estate is currently home to 27 holes designed by architect Joe Lee, but has fallen into disrepair in recent times.

Smyers has drawn up plans to create a new 18-hole course on the site that meets the need of the modern golfer. The course will be renamed the Staghorn Golf Club and Lodge once it reopens.

GCA caught up with Smyers to discuss his vision for the course.

“I look at this as a whole new golf course,” Smyers said. “On one nine we were confined to the corridors that already exist, but essentially the course is new. It’s going to have an US$8 million construction budget.”

Smyers and his team are currently in the project’s planning stage, and the architect says the reduction from 27 to 18 holes has naturally provided more options in terms of space.

“Here in the US we’ve got so many golf courses that are aging, so many communities that are aging, and where the land and environment is in a state of distress,” he said. “We’re going to be able to go in there and create new golf holes, but we’re also going to heal the landscape and create some very good water courses, wetlands and some upland areas. That’s all part of the mission statement here. We’re also going to put an emphasis on having a very strong practice facility.”

Many holes will see golfers having to negotiate water hazards, in particular on the course’s southern section. The third hole will see golfers playing over a small lake towards the green from the tee, while the sixth hole will see players looking to avoid a large lake to the right of the fairway. The dogleg fourth hole is the course’s longest at 635 yards.

“In Florida, the water table can fluctuate by as much as ten feet a year,” Smyers said. “So we’re going to have all sorts of wetlands plantings around the lake, and the golf course will be very much engulfed by the landscape.”

Though significant changes are to be made, Smyers said that the spirit of Joe Lee will still be present in how golfers will play the course.

“Joe Lee was a very prolific architect, very much from the school of Dick Wilson, and was all about length and shot making,” he said. “We’re going to try and adhere to that to modern day standards.”

Construction work is set to commence in October 2017, and Smyers is hoping the course will be open for play in autumn 2018.

Previous Article Course renovations commence at Balsam Mountain Preserve
Next Article Golf course architect Vicki Martz dies at 72
Print
7157 Rate this article:
No rating
Sean Dudley

Sean DudleySean Dudley

Other posts by Sean Dudley
Contact author

Contact author

x
The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
Magazine, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!

Includes reports from Maggie Hathaway and Apogee, interviews with Martin Ebert and Dave Axland and a feature on golf art

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Magazine, News | Fri 14 Mar, 2025

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now

New issue asks whether the golf boom has led to an increase in municipal golf investment

FEATURE
ARTICLES

South course at Apogee Club: New scenery for second act
Toby Ingleton
On site | Toby Ingleton

South course at Apogee Club: New scenery for second act

Toby Ingleton reports on a design debut for the partnership of Mike Davis and Tom Fazio II, in the new course hotspot of south Florida

The art of golf
theberkshire.co.uk, The R&A World Golf Museum and National Galleries of Scotland
Feature | Adam Lawrence

The art of golf

Adam Lawrence profiles some of the best illustrators of golf courses in the game’s history – both full-time artists and architects who draw or paint

A masterplan of masters’ plans
Cohasse CC
Report | Mark Wagner

A masterplan of masters’ plans

Mark Wagner writes about the Tim Lewis-led renovation of Cohasse, a course that includes the work of Donald Ross and the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted

Quail Hollow: An interview with Tom Fazio
PGA of America/ Gary W. Kellner
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Quail Hollow: An interview with Tom Fazio

The architect talks about how this year’s PGA Championship venue has evolved over the past 30 years

Bringing golf to Benin
Afrikafun Production Stephane Brabant
Report | Richard Humphreys

Bringing golf to Benin

Jeremy Pern and Gregori International are creating the first 18-hole course in the West African country, on an ‘almost perfect’ site that also includes a sacred grove and voodoo shrines

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt
Lukas Michel/CDP
Opinion | Mike Clayton

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt

Mike Clayton discusses Alister MacKenzie’s transformative impact on Australian golf and how clubs can avoid repeating previous mistakes by establishing a long-term plan focused on indigenous plants

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good
Stephen Barton – Second Collective
On site | Adam Lawrence

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good

The reconstruction of the nine-hole course in Los Angeles is the golf industry at its best, says Adam Lawrence

Designs for the big screen
Pizá Golf
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Designs for the big screen

Chad Goetz and Agustin Piza discuss their design decisions for the virtual holes that featured in the first season of TGL

The ties that bind
Crooked Stick
Opinion | Justin Olmstead

The ties that bind

Justin Olmstead of Profile Products talks about the relationships behind the renovation of Crooked Stick in Indiana

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz
Konrad Borkowski
Interview | Adam Lawrence

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz

The Australian designer has had a long career and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build
Kinsale Golf Club
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build

Florida course is a tribute to the Golden Age designs of Raynor and Macdonald

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025
Gopher Watch, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025

Which course has Sandy the gopher visited this month?

MOST
POPULAR

FEATURED
BUSINESSES