Clyde Johnston completes Hollow Creek course at The Reserve Club
Clyde Johnston has added six new holes to the Hollow Creek course at The Reserve Club in Aiken, South Carolina — taking it to a full 18.
The original ten holes of the Clyde Johnston and Fuzzy Zoeller-designed course opened in 2007.
“We were to build the last eight the following year but the downturn in our economy stopped that work,” said Johnston. “Two new holes — twelve and thirteen — were added in 2017 but were not put into play as their location relative to the existing ten holes did not make that practical.”
Wadsworth Golf Construction built the original holes and was hired again for the last six. They began work in March 2019 and finished in late-July.
“Some of the new holes are in completely new locations from the original routing,” said Johnston. “Hole six is in the same location, as we originally cleared that hole and performed the mass earthwork on it with the original ten. The hole is the original design with some slight adjustments to the yardage and tee locations.
“Holes seven, eight and nine have been moved from the original routing to new locations closer to the main part of the golf course and were completely redesigned. The tenth is approximately the same location as the original routing while the eleventh was changed from a par five to a slightly uphill par three, due to the steep topography of the site and as an effort to reduce construction costs.
“I am most excited that we now have a complete 18-hole golf course for the members to enjoy,” continues Johnston. “The moderately rolling topography of the site makes for some interesting holes with scenic views. Of the six new holes, the 510-yard par-five ninth is my favourite. It plays uphill with the tee shot to an elevated landing area. A good tee shot allows the golfer to enjoy the downhill view to the green and tempts the golfer to go for the green with his or her second shot.”
According to Johnston, the new holes have not been accurately measured for yardage yet, but the course will play around 6,975 from the back tees, at a par of 71.
“Since we lost two shots to par by changing the eleventh hole from a par five to a par three, we changed the existing fourteenth hole from a par three to a somewhat reachable par four,” said Johnston. “There were no changes to the other existing holes.”
The Reserve Club, which also has an 18-hole course by Nicklaus Design, is planning to open the full Hollow Creek 18 in mid-October.