Elevating the experience at Hunters Run

The 54-hole Hunters Run Country Club in Boynton Beach, Florida, has continually sought to improve the golfing experience for its members. 

Over the last 15 years, all three of the club’s 18-hole courses have been renovated as Hunters Run strives for top playing conditions in a very popular golf market.  

The club’s South course was renovated in 2001 by Mark McCumber and the North in 2018 by Sanford Golf Design. 

Now, the club’s attention turns to the East, which was redesigned in 2008 by Kipp Schulties, adding elevation change and rerouting some holes.  

“The toll of the South Florida weather, our year-round play and the dramatic rise in golf since the pandemic has brought the need for improvement to the forefront,” says Larry Savvides, chief operating officer at Hunters Run. “Action had to be taken to ensure competitive playability and aesthetics to protect real estate values and the club’s reputation. 

“The maintenance team did its best to keep the East in a respectable condition, but there were many aspects of the golf course that needed to be fixed, from the condition of the subsurface soil and its low elevation to the drainage and irrigation systems.” 

In September 2023, the membership approved a near $10 million renovation to be led, again, by Schulties. Hunters Run is funding the project over 10 years with a monthly capital assessment per membership household. Construction began in March with all major works expected to be complete by mid-August.  

“The 2024 renovation continues the trend in trying to pull up the higher parts of the course while resolving some select low areas,” says Schulties. “My intention has always been to make the East the most contoured course of the three at Hunters Run. Florida is very flat, so elevation and contouring is what makes a course in the South Florida market unique. 

“We are not making any major changes in 2024, but there are numerous subtle ones all over the course that will be a noticeable difference to members. While the East may not be the longest or biggest course at Hunters Run, we think that it is the best and through this renovation we are trying to optimise everything this course, and the land beneath it, has to offer, with no regrets that we left something on the table. In 2008, we did a large scope of work, but we did that work to meet a budget. In 2024, the club has given us everything we need to make the course the best it can be.” 

In addition to adding elevation and addressing playing surfaces, Schulties’ plan calls for many tees to be expanded and/or moved, formalising the back tees, new cart paths, lake expansions, new bunkers, new greens and new wooden bulkheads. 

One of the biggest changes will be the relocation of the ninth green towards the approach area and a little right towards the eleventh green, to create space for future club amenities. The back shelf on the two-tiered green will also be expanded to better receive a shot. 

At the sixteenth, plans include lowering the green complex and moving it closer to the lake and the bulkhead wall. The green will be expanded and moved right as out of bounds left is close to the existing cart path. A new bailout area will be created left of the green. 

The first step in the 2024 renovation involved the installation of silt fences, clearing the site, and the stripping and burying of the old Tifway 419 turf. This portion of work also included locating areas to harvest additional fill to raise the low areas that are prone to flooding. 

“We then moved on to reshaping the course, raising low areas by 18 to 24 inches to improve drainage and redesigning course features such as tees, bunkers and greens,” says Amy Volk, golf course maintenance at Hunters Run. “TifEagle grass will be used on greens, while Bunker Solution liner will be used in bunkers to maintain and extend the useful life of the bunker sand and, at the same time, provide more playable bunkers.” 

Schulties adds: “We have used Bunker Solution liner at many clubs to ensure consistency in playing conditions and maintenance.” 

The second half of construction involves installing a new Toro Lynx irrigation system, sodding fairways with Celebration bermuda, which will grow in ahead of reopening in January 2025. 

Savvides says: “In keeping with the club’s mission statement: ‘We strive to be a country club community dedicated to providing exceptional facilities and memorable experiences’, it will be a priority for the club to preserve the courses for the enjoyment of our current and future members.”  

This article first appeared in the July 2024 issue of Golf Course Architecture. For a printed subscription or free digital edition, please visit our subscriptions page.

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