Interviews

Oakmont: An interview with Gil Hanse

With the 2025 US Open arriving at Oakmont, Richard Humphreys spoke with the architect, who renovated the course in 2023, about what to expect

Martin Ebert: Design journey

With a portfolio that includes eight of the ten Open venues, Mackenzie & Ebert occupies an enviable position in the golf design industry. Adam Lawrence spoke with principal Martin Ebert to learn how they got there

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

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

Ben Cowan-Dewar: Shock and awe

Golf development firm Cabot now has properties in six countries. Richard Humphreys speaks with co-founder and CEO Ben Cowan-Dewar about what makes a great site, selection of golf course architects, and more

Team building

Turfgrass has launched its US arm with the appointment of John Lawrence, Adam Moeller and Brad Owen. Richard Humphreys speaks with them, Turfgrass founder John Clarkin and director of agronomy Julian Mooney to find out more

Brian Curley: Life of Brian

The designer has surely clocked up more air miles than anyone else in the business. Adam Lawrence caught up with him in between flights to discuss his career and his new venture with Jim Wagner

Oakmont: An interview with Gil Hanse

With the 2025 US Open arriving at Oakmont, Richard Humphreys spoke with the architect, who renovated the course in 2023, about what to expect

Martin Ebert: Design journey

With a portfolio that includes eight of the ten Open venues, Mackenzie & Ebert occupies an enviable position in the golf design industry. Adam Lawrence spoke with principal Martin Ebert to learn how they got there

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

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

Ben Cowan-Dewar: Shock and awe

Golf development firm Cabot now has properties in six countries. Richard Humphreys speaks with co-founder and CEO Ben Cowan-Dewar about what makes a great site, selection of golf course architects, and more

Team building

Turfgrass has launched its US arm with the appointment of John Lawrence, Adam Moeller and Brad Owen. Richard Humphreys speaks with them, Turfgrass founder John Clarkin and director of agronomy Julian Mooney to find out more

Brian Curley: Life of Brian

The designer has surely clocked up more air miles than anyone else in the business. Adam Lawrence caught up with him in between flights to discuss his career and his new venture with Jim Wagner

Sean Dudley
/ Categories: News

Kris Spence completes restoration of historic Memphis CC course

Golf course architect Kris Spence has completed a restoration of the historic Memphis Country Club course in Tennessee, US.

Featuring 18 holes originally designed by Donald Ross, the club hired Spence to lead a restoration project back in 2010.

The architect completed work to the course’s tees and bunkers in 2012, before returning to the club earlier this year to restore the Ross greens to their original fill pad dimensions.

Ross's work at Memphis CC was completed back in 1915, making the project one of the architect’s earliest. 

Spence’s recent work saw the architect use detailed 1930 aerials and a full set of ground level photographs of each green site.

More than 35 per cent of lost green space has been reintroduced, helping to enhance the strategic interest Ross originally envisaged for the course.

The greens were rebuilt with amended rootzone and drainage, and upgrades were also made to the irrigation control system.

Significant tree removal has also taken place to help open up the long vistas across the property and to encourage recovery play from understory areas. 

All green sites have been planted to Tifeagle Ultradwarf, and around 15 acres of rough area is also being converted to a lower maintenance fescue turf.

A full reopening of the Memphis CC course is expected to take place in spring 2017.

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Slideshow HTML
  • Nemu2

    The approach to the seventeenth green

  • Nemu2

    An aerial shot of the third green at the Memphis Country Club course

  • Nemu2

    The volcano green on the fourth hole

  • Nemu2

    The green on the ninth hole

Sean Dudley

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