Imagine building 26 golf courses at the height of the golf development bubble, with nine figures in public pension money — in an effort that now loses money year after year. Welcome to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
In theory, 12-hole designs should be cheaper to play, build, and maintain. But in the staid industry of golf course development, there’s been no rush to test the theory. The minds behind Sweetens Cove are ready to change that.
Rob Collins and Tad King's renovation of the Links at Overton Park, a historic nine-hole golf course in Memphis, Tenn., offers a window into the juggling act inherent to golf course construction.
The 6,300 yards that Tillinghast baked into Swope undoubtedly play shorter today than they did when the course opened nearly 90 years ago. But its bizarre yardages create awkward yardages that still challenge, even in the Twenty-First Century.