Architect Chris Wilczynski has been hired to develop a masterplan for the course at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan.

The club has hired the Michigan-based architect as it prepares to celebrate its 90th birthday in 2018. The club’s course was originally designed by William B. Langford and Theodore J. Moreau. 

“We started the process of discussing a course master plan because we needed a long-term plan in place for the future,” said Todd Loughin, general manager at Blythefield CC. “We thought we should bring in an expert and when we started to look at course architects, we realised that Chris understands the course history, can match future improvements to the original design and can take the course to the next level where we want to go. Chris also had worked before with our superintendent and he came highly recommended.”

Wilczynski described the course as being ‘truly a gem’, with a layout that hasn’t changed drastically over the years, though a lot of trees have been added.

“The focus of Blythefield’s masterplan will be to remove some of the trees, open up the panoramas and restore a cleaner look, improve the aesthetic, strategy and function of the bunkers, and develop new middle and forward tees,” Wilczynski said. “The bunkers are problematic because of the rocky soil. The bunker work that we do will address this problem.”

The club’s course superintendent Collin Romanick is familiar with Wilczynski’s work and is confident the right outcome will be reached.

“Chris listens and will implement things that the club wants, not just his own ideas,” Romanick added. “As we look forward we want to provide a consistent direction to the leaders and members of the Club. The master plan provides this. The plan has been approved by the master plan committee, but it still needs to go to the board of directors for review, and then the general membership will need to approve the financing.”