A major project will get underway this month at the Dogwood Course at The Country Club of North Carolina.

Golf course architect Kris Spence – who is based in nearby Greensboro, North Carolina – has been hired to direct the project and has developed a comprehensive renovation plan.

The Dogwood Course was originally designed by Ellis Maples and opened in 1963. Spence has used aerial photography and ground level archival photos from the course’s original construction, as well as original plans and drawings by Maples himself, when creating his plan.

“While there are certainly many restorative aspects to this project, I would not call this a pure restoration as there are significant design changes being made to bring the course up to speed with the modern game,” said Spence. 

Major upgrades will be made to the greens, bunkering, tees and fairways, while work will also be carried out on the course’s approaches, irrigation and drainage.

Greens will be expanded and resurfaced with Champion ultradwarf bermudagrass, with the aim of restoring their original strategic angles and footprint as Maples intended.

A number of bunkers will be reshaped and repositioned, while the course’s tees, fairways and approaches will see the introduction of Zeon Zoysia grass.

Work will get underway later this month, with the course scheduled to reopen for play in autumn 2016.