Montgomery National Golf Club in Minnesota has appointed Paul Miller Design to lead a golf course renovation. 

Owner Greg McKush, who took over the club in 2018, hired Miller having worked with him on the design of The Meadows at Mystic Lake, also in Minnesota. “Golf has been our family’s business for the past 40 years,” said McKush. “It’s been unbelievable to have this opportunity to honour my parents’ legacy of providing a great golf course experience on an affordable and very scenic and playable golf course.”

Miller’s plans include some rerouting and renovating the re-numbered second, tenth, thirteenth and eighteenth holes. The rerouting will mean that the tenth and eighteenth will finish near the clubhouse.

In autumn 2021, Miller, the club and the city of Montgomery will work together on a new pond located near the tenth green that will drain stormwater away from the adjacent residential area. Work on the par-four tenth, known as ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, will also include expanding the fairway, eliminating a greenside bunker and re-shaping the approach area. A new ‘Olson Guitar’ bunker will frame the right side of the hole.

“Working with Greg at Montgomery National has allowed me to be deeply engaged in using design and thematic strategies to energise a hidden gem that has great natural attributes,” said Miller. “As we looked at creating a new identity that included music in our vision, we were able to engage existing and new players in an ongoing dialogue.

“In captivating fashion, the yellow submarine at the entrance to the golf course creates a buzz that displays Greg’s willingness to have fun with the branding and new approach to the golf course operations. The golf holes named after Beatles’ songs and the guitar bunker continues in that spirit. Within that framework we want to upgrade the golf course to take advantage of the natural features in a more upscale fashion, such as a new cart path, enhanced golf hole shaping, bunkering and playability appropriate to the tees that the golfer is playing.”

Montgomery National has also hired architect David J. Kelly to design a new clubhouse. Construction of the Overlook Clubhouse will begin in autumn 2021 and the log cabin design will sit atop the highest point on the golf course, with views across the entire property.