Quarry Oaks Golf Club in Ashland, Nebraska, will reopen its course for limited play this autumn following a year-long grow-in after a renovation by original designer John LaFoy and contractor Landscapes Unlimited.

The course, which first opened in 1996, was built on the site of an old rock quarry on the Platte River between Omaha and Lincoln.

In 2022, owner Jim Abel began planning to renovate the clubhouse, and while this was in progress, director of golf Joe Sutter approached Abel about the possibility of renovating the course. After some discussion, the pair decided on giving the layout “a major facelift”, hiring the original designer and contractor to execute the work.

Work began in summer 2022 with a substantial tree management programme that saw over 4,000 trees removed. “So many trees had matured over the years and, in many cases, fairway bunkers and other features were obscured by them,” said LaFoy. “Tree removal really opened the corridors to enhance playability. It also exposed some beautiful mature Burr Oak trees and opened vistas of Platte River. This work has had a world of difference on the course’s aesthetics. It has always been a beautiful course because of the terrain and vegetation, but now that we have opened vistas of the river and even in between holes, the natural beauty of the layout has been revealed.”

Significant undergrowth was also removed, to make it easier to find balls and hit recovery shots.

Golf course construction took place between March and October 2023, with Curt Grieser and Lucas Schroeder as the project managers for Landscapes Unlimited, and founder Bill Kubly on site several times.

“Greens have been restored to their original sizes, with original contours restored where needed or otherwise enhanced,” said LaFoy. The top four inches of topmix was removed, new mix added, and seeded with 007 bentgrass.

All bunkers have been rebuilt and reshaped. All were built using porous concrete as the base, with angular bunker sand brought in from Ohio. Fifteen new bunkers were added; four at greens and 11 in fairways.

“The new and rebuilt fairway bunkers will have the biggest impact on strategy,” said LaFoy. “We have had the luxury of seeing where golfers hit their balls for the last 20-plus years, so we were able to locate them to have maximum impact. Like most of my work, I try and keep them from impacting the average or high handicap players too much.”

On the ninth – which was been converted from a par four to a five – the fairway was lowered by about eight feet and widened to over 80 yards in places. The two-tiered fourteenth fairway has been regraded to a single level and is now twice the width. All fairways were re-seeded with Luminary bentgrass.

Other work includes the installation of a new irrigation system as well as the rebuilding of all tee complexes. Eight new forward tees and five back tees have been added.

The most unique of the new tees can be found on the fifteenth.

“During the planning stage for the renovation, Joe asked if I knew about an old dynamite shack to the left of the quarry,” said LaFoy. “I did not, so we proceeded to walk through the trees until coming upon a concrete bunker covered in dirt Joe said, ‘do you think a tee would work on top?’ The idea started to grow on all of us and we finally decided to go for it. As grading work and tree removal proceeded, we got even more excited!

“The completed ‘dynamite’ tee overlooks the Platte River and provides a 115-yard shot to a green approximately 30 feet lower in elevation.” This provides a stark contrast to the 215-yard shot from the ‘walk-on’ tee by the fourteenth green.

“The handrails for the steps feature steel rebar posts that had been in the company’s materials yard for over 50 years; leftovers from the construction of the NBC Bank building in downtown Lincoln,” says LaFoy. “Crushed limestone from the company’s quarry was also used on the paths towards the old shack. We think that the golfers will love playing from what could be one of the most unique tee boxes ever constructed.”

Superintendent Ken Cuddy and his staff have been overseeing grow-in, maintenance and completing any repairs. The club plans to open the course on a limited basis in September with a grand opening for 2025 when the clubhouse renovation is complete.

“This course is a reflection of the course owners,” said LaFoy. “It started as, and has since remained, a labour of love for them. The property has been in the family for many years as it was one of their rock quarries for the family business. This piece of land is unique to Nebraska and Jim’s father George, and his wife Betty, had a vision that this property could be special. We feel like we have lived up to that vision.”