Golf course architect Mark Mungeam of Mungeam Cornish Golf Design has completed a project at the Wellesley Country Club in Boston, US, which has seen the development of a new short course.

The original nine holes at Wellesley Country Club were designed by Donald Ross, before being reworked by Wayne Stiles. Geoffrey Cornish of Mungeam Cornish Golf Design added nine more holes in the 1960s.

The club first made plans to add a short course to its golf offering in 2010, with the aim of providing a playing area for children of members who had limited access to the club’s busy course, as well as an area for tuition.

Named the Carriage Course, the layout features six par three holes on a hilly site measuring eight acres in area. Holes vary in length from 50 to 150 yards, with an average green size of 3,250 sq ft. The tees are large, providing length and angle variation on each hole.

Construction eventually got underway in 2016, with Country Golf hired to lead the building element.

“We decided to build easily mowed features but maintained at the same level as the main course so as not to lose its desirability for practice play,” Mungeam told GCA. “A unique feature of the design is ribbons of close-cut turf extending from each tee to the approach fairways to lessen the intimidation for beginners.”

The project has been included on the American Society of Golf Course Architects’ 2017 list of Design Excellence Recognition Program honourees.