Legacy Golf Course at the 19 in Iowa has opened following Kevin Norby’s renovation of the former Mason City Country Club layout.

Norby was appointed in 2008 to prepare a long-range masterplan for Mason City’s 1915 Tom Bendelow design, with the aim of improving conditions and addressing flooding issues. “For the next 16 years, the club struggled to find the resources to make any of the proposed improvements,” said Norby.

The club’s financial issues continued until 2022, when local automotive business owner Joe Pritchard – whose companies include Streetrod Golf Cars – purchased Mason City with a goal of rescuing the ailing course.

One of Pritchard’s first decisions was to rebrand the club. “We named it The Legacy to represent our generational connection to the course.” he said. “My father Bill worked as a caddie at Mason City for his first job. It’s vital to us to keep this legacy going as an asset for our employees, customers and all of North Iowa.

Norby was contacted and asked to finalise his original plan and oversee the proposed improvements. This included reinforcing the course’s Golden Age character, instilling more strategy, and helping the course drain quicker.

“Approximately 400 acres of farmland to the west of the course drains into a narrow area about 100 feet wide on the fourth hole,” said Norby. “Similarly, around 300 acres to the south drains into the third hole. The water converges and runs across the entire golf course before exiting the property to the east of thirteen. Depending on the intensity, even a modest rain event would often flood the course, causing the course to close for a day or two until carts could be used again.”

Duininck Golf began construction in December 2022 with the installation of two 36-inch trunk drainage pipes. The contractor returned a year later to build two large ponds and then in spring 2024 began renovating bunkers with Better Billy Bunker, tees and greens.

“One of the most significant changes came at the first and second holes, both par fours,” said Norby. “The opener was lengthened to play as a par five and the second was shortened to be a par three. This allowed us to reroute stormwater through out-of-play areas. Similarly, the par-five tenth was shortened to a par four and a new 155-yard par-three eleventh was created. The new eleventh now plays over water to the old tenth green.

“We used historic aerial photographs to help understand what changes had been made during the past 100 years or so. Although we did not have any historic photos of the course, much of the Golden Age green surrounds and mounding were still intact.”

“The greens on one, two and ten were reconstructed by stripping the turf from the existing putting surfaces and reinstalling it on top of a 12-inch deep rootzone mix. Construction of the new greens also allowed us to enhance some of the characteristic false fronts and reinstate some of the square corners and pin positions that had been lost over time.”

The project included the construction of 24 new bunkers, some of which were the reinstatement of hazards removed decades ago. On the 510-yard par-five sixth, three flanking fairway bunkers and a cross bunker were added, while the greenside hazards were repositioned and made deeper. Similarly, on the short par-four fourth, four new bunkers were added with the aim of incorporating more risk-reward. And on the 115-yard fifth, Norby realigned the tees and rebuilt the greenside bunkers.

“We also repositioned fairway bunkers to make them more relevant for today’s golfer and installed a new irrigation system, relocated the maintenance facility and constructed a new clubhouse,” said Norby. “This was not intended as a strict restoration but rather a renovation directed at modernising the course while respecting and enhancing the classic character of the original layout.”

Eleven new forward tees have been added, allowing the course to be played at 4,690 yards. New back tees were added on nine holes, and are now named the ‘Daly’ tees, after pro golfer John Daly, who consulted on the project.

Norby added: “This was a particularly rewarding project because I have been connected to this club for nearly 20 years. I’m delighted that we were finally able to make the changes necessary to help the course be more resilient and more sustainable. During construction, we had nearly 30 inches of rain over a two-month period. The new drainage improvements have worked perfectly. The course is now more resistant to flooding and, because it dries out faster, it has allowed mowers and golfers with carts to access the course more quickly following a rain event.”