63 during the build. “Jimbo Wright is there, along with Jeff Bradley who is building the bunkers, and at different times quite a few of our crew will have rotated through,” says Coore. The course will feature Zeon Zoysia grass for the approaches, tees, fairways and rough and TifEagle bermuda on the greens accentuated by bunkers with sand native to the area. The Alabamian appearance of the course will be surrounded by longleaf pine plantations. In addition to the native forests, out-of-play areas will be plentiful with native grasses and wildf lowers. To preserve and encourage the growth of these species, Russell Lands is working in conjunction with Claude Jenkins, the most recent recipient of the National Wildlife Federation’s National Conservation Leadership Award. Course superintendent James Morgan worked with Coore & Crenshaw on the Trinity Forest course in Dallas, where he was first assistant during the build. “James is a super-talented young guy, and he had dealt with Zeon Zoysia, which is what we are using at Wicker Point, at Trinity Forest, so he was a great choice,” says Coore. “They are going to sod the fairways. With some of these rolling hills and slopes down to the lake, there is potential damage that could occur and damage the quality of water in the lake as well as eroding the golf course. Sodding will reduce the risk of that happening.” Wicker Point is the anchor for a new 1,500-acre residential development called The Heritage, which, in total, includes twelve miles of shoreline. Russell expects to begin residential sales later in 2022. Meanwhile, Coore says that the aim is to finish golf course construction this year. “The goal is to finish by the end of October,” he says. “It might lap into November a bit, but that is still really nice weather in Alabama. Last fall, we completed four holes – including the eighth and seventeenth, both par threes – that all come very close to the lake. Those were sodded last year, and the rest will be done in 2022.” Wicker Point is expected to open in the spring of 2023. GCA A large bunker complex in construction on the approach to the sixteenth. Behind, the par-three seventeenth plays over water “ Most of the earthworks are basically taking the natural landforms that are there and keeping them intact” Photo: Russell Lands
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