TEE BOX Brian Ross and Jeff Stein have developed a masterplan for an 18-hole Great Dunes course at Jekyll Island Golf Club in Georgia, with construction expected to begin in October 2024. In 2023, the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) hired the architects to restore the Walter Travis-designed Great Dunes nine and create nine new Travis-inspired holes on a portion of the club’s existing Oleander course. The front nine of Oleander will be redeveloped to become holes one to three and thirteen to eighteen in the new routing. Seven of the remaining nine holes will be given over to the island’s conservation department. Ross and Stein have been referencing historic materials from an archive maintained by the JIA, which has records dating back to the late 19th century as well as aerials and groundlevel images from the 1920s. “These photos are perfect in guiding us on aesthetics,” said Ross. “We can even see how the greens have altered, especially their elevations.” The pair have also made visits to East Potomac Park, Troy, Cape Arundel and Hollywood – all Travis designs – with greens drawings, photos and lidar scans from each proving useful. “Troy and Cape Arundel have hardly changed, so their greens are great as a reference,” said Stein. “Their strategies have even inspired us for some of our creations at Great Dunes. We’re also thinking of replicating the strategy of the twelfth green at Garden City where giant mounds flank the left and right sides, with a smaller one at the back. We’d love to bring that concept to a par three at Great Dunes. “The big telltale sign that we’ve seen in Travis’s work is that he uses diagonal swales through his greens and has abrupt transitions. The swales will turn along the line of play – they’re not always in the same direction. Travis greens are intricately designed and underrated.” Ross adds: “We recently spoke with the National Links Trust about public golf being accessible, but not always compelling. Our goal at Great Dunes is to be compelling and show what Travis was all about.” Read more about the Great Dunes project on www.golfcoursearchitecture.net Walter Travis inspires Ross and Stein for Jekyll Island project FROM THE ARCHIVE A 1920s photo of the third hole of the Great Dunes nine at Jekyll Island Photo: Jekyll Island Golf Club 29
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