77 REPORT Hargrave’s plan also included work to make the course more appealing for players of all abilities. Tee work has added almost 200 yards to the overall length of the layout, while new forward tees have also been introduced. “Around 40 per cent of tees were redone, mainly for better alignment and to change the line of play,” says Hargrave. Around 90,000 square feet of bunkers have been renovated, which all now feature Better Billy Bunker liner and Best Sand. “Instead of an ocean of green, Lexington now has these big flashes of white with the new sand,” says Bartlett. “It is a tremendous difference from a visual point of view, ease of walking into them and their playability.” Hargrave worked at Lexington in 2014 when the club regrassed the fairways to bentgrass but were prevented from widening them because of the existing head spacing of the irrigation. For the 2023 project, with entirely new irrigation going in, installed by an irrigation contractor, Hargrave was finally able to widen fairways to how he envisioned. The removal of at least 300 trees further widens the playing corridors. Unhealthy trees were removed – including one on the eighteenth that was held in place with concrete – and selected others were taken out to open up vistas. NMP completed construction in December 2023, and the club reopened on 2 April. The contractor had a crew of 28 to 30 on site during the project, including shapers Ricky Mendoza and Mario Gutierrez. NMP completed work on time, even including a shortgame area within the original budget. “The overall experience at Lexington is much better,” says Bartlett. “Aesthetics, maintenance and playability are all vastly improved. This is the best club in Lexington, Kentucky, right now. They are the measuring stick, no question.” Hargrave adds: “The playing experience has improved dramatically. Bunkers are much easier to get in and out of and they look so much more dramatic in comparison to what the club had – you couldn’t see half the sand in them before, everything looked too small. Now you can see everything.” “ Bunkers are much easier to get in and out of and they look so much more dramatic in comparison to what the club had” Photo: Kevin Hargrave New greenside bunkering at the fourteenth. Throughout the course hazards are now more visible, dramatic and playable
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