NEW FEATURES INCLUDE :
• 12-hole championship course
• Six-hole short course
• Near-acre-sized putting course
• Driving range and short-game area commenced in May 2020
All signs point to the expected completion and reopening this May .
To have our kids and have the community be able to come out and experience a place where the history of golf was built is pretty neat .”
Love Design Group lead project architect Scot Sherman , who has been involved in 40 new designs and renovations in a 27-year career , says he has had a lot of fun working the Belmont project .
“ We have donors who had the right vision and as soon as they explained the vision , this is absolutely what golf needs right now , a facility just like this . I wish this was right next door in my hometown . I ’ d be there every day ,” Sherman said . “ Brent Schneider , his whole team has been terrific . The county has been so helpful . We permitted this thing about as fast as anything I ’ ve ever seen . We did things right . We didn ’ t cut any corners .”
THE TRACKS The 12-hole championship course starts on what was the original No . 7 . Old Nos . 8 and 9 are now Nos . 2 and 3 . Holes 4 through 12 are the old back nine .
Old photographs from several sources helped Sherman , Mark Love and the Mac- Currach Golf Construction builders bring back Tillinghast features that had been lost over time . Love Design and MacCurrach have worked numerous projects together .
All the greens in the complex have been re-grassed with a modern strain of bentgrass . Nine of the original greens on the championship course have been restored . There was nothing definitive about how the other three greens looked in the past so Sherman and Mark Love used architect ’ s license to show how they might have looked .
The fairways went untouched from a playability standpoint , but they received new irrigation and drainage .
“ One thing I think is really cool is when you ride these fairways , you get a sense of the unevenness of the slopes . The course was built with horse and plow . A piece of property like this in the Northeast is a five-year wait and a $ 250,000 initiation ,” Schneider said . “ Our kids are going to be able to play out here on a regular basis for free . To me , that is super inspiring .”
Bunkers were either rebuilt , refurbished or restored to original status .
The Little Bell short course ( inspired by some of Tillinghast ’ s famous par 3s ), The Ringer putting course , the driving range and the short-game practice area fill up the space once occupied by holes 1-5 .
“ I wish this was right next door in my hometown . I ’ d be there every day .” — Scot Sherman , Love Design Group lead project architect
LEFT : The old No . 7 will now be No . 1 on the 12-hole championship course at Belmont . RIGHT : Lead course architect Scot Sherman and Davis Love III visit the property during construction .
Each hole on the short course has a name , and holes vary in length from 70 to 180 yards .
COMMUNITY FOCUS Celebrated golf artist Lee Wybranski is producing Belmont rebranding logos and images . Wybranski has created original artwork in various mediums for marquee clubs around the world , major tournament champions and the USGA , PGA and R & A .
As an 11-year-old , Luther played Belmont with his grandfather in the early 1980s and has fond memories of those days .
“ I had no idea I ’ d be coming back to play a role [ in the transformation ]. I ’ m looking forward to getting out there and playing it ,” Luther said . “ I ’ m looking forward to playing . We have talked for years and years and years about the lack of a practice facility , particularly a driving range . I think the range is going to be extremely popular .”
The First Tee ’ s vision and mission haven ’ t changed with the addition of Belmont .
“ This is just adding to our strategic direction and expanding our footprint to reach more kids ,” Schneider said . “ The vision for the property is for it to be as well maintained as many private golf clubs but to be as inclusive as a grocery store and welcome everyone to unite around the community-focused culture we are trying to create here .”
Says Sherman of Belmont ’ s future : “ It ’ s just the perfect thing for golf right now .”
THE FIRST TEE OF GREATER RICHMOND
24 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M AY / J UNE 2021
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