A new look is coming to completion for a golf course in the state capital of Kansas.
The Topeka Country Club began renovations for its golf course in January. In less than five months, the project is almost finished.
Efforts to improve the course, air circulation and sunlight at the tees and greens were prioritized. More than 400 trees were removed to improve playability and enhance long-range views across the course.
Renovations also included adding a series of smaller collection ponds feeding into a larger basin. The ponds will start at the 15th hole and trail along in front of the 17th green.
Topeka Country Club course now more open with playing space
Todd Clark, golf course architect with CE Golf Design, said the main thing club members will notice are the efforts to make the course more playable.
“We’re adding tees to every golf hole,” Clark said. “There’s also some opportunities where we’re going to link in the course a little bit like a whole number. So, the tees are the first thing they’re going to notice because they’re going to be stepping around those right out of the gate.”
Eliminating and laser-leveling tee boxes, new drainage and adding 12 new fairway bunkers are all part of the renovation, he said. In addition, all existing bunkers will be modified, reshaped and rebuilt using the Better Billy Bunker method.
Todd Clark, golf course architect for CE Golf Design, shows how a series of fairway bunkers on Hole 10 at Topeka Country Club go through changes before reaching its final form. (Evert Nelson/USA Today Network)
That method provides an advanced drainage and liner system, while providing better playing conditions deeper into the life of the bunker, Clark said.
Clay Meininger, president and chief operating officer at Topeka Country Club, said more than 400 trees were removed from the property.
“This is going to transform the whole property,” Meininger said. “I always thought we were one of the best clubs in the Midwest, but now, we’ll be definitely a top-tier club.”
Topeka Country Club renovations include original Perry Maxwell layout
The current project marks the first major renovation of the golf course since the Perry Maxwell-designed course debuted in 1940, information from the club said. Maxwell had added nine holes to the existing Thomas Bendelow-designed 9-hole course that had opened in 1906.
Working with Clark on the renovations has been Ron Whitten, golf course historian and designer, while Mammoth…
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