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By Joe Stine
Rees Jones & Bill Bergin at The Country Club of Winter Haven.
The
Country Club of Winter Haven – located just outside Orlando
Florida and managed by Billy Casper Golf – celebrated its
grand re-opening on Saturday, January 11, 2014 with a members-guests
event hosted by Rees Jones, the legendary golf-course architect
who re-designed the 18 hole course with his co-designer Bill
Bergin, an Atlanta-based course architect.
Members of The Country Club of Winter Haven and their guests
wait for Architect Rees Jones and co-designer Bill Bergin to
perform the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Born
from a love of tradition and golf, The Country Club of Winter
Haven has come to life beginning with a course redesign.
When the economic
downturn threatened to close the former Lake Region Country Club,
a group of members turned it into an opportunity to rebuild,
renew and improve the traditions of a private, memberowned club
with all the amenities you would expect, including a championship
golf course. The purchase closed on June 15, and work started
on the course June 16.
The green of the 415 yard
par four 14th hole at The Country Club of Winter Haven is backed
by beautiful Lake Hamilton.
The 534 yard par five 18th hole at The Country Club of Winter
Haven runs alongside beautiful Lake Hamilton.
Pictured here is the lakeside 188 yard par three 6th hole at
The Country Club of Winter Haven in beautiful Winter Haven, Florida.
The
complete renovation of the golf course has left no leaf unturned.
Every piece of grass is new. Every bunker is new or has been
renovated. And every green has been rebuilt to USGA standards
using Champion Bermuda grass, one of the smoothest and fastest
green surfaces available today. Many of the holes have been moved,
reshaped, expanded or changed in some fashion. “One of the
things we wanted to do was utilize the lakefront,” said
Rees Jones, “so there’s more opportunity to play golf
along the lake and experience that view.”
The Country Club of Winter
Haven Master Plan
In the summer of 2013, Jones
and Bergin started renovation work on the 18-hole golf course:
 All
bunkers, tee boxes, fairways and rough areas are either new or
modernized
Every green has been re-built
to USGA standards using Champion Bermuda grass, one of the fastest,
most durable and smoothest surfaces.
Raised green complexes and bunkering
provide golfers with better visibility and, thus, strategic thinking
off the tee
Five holes are completely new
and most have been moved or re-shaped, including re-positioning
along the mile-long shoreline of Lake Hamilton
Irrigation and drainage installation,
and bridge restoration
New cart paths
Nicknamed “The
Open Doctor,” Rees Jones has designed or re-designed more
than 170 courses, including hosts of seven U.S. Opens and PGA
Championships, four Ryder Cups, two Walker Cups and a President’s
Cup. Baltursol (NJ), Bethpage Black (NY), Congressional (MD),
Hazeltine (MN), Pinehurst Nos. 2 and 7 (NC), Torrey Pines (CA)
and Oakland Hills (MI) are among the celebrated layouts.
World renowned Golf Course
Architect Rees Jones played one hole with each of the many member
foursomes on Opening Day at The Country Club of Winter Haven.
“We’re
ecstatic to unveil the dramatic before-and-after difference,
both on and off the golf course, for the enjoyment of members
and guests,” says Randy Houseman, General Manager of The
Country Club of Winter Haven. “Welcoming Rees Jones and
Bill Bergin is the perfect way to kick-off the new era of the
Country Club of Winter Haven. The Country Club of Winter Haven
http://ccofwinterhaven.com
also recently unveiled new equity and non-equity membership options
for individuals, families, companies and non-residents: golf,
tennis/sports and social. For additional information: Donna Snow,
Membership Director, 863.324.6666 x1559, dfsnow@ccofwinterhaven.com.
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