Aggie campus course opening

Maybe I’m a little biased – okay, I’m a lot biased. As a proud member of the Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 1985 (Whoop!), I was thrilled to be invited to an event hosted by Ewing and Hunter Irrigation at the recently renovated Texas A&M University Campus Golf Course. Renovation is actually an understatement as the course was completely “gutted” and every square inch of the 1952 version rebuilt.

The multi-million dollar renovation was a collaborative project between Texas A&M University, Sterling Golf and Golf Course Architect Jeff Blume - Aggie Class of ’89.  Blume and Landscapes Unlimited were charged with the task of designing and building a course that would help the university reach its goal of creating the “best on-campus golf course anywhere.” Critical to the success of the project were the industry partners involved, including Landscapes Unlimited, Ewing Irrigation, John Deere, Hunter Irrigation and many more.

The event was kicked off with an educational session that included welcoming remarks from Ewing, Hunter and Sterling Golf representatives. The two highlight presentations were from the course designer, Jeff Blume, and the Texas A&M vice president of student affairs, Lieutenant General Joe Weber.

Blume spoke of the great honor to be selected as the course designer on land considered hallowed by Aggies. His design was inspired by classic golf course architecture, specifically work by Charles B. Macdonald and Donald Ross. The course includes elevated greens, gently sloping fairways, and 154 bunkers used to frame and define the fairways – not to punish the golfer or the superintendent. Most of the bunkers are very small and will require minimal maintenance.

Lt-Gen Weber spoke with great pride of the project that has been in the works for more than 15 years. He spoke of the new “front door” of the University that will now welcome current and former students, and the Texas golf community. Weber was also very proud of the way the course was built under a very tight budget and will be operated in a financially responsible manner.  

All speakers spoke very highly of GCSAA members Carter Hindes and Tanner Light. Carter is the director of agronomy for Sterling Golf and oversaw the project from the first shovel being turned. Tanner Light is the golf course superintendent and charged with maintaining the Mini-verde greens and wall-to-wall Celebration bermudagrass. Carter created a terrific account of the construction process on his blog: http://atmgolfcourse.blogspot.com/

There were no Johnny Football sightings that day, but I was privileged to play golf with a Class of 85 classmate – Johnny Walker. We braved two rain delays and very soggy conditions but were both able to break 80 on the very challenging course – thanks to the fact that we skipped 3 holes in order to finish before the heaviest rain.

This course will be a shining star for years to come in the Texas golf community. I enjoyed the course very much and appreciated the opportunity to be invited to this special event. Thanks to Curtis Bruton of Ewing Irrigation for the invitation and a great day. The improvement to the course and the overall A&M campus will make every Aggie proud and excited about the opportunity to tee it up.