Gleneagles Country Club – King’s Course Renovation

The King’s course at Gleneagles Country Club was a design from a certain era and was no longer relevant to today’s membership. Traditional golfers of average handicap found the design playable, but it didn’t require much imagination or, have much to offer novices, women, or highly skilled players. Over the years, bunkers had become irrelevant because of their poor locations, or in a few instances, the bunkers made the golf hole too penal for modern play. As the trees matured, fairways became narrower, sight lines were diminished, and sun and air to the turf was restricted. We completed a major renovation to the King’s Course that impacted virtually every aspect of the course – enhancing playing strategy, aesthetic value of the course and condition of playing surfaces. The King’s Course, which now plays as long as 7,020 yards and as short as 4,532, gives players more options and challenges to energize their round.

“Our goal with this extensive renovation was to elevate the golf experience for members,” said Chuck Feddersen, ClubCorp executive vice president, golf and country clubs. “Pacuzzo/Pate has more than accomplished that by improving upon the solid foundation of the original design by legendary course planners Robert Von Hagge and Bruce Devlin while also revitalizing the course to create situations that force players to use their imagination, to strategize and to golf for the spirit of adventure.”

Improvements and changes to the King’s Course include:

• Complete rebuild of all 18 greens from the ground up with modern specifications, newly planted Mini-Verde, an ultra-dwarf Bermuda grass that performs best in the summer heat and humidity
• Redesign of all 18 greens now offering a variety of hole locations that range from easy to challenging
• Complete bunker reconstruction with Better Billy Bunker Method plus the removal, addition or redesign of several bunkers. Careful club selection will be required by players up against new bunkers defending certain areas of the green or complicating the fairways
• New tee boxes – Rectangular with straight lines and corners reminiscent of golf’s earliest days, the five sets of tees are larger (creating infinite set-ups), leveled and grassed with new Latitude 36™ Bermudagrass
• New 10,000-square-foot putting course with wild undulations – fun, challenging and a great complement activity for tournament outings and club events


“The members are very excited to play the ‘new’ King’s Course, which has an entirely new look and feel,” said Michael McCarter, chairman of the club’s Board of Governors. “They are reinvigorated about their game and are ready to take on the new challenges.”