Course of the Week: Toftrees Golf Resort to get major renovation by Jim Nagle
Toftrees Golf Resort in State College, Pa., is preparing for a renovation under the direction of Jim Nagle and Nagle Design Works. Nagle believes that the Toftrees property has the potential to become one of the best public courses in Pennsylvania. An Ed Ault design, Toftrees opened in 1969. The resort is owned by a local investment group and managed by the hospitality company Shaner Hotel Group.
“Shaner senior vice president George Wolfe – who I have known for twenty years, since he was greens chair at the Sunnehana club – called me a few months ago to talk about a bunker problem they were having on the course,” says Nagle. “I visited the course, and from a quick fix, the conversation soon moved to potentially developing a comprehensive renovation plan for Toftrees.”
According to Nagle, the property itself was what drew him toward the course.
“(The course) has great undulation, and some really nice features such as a wash running through it that could be opened up,” he says. “The routing is very good – the only hole that stands out as being especially challenging is the thirteenth, which has a blind tee shot with the hillside on the left and a tight corridor. The rest of the course flows nicely, with wonderful contrast and elevation change. The course needs improvement, but it doesn’t need blowing up. Today, golfers have higher ‘design IQs’ than in decades past. With the advent of social media and the many golf design-related podcasts, golfers now demand more thoughtful, engaging design: Toftrees can provide just that. The greens, routing, setting, and natural topography lend themselves to creating a dynamic golf course that engages players and challenges them appropriately – something any resort or public facility needs to guarantee return play.
“There is an abundance of inferior tree types on the property, but at the same time, there are substantial mature stands of trees. The fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth have too many undesirable evergreens that are hiding the beauty of the land. Tree work is only one part of the plan, but it really stands out. The bunkering could be more creative, which would give better aesthetics and playability. At the moment, the course features sixties/seventies bunker styling, and lots of them are elevated above natural grade. Most are at the sides and don’t create much interesting strategy. We will try to fix that.”
Design work for the property has already started. There is no set date for construction to begin.
Got a course you want to feature? Let us know!
Is your course undergoing some renovations? Did your course recently host a major event or fundraiser? Send it to Digital Media Specialist Will Coughlin at wcoughlin@northcoastmedia.net, and we’ll feature it in an upcoming Course of the Week.
Related Articles
Course of the Week: Dublin Ranch Golf Course
Course of the Week: Torrey Pines steps up to host Genesis Invitational amid California fires
Course of the Week: Cabot Citrus Farms opens in Florida
<p>The post Course of the Week: Toftrees Golf Resort to get major renovation by Jim Nagle first appeared on Golfdom.</p>