One of the highlights of my year is rolling out our annual list of new golf courses to keep an eye on in the year to come. Sometimes, operators and developers can miss targets for their opening dates, delaying a course's true debut by a year or more. Our list of noteworthy new courses for 2019 included 17 layouts. Before we move ahead with our preview of new golf courses for 2020 in the coming weeks, here's a quick update on this year's debuts:
Copper Rock Golf Club - Hurricane, Utah
Status: Not yet open.
This Dale Beddo design is finally ready to open...in spring of 2020. However, a select few golfers have been on the course for preview rounds this fall, and my colleague Jason Deegan was among them, calling it "endlessly playable and enjoyable".
Big Cedar Lodge (Payne's Valley) - Ridgedale, Mo.
Status: Not yet open.
Payne's Valley is still in previews, with golfers enjoying 10 of its 19 holes (including a dramatic extra par-3 hole beneath a waterfall) this fall. All systems go for a spring 2020 opening, however.
GROVE XXIII - Hobe Sound, Fla.
Status: Open.
Open as of a few weeks ago, this Bobby Weed design for basketball legend and golf fanatic Michael Jordan incorporates the canals that define the rectangular property in an inventive way. Its proximity to the homes of several professional golfers should further raise its prestige.
Heck of a day out at #GroveXXIII with this crew for my boy @PeterUihlein’s wedding week! Love that hat game @JustinThomas34, nice round @D_PAW 💪🏽⛳️#CourseRecord #RoarLions pic.twitter.com/vqQODsLkue
— Cullen Carstens (@crcarstens) November 27, 2019
Pelican Golf Club - Belleair, Fla.
Status: Open.
This private club is wasting no time in getting into the professional golf-hosting game, as the LPGA Tour announced in July that the Beau Welling design will host the inaugural Pelican Women's Championship May 14-17, 2020, sponsored by DEX Imaging.
Desert Mountain Golf Club (No. 7) - Scottsdale, Ariz.
Status: Open.
Opened within the last month, this short course is sure to be a popular new amenity for residents of a club that seemingly has everything for someone wanting to live the golf lifestyle. It is an excellent compliment to the club's half-dozen "big" courses, all designed by Jack Nicklaus.
Pfau Golf Course at Indiana University - Bloomington, Ind.
Status: Not yet open.
Slated open in spring 2020, this Steve Smyers design on land that has contained the IU golf course since 1957 is for all intents and purposes brand new, and set up to challenge the modern collegiate golfer, stretching to more than 7,700 yards from the back tees.
Old Toccoa Farm
Status: Open.
The course opened its second nine holes earlier this fall, and is a ton of fun on a thrilling piece of property. I was fortunate to experience it first-hand in October, and I can't wait to go back for another wild ride.
Braemar Golf Course - Edina, Minn.
Status: Open.
Opened in on May 15, 2019, this course owned by the City of Edina was totally redesigned by architect Richard Mandell, and has an open feel with plenty of classic features: perfect for a well-used muni.
NINE GRAND - Cleveland, Texas
Status: Not yet open.
When it opens next spring, this innovative new facility will include a full-length nine-hole course, a nine-hole par-3 course and a Himalayas-inspired putting course, all designed by Mike Nuzzo, an underrated Texas-based architect.
Heath Golf & Yacht Club - Heath, Texas
Status: Not yet open.
This Roy Bechtol design is at the center of a more than 700-acre master-planned community east of Dallas. The first 18 of 27 proposed holes are slated to open in 2020.
Irving Golf Club - Irving, Texas
Status: Open.
Since it opened in October, this total redesign of a suburban Dallas muni by John Colligan has been receiving a steady trickle of positive reviews. Reviewer caspercamp writes, "For a muni it’s a good deal and should only get better as it ages."
Fox Hills Golf Course - Watford City, N.D.
Status: Not yet open.
Built on the tract of the city's former nine-hole layout, architect Kevin Norby recently wrapped construction on this course, which has an open, windswept look. It will officially open in July 2020.
Dumbarnie Links - Leven, Scotland, United Kingdom
Status: Not yet open.
Clive Clark's first commission in his home United Kingdom is a doozy: the newest addition to the world-class golf scene in the Kingdom of Fife. The course opens in May of 2020 and is currently taking tee time reservations.
Kings Golf Club - Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom
Status: Open.
Architect Stuart Rennie was just 32 when he received the chance to build this new golf course when road expansion forced the closure of Inverness' Torvean Golf Club. The new version has been open since July 2019. It's not a links, but it should get its share of rounds from visitors to the Highlands.
Costa Palmas Golf Club - La Ribera, Mexico
Status: Open.
Part of a development that includes a new Four Seasons resort about an hour north of the Los Cabos airport, this new Robert Trent Jones II design opened officially on November 23. There is also a 30,000-square-foot putting course and six-hole short course on property.
Rancho San Lucas - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Status: Open
Golf and hospitality continues to boom at the tip of Baja California Sur, and Greg Norman's latest design continues the area's northwesterly spread up the Pacific Ocean-facing coast. Like many area golf resorts, it is available for on-property guests in addition to those who buy property at the attendant real estate development.
Osterakers Golfklubb - Akersberga, Sweden
Status: Open
Henrik Stenson's design firm, including architect Christian Lundin, has been revamping this club's Oster course for more than two years, and its August opening marked the emergence of a new stadium-style course in Scandinavia.
Played with Dale Beddo a few years back at Sand Hollow in Hurricane. Great guy and can't wait to get back there. Also Braemar is in my 'hood and I love that redesign. A lot of muni courses need to take note of that redesign.
We were in St. George Utah earlier this year, played several incredible course, sorry to say Copper Rock was not open yet.... now we have a reason to return!!
Mickelson National GC, a new course designed by Phil Mickelson on the outskirts of Calgary, Alberta is set to open in the spring of 2020. I had a chance to play the ten preview holes on two occasions this past August and was pleasantly surprised to find a strong and varied mix of good, quality holes.