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Vestavia Country Club prepares for $10 million makeover

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Vestavia Country Club is undergoing a $10 million, multi-year renovation encompassing both its inside and outdoor spaces.

Though some of the changes will be significant, especially on the golf course, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Robert Carr said the country club will ensure minimum disruption to its members. Planned renovations and improvements began almost immediately after members approved the plans in June and are all part of a master plan well over a decade in the making. 

“We are devoted to continuing to create opportunities for our members to enjoy the club,” Carr said. “It’s integral to our plans for the future.”

Completed renovations, part of Phase I in 2011, already have garnered national attention: After the completion of the tennis clubhouse relocation and redesign, the United States Tennis Association named it a “Facility of the Year,” Carr said.

The most substantial and expensive changes will be made to the golf course, which will alone undergo a $6.5 million renovation. Changes for the 18-hole course include renovating its irrigation system, greens, sod, cart path, bunkers and water feature. Included in the price are also engineering and power-line fees. A $450,000 contingency also is built into the budget. 

“We are especially excited about the planned work on the golf course,” Carr said. 

The new course will have less of an environmental impact and require less chemicals and water to keep it healthy, he said. 

“We currently use every effort to recapture more water from the course itself,” Carr said. “And today [we] use almost no city water.” 

Work on the course will begin early in 2017 and continue through the first quarter of 2018, weather permitting, he said. 

“You never know what the weather will do, and when you are doing the scope of work we plan to do outside, you need it to cooperate. Still, we are remaining hopeful for a speedy completion,” Carr said

The new course, to be planned by George Golf Design, will be built to take better advantage of the location’s sprawling views, said Club President Dan Lovell. 

“We want to focus on the fabulous view up here,” he said. “Part of our quality of life here in Vestavia Hills is based on the views we all enjoy.” 

Like the new houses being built around and next to the golf course, the course will be built to suit the views, Lovell said. 

Golf course architect Lester George has won numerous awards for his work, according to the George Golf Design website. George is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, and he has been recognized as a Course Architect of the Year, for Achievement in Golf Course Design and as a Leading Young Architect in the Country. Several of George’s courses, including those in Virginia, Delaware and Maryland, also have been recognized. 

Though the 18-hole golf course will be closed during the renovations, members still will be able to use the nine-hole Par 3 course onsite. 

Disruption to the tennis courts will be minimal and will only last two to three weeks at most, Carr said. 

“We are starting some of the smaller projects almost immediately,” he said, including updating the furniture and paving work. 

In its continued effort to accommodate and exceed the needs of its members, Carr said the country club has taken other steps toward the cause. Installing a lightning prediction system, for example, will help ensure members stay safe when participating in the country club’s outdoor activities. 

“As compared to other systems that tell you when there is already lightning in the area, the system at the club reads the charges in the clouds to predict when lightning may occur,” Carr said.

Lovell said he recently had witnessed the accuracy of the system himself.

“We received a six- to eight-minute warning,” he said. “It’s amazing.” 

Members will pay for the planned changes to the Vestavia Country Club, said Lovell. 

“We’re excited about these improvements,” he said. “I know our members are too.” 

Phase II

Plans set to continue through about the first quarter of 2018 include:

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