1 of 3
Photo by Erin Nelson.
Ed Elliott tees off on hole 7 at the Old Overton Club in Liberty Park on Oct. 6.
2 of 3
Photo by Erin Nelson.
Garrett Osborn chips the ball from the bunker onto the green of hole 6.
3 of 3
Photo by Erin Nelson.
Sand bunkers were among renovations at the Old Overton Club in Liberty Park.
Following three months of renovations, the golf course at Old Overton Club recently reopened for play, and the changes have been held in high regard by members so far.
“They did an unbelievable job making it more challenging for experienced players and easier for those with higher handicaps,” golfer Garrett Osborne said.
The work was done in just 90 days, which is “unheard of,” said Robbie Bachman, the club’s interim general manager.
“The timeline for all of the changes was very aggressive, but the end result is fantastic. The golf course looks and plays incredible,” the club’s director of agronomy, Bruce Hospes, said in a press release.
Jerry Pate Design oversaw the renovation work, while the Southeast Golf course construction company was the contractor. The project launched in mid-June and was completed in early September.
Hospes said talks of renovating the 27-year-old golf course began about a year and a half ago, and major changes include the remaking of bunkers, greens and tees, with the grass on the greens shifting from bent grass to TifEagle Bermuda grass to provide a smoother, faster and more consistent putting surface.
“It was time for some updating,” Hospes said.
Completing it in 90 days was the result of a good plan and good weather, Hospes said.
The bunkers had been the source of many complaints, with members saying they were too firm, too wet or too fluffy, Hospes said. They were rebuilt using the “Better Billy Bunker” method, which “provides a technically advanced drainage and liner system, while providing optimal playing conditions much deeper into the life of the bunker,” the club said in a press release.
The 7,200-yard course has been recognized as one of the top five in the state of Alabama by Golf Digest and Golfweek and was built in 1993, designed by Jerry Pate and Tom Fazio.
The club has about 400 members with 323 golfers and has seen increased activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hospes said.
“We were busier than usual,” he said. “People had more time on their hands. It’s been a good boost for the club and for golf in general.”
The club recently came under new management. Troon took over the management in August, and oversees golf, club, food and beverage operations, as well as golf course agronomy and membership marketing. While Troon’s headquarters is in Scottsdale, the club is part of the company’s Honours Golf division, which is headquartered in Liberty Park, where the club is located.
For more information about the club, visit oldovertonclub.com.
