Austin's River Place Country Club Set to Debut Renovation


River Place Country Club in Austin will show off a renovated layout on its 30th anniversary. The course was designed by Austin resident and World Golf Hall of Fame member Tom Kite and opened for play in 1984.

It was later renovated in the early 1990s by Kite and Austin-based golf architect Roy Bechtol to make the course more playable and create space for peripheral home sites.

The latest $750,000 renovation, which began in July, involves a return of the course's 20 putting surfaces (including its two practice greens) to their original shape and contours and to replace the turf with the ultra-dwarf hybrid TifEagle. The revamped greens are approximately 20 percent larger than before.

All the bunkers were rebuilt and include enhanced drainage and new liners to prevent sand contamination. Modifications to some bunkers will make contours softer, while in others the bunkers are shallower. In addition, some bunkers were changed from sand to grass.

Both Kite and Bechtol recently visited River Place. Bechtol spent several days on-site in August with Tony Miller, head of agronomy for the Dominion Golf Group, which owns and operates River Place CC, and focused on the shaping and expanding of the course's greens and bunkers.

"The dialog with Tony and the rest of the crew that has been working so hard on River Place's renovation has been productive and insightful from Day 1," Bechtol said. "The Dominion Golf Group understands the importance of the points of view we have been able to provide the team and is committed to making River Place an even better course than it was in the past."

The 6,800-yard River Place takes advantage of the landscape with big elevation changes, cliffs and ravines. The front nine plays along a creek that cuts across six holes. One of the course signature features is the stacked limestone rock walls supporting the tees and greens.

"Having new putting surfaces and bunkers to complement the great conditions of our fairways, and our fun, scenic layout will help make River Place the club that Tom Kite and Roy Bechtol always envisioned," said Steven Held, Dominion Golf Group's president and chief executive officer. "By increasing overall green size, we will be able to keep the integrity of the course while making it even more enjoyable for golfers of all levels.

"River Place is arguably the most scenic course in Central Texas," Held added. "It is a phenomenal setting, and spending time with Mr. Kite and Roy has only heightened my appreciation of the course."

"River Place has always been fun and challenging, and now I think it will be even more so," noted Bechtol. "By returning the greens to how they were originally designed and softening some of the bunkers, the growing membership of the club will get to play a course that is a bit more forgiving. That's what we are trying to do with golf - give our players a chance to enjoy the game a little more."

For more information, visit http://www.riverplaceclub.com.