Robert Trent Jones II's Firm Busy Worldwide


Principals in the golf architecture firm of Robert Trent Jones II are traveling across the globe to keep up with new work. The heart of the activity is in South America, where two projects are underway.

In Argentina, RTJ II has begun construction of the new 18-hole Rio Hondo Golf Club, part of a government-sponsored project to create a high-end tourist zone. The sandy site features wetlands and lagoons adjacent to the Hondo River.

In Colombia near Anapoima, the firm has completed the second nine holes at Mesa de Yeguas Country Club. The new 18-hole layout will open in December. Situated along the valley of the Bogota River, many holes wind along high cliff-top plateaus and offer stunning views.

In Pebble Beach, Calif., Robert Trent Jones II is completing the construction phase of a complete rebuilding of Poppy Hills Golf Course. In partnership with the Northern California Golf Association, RTJ II greatly reduced the amount of irrigated turf to conserve water and introduced transitional zones of sandy areas between turf and forest, giving the course a rugged, more natural feel and additional width to enhance playability.

The company has finished grassing the SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point, Wis. The recipient of Golf Digest's best new course award when it opened in 1987, the layout has undergone extensive upgrading to drainage and irrigation to bring it up to modern standards. The RTJ II team added four entirely new holes, enhanced the parkland design by thinning overgrowth, and created new options from the tees while offering more opportunities to play shots along the ground near greens.

RTJ II has also completed its multi-phase renovation of The Wisley near London, England. The work delivered firmer, faster, more easily-maintained turf by sand-slitting the fairways, brought the nearby River Wey into play, and improved conditions on the venue's three nines. Of that project, Jones, Jr., said, "Our work at The Wisley shows what a forward-thinking facility can accomplish through a well-crafted master plan created in consultation with highly-experienced golf course architects. Members never lost a day of golf while we improved conditions and brought their golf holes into the modern era."

In other news, Jones delivered the keynote speech to the Club Managers Association of China as the company's second course at Changbaishan, north of Beijing, nears completion. Jones's 36 holes there are part of a resort and religious pilgrimage site in mountainous terrain separating China from North Korea.

Robert Trent Jones, Jr. was also recognized by the University of Washington in Seattle with a scholarship fund named in his honor. And he was named by Links Magazine as one of the top-25 architects of all time in a recent issue that featured a story about the firm's Chambers Bay Golf Course, in Pierce County, Wash., site of the 2015 U.S. Open.