The City of Mesquite, TX first retained Jeffrey D Brauer as part of a business study team to evaluate the future of the golf course, and then to prepare the final design and construction plans, then bid and evaluate construction.
Desiring to remain an affordable public golf course meant that changes had to be as minimal as possible and still deliver big “bang for the buck”. Luckily, one major expense – a new irrigation system – was already in place. We redesigned and rebuilt greens and tees only, worked around the existing irrigation, and held the budget under $2 Million.
We extended back tee length to 6,885 yards to appeal to more players, and added new front tees reducing length to under 5,000 yards to attract women and juniors.
Because of its role as a public course, we limited sand bunkers to 20, and used a variety of grass hazards such as chocolate drop mounds, formal and informal grass bunkers, moguls, etc. to create hazard and challenge.
The results were impressive, with 50% increase in play in the first year after the renovation, until large flooding shut the course down for a few months in November 2015. Since re-opening, play is gradually rising back to previously increased levels.