After renovating a third of its bunkers since 2014, officials with Toqua Golf Course have set out to complete another third of the course in 2015 ahead of the men’s member-guest tournament, which is scheduled for June 17-20.
“We’re actually ahead of schedule,” Jim West, golf director for Tellico Village, said. “Pending no weather delays — and you never know what’s going to happen with that — we should make it easy. Last year, we did a third of the bunkers. This year, we’re doing a third, but it’s more in-depth work, bigger changes, especially on (holes) seven and 14. But we’ve been able to move steadily through the project.”
Golf course architect Bill Bergin has headed both phases of the bunker renovation at Toqua, and West has praised his work.
“Bill Bergin is doing just a fantastic job improving the playability, the maintainability, the aesthetics,” West said. “Just full circle; it’s just awesome.”
For Bergin, the No. 1 goal when he took on the project at Toqua was to improve the quality of the bunkers overall.
“The first thing is, the bunkers on that golf course were very, very difficult to maintain,” Bergin said. “Their conditioning was just fairly pathetic. ... They were way beyond their life expectancy.
“When we go into any project we’re trying to make sure the project is mechanically sound,” he added. “... So that’s our first goal, to get it mechanically correct. Now once you’re going to go in and tear up the bunkers, you have a chance to impact the way it plays.”
As far as playability, Bergin said that 12 bunkers are being eliminated across the course from 48 total bunkers to 36, which means more runup opportunities and chances for easier recovery shots for older golfers and golfers without a longer drive. But the bunkers that remain are placed in spots to still add a challenge for more skilled golfers who shoot for the green rather than approach shots.
West added that the response to the work done so far on the course has been overwhelmingly positive.
Men’s Golf Association president Pat White said the golfers in Tellico Village are pleased to see course officials striving for continued improvement.
“It’s always nice to see improvements and changes,” he said.
Where the players have noticed the most change with the new bunkers has come in the days following heavy rain, White said. Where the old bunkers suffered greatly from the days of heavy rainfall, the new bunkers show minimal impact.
“Not only did they put new sand in them, but they contoured around the sand traps so that the water runs around them instead of in them,” White said. “So, the sand is not washing down the side. It’s not piling up in one little corner. It’s not filling up with debris and leaves and all that stuff. You could play Wednesday, rain Wednesday night, rain all day Thursday, go play Friday and instead of having crummy sand traps that the grounds keepers are trying to rake and put back in order, now they’re still in good shape, so you just keep right on playing.”
White said he is also pleased that the bunkers are on schedule to finish up before the member-guest tournament.
“The holes that they finished them on, they’re gorgeous,” White said. “They’re beautiful, white sand. The sand doesn’t run up the banks anymore. ... They’re just absolutely gorgeous.”
The bunkers are a classic style, and Bergin has recently done similar work in terms of bunker renovation at both Fox Den County Club in Knoxville and the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.
With favorable weather moving forward and should the project continue to have no contractor delays, West said he was positive that the project should come to a quick wrap-up in the coming weeks.
“I’m thrilled to death with the styling of the bunkers and the improved playability,” West said. “... There’s a lot of excitement to get this phase done so that people will be able to play from these new bunkers.”
