The only constant in life is change. The seasons return. Children grow up. And golf courses inevitably evolve. Here are 8 of the most dramatic transformations of 2025.
Poppy Ridge Golf Course
Livermore, CA
In the rolling hills an hour east of San Francisco, Jay Blasi repurposed the best ground from three existing nines to create what amounts to a brand new 18 holes. The result features smoother elevation changes, much shorter walks from greens to tees and more intrigue. Owned and operated by the Northern California Golf Association, Poppy Ridge remains a rare Bay Area bargain, with green fees under $100 for NCGA members. The combination of quality and accessibility makes Blasi’s work a prime contender for the most notable public course opening of the year.
Corica Park, North Course
Alameda, CA
Delayed by a series of pandemic-era setbacks, renovations to the back nine were completed this spring, completing a full 18 that marks the links of old golf with firm turf, wood-walled bunkers and greens, and wild contoured surrounds. Alongside the south course renovated by Rees Jones, NORTH (by Rees’ brother Robert Trent Jones Jr.) has been a game-changer for day-fee players—a municipal facility with multiple options and conditions on par with many private clubs.
Reversible
Medina, IL
Everything old is new again, including return journeys. It comes courtesy of architect Dave Zinkand, who reimagined a former nine-hole course at Medinah Country Club into a clever layout that plays two ways. Either clockwise (purple fairway) or counter-clockwise (green), the course begins and ends on a double-green par 3 with inventive, rolling golf in between.
;)
Dave Zinkand
Great Dunes Golf Course
Jekyll Island, GA
It was a golden age and a gilded age when Walter Travis ended Great Dunes on an island that doubled as a winter retreat for dynastic families like the Rockefellers, Morgans and Vanderbilts. Almost a century later, Travis’ original nine holes were refreshed by Brian Ross and Jeffrey Stein and combined with land from an adjacent Dick Wilson design to create a full 18. The course now winds through the dunes to the coast and back, reconnecting the site to its architectural and cultural roots.
Lake Oswego Municipal Golf Course
Lake Oswego, OR
As a counterpoint to today’s boom in extravagantly priced private clubs, muni golf continues to gain momentum. For proof, look to south Portland, where Dan Hixson transformed an underutilized 18-hole par-3 course into a compelling nine-hole layout. It’s modest in scale but rich in interest—a reminder that good design doesn’t require excess.
Quarry Oaks Golf Club
Ashland, NE
A renovation by original architect John LaFoy introduced new turf, a dozen new tees and newly formed bunkers while opening up long-closed views on a property that looms over a former mining site. Highlights include the ninth hole, converted from a par 4 to a par 5 for risk reward, and a new tee on the 15th, perched atop an abandoned dynamite shed with sweeping views of the Platte River.
International Course, Pisha
Bolton, MA
In its previous incarnation, the pines it spanned 8,000 yards and once claimed to be the longest golf course in the world. Bill Coore’s redesign pulled the layout back from that extreme length, trading for much more interest. Stretched across a rolling New England landscape of pines, ponds and rocky outcrops, the course now offers a richer mix of shots and strategies, including short par 4s, accessible par 5s and an incredibly diverse collection of par 3s.
;)
Ryan Montgomery
Meadowbrook Golf Course
Fort Worth, Texas
Fresh off its centennial, on Forth Worth’s revitalizing east side, an attractive muni has been refreshed: Every hole was rerouted, the grounds and fairways improved, drainage improved, and ponds deepened with the goal of creating more congenial surroundings for a local favorite: the black-bellied whistling duck. In addition to having a better place to bathe, the birds now enjoy high status as the inspiration for Meadowbrook’s new logo.
