Broomsedge Golf Club reaches a major construction milestone as sodding of its golf course begins. Broomsedge design and build team, led by co-architects Kyle Franz and Mike Koprowski, selected Tifway 419 bermudagrass for the fairways and tees, and the greens will be sprigged with another strain of Bermuda, TifEagle, as the average temperature increases in late spring.
Photo: Broomsedge
Because fairways will bleed into native areas containing the club’s namesake broomsedge grass and other flora, the course won’t have any maintained rough. The club plans for the course to be ready for preview play in October after sodding and sprigging of all 18 holes is completed in August.
“We’re excited to kick off the grow-in phase and begin bringing even more life to the site,” Koprowski, co-architect and co-owner of Broomsedge, said. “This is an important time for the project and we’re fortunate to have club superintendent Shawn Fettig managing the process. He’s the perfect person to ensure we remain on track for our anticipated soft opening this fall, thanks to his extensive professional experience with Bermuda grass at well-known courses across the South, including Old Town Club in Winston-Salem.”
Photo: Broomsedge
Located in the Sandhills region of the South Carolina east of Columbia, Broomsedge sits amid a setting reminiscent of North Carolina’s famous Pinehurst Resort and the Old Town Club. Franz and Koprowski aimed to encapsulate the tenets of classic course design, inspired by masters like Donald Ross, George Crump and George Thomas. To test the abilities of a wide range of players, Broomsedge’s flexible course design keeps the green enjoyable for skill-sets. At Broomsedge, however, strategy is the most vital aspect of play, no matter players’ abilities.
The design focuses on tying the course surfaces into the natural Carolina topography through classic contouring. Further, the new design emphasizes the preservation of shot values off the tee while including enough width to avoid disrupting the fundamental importance of angles to strategic design. In reminiscence of the Old Course at St. Andrew’s as well as other courses built more than a century ago, Broomsedge incorporates property boundaries into the lines of play.
The course expects several holes fluctuate in difficulty from day-to-day depending on tee locations and weather conditions and plans to adjust par accordingly. Broomsedge includes 20 green sites for 18 holes to promote setup flexibility.
Unlike the surrounding Carolina Sandhills, the 235-acre club site possesses unusually dramatic elevation changes, made unique by the collection of valleys, ridgelines, spines and chasms in the area. The natural conditions of the land allowed Franz and Koprowski to create playing corridors and green sites without moving a substantial amount of dirt.
Photo: Broomsedge
When Koprowski discovered the land in 2021, he was instantly confident in its potential for golf. He bought the land himself before even finding any fellow investors. Franz and Koprowski aim to leverage and enhance the natural capability of the land in their design
“As new builds have been increasingly focused on maximizing size and scale, ours is a departure from this trend,” Koprowski said. “For example, from the first tee players will be able to see no fewer than 15 different green sites. We’re creating something a bit more scaled down than what’s currently popular in golf design, and reflective of how courses were conceived and routed 100 years ago.”
Franz admitted the land Koprowski found for Broomsedge is the best he’s working on right now, saying the combination of a great site and a creative course design will challenge experienced players while remaining fun for higher handicaps.
Koprowski has been joined by several passionate co-founders since purchasing the land in 2022. The group shares a common goal of hosting significant amateur championships at Broomsedge in the near future.
The next phase of the club’s construction plan will focus on the development of onsite lodging, particularly cottages built nearby the driving range, practice putting green, clubhouse and first tee.
“Our goal at Broomsedge is to cultivate a small and engaged membership that shares a deep appreciation for the game,” David McFarlin, a club co-founder and its director of membership, said. “Many of our initial members are accomplished amateurs, representing an impressive nationwide collection of private clubs, who’re seeking a place to gather with other elite players.”
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<p>The post Course of the Week: Broomsedge Golf Club brings more life to its South Carolina site first appeared on Golfdom.</p>
