Music plays.
Colonial Golf Course during the renovation is mostly dirt and
trees, as the new grass has not yet been planted. We see Gil Hanse on the
course, green all around him. Throughout, ground-level and aerial videos and
still photographs show the course itself at different periods of time or show
Gil, Jim Wagner, and workers, as well as golfers and golf fans, on the
course—working, playing, or watching tournament play.
Onscreen text:
Charles Schwab Presents
Gil Hanse: People always ask me, “What keeps you up at
night?” The answer was always, “Colonial.”
Onscreen text:
The Challengers
Gil Hanse & Jim Wagner
Part II
The Renovation of Colonial Country Club
November 2020
Gil and Jim sit in an office, golf course plans and photos spread
out on a table in front of them.
Gil: Clubs vary. Colonial was...there was a lot of conversation,
back channel, like, “Would you be interested? Would you not?” And then
eventually the club reached out to us.
With them, obviously, with the history of the place, there was a
lot to protect and a lot to preserve. But they also...I think the club came
to the realization that an update, based on the technology and the tournament,
but also an upgrade, from a membership standpoint and how they enjoy playing
the golf course, was something that they were very interested in. They were
completely open to just having us take a blank-canvas look at the entire place.
Jim Wagner: There’s several different steps. Obviously,
there’s a design step. Looking back through all the old aerial photographs and
maps and regular ground photos. There is also a lot of on-site analysis, right?
Because the thing that a lot of people miss is how golf’s played. Golf’s played
in a space the size of this table. And you’re always looking, analyzing,
visualizing what’s going on. So without walking each hole, we feel that you’re
losing a very important part of the whole process.
Course plans and vintage photographs sweep by.
Gil: A lot of clubs evolve over a period of time. Some of them for the
better, most of the older clubs for the worse. And I think they just wanted
somebody to come in and be honest with them as to what that evolution looked
like.
They’ve actually had an amazing string, a long list of architects
there. So John Bredemus was the original architect. But soon after he designed
the golf course in ’36, Perry Maxwell came in, made some serious changes. Routed
holes 3, 4, and 5—the Horrible Horseshoe, arguably the best holes on the golf
course—in preparation for the ’41 U.S. Open.
A slideshow of vintage photographs of course architects and the
course plays.
Then over the years, they had Ralph Plummer, Dick Wilson. Three or
four other architects. And then in the ‘60s, they had a significant project for
the floodway because the Trinity River would flood. And so they straightened
out the Trinity River, but they put all these flood controls in, which had
significant impacts on some of the best holes on the property and altered
dramatically the back nine, in particular.
Jim: Over time, things happen. Things change. In this case, the Army
Corps of Engineers, the Trinity River flooding all the time. But a lot of these
great old golf courses, and Colonial was one of them was, they were originally
designed taking into account for all those great old natural features.
Gil: So this one isn’t as simple as just saying, “Okay, it’s
Tillinghast. Let’s put it back. It’s Ross. Let’s put it back.” This one is 12
different architects who’ve had all their fingerprints on it in different ways.
And again, some for the better, some for the worse. And then how do you
untangle that whole mess?
So it wasn’t really a linear process, as far as doing the research
or where we wanted to come out on that end. And I think that a lot of the
elements that they put in were more structural, as opposed to aesthetic. So you’ve
got a lot of concrete out there. You’ve got concrete spillways. You’ve got a
lot of brick. The Colonial was a more raw, rustic course when it was first
built.
Jim: The original thought process was to take those natural elements
and make them a key part of the golf course. So, in some of the changes we’re
looking at doing here, we want to bring those elements back in.
Gil: Right now, we don’t know what we’re doing. But the plan would
actually be that we would look at regrassing the entire golf course and
upgrading everything.
But the critical thing here that really complicates everything is,
this golf course has got to be playable in the next year for the tournament.
And to be perfectly honest, we haven’t gotten to the point yet where we’ve
planned out, “Can we do that?”
Onscreen text:
2023
Charles Schwab Challenge
Video from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge plays. It shows
wind-blown banners, crowds watching intently, a golfer driving a ball, and Emiliano
Grillo sinking a putt to win the tournament.
Sports announcer: Grillo’s been perfect from that
range this week. Eight years was more than enough for Grillo.
Onscreen text:
June 2023
A worker backs a piece of heavy equipment off a trailer to begin
renovating the course.
Gil: We started the day after the tournament, but we had to stage,
based on them tearing down the infrastructure for the tournament. So while
Monday was productive, it wasn’t like bulldozers ripping up greens. But I’d say
by Wednesday we had a lot of dirt moved.
Different pieces of heavy equipment work on the course.
Gil: And everybody said, “Oh, you’ve got a year to get the golf course
ready for the next tournament.” Well, no, actually we had about 10 weeks to get
all the greens built and constructed and put in place because we’ve needed the
grass to grow.
So we’ve had a great start to construction. I’m excited about the
progress we’ve made to this point in time. But we also know that we’re only one
really, really, really bad thunderstorm away from getting knocked back on our
heels. So until we get all the greens seeded, until we actually see grass
coming up on those greens, we’re going to be nervous until we cross that finish
line. I think we might all breathe a collective sigh of relief in September,
when all of that’s done, and maybe raise a beer or two.
Seven weeks in, all the back nine greens have been shaved. All the
bunkers have been shaved. We’re now moving into the front nine, which here on
the 8th green, shows one of the more dramatic changes to the golf course.
We’d love to think that we’re getting the right balance between
the tournament players and the members, as to who we’re designing for. I think,
ultimately, it’s more for the members’ benefit.
The greens were originally very low to the ground. Very open in
front. Over the years, that has changed. The greens have been elevated, deeper
bunkers put in, a lot of the approaches cut off. That’ll be certainly a much
more playable element for the members because they’ll be able to run a ball
onto the greens.
Tour pros, unless they’re in trouble, are never going to look at
that option. It’s not like they’re going to stand in a fairway and go, “Watch
this. I’m going to punch a 7-iron up and run it up onto the green.” So we think
there are a lot of things that we’re doing here that will make the golf course
more playable for the members but won’t really impact the way the tour players
play it.
I think the biggest change on television will be the bunkering. It’s
going to be a very different look and feel, modeled a little bit after what we
did at Southern Hills, with the Perry Maxwell theme. The bunkers here had
always been very sort of pristine and scalpel-edged, white sand faces. They’re
going to be a little bit more rustic and have some more character because we’re
going to scratch out as much yardage as we possibly can.
It’s not going to turn it into a bomber’s paradise because it’s
still going to be tight and tree-lined. And shot-shaping and shot-making are
still going to be at a premium here. But I think we’re going to try, where we
can, to gain a little bit of yardage as well.
I’m most excited about whenever we can restore a classic look and
feel to a classic golf course. And it’s just going to look and feel rugged. It’s
a site that is basically flat in nature. It’s a river bottom. But it had all
these beautiful little movements in the tributaries and the ground flowing
towards the river. And I think that when we’re finished, it’s going to have
that feel back to it.
So it’s been a long road to get to this place. We’ve talked a lot
with the membership. Ultimately making them comfortable with doing a total
renovation of the golf course. But more of a historic renovation, from the standpoint
of looking at the 1941 U.S. Open, all the old photographs, trying to recapture
what Colonial looked like, and what it felt like.
Onscreen text:
May 2024
3 Weeks Before the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge
Ryan Palmer
PGA TOUR Player & Colonial Member
Ryan and Gil walk the course, visiting and talking about key areas
of the renovation.
Gil: Well, here we are, 8th hole. Probably one of the biggest changes
on the golf course. As you and I talked a lot about, you’re trying to get some of
what Hogan played and what it looked like.
A vintage photograph shows Ben Hogan on the course, about to hit a
ball. Then another photo shows the same part of the course as it now looks.
Onscreen text:
8th Hole
May 2023
May 2024
Videos on a split screen show the eighth hole as it looked before
and then after the restoration.
Ryan: This looks fantastic. I’ve been talking to a lot of guys, and this
is the one picture I show them more than anything. And I have to explain to
them, the green was by that tree. Because everybody’s curious.
Gil: Of course.
Ryan: “What’s it going to look like?” “Is it going to be...did they...?” They miss Colonial. “Don’t touch Colonial. Don’t mess it up.” I was like, “No, not at all. They made it better.” There’s no doubt about it from what I’ve
seen. I think guys are going to be thrilled.
Gil: That’s great to hear. It’s gonna be familiar to the players. It’s
not like they’re going to come...it’s a brand new planet, like they’re
landing on a different planet. They’re going to see a golf course they’re
familiar with. It’s just the perspectives on it are different. The greens sit
down and the ground a little more. Like you said, the bunkers are no longer
cookie cutter. Hopefully, we’ve taken advantage of some of the natural features
that have been hidden for all these years.
Having the opportunity to work with Ryan really set everything in
motion, to get this project over the finish line. When you’ve got a great old
classic course like this and a membership that loves and respects their golf
course, it’s a little bit tough to get them excited about moving forward. And
when you bring in a voice—not only for, obviously, you’ve been incredibly
successful as a professional golfer but been a longtime member—they’re going to
trust and respect his opinion more than mine, honestly.
And so it was a benefit to us, first and foremost, to get the
project going forward. But it was also a benefit to us to pick his brain about
Colonial, about all that local knowledge he had accumulated over the years as a
TOUR player and as a member. And it benefited us and made the project better,
to be perfectly honest.
Ryan: I’ll be honest with y’all. Talking to players when we started
hearing about renovating Colonial and fixing it up, the first thing everybody
talked about was, “Don’t touch it. Don’t change it. It doesn’t need to be
touched. It’s still great.”
But it was such an easy discussion. All they did was make this gem
even better. From what I’ve seen so far, I can’t be more thrilled of it. You’re
going to be shocked how great it is.
I got asked last week, “Did the strategy change at all on the golf
course?” I said, “Not one, except number 8, because it’s a total redo.”
13. One of our bigger changes as well.
Gil: Yeah.
Ryan: When I first walked on this after seeing the big tee box we made,
I was just, “Wow.” And one of the biggest changes you made was going back to
restoring it back to what it like in ’41.
Onscreen text:
13th Hole
May 2023
May 2024
Side-by-side photos show the 13th hole as it looked before and
then after the restoration.
Gil: Yes. Yeah, that’s the look and feel of it. What we had back then.
Ryan: It’s weird looking at it with bunkers because we’re so used to
playing it with the water.
Gil: With the water.
Ryan: Now, with the way the bunkers frame the hole, I think it’s one of
the more picturesque holes out here now, just the way it looks. I love the...so many different options we have now in this hole.
Gil: Yeah. Absolutely. And in the original, the Trinity River used to
snake around in front of it, and there were these bunkers. It kind of looked
like Pine Valley. So we tried to replicate that, get the green up about six
feet. So it’s dramatically different.
I’m sure there’ll be some people or players that’ll say, well,
they liked the hole down on the water. But the reality is, is that very few
guys hit it in the water. I think there were like six balls in the water in the
last tournament. And as you mentioned, the big tee box. They can go in any
different direction, as from a setup standpoint, both from a yardage and also
from an angle standpoint.
Ryan: When you come around late on Sunday, now with multiple bunkers,
you’re having to hit a more precise shot, I think.
Gil: Yeah.
Ryan: You took a pretty good hole and made it better.
Gil: Thank you.
So we’ve got quite a finish now. It’s always been the crux, the
meat of the golf course. But obviously, significant changes to 16, 17, and 18.
But I know you and I had a lot of conversations about this shifting this green
further to the left, getting it up against the creek, and getting rid of the
bunker, and having it just be short grass down to the pond. But I think it sits
in there really well.
Onscreen text:
16th Hole
May 2023
May 2024
Videos on a split screen show the 16th hole as it looked before
and then after the restoration.
Ryan: Yeah, when I first saw it, I was...my eye didn’t catch it yet,
I guess you could say. But I just went back there just now and looked at it,
and I can see now the vision. Because with the left barranca being in play now,
that...Normally a left shot wasn’t quite as penal. So now, anything left,
you’re in the barranca, and struggling, for sure.
You kept the same shape of the green, but now it’s a little more
subtle. But it’s still the same shape. It’s still going to be a hole where
precision is going to be key. And then loving...this just looks so cool.
The natural look of this new barranca between 17 and 18. No more cement little
creek. [Both men laugh.]
Gil: When we talk about 17, when we look through the trees, how much
lower that green sits. It used to be probably about four or five feet higher.
And now it just feels connected to the landscape.
One of the things I love what you said when we talked a lot about
that bunker on the left-hand side, is pulling it out because that gave you
something to aim at.
Ryan: Right.
Gil: You were able to just kind of work it at that, and if you hit it
straight at it and it went in, no problem. Now that definition over there is
gone, and we allow the trees and the grass and the landforms to define the golf
hole.
Ryan: Yeah. And to me, it makes it a tougher tee shot because you don’t
have something to fixate your eye on, a line, a line of sight. So you’ve got
three good shots you’ve got to hit—on the 16, the 17th tee shot, and of course,
coming to 18.
How crucial the fairway is here at Colonial is...it always
makes for dramatic finishes.
Onscreen text:
18th Hole
May 2023
May 2024
Videos on a split screen show the 18th hole as it looked before
and then after the restoration.
Gil: So three weeks out from the Charles Schwab Challenge, I couldn’t
be more excited with what I see. Obviously, we want the heat to turn up a
little bit and get the grass to really fill in. But hats off to Rich McIntosh
and his team for getting us where we are now.
There’s always this excitement that builds up in you as you get
closer and closer. And it’s starting to feel real. Which is great. And truly
exciting.
Onscreen text:
2024
Charles Schwab Challenge
Video from the CBS broadcast coverage of the 2024 Charles Schwab
Challenge plays.
Male announcer: The PGA TOUR returns to Fort
Worth’s Colonial Country Club later today.
Male CBS sports announcer: We’ve got this restoration we’ve
been talking about throughout the week, by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. Of course,
it looks beautiful, and it’s only going to get better in the years to come.
Male professional golfer: Yeah. It’s a 12th start
here, but really the first start in the new Colonial era.
Second male professional golfer: The cliche, I said this
yesterday, the cliche, “They don’t make them like they used to”? Well, it doesn’t
hold true here. It is really, really good.
First male sports broadcaster: Beautifully played.
Another great iron shot for Davis Riley.
Second male sports broadcaster: One bounce up. Well done.
Three birdies in these last four holes.
Brian Harman (professional golfer): I like
the changes. The grass is still pretty immature, with it being a fresh golf
course. So I do like how there’s a couple more options coming into the greens.
First male sports broadcaster: How about that shot for
Davis Riley?
Second male sports broadcaster: And he gets back to 14
under par.
First male sports broadcaster: Come on, now. Finish in
style.
Third male professional golfer: It’s been
nice to hear a lot of good feedback. A lot of players have said a lot of great
things about it. I think the members here at the Colonial are going to be...
they’re in for a treat at this place. I’m happy. I’m very excited for it.
Video from the broadcast coverage of the 2024 Charles Schwab
Challenge plays. Davis Riley sinks a putt to win. Then he receives the tartan
jacket and the keys to a newly restored Corvette.
Male announcer: Welcome to the Wall of Champions.
Onscreen text:
“New reads, new contours, new everything...Do my homework and
pretend it’s a place I’ve never played.”
Emiliano Grillo
“Super excited about the greens this week. Feel like they’re
probably the best greens we’ll play on all year.”
Tom Hoge
“I’ve been really impressed. I think it’s very rare that courses
do a redesign and they make the course better...I think they did that here.
It’s awesome.”
Keegan Bradley
Music ends.
Onscreen text:
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