Farmington Country Club
After more than two years working in the Middle East as the on-site design representative for Hanse Golf Design on the Trump International Dubai project, I came home and was engaged by Coore & Crenshaw to work on the renewal of Farmington Country Club’s nine-hole East Course in Charlottesville, Virginia. The historic property sits adjacent to the University of Virginia and is considered one of the best facilities in the state—if not the U.S. The club wanted to explore opportunities to integrate a new practice facility with a fun, walkable reconfiguration of the East. The new short golf holes aimed to relieve some traffic on the Main Course and provide an amenity for players who enjoy walking, junior players, and golfers who wanted to play a faster round. It also created a space for coaching and practice sessions etc to spread out and coexist in a much more relaxed area.
We began field work on the project in late fall 2015 and it was complete by early 2017. What I recall most about this wonderful opportunity was the many site walks I made around the property with Bill Coore, Dave Axland, and longtime Farmington Superintendent Scott Kinnan. We simply walked the property many times together and shared conceptual renewal thoughts. We also openly shared how best to undertake implementation of the renewal in a highly efficient manner. There was also great focus to make certain Scott and his longtime maintenance team were confident they would be able to efficiently maintain the proposed new golf features and all agronomic opportunities and constraints were reviewed and planned for during the renewal process.
After completing that work, Dave Axland and I were commissioned (on recommendation from Coore & Crenshaw) to prepare a master plan for the Main Course (originally designed by Fred Findlay in 1927) and to oversee implementation of that plan. We did a complete and comprehensive study of the existing course to fully understand its long rich history, its current operational strategy/course strategy, playability and all opportunities and constraints. As the club didn’t want to close the course down completely, we took a surgical approach to renewal, working on one hole at a time. We moved around the property in this manner from 2019 to 2024, and by the end of the 2024 season the renewal was substantially complete.
The area now feels like home to me. I’m so excited to return each and every year as the consulting architect for the club. This project opened many doors for my professional career and I remain forever grateful to many. Especially I will never be able to thank Ben, Bill and Dave Axland, Joe Krenn, Scott Kinnan and Geoff Montross and the entire FCC membership enough for all they have done for me personally over many years.
