The Polo Club of Boca Raton in Florida has reopened its Club course following a renovation by Dew Rogers.

“Our objectives were initially guided by the need to address ageing infrastructure - irrigation, greens, tees, bunkers, paths and turf - and to proactively inject refined design treatments to promote enhanced playability, playing options and enjoyment,” said Rogers.

The architect developed a plan in February 2021 and, working closely with the club’s director of golf Tom Haase, superintendent Ryan White and director of golf maintenance Jake Tenopir, construction was completed in summer 2022. The club has staggered the reopening of holes, with nine in December 2022 and the remaining nine February 2023.

“The transformation and enhanced identity are profound, especially since the routing is fixed within a mature residential community,” said Rogers. “Many holes appeared or played in a similar way. Our aim was to more clearly distinguish holes to promote their own diverse qualities while also having a proper fit in the overall sequence.

“To accomplish this, we reimagined every element within the course: putting surfaces, recovery areas, the character, use and placement of bunkers, and teeing areas. Even the various water bodies on the golf course property were addressed to improve their visibility, with the old, degraded timber bulkheads replaced with new, more appealing and longer-lasting stacked stone walls.”

All sand hazards on the course now feature bunker liner from Better Billy Bunker.

“We feel like every single hole came out as having some level or remarkable improvement,” said Rogers. “Maybe that is most apparent with the improved diversity and appearance of the par threes, as well as the final three holes, which were previously very similar, tight, dogleg right par fours. In each case we worked to enhance not only their distinctive visual presentation, but also break up the shot value presentations by removing redundancies and other treatments that otherwise contributed to poor circulation, safety and turf management. One movement always seemed to naturally trigger additional opportunities.”