An Inside Look at the NEW Wild Wing
The Avocet Course at Wild Wing and its clubhouse underwent a massive renovation this summer. We recently sat down with Wild Wing General Manager Mark Andrews and Founders Group International Director of Operations Matt Daly to discuss the changes done to the course and clubhouse, and the inspiration behind them.
Click an icon below to browse hole-by-hole aerial photos of the new-look Avocet Course at Wild Wing (Jim Maggio photos)
Speaker 1:
What does it mean to you to have an entirely new product to show traveling golfers when they come to Wild Wing next?
Mark Andrews:
That’s hard to put into a phrase. It’s a tough question.
Matt Daly:
Yeah. So, Avocet was open in ’93. It’s a Larry Nelson design, and it’s really a great golf course. 18 distinct golf holes. Really, every one of them can be memorable in their own way. Each hole stands alone. And it’s a golf course. I mean, we have a lot in our portfolio, but it’s always been one of my favorites to play. And just the new looks that we’ve done, not just with the greens and bunkers, but we’ve eliminated some trees out there. From a playability standpoint, the golf course just looks phenomenal and it’s a true test, but still a lot of fun.
So, we started this project in the middle of May. May 18th to September 18th. Full extensive renovation, not just of the golf course, but also of the clubhouse. You can see we put in new greens, new bunkers. In the clubhouse, we redid the golf shop and the restaurant is redone as well. And added some Trackman bays in there, two Trackman bays in the restaurant as well. Really over time, golf course greens will tend to shrink and bunkers will tend to grow. So, really, we eliminated some square footage of bunkers. But the big thing is the expansion of the greens. I mean, we’re talking about over 30 percent more green surfaces on the golf course. Really, the one that stands out the most is number nine.
All of the holes out here have a name and number nine was aptly named “Valley of Sin,” very similar green complex to number 18 at St. Andrews. And through the years, that green, basically the valley of the Valley of Sin was turned into fringe and then rough, and now we brought it back to be part of the green again. So, it’s a pretty special design out there for sure. We went with TIF3D, which is an ultra dwarf bermuda first in this part of… second in the State of South Carolina. And we’re really excited about it. TIF3D is a little darker form of bermudagrass. So, it has a really clean look to it. Drains really well. I putted on them on Wednesday, got to play the golf course. And really, we’ve done seven or eight golf course redesigns and new greens through our company since I’ve been a part of it. And I really never seen a grow in come as good as what we’ve seen here with the TIF3D. So, we’re really excited about it.
Capillary Concrete, they’ve been a good partner of ours. This is our fifth course we’ve used for them. But really, bunker drainage is just a huge, huge help to our superintendents and golf course maintenance staff, also for golfers from a playability standpoint. But really, you can get a lot of heavy rainfalls down here. And really, when you have good drainage, the chance of the bunker washing out is less likely, which is great from, A, restoring the course after heavy rain and B, when you’re out there playing, you don’t get puddles in the bunkers.
Mark Andrews:
And then in the clubhouse, pretty cool. We have two new simulators in our grill, which added a really cool thing for families to do, not just outside of golf. You know what I mean? It’s kind of like we’re more of a destination now. And for the neighborhood, it’s going to be really good for the surrounding community.
Matt Daly:
The golf shop, we actually shrunk in size by about half. Obviously, when this (complex) originally opened, it was 72 holes. So, the golf shop was built for four golf courses. So, we shrunk it in size, brought in new fixtures with one of our partners Ahead, where they do golf shop fixtures as well. And we work with them on the design of the shop and the layout and it came out great. We couldn’t be happier with it.
Wishbones is really a full-service restaurant. I mentioned the Trackman bays, but it’s also just the layout and the bar set up is good to watch football. I was here on Sunday, just watching the golfers come off the golf course, talking to them, and just the atmosphere for watching sports and what you see is a really good vibe for sure.
Mark Andrews:
Well, for me, it’s such an exciting time. Wild Wing has always been very unique and one of the best layouts on the beach in my opinion. And to bring it to new life and reclaim a classic layout and have it ready for our traveling golfers and members alike. And the new refreshed clubhouse is awesome.
Matt Daly:
Wild Wing always had a good reputation for being a great golf course. And it’s just the people that have played it through the years, seeing them come through the doors and seeing what we’ve done from an enhancement standpoint, their feedback’s been nothing but great. But it’s really just looking at their facial expression, and just what you see from them, and how much in awe they are of how much better the golf course is.
