Stowe Country Club Breaks Ground on Multi-Year Golf Course Renovation Project

Stowe Country Club (SCC), the scenic golf course in the heart of Stowe, broke ground on an extensive renovation project on May 2, 2024.
Directed by Beau Welling Design (BWD), the project will feature noteworthy renovations to both the 18-hole course as well as other amenities which will result in an elevated playing experience for the club's membership.

"As a design team, we are collaborators at heart, and we are excited to be working alongside Stowe Country Club to breathe new life into one of the best golf courses in the region," says Beau Welling, Founder and CEO of Beau Welling Design. "This project will make the golf course more approachable for the average player while retaining the precise challenge that members and guests have enjoyed for over 70 years. We're honored to play a role in refreshing this historic club to be enjoyed by the current membership and generations to come."

While the footprint of the golf course will largely remain the same, the improvements will elevate all facets of the course-from new and improved tees to new and differently shaped green complexes. The goal of the redesign is to create a more consistent and playable course while offering more challenges for advanced players. Led by Welling and BWD Senior Design Associate Chase Webb, the renovation will improve the playability of the course for the less experienced player while focusing on strategy and challenging the lower handicap golfer. Additional structural changes will also improve the environmental sustainability of the golf course to protect the future of the renowned club.

Some additional major improvements and updates to the course include:
* Renovation of all greens that will also enhance approaches and surrounds to promote creativity and fun.
* Shape and re-grade select fairways to enhance playability and reward quality shots.
* Thoughtfully replace and modernize all fairway and greenside bunkers.
* Enhance turf quality from tee to green with a complete re-grassing of all fairways utilizing bentgrass for greens, tees, and fairways as well as integrating a Kentucky bluegrass and fescue blend for rough areas.
* Add length where possible, emphasizing approach angles to challenge experienced golfers while ensuring playability for all skill levels.
* Complete a long-term tree plan to ensure consistent turf conditions throughout the property and further highlight the beautiful long-range vistas and movement of the golf terrain in every direction.
* Dramatically expand the beautiful fescue stands throughout the property.
* Improve drainage on every hole, focusing on known problem areas.
* Secure the water future and sustainability of the golf course through a new irrigation system, pump station, and the addition of a supplemental river pump.
* To ensure that golf play and practice is always available to the membership and the Stowe community, the renovation project will take place in two parts with construction on the front nine holes in 2024 and the back nine targeted for renovation in 2025.

Beyond the golf course renovation, Beau Welling Design assisted the club with campus planning that includes an entirely new golf facilities area, practice area, expanded amenities and a future residential community. "We are thrilled to partner with Beau and his team to create one of the best private clubs in northern New England, right here in Stowe," remarks Sam Gaines, President and CEO of Mt. Mansfield Company, the developer of Stowe Country Club. "These dramatic golf course improvements to Stowe Country Club, when combined with our spectacular Mountain Course at Spruce Peak, will create one of the most unique and diverse 36-hole experiences for members and guests."

The renovation also kicks off a unique new membership program in Stowe. SCC intends to create a four-season community-oriented club centered around golf, racquet sports, fitness/pool, and dining.
While there are exciting amenities planned on-site that Stowe Country Club members will enjoy in the future, members have been provided interim benefits at The Club at Spruce Peak, including the 18-hole Bob Cupp-designed Mountain Course and its facilities. Members of The Club at Spruce Peak will continue to receive full access to Stowe Country Club.
"It's an exciting time for our Membership," says Michael Harger, General Manager of Stowe Country Club and The Club at Spruce Peak. "So many of us have a vested interest in this historic course, and it's been a thrilling process to lay the groundwork for the next generation of golf enthusiasts in the Stowe community."