Rees Jones And Bill Bergin Join Forces To Redesign Lookout Mountain Resort Golf Course

Scenic Land Company announced that Rees Jones and Bill Bergin, two of golf’s “legendary and innovative architects,” have joined forces to re-design and renovate the Lookout Mountain Resort Golf Course, formerly Canyon Ridge Club. Sharing over 60 years of golf course design experience between them, Mr. Jones and Mr. Bergin have each created some of the “most played and award-winning golf courses in the United States,” including their most recent collaboration at the Country Club of Winter Haven in Orlando, Florida.

“I am looking forward to getting underway at Lookout Mountain Resort,” said Mr. Jones. “The natural site is ideal for golf, with beautiful vistas and dramatic terrain. The foundation for an intriguing golf experience is there. We are going to enhance the features that require strategy, create definition, and make it more flexible, so that every caliber of golfer can enjoy playing Lookout Mountain Resort time after time.”

Mr. Jones has designed or redesigned more than 225 golf courses in his career, including seven U.S. Open venues, eight PGA Championship courses, five Ryder Cups, two Walker Cup sites, as well as the President’s Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club. Among his notable original designs are Nantucket Golf Club, Atlantic Golf Club, The Golf Club at Briar’s Creek, RedStick Golf Club, Ocean Forest Golf Club, Haig Point Club, Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, The Bridge and, Cascata Golf Course.

Joining Mr. Jones in the renovation and redesign of the Lookout Mountain Golf Course is Mr. Bergin.

As a professional golfer, Mr. Bergin played in excess of 250 professional tournaments worldwide, including three U.S. Opens, two British Opens, and more than 50 PGA Tour events. Mr. Bergin has been involved in the planning and design of over 50 projects, including The Club at Foxland Harbor, named one of Golfweek’s “2009 Best New Courses;” Heritage Plantation, selected as Golf Digest’s “5th Best New Public/Resort Course in the US for 2008;” Chariot Run, Golfweek’s “#3 Best Course You Can Play in Indiana;” Justin Timberlake’s Mirimichi, named Golfweek’s “#1 Best Course You Can Play in Tennessee;” and Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, an acclaimed Donald Ross restoration along the Tennessee River.

“As golfers, we are fortunate to play the game on varied land and some magnificent properties,” said Mr. Bergin. “As an architect, it is even more special to mold and fine tune a beautiful piece of ground.

From the moment I stepped foot on the land encompassed by Lookout Mountain Resort, there has been a sense of anticipation, excitement, and serenity. What a beautiful feeling one gets when simply taking in all that is offered here. Rees Jones and I will transform this golf course to a level that matches this amazing property.”

At Lookout Mountain Resort, Mr. Jones and Mr. Bergin plan to enhance the greens complexes, optimize angles to green locations, and improve fairway and greenside bunker placements. They also plan to adjust yardages to create more variety and provide a world-class test for the game’s best players and accessibility for the beginners.

“For far too long, our members and guests have commented about how good this course could be. Our wish is now a reality,” said Doug Amor, Lookout Mountain Resort’s head golf professional. “With the hiring of a great emerging course designer like Bill Bergin and a legendary designer like Rees Jones, the full potential of Lookout Mountain Resort will be realized.”

Course strategy and planning by Mr. Jones and Mr. Bergin are already under way with potential groundwork being initiated as soon as 2018.