Renovation Looks to Bring The Tuxedo Club ‘Back to the Future’
Rob Thomas
Club + Resort Business
Rees Jones has been called on to complete work on the Tuxedo Park, N.Y. golf course, which was designed by father, Robert Trent Jones Sr., and opened in 1957. The project includes the creation of a new short-game practice area, a new ninth hole, the renovation of all fairway and greenside bunkers, and the re-grassing of all necessary greens surrounds.
The Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, N.Y. has begun a multi-million-dollar renovation of its historic Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed golf course. Slated for completion in May, the project includes the creation of a new short-game practice area, a new ninth hole, the renovation of all fairway and greenside bunkers and the re-grassing of all necessary greens surrounds.
The club has tapped golf course designer Rees Jones, son of Robert Trent Jones Sr., to lead the renovation. Rees Jones, along with his Vice President and Senior Designer Bryce Swanson, created a masterplan for the renovation of The Tuxedo Club’s course which the club adopted in 2017. The current renovation work is a major step toward the completion of that masterplan, which, when complete, will transform the golf experience for The Tuxedo Club’s members and their guests.
LaBar Golf Course Renovations has been chosen to oversee construction of the project and daily leadership is under the watchful eye of Casey Klossner, the club’s Director of Agronomy. Since arriving at The Tuxedo Club in 2013, Klossner has managed a complete upgrade to the course’s irrigation system, as well as the installation of a new pump house and the rebuilding of several of the course’s putting greens.
“We are excited to be able to officially announce that our golf course renovation project is underway. Over the past several years we have been working hand in hand with Rees Jones on course improvement designs that we believe will take the Tuxedo Club golf experience to the next level,” said General Manager Randy St. John, CCM, CCE. “Construction began in late October and already significant progress has been made, specifically on our new short game practice area and new 9th hole.”
Having restored over two dozen of his father’s courses, Jones explains that his goal at The Tuxedo Club is to bring the course “back to the future.” This includes repositioning and reimagining the bunkers to incorporate his father’s original style, as well as constructing the bunkers in way that will improve the playability for today’s game. The project will bring back the course’s classic look, while at the same time making the entire layout of the course more modern.
“When I was younger, I remember my father’s excitement when he was given the opportunity to design the golf course for The Tuxedo Club,” said Rees Jones. “Dad knew that he had a wonderful site from which to work. The setting and flow of the holes were ideal for the creation of a minimalistic golf course that would stand the test of time.”
The current golf course is the third course at The Tuxedo Club; the first having closed when a second, improved course was created in 1892, and the second course closing in the 1950s when the construction of the New York Thruway required that an entirely new 18-hole course several miles from the main clubhouse be built. In 1957, the new Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed course opened.