PGA WEST® Pete Dye Stadium Course Restoration in Full Swing

Phase 2 of the restoration of the PGA WEST® Pete Dye Stadium Course is progressing smoothly and on schedule, with reopening planned for this fall. To optimize the restoration process, the construction team has divided the course into three quadrants, working sequentially on each. Guided by Dye’s original vision for the course, the project involves stripping off the layers of organic material that had built up over the years, reshaping bunkers, installing drainage and finishing grades.

 This week, the team will begin sprigging the greens with TifEagle. Among its many benefits, this superior bermudagrass variety, specifically developed for golf greens, is drought-tolerant and cold-resistant. Additionally, it enhances playability by providing improved performance and consistency.

The restoration is a joint effort between golf architect Tim Liddy, ASGCA Fellow and LaBar Golf Renovations, a highly regarded golf course construction and renovation company based in New Jersey.

Project manager Michael O’Connor is also part of the team, Liddy and O’Connor worked closely with Pete Dye for several years, but it wasn’t until last year’s restoration of the Pete Dye Mountain and Dunes Course at PGA WEST that the two joined forces.

“I work with many golf course builders and LaBar Golf Renovations continues to be the best golf construction company of them all,” Liddy says.

Liddy notes that the greens have been enlarged by 20-30 percent and is hopeful that The American Express™ tournament committee will now be able to set up hole locations closer to hazards like lakes and bunkers.

“We recaptured the greens all the way to the edge of these hazards, making the targets bigger overall,” he says. “This should allow players to hit the greens more easily.”

The Pete Dye Stadium Course restoration is part of an ongoing effort by Century Golf to reaffirm PGA WEST® as The Western Home of Golf in America™. This ambitious effort includes upgrades and enhancements to all nine of PGA WEST’s prestigious courses, five of which are resort courses open to the public. Designed by legendary architects Pete Dye, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, and Tom Weiskopf, these iconic courses have witnessed some of the most thrilling moments in golf history.

Photos courtesy: Tim Liddy and LaBar Golf Renovations