The 8 most dramatic changes in course from 2025

The only constant in life is change. Seasons change. Children grow. And golf courses inevitably evolve. Here are 8 of the most dramatic transformations of 2025.

Poppy Ridge Golf Course

Livermore, CA

On rolling hills an hour east of San Francisco, Jay Blasi repurposed the best land from three existing nines to create what amounts to a brand new 18-holer. The result offers gentler elevation changes, much shorter walks from greens to tees and more intrigue. Owned and operated by the Northern California Golf Association, Poppy Ridge remains a rare bargain in the Bay Area, with green fees under $100 for NCGA members. The combination of quality and accessibility makes Blasi’s work a top candidate for the most notable public track opening of the year.

Corica Park, Noordbaan

Alameda, CA

Delayed by a series of pandemic-era issues, renovations to the back nine were completed this spring, completing a full 18 that nods to old-school links golf with firm grass, divot bunkers and wildly shaped greens and edges. In addition to the Rees Jones-renovated South Course, the North (by Rees’ brother, Robert Trent Jones Jr.) has been a game changer for daily-fee golfers – a municipal facility with multiple options and conditions, similar to those of many private clubs.

The reversible

Medina, IL

Everything old is new again, including reversible routings. This comes from architect Dave Zinkand, who redesigned a former nine-hole golf course at Medinah Country Club into a smart two-way layout. Whether tackled clockwise (the purple route) or counterclockwise (the green), the course begins and ends on a shared double-green par 3, with inventive, boisterous golf in between.

Great Dunes Golf Course

Jekyll Island, Georgia

It was both a Golden Age and a Gilded Age when Walter Travis completed Great Dunes on an island that doubled as a winter home for dynastic families like the Rockefellers, Morgans and Vanderbilts. Nearly a century later, Travis’s original nine holes were redone by Brian Ross and Jeffrey Stein and combined with land from an adjacent Dick Wilson design to create a full 18. The track now winds through dunes to the coast and back, reconnecting the site with its architectural and cultural roots.

Lake Oswego Municipal Golf Course

Lake Oswego, OR

Countering today’s boom in extravagantly priced private clubs, muni golf continues to grow in popularity. For proof, look just south of Portland, where Dan Hixson transformed an underutilized 18-hole par-3 course into an attractive nine-hole executive layout. It is modest in size, but rich in interest – a reminder that good design does not require excess.

Quarry Oaks Golf Club

Ashland, NO

A renovation by original architect John LaFoy introduced new turf, a dozen new tees and freshly formed bunkers, while opening up long-suppressed views of a terrain that undulates over a former mining site. Highlights include the ninth hole, converted from a par 4 to a risk-reward par 5, and a new tee at the 15th, located atop an abandoned dynamite hut with sweeping views of the Platte River.

The International Pines Course

Bolton, MA

In its previous incarnation, the Pines stretched for more than 8,000 yards and once laid claim to being the longest golf course in the world. Bill Coore’s redesign pulled the layout back from that extreme, trading sheer length for much more interest. Passing through a rippled New England landscape of pine trees, ponds and rock outcrops, the course now offers a richer mix of shots and strategy, including tantalizingly short par 4s, reachable par 5s and a wonderfully diverse collection of par 3s.

Meadowbrook Golf Course

Fort Worth, Texas

Fresh off its centennial, on Forth Worth’s revitalizing east side, an endearing muni has been refreshed: every hole has been rerouted, the grass and trails upgraded, the drainage improved and the ponds deepened with the goal of creating a more pleasant environment for the local’s favorite character: the black-bellied whistling duck. In addition to having a better place to bathe, the birds now enjoy an elevated status as the inspiration for Meadowbrook’s new logo.