A True Donald Ross Gem
Brunswick Country Club dates back to its original charter in 1920. The club moved to its current location in 1936 and began operation as a nine-hole facility with sand greens. In 1938, the club hired Donald Ross to design the back nine. Later that year, Ross returned for a site visit and was pleased with the work being done. It was during this visit that Ross provided drawings to redesign the existing front nine greens. On Labor Day 1939, all eighteen holes were officially opened for play.
The next 70 years
The golf course gradually changed due to agronomic and maintenance practices, however, the original design remained basically untouched – until now.
In November 2006, the club began the restoration of its 1938 Donald Ross designed golf course. The twelve month venture was very much like an archaeological project – uncovering a buried treasure – a true Donald Ross gem. What made this project so unique and special was the opportunity to recreate a golf course according to the design plans of one of history’s greatest course architects. The golf course reopened for play in November 2007. Brunswick Country Club may be one of the most authentic Ross Designs in America today.
A Treasure Rediscovered
The term hidden gem is used often to describe our little barrier island region and the many treasures that people find here, ranging from rustic resorts to historic ruins and everything in between. On the mainland, however, a true buried treasure was discovered in late 2006 when the Love Golf Design team unearthed the turf at the Brunswick Country Club to reveal the original black soil layer that had been used by Donald Ross to construct the greens of the course in the late 1930s.