Today I played what may be my last round on the “traditional” Keller Golf Course in Ramsey County. As you can read in this Star Tribune story and this golfcourseindustry.com post, the design group of Richard Mandell Golf Architecture will begin work in October to revamp several aspects of the operation. Buildings will be razed and new ones constructed, the irrigation system will be upgraded, greens and fairways will be rebuilt and reseeded and some layout changes will be made in the $12 million project. The course is scheduled to reopen in May 2014.

Like many others, I have mixed feelings about this. The clubhouse is full of history and I find it a little hard to believe that a historic renovation couldn’t be done if the county really wanted to. But after seeing the condition of both buildings today (the small pro shop building being the other), they do look bad. The initial architectural drawings for the new buildings seem to incorporate the feel of the old ones, so maybe not all is lost.

I saw the working design document for the course changes and I think that part of the project will be well received by most people. The first hole will be straightened, as tee boxes will move north (and back) to accomodate the new pro shop. A new bunker will be built in the middle of the second fairway and a split fairway will be introduced on the par five twelfth hole (towards the green). The sixteenth hole will be converted to a par five for all tee boxes, which should make it a par 35-37-72 card. Perhaps most importantly, the iconic green-front trees on holes four (above) and seventeen will remain.

Onward?