Sea Trail, Wild Wing reopening golf holes this week

The Jones Course at Sea Trail Golf Resort will reopen Thursday with new greens following a renovation project this summer.

The course transitioned from L93 bentgrass to Champion ultradwarf Bermudagrass, which is already featured on the 54-hole resort’s Byrd Course. The Jones Course received cart path and bunker renovations last year.

The course’s reopening was delayed about a week from original plans because of Tropical Storm Hermine’s wrath on Sept. 2. Course workers needed extra days to clean up debris and prepare bunkers.

“The greens have grown in very nicely,” said Sea Trail general manager Raymond Crabb. “It went absolutely excellent. We’re very pleased, and hopefully we’ll get everything looking as pristine as the greens.”

The club is considering some further improvements to the Byrd Course this winter.

The Jones Club renovations were going to be part of an estimated $1.3 million renovation project at Sea Trail that was going to include a redesign of Magnolias Restaurant, which is located in the main Byrd/Jones clubhouse.

The restaurant project has been delayed until late November because the club has had difficulty finding contractors, Crabb said, and is still expected to involve an enhanced entry, outdoor patio dining with a fire pit and tropical landscaping, and an interior featuring cool slate, natural wood and stone surfaces.

The plan now is to close Magnolias just before Thanksgiving and reopen for Valentine’s Day.

Hummingbird reopens

The Hummingbird nine at Wild Wing Plantation reopened Monday following renovations that included changing greens from PennLinks bentgrass to MiniVerde Bermudagrass, which is already featured on the property’s 18-hole Avocet Course.

The nine holes closed in April, and in addition to work on the greens, some bunkers were modified and others were removed, and overgrowth in the wetlands areas was cut down.

Wild Wing general manager Rick Schultz said a plan called for the removal of about 30 bunkers and some are still being taken out, and the remaining dozen or so bunkers have been edged and had sand replaced or added.

“The ones we left were to give the green surrounds more definition and placement for some of the advanced golfers,” Schultz said. “We’re making it more playable, and plan to keep the maintenance up more than in the past.”

Schultz said the short course may be changed from a par 34 to a par 35 by lengthening a par-3 into a par-4 in the near future.

Green fees for the Hummingbird nine are $18 for nine holes and $27 for 18 holes, both with a cart.

This story was originally published September 12, 2016 at 10:18 PM with the headline "Sea Trail, Wild Wing reopening golf holes this week."