By Jim Hammond
A New Creation at the International Golf Club: The Pines Course Redesign
They had Tiger Tees before Tiger Woods was even born. The Tiger Tees at the Pines course at International Golf Club in Bolton, MA, played over 8,000 yards from the back tees. Now the Pines course is in the process of a major redesign.
The Oaks Course and Golf Academy
The other 18-hole course at the club is the Oaks course which hosted the first LIV tournament in 2022. A new golf academy was also created at the International for members of the two courses.
The 007: A Game-Changing Green Creation
But even more exciting is the work done at the historic Pines course. For this, the International called in for help from the legendary 007.
Dr Hurley of Rutgers University, is known as the bent grass doctor and has created fairways and greens for the finest golf courses in the world, including Augusta. The new strain of bent grass is called 007 and can thrive in cooler climates like New England. The grass is also resistant to diseases that often create problems for your local greenskeeper.
A More Than Just Green Fairways
But the new Pines course is a lot more than just new greens. The fairways, tees and rough will be composed of fescue grass: which will promote a firmer and faster playing surface like you would find at the UK ‘s greatest links courses.
When the International wanted to re-design the Pines course, they called in the team of Coore and Crenshaw. Ben Crenshaw is a former Masters champion. The newly created Pines is not only a magnificent design, but it blends into the environment perfectly.
Recreating the Golf Tees and Cart Paths
Most of the top golf courses use clearly defined rectangle-shaped golf tees. But at the new Pines the tee areas blend into the fairway. Your standard golf course will pave cart paths that cut through fairways and scar the land. But at the Pines, the cart paths were the first order of business. They look like nature trails and are directed through the woods creating a tranquil environment and some welcome shade on those hot summer days.
The New Pines: From the World’s Longest Track to a Golfer’s Paradise
Pines will no longer be known as the world’s longest track. The new Pines will still be dramatic but will also be walkable and receptive to golfers of all skill levels.Like many of the most exclusive golf courses in the world, some of the fairways are surrounded by fescue grass. At The Pines the fescue are called the “whispies“ and tend to be a thinner grass so the player has a better chance of escaping the hazard.
A new kind of bent grass, cart-paths that look like trails at an Audubon preserve, dramatic holes surrounded by manageable fescue grass are just a few of the enhancements at the International Golf Club.
The Pines will no longer be the “longest golf course” in the world. Now its a new course that is walkable, strategic and enjoyable for golfers no matter what their handicap may be. Plans are to open the Pines course in the spring of 2025.
For more information, visit: www.theinternational.com
