Fundraiser offers view of new SentryWorld Golf Course
Most golfers across Wisconsin will have to wait a little longer to drive, chip and putt at the revitalized SentryWorld Golf Course.
The course, which has been closed since the end of 2012 for renovations, is essentially complete but will be played by invitation only this year as managers work toward a general opening in spring of 2015.
Sentry and the United Way of Portage County are offering golfers a first crack at playing the course.
Sentry has donated 18 foursomes to play the course Tuesday that will be auctioned off through the Golf United fundraiser. Proceeds will go toward the United Way’s annual campaign, which runs through Nov. 14 and has a $2.7 million goal.
SentryWorld general manager Mike James said pairing with the United Way for the event was a natural fit, as Sentry employees typically contribute around a third of fundraising total for the nonprofit organization’s campaign. James said he’s looking forward to people getting a chance to see the results of the nearly two-year renovation project.
Workers spent last week putting final touches around the course, from mowing grass to planting flowers, while golf course raters from the publications Golf Week and Golf Digest played the course as they prepared reviews for publication. James said both construction with the SentryWorld Sports Center and the need to allow grass to continue to grow in certain areas kept the course from opening earlier this year. Company officials in 2012 announced plans to close the course for a series of renovations, including the redesign of several holes and the addition of new grass on the greens and sand in the sand traps.
In 2013, Sentry officials announced plans to renovate the 60,000-square-foot SentryWorld Sports Center, originally built in the early 1980s, in an attempt to make it a tourist destination and hub for large events. Company officials have declined to give the cost for both projects.
James said people will appreciate new features on the course like an expanded driving range area, with space for people working on their short games or getting ready to play a round. There’s also a GPS system on each golf cart that will allow players to view the layout of the course and the hole they are playing and/or order food or drinks, and allow staff members to monitor how quickly people are playing.
Bruce Charlton, president and chief design officer with Robert Trent Jones II, was an architect for the project and worked under Trent Jones when the original course was created in 1982. Charlton said Sentry was designed to be the “Augusta National of the North,” a reference to the Georgia golf course that hosts The Masters tournament for the PGA.
Charlton credited Sentry Insurance for its commitment to creating a unique experience with the redesigned course and for the opportunity to have a second chance at working on it. Charlton said the new course will challenge experienced players and draw new players, which is necessary as fewer people play golf. According to recent statistics by the National Golf Foundation, the number of golfers in the United States has fallen by 13 percent in the past five years.
“The trend in golf architecture is to dial up the fun factor. While this course hasn’t lost any teeth, there is more room to play and more ways to maneuver out of trouble,” Charlton said. “If there’s a better example of a parkland golf course architecture, I dare somebody to find it.”
Reported by: Postcrescent.com
The course, which has been closed since the end of 2012 for renovations, is essentially complete but will be played by invitation only this year as managers work toward a general opening in spring of 2015.
Sentry and the United Way of Portage County are offering golfers a first crack at playing the course.
Sentry has donated 18 foursomes to play the course Tuesday that will be auctioned off through the Golf United fundraiser. Proceeds will go toward the United Way’s annual campaign, which runs through Nov. 14 and has a $2.7 million goal.
SentryWorld general manager Mike James said pairing with the United Way for the event was a natural fit, as Sentry employees typically contribute around a third of fundraising total for the nonprofit organization’s campaign. James said he’s looking forward to people getting a chance to see the results of the nearly two-year renovation project.
Workers spent last week putting final touches around the course, from mowing grass to planting flowers, while golf course raters from the publications Golf Week and Golf Digest played the course as they prepared reviews for publication. James said both construction with the SentryWorld Sports Center and the need to allow grass to continue to grow in certain areas kept the course from opening earlier this year. Company officials in 2012 announced plans to close the course for a series of renovations, including the redesign of several holes and the addition of new grass on the greens and sand in the sand traps.
In 2013, Sentry officials announced plans to renovate the 60,000-square-foot SentryWorld Sports Center, originally built in the early 1980s, in an attempt to make it a tourist destination and hub for large events. Company officials have declined to give the cost for both projects.
James said people will appreciate new features on the course like an expanded driving range area, with space for people working on their short games or getting ready to play a round. There’s also a GPS system on each golf cart that will allow players to view the layout of the course and the hole they are playing and/or order food or drinks, and allow staff members to monitor how quickly people are playing.
Bruce Charlton, president and chief design officer with Robert Trent Jones II, was an architect for the project and worked under Trent Jones when the original course was created in 1982. Charlton said Sentry was designed to be the “Augusta National of the North,” a reference to the Georgia golf course that hosts The Masters tournament for the PGA.
Charlton credited Sentry Insurance for its commitment to creating a unique experience with the redesigned course and for the opportunity to have a second chance at working on it. Charlton said the new course will challenge experienced players and draw new players, which is necessary as fewer people play golf. According to recent statistics by the National Golf Foundation, the number of golfers in the United States has fallen by 13 percent in the past five years.
“The trend in golf architecture is to dial up the fun factor. While this course hasn’t lost any teeth, there is more room to play and more ways to maneuver out of trouble,” Charlton said. “If there’s a better example of a parkland golf course architecture, I dare somebody to find it.”
Reported by: Postcrescent.com
