BraeBurn Country Club to reopen front nine after Tripp Davis redesign

Tripp Davis and Associates redesign work at BraeBurn Country Club in Houston, Texas, is nearing completion with a planned reopening of the front nine in December.

Hole No. 1 at BraeBurn Country Club. (Photo courtesy of Long Drive Agency)

The project was approved last year and Tripp Davis was brought on to lead the renovation. While keeping the same basic routing of the course, Davis and his team have rebuilt and reshaped all the greens, rebuilt and shifted tees, rebuilt bunkers in a more classic style while making better use of the elevation. New Northbridge bermudagrass was installed along with a new irrigation system and upgraded drainage.

“We rebuilt almost every part of the course to try to give it a feel of being from that early American era — the Golden Age of architecture,” said Davis. “Working with the entire club, superintendents Terry Gill and Aaron Engelhard, golf course builder Greenscape Methods, and irrigation contractor Heritage Links has been a great experience and everyone was very focused on long-term quality through all the challenges this year has presented.”

Hole No. 11 at BraeBurn Country Club. (Photo courtesy of Long Drive Agency)

The course was originally designed by John Bredemus in 1931 and was extensively reworked in 1991 to address flooding issues. It was the 1991 project that was able to add some significant elevation changes to the course, which offers a unique feature to the Houston area course.

The private course offers year-round play and features 6,808 yards from the longest tees with a par of 72. The course also celebrated its 90th anniversary this year and has a rich history. From 1936-1941, BraeBurn was the home of Hall of Famer and three-time Masters Champion, Jimmy Demaret, who served as head golf professional and won nine PGA tour events including the 1940 Masters during his time at the course.

Hole No. 12 at BraeBurn Country Club. (Photo courtesy of Long Drive Agency)

BraeBurn has also served as the host site for other tournaments including the 1950 Houston Open, the 1952 LPGA Houston Weathervane, the 1954 NCAA National Championship, the 1988 Miracle Network Golf Tournament hosted by Greg Norman, and the 1995 Texas State Amateur.

The course was originally designed by John Bredemus in 1931 and was extensively reworked in 1991 to address flooding issues. It was the 1991 project that was able to add some significant elevation changes to the course, which is a unique feature in the Houston area.