Heritage Links completes trio of projects in metro NYC area

Liberty National GC during the 2017 President’s Cup (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

Course builder Heritage Links has applied the finishing touches to three separate projects in the Northeastern U.S., where one club has undergone its annual round of upgrades and two more are poised for their respective Phase IIs, following major renovation projects.

At Liberty National Golf Club, Heritage Links returned to the shores of New York Harbor to prep the layout for this year’s Northern Trust, a Fedex Playoff event held Aug. 19-23. Heritage Links built the original design in 2005. Starting in March 2021, the Houston-based construction firm completed upgrades to nine of the 18 holes at Liberty National, including additional tees, irrigation upgrades, bunker modifications and green adjustments.

Liberty National GC during the 2017 President’s Cup (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

Forty-five miles north, in the heart of Westchester County, the trusted course builder assisted Rees Jones in reviving The Summit Club at Armonk, a rebranded, 18-hole club that had been mothballed since 2014. Thirty miles east of Armonk, Heritage oversaw Phase I of architect Lester George’s ambitious renovation of Aspetuck Valley Country Club in Weston, Conn.

“It’s pretty easy for course builder to get pigeon-holed regionally, but Heritage does work everywhere — including the Northeast, where the practicalities of renovation schedules frankly complement our work elsewhere around the country,” said Jon O’Donnell, Division President of Houston, Texas-based Heritage Links, a division of Lexicon. “There’s no denying the efficiencies of having so many projects going in one regional location, at one time. In the sharing of equipment and human resources, we can bring costs down and bid those jobs much more competitively.”

Liberty National GC during the 2017 President’s Cup (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

Heritage Links is hoping for a return engagement at Aspetuck Valley, in the near future, after completing the first of a multiphase renovation in July. The immediate scope of work included the complete rebuilding of 4.5 golf holes at this 1967 Hal Purdy design, the subject of multiple renovation efforts through the years. Heritage Links arrived in October of 2020, regraded the subject holes, then equipped them with new drainage, irrigation, bunkers and putting surfaces.

Over in Westchester, the renovation exercise at The Summit Club was decidedly less traditional.

This Al Zikorus design opened for play in 1963 as Bel Aire Country Club. Eleven years later, the Mitsubishi Corporation purchased the property and renamed it The Canyon Club. In 2009, it was purchased again and renamed Brynwood CC. In 2014, the new owners closed the entire operation pending the formulation of a redevelopment/rebranding strategy. Phase I of that strategy was set in motion this past winter. It concluded on July 26, 2021, when The Summit Club at Armonk reopened for member play.

For many years, the layout at Bel Air/Canyon/Brynwood had played just 6,300 yards. The Summit Club at Armonk now measures fully 6,700 yards from the tips.

Another noteworthy aspect of the Summit Club redevelopment is its housing component. Phase II includes the construction of 72 luxury condominiums in 6 buildings located at the highest point on the property, with 20-mile views to the south and west.