When a golf course reaches 20 or 25 years old, the trees planted as 12-foot saplings now tower over fairways, creating shade that thins the grass. The thatch layer beneath the turf builds up, holding water like a sponge instead of letting it drain. The irrigation system, once state-of-the-art, starts showing its age.
For Gulf Harbour members, these changes meant it was time to reimagine their course. But in 2019, architect Kipp Schulties didn't arrive with a predetermined vision. Instead, he came with questions.
Schulties has spent 27 years running his own firm after working for Fred Couples when Couples was the number one player in the world.
"I always look at an existing facility as if it's not my blank canvas to go play with," Schulties explains. "You're already constricted by property boundaries, by housing lines, by streets and roadways. You've got an existing golf course where typically the membership already likes some part of it."
Before touching a single blade of grass at Gulf Harbour, Schulties organized focus group sessions. He separated members into four distinct skill groups: low-handicap men, high-handicap men, low-handicap women, and high-handicap women.
"We literally put every existing hole up on a screen," he says. "Your golf course is of age where it's time to replace irrigation, rebuild your greens, rebuild your bunkers. Would you like us to spend the same amount rebuilding that green exactly as you have it, or would you like to change it?"
The members shared what they valued most about each hole and where they saw opportunities. Some wanted certain bunkers updated for different skill levels. Others had thoughts on landing area dimensions. They talked about how water moved across the course and where play could flow more naturally.
Schulties documented everything, then spent months refining a master plan that incorporated those insights.
"I'm giving them back the golf course that they're asking for versus me just coming in and redesigning and they have no idea what they're getting," he notes. "Gulf Harbour members told me what mattered most to them. Between that feedback and working with the staff and superintendent, we developed a complete vision."
One of the trickiest challenges in any course redesign is maintaining difficulty for skilled players while improving playability for average golfers. Schulties accomplishes this primarily through tee placement and bunker strategy.
"You try to set as many angles as you can from tees," he explains. "The more you go forward, the landing area will open up. The further you go back, you reset angles so that the bunkers or the strategy at the turn points are a little more in play."
This means pinching fairway areas at 270 or 300 yards from the back tees, creating strategic challenges for longer hitters. But as players move to forward tees, those same pinch points open up. The player who doesn't hit it as far faces a different challenge: the length of the hole itself.
Green design follows a similar philosophy. Schulties keeps about 50% of each green open for bump-and-run shots, while protecting the other half for what he calls "Sunday pin placements."
"If a superintendent really wants to tuck a pin and make it tough to get to, they can," he says. "You can still get to the front of the green, but you might have a very long putt. The better players like having the challenge of coming over top of a strategic bunker."
Gulf Harbour's renovation benefitted from what Schulties calls a "perfect storm" in Florida golf. Many South Florida clubs experience their busiest months from November through March, when seasonal residents arrive and activity on the course peaks.
This creates an ideal renovation window.
"We do a lot of construction between April and Labor Day, get it regrassed, and reopen at Thanksgiving," Schulties explains. "They go away for five or six months, they come back, and you got a brand new golf course. It's like a Christmas present."
And doing a complete renovation all at once, rather than in phases over several years, keeps costs down and minimizes disruption.
"Think about rebuilding your car's engine one piece at a time and adding up how much those components cost when you have to buy them individually versus just rebuilding your engine all at once," Schulties says. "Things cost a lot more when you do it in pieces, and it takes years versus our five-month window in South Florida."
Schulties introduced signature rock walls at several locations that gave the course a more polished, distinctive character.
"The rocks made a big statement on the golf course," he reflects. "They're a unique feature. They look really classic and nice, and there are a few high focal point areas."
The project also expanded the short game area (which members specifically requested) and addressed playability issues throughout the course without eliminating the strategic elements.
Looking back on the project, Schulties credits Gulf Harbour's renovation committee, superintendent, and general manager for keeping the process moving.
"Gulf Harbour had some really good people on the committee that really helped move this thing along in a very efficient fashion," he says. "Given the fact that we gave the membership what they asked for in the focus group sessions, we gave them a successful project on time and on budget."
That approach created a course that reflects what the people who play it actually wanted: a balance of challenge and enjoyment tailored to the community that calls Gulf Harbour home.