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Tribute’s second course exceeding expectations
BY ANDREW MAY, Staff Writer
As Justin Leonard slogged his way through the substantial sludge that is currently the New Course at The Tribute, he couldn’t help but smile as he envisioned what the final product will look like.
Leonard, a Dallas resident who is 23rd on the official PGA Tour World rankings, has partnered with golf architect Tripp Davis to create a classic course that will mirror the famous links he has played for years. Leonard and Davis broke ground on the second Tribute course in February and gave a group of media members a tour Sept. 10. And though the conditions for a preview were less than ideal, Leonard could hardly contain his enthusiasm amid the downpour.
“This is going to be a special course,” Leonard said as drops of rain trickled from the brim of his cap. “I want to build golf courses where people play it once and want to come back. I want to make a good impression and I feel like we’re well on the way to doing that.”
“We’re going to make it look like it’s been there for 100 years,” said Davis, who has been through two pairs of boots during the first half of the construction process. “A number of golf architecture critics believe this will be another highly rated course.”
Leonard and Davis, who are working on another project in Colorado, met in the fall of 2005 and soon after began sharing their unique perspectives on course strategy, green placement and overall playability. With Leonard’s experience of playing the finest courses around the world and Davis’ intricate knowledge of layout and design, the New Course is expected to be playable for the average golfer but still demanding for top amateurs and professionals.
Leonard wanted to create a course that challenges every day players but not one that overpowers high handicappers. He said the New Course will be distinctive because of the options available to every golfer on each hole.
“There really isn’t a course like The Tribute now,” he said. “The New Course will only enhance that. A lot of people will not be able to play in Scotland but they can experience it at Tribute. I played a lot of courses over there and seeing such an accurate rendition of the holes close to home is nice.”
Leonard, who has 11 victories on Tour, said he has wanted to test the design waters eventually, but was waiting for the right person and project to come along. He knew of Davis while the architect was playing at the University of Oklahoma and decided now was the time to expand his golf portfolio.
Davis didn’t just want Leonard to sign on for name recognition. He wanted a player with intimate knowledge of what makes a course stand out from the rest, but more importantly one that will be around every step of the way.
“I’ve done some golf courses with touring pros before, and one of the things I talked to Justin about before we got involved here was I didn’t want somebody that was just going to put their name on it,” Davis said. “I wanted someone who is going to be actively involved in the design process and as actively involved in the construction process as they could be, and Justin’s been that.”
The project is part of a lakefront golf resort community on Lewisville Lake. The community, nestled between the two world class courses, offers luxury amenities anchored by a brand new clubhouse with restaurants and meeting facilities. The 1,150-acre master-planned development will feature resort-style pools, gardens, parks, playgrounds, schools, more than six miles of hike-and-bike trails, canals and hundreds of acres of accessible open space evocative of the Scottish Highlands.
Even though the course is still months from being completed, both Leonard and Davis believe they have designed a true gem.
“It’s really turned out to be something more than I thought it was going to be,” Davis said. “We’ve exceeded what we thought we were going to end up with.”
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