Architectural firm Tripp Davis and Associates have wrapped up a remodeling of BraeBurn Country Club in Houston, with the course set to reopen this weekend.
The private club was founded in 1926 as Colonial Country Club – not to be confused with the Fort Worth-area club of the same name. The course was designed by John Bredemus and opened in 1931. It was changed to BraeBurn in 1931, and Hall of Famer Jimmy Demaret worked as a professional at the club for several years in the ‘30s and ‘40s.
Davis – based in Norman, Oklahoma – kept the same routing at BraeBurn, but his firm rebuilt and reshaped all the greens, rebuilt and shifted tee boxes, and rebuilt the bunkers in a more classic style. The course was recovered with NorthBridge Bermudagrass, and a new irrigation system was installed along with upgraded drainage.
“BraeBurn has been an exciting project for us in taking a piece of ground with so much potential, and then realizing that potential,” Davis said in a media release announcing completion of the project. “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. 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.”
The club had last been extensively reworked in 1991 to address flooding problems and to introduce some elevation changes.
“Tripp has created a timeless design built on a vision that will sustain interest, character and challenging yet friendly golf for all levels of play,” BraeBurn general manager Dan Olson said in the media release. “In addition, Tripp aided the club in assembling world-class construction teams to execute these plans. We could not be more excited about the final product and what this means to this property, our membership and the next chapter in the beautiful story of BraeBurn Country Club.”