GOLF COURSE RENOVATION · SINCE 1982
Award-Winning Golf Course Renovation That Never Closed a Hole
For more than four decades, Aspen has delivered golf course renovation and construction to the country’s most demanding clubs — work built to last, with minimal disruption to play. See how we rebuilt 86 bunkers at Hudson National Golf Club, cutting through solid granite without ever closing the course.
44 years +
Years of golf course construction
GCBAA
First Place
PROJECT SNAPSHOT
Hudson National Golf Club · Croton-on-Hudson, New York
TYPE OF PROJECT
PROJECT VALUE
TIMELINE
GOLF ARCHITECT
BUILDER
COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
OWNER REPRESENTATIVE
COURSE REOPENED
THE PROJECT
Hudson National Golf Club is known for its spectacular Hudson River views and for serious golf design pedigree — the club’s par-3 16th hole is featured on the cover of architect Tom Fazio’s own book, Golf Course Designs. In March 2010, Aspen took on a different kind of challenge: rebuilding the bunkers that give the course its striking visual character, without touching what makes it play like a Fazio original.
The scope was ambitious for a four-month window: 80 existing bunkers rebuilt and 6 new ones added, guided by a long-range master plan. The goal wasn’t to reinvent Hudson National’s strategy — it was to make subtle refinements that would cut down on maintenance and extend the life of every bunker, while keeping the strategic intent Fazio designed into each hole.
“The bunker style featured high visual impact, but also required high levels of maintenance,” says Aspen president Donnie Adkins. Aspen’s crews rebuilt each complex with modern liners and drainage designed to hold up to Westchester County’s weather — a direct answer to a course that, before renovation, needed a full crew out raking bunkers after every hard rain.
The ground itself was the first obstacle. Most of Westchester County sits on a slab of granite, and Hudson National was no exception. “At the base of each hole was shot rock, so putting in drain lines was difficult,” says golf course architect Tom Marzoll of Fazio Golf Design. “Aspen had to backhoe ditch everything. The difficulty factor was there from day one.”
Logistics were just as demanding. The course is spread across a large tract of land with no continuous cart path, so Aspen had to plan specific haul routes — crossing golf holes to move bunker sand and topsoil that, at one point in the project, was staged over a mile from the work site. A larger fleet of high-flotation equipment kept the schedule on track without tearing up turf along the way.
Hudson National also has one of the shortest playing seasons in golf, and a membership that plays through all of it — many of them high-profile members who use the course to conduct business. The club allowed no more than three holes closed at a time, so Aspen sequenced the work hole by hole, communicating daily with staff about details as granular as how crews handled balls that rolled into bunkers mid-construction.
PROJECT GOALS
- Rebuild all 80 bunkers to reduce long-term maintenance without losing their strategic visual impact.
- Add 6 new bunkers as part of Hudson National’s long-range master plan.
- Extend bunker life expectancy with modern liners built for heavy weather.
- Protect the course’s Fazio-designed character, including its book-cover-featured 16th hole.
THE CHALLENGES
- Solid granite bedrock under nearly every hole made drainage work slow and difficult.
- No continuous cart path — sand and topsoil had to be hauled across active holes, at times from over a mile away.
- A short regional playing season with a national, high-profile membership that wouldn’t tolerate delays.
- Club required no more than three holes closed for construction at any one time.
THE RESULTS
- 86 bunkers rebuilt — 67,500 sq. ft. of existing bunkers plus 10,000 sq. ft. of new ones.
- Named First Place Winner in Golf Inc.’s Renovation of the Year, projects under $1 million.
- Hudson National climbed from #94 to #83 in Golf Digest’s 2011–2012 Top 100 Courses in America.
- New bunker liners cut post-storm maintenance from a full staff callout to light crew touch-ups.
PROJECT GALLERY
Before and after across the Hudson National renovation — from original bunkering and granite excavation to the finished course.
Hole #2 — before
Hole #2 — after
Hole #3 — before
Hole #3 — after
Hole #4 — excavating granite bedrock
Hole #4 — after
Hole #5 — before
Hole #5 — after
Hole #6 green complex — before
Hole #6 green complex — after
Hole #6 fairway — before
Hole #6 fairway — after
Hole #7 — before
Hole #7 — after
Hole #8 — before
Hole #8 — after
Hole #8 bunkers — before
Hole #8 bunkers — after
Hole #9 approach — before
Hole #9 approach — after
Hole #9 fairway — before
Hole #9 fairway — after
Hole #12 — before
Hole #12 — after
Hole #14 — before
Hole #14 — after
Hole #15 — before
Hole #15 — after
Championship Golf Course Construction, Built On Time and On Budget
WHAT THE CLUB SAID
Planning a Golf Course Renovation?
