LUFKIN, Texas – With a nod to its extensive history as one of Texas’ original great private courses, Crown Colony Country Club recently reopened its championship course after a months-long restoration by Texas golf architects Trey Kemp and John Colligan.
The course, in the scenic Piney Woods of East Texas northeast of Houston, was originally opened in 1979 on 750 acres as the top ranked championship course in Texas. Kemp and Colligan were part of the restoration project to renew the course for a new era of members and guests with future championships.
Original architect Bruce Devlin, who arrived from South Florida in 1977 to work on the scenic East Texas timberland with architect Robert von Hagge, now deceased, was one of the many dignitaries to hit an opening tee shot on a perfect Texas fall afternoon.
“Crown Colony has always been a big part of my life with the stature which it achieved,” Devlin, an eight-time PGA Tour winner and golf commentator, said. “I think the guys did a nice job of bringing it back.”
While the grasses were modernized and some of the overgrown tree growth was cut back, along with some fairway bunkers removed, the characteristic small greens and championship nature of the par 72 layout was left intact.
“It was one of the most respected courses in Texas when it first opened and we worked to keep the strategic nature and the natural beauty of the course intact along with making the overall conditioning better,” Colligan said.
“We wanted to bring it back to what it was known for,” added Kemp. “We kept the views and improved the conditioning. This has been viewed as a top echelon course for championship events and we feel it will be again.”
Longtime head pro Ben Burns said he was pleased with the overall restoration of the course and that a new generation of golfers from Texas and elsewhere can see what made Crown Colony such a success.
“They did an incredible job with the renovation, something we are quite pleased with,” said Burns.
Crown Colony will have limited member play this fall along with some amateur and college tournaments and preview events in 2025.
For more information on Crown Colony Country Club in Lufkin, Texas, its storied past and exciting future, go to www.crown-colony.site
