WACO, Texas – Ridgewood Country Club celebrated its multi-million renovation last month with a ceremonial tee shot from course architect Tripp Davis and a grand opening round at the storied Central Texas private club celebrating its 76th anniversary.
The 11-month project at Waco’s only full-service private club included new TifEagle greens, new bunkers, leveling of tee boxes, along with some tree and bunker removal, plus a new practice area.
“This is a great piece of property and I look forward to the members and their guests enjoying it for years to come,” said Davis, who previously done work at Dallas’ Northwood Club and a new design with PGA Tour player Justin Leonard at Old American Golf Club at The Colony.
“To have a project come in under budget and on time is really important to our club and our community,” said club president Andy McSwain.
It was the first extensive club renovation since 2003 and the culmination of a seven-year project which included a master plan by Davis along with a total clubhouse renovation in 2022.
Among the biggest changes at Ridgewood were switching from Bentgrass greens which were often hard to maintain in the extreme Central Texas weather to premium TifEagle Bermuda greens which will which be more consistent all throughout the year.
“A prime example is the (par 4) 14th hole,” said Davis. “We took out a fairway bunker which wasn’t in play unless you hit a bad shot. We also took out a tree which the better players used as a aiming point and now we’ve encouraged more creatively off the tee.
“A great course is based on how it plays, how it looks and how it functions. We touched all three at Ridgewood.”
The nationally ranked Baylor’s women’s golf team uses Ridgewood extensively and will be the site of a future NCAA competition. The Baylor men also use the course for practice and some play.
The par at Ridgewood remains at 70 with a total length of 6,809 yards from the back tees.
“This was a fabulous hidden gem which needed to be polished and was polished greatly and will only get better and better as time wears on,” added head golf professional Jimmy Cunningham. “We look forward to hosting several statewide events and even some national ones.”
The course has previously hosted the Texas State Senior Championship and super senior along with a Southwest Conference Championship in the 1990s.
