Meticulous, multi-year project focused on marrying Colt’s bold bunkering style with Ross’s inspired putting surfaces
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Zinkand Golf Design, led by golf course architect David Zinkand and his more than 25 years of experience designing, managing and shaping projects in the field, has completed a multi-year bunker and greens restoration project at suburban Chicago’s Old Elm Club.
Thanks to the course’s one-of-a-kind design pedigree, the engagement represented a unique opportunity for ZGD and its principal designer, David Zinkand. Harry S. Colt routed the golf course in 1913 during one of his rare visits to the United States.
Donald Ross then led the construction, including its greens, during his absence.
Together, these two legends of the “Golden Age” of golf course architecture are credited with 16 designs among GOLF Magazine’s 2023-24 Top 100 Courses in the World. Yet Old Elm, recently ranked among GOLF Magazine’s 2024-25 Top 100 Courses in the U.S., represents the only project where the two men crossed paths.
Although Colt’s ingenious routing and Ross’s inspired greens remained very much intact, by the early 21st century Colt’s original bunker layout had been lost through successive course renovations.
Golf course architect Drew Rogers began initial restoration efforts, recapturing width with tree clearing and expansion of fairways and putting green perimeters.
Then, with Colt’s elaborate sketches and notes as inspiration, ZGD – as the club’s designer of record – and Old Elm superintendent Curtis James brought the original bunkering back to life.
“We took painstaking care to reintroduce Colt’s preferred bunkering at Old Elm, merging his aesthetic preferences and strategic concepts with modern play and maintenance expectations,” said Zinkand, who spent more than a decade working as a design associate for Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. “The course now features bold bunker forms with dramatic ‘ripped’ and ‘torn’ edges that complement the site’s beautifully rolling terrain.”
The bunker restoration work occurred in parallel with the re-grassing of the golf course, including the famed Ross putting surfaces. ZGD touched six of the greens, including the celebrated Redan at Hole 17, incorporating subtle contour modifications to ensure Old Elm continues to deliver on Ross’s cunning intentions.
The bunker and greens work, combined with the re-grassing and expansion of fairways to match Colt’s vision for a course presentation supporting firm-and-fast playing conditions, has received glowing reviews from members and guests alike.
“It’s an incredible honor to work on Old Elm’s incomparable Colt-Ross hybrid and play a role in ushering the two titans’ design ambitions into the future,” said Zinkand. “We’re proud to have earned the trust of Curtis James, former general manager Kevin Marion and the rest of the Old Elm team as they focus on delivering a unique playing experience.”
ZGD possesses an in-depth understanding of how the classic courses utilize strategy and the natural terrain to instill atmosphere, fun and intricacy into a round of golf. The firm is currently working on a wide variety of projects across the U.S., ranging from restorations and renovations of “Golden Age” courses to new builds with routings that push the creative envelope.
For more information, visit zinkandgolfdesign.com.
