More than three years of working in the dirt – over 1.6 million cubic yards of earthmoving in all – is nearing completion as Dana Fry and Jason Straka finish off the final holes of an ambitious renovation of Union League National Golf Club in Swainton near the New Jersey shoreline.
More a complete reworking of the property than a basic renovation, the designers started the project in 2018 and have completely reimagined the 27-hole facility, taking a nearly flat site in the Sand Barrens of southern New Jersey and introducing hills, ridgelines and a massive amount of fresh vegetation. Formerly the public-access Sand Barrens Golf Club, the property was purchased by the Union League of Philadelphia in 2017 and converted into a private club.
Work on 23 of the 27 holes has been completed, with the final four holes expected to be finished and playable by July. But that won’t be the end of the work, as revegetation efforts are anticipated to continue through 2024.
The former golf course on site was designed by Michael Hurdzan and Fry in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now the team of Fry and Straka has closed nine holes at a time during reconstruction, keeping at least 18 open throughout the project.
The scale of the job has been massive, featuring the construction of a giant hill dubbed the Big Fill at the center of the 268-acre parcel. The hill is tied into ridgelines that taper down and away for hundreds of yards, with holes running along the extended slopes.
“All these ridges are like the arteries in a human body,” Fry said in a media release announcing the status of the project. “By the time we finished with the major earthwork, the largest section of the Big Fill accommodated eight tee complexes, nine green complexes and parts of seven fairways. It’s that massive, 78 feet high in places. It covers 45 acres. In the same way an architect blends surrounding contours into a single green complex, we are blending an entire routing into the contours we created via the Big Fill.”
Fry said that by extending the ridges well away from the main hill, they were able to make the earthworks look more natural. That look will only improve as new vegetation takes hold.
“We specified 13 different species of native grasses, ground covers and shrubs, plus dozens of wetland plant varieties, to create a rugged Pine Valley look and to control erosion,” Straka said in the media release. “Additionally, thousands of oak, cedar and pine trees were planted or relocated to connect the existing tree lines and those native edges to the Big Fill itself.”
So while the site has undergone heavy lifting, Fry and Straka are confident that as the vegetation takes hold, the site will grow to look more and more natural.
“In five or 10 years, they’re going to say that we found the most amazing natural dirt ridge in all of south Jersey,” Fry said of the project that will include a new clubhouse, short course, practice facilities and more.
Take a look at photos of some of the work to Union League National below: