A new chapter for a century-old course

Granville’s century-old golf course is getting a major renovation.

Denison has enlisted one of the world’s most acclaimed golf course architects to restore the historic design of Denison Golf Club, a donor-funded project that will upgrade the experience for student-athletes, community members, and golf enthusiasts.

Gil Hanse, whose celebrated work includes restorations of Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina and Yale Golf Course, will lead the work, which will honor the original vision of legendary architect Donald Ross while modernizing the course and preserving its longstanding public access.

“We have an ethical obligation to retain the special qualities of this historic course that is so important to our community, and to keep it open to the public,” said President Adam Weinberg. “The intent of this project is to raise funds from donors to renovate and restore it in ways that honor the original Donald Ross design and are good for the college, the surrounding community, and the golf community.”

Initial tree management work is anticipated to begin late this fall, with the course scheduled to close for major renovations in June 2027. Following restoration and regrassing, the course is expected to reopen in spring 2028, weather permitting.

The course’s history dates to the early 1920s, when local businessman John Sutphin Jones commissioned Ross to design a course as part of the development of the Granville Inn. Opened in 1925, the course quickly became a destination for golfers drawn to its challenging layout and scenic setting.

Ross, the Scottish-born architect who designed or remodeled more than 400 courses during his career, is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in golf architecture. His work is known for incorporating natural terrain, strategically placed bunkers, and subtly contoured greens that reward thoughtful shot-making.

Granville’s rolling landscape provided an ideal setting. Ross designed a course featuring 63 sand bunkers, elevated greens, and a layout shaped by the land’s natural contours. Over the decades, the course welcomed golf legends including Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, and Chick Young.

Denison has stewarded the course since 2014, helping maintain its role as a public golf destination while adding a distinctive resource for the university’s golf programs.

Much of Ross’s original design remains intact, particularly across the first 13 holes. But a century of growth and changing conditions has taken a toll. Fairways have narrowed, trees have encroached on original playing corridors, bunkers have disappeared, and greens have diminished in size. The closing holes were also substantially altered by nearby residential development.

“Denison has a Donald Ross golf course, and it is very rare that you find a school with an asset like that,” Hanse, the architect, said. “The course has great bones, and our goal is to work on the soft tissue of the course — the greens, the bunkers, the width of the golf holes, the corridors to play through.”

Hanse’s master plan calls for widening fairways, reopening historic playing corridors, restoring bunkers, expanding and reshaping greens, and upgrading drainage, irrigation, and other infrastructure. The most extensive changes will come to holes 14 through 18, where portions of Ross’s original layout were lost to development.

The renovation also represents a significant investment in Denison athletics. As one of fewer than 10 Division III universities to own and operate a golf course, Denison offers student-athletes a rare opportunity to train and compete on a historic layout just a short walk from campus.

The full master plan would eventually allow the course to exceed 7,000 yards and potentially host championship-level competitions.

The project builds on other recent investments in Big Red golf, including the opening of the Waddell Golf Facility, an indoor training center, and the hiring of Lauren Grogan as Denison’s first full-time golf coach.

“In an increasingly competitive recruiting landscape, this distinction — combined with a renovation led by world-renowned architect Gil Hanse — positions us to become one of the quintessential DIII golf programs in the country,” Grogan said.

The renovated Denison Golf Club will remain open to the public. Additional phases of the master plan will be considered in the future.