Conway Farms Golf Club

Alex Elias

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Designed by Tom Fazio in 1991, Conway Farms Golf Club reopened in 2023 following an extensive renovation by Tim Jackson and David Kahn, both of whom previously worked under Fazio. The redesign focused on introducing greater strategic variety—primarily through repositioning and reshaping bunkers—what Head Golf Professional Andrew Adamsick described as “giving every player different options for how to play a hole.” That philosophy is most evident on the Par-4 7th, Par-4 15th, and Par-5 18th holes.

No. 7 - Par-4 - 337
The first of two short Par-4s, the 7th features a green only ten yards front-to-back, defended by a Lion’s Mouth–style bunker in front and another stretching nearly the full width behind. Angled toward the ideal layup zone, the green rewards those who lay back off the tee with a wedge into the length of the green.

“Tim Jackson and David Kahn believed that angles and options are what make golf great, and on No. 7, the pin location dictates the strategy. When the pin is left, laying up allows players to use the full length of the green; when it’s right, driver becomes the better play,” said Andrew Adamsick, Head Golf Professional at Conway Farms. “If a player chooses to lay up, accuracy and distance control become paramount—particularly the further the left the pin is, as the margin of error is thin between a tap-in birdie and an uphill, short-sided chip.”

No. 15 - Par-4 - 344
The second of two short Par-4s, the 15th is protected by water along its entire left side and features a 70-yard green—nearly twice its original size. As a result of the expanded green, the two greenside bunkers were removed, and a new centerline bunker was added 50 yards short of the green—though it appears much closer, built into a subtle mound that creates visual deception.

“With the expanded green, players can be more aggressive,” said Adamsick. “By eliminating the two greenside bunkers, there are now far more shot options for those who come up short—players can putt, chip it low, or play a higher shot.”

No. 18 - Par-5 - 557
On the Par-5 18th, a creek winds from just beyond the landing zone off the tee, up the left side, eventually splitting two fairways before sweeping across to guard the front of the green. Employing a similar philosophy to A.W. Tillinghast’s Great Hazard template, the creek—rather than a mass of bunkers—puts pressure on the tee shot, as a poor drive may lead to a forced lay-up short of the hazard and a long third shot into the green.

“No. 18 may be the most substantial change because you have to hit three really good shots,” said Adamsick. “To play the hole as you wish, you need to find the fairway off the tee. If you don’t—whether it’s the bunker or the rough—the layup to the left fairway, which provides the ideal angle to the green, becomes much more difficult with the creek coming into play.”