Our new blog is exciting for me to be a part of.  My name is Rick Mattox, General Manager & Golf Director at The Hampton Club on St. Simons Island.  The King & Prince opened the course in August 1989.  I was fortunate to join then in March of 1990 and have been here ever since.  Through a great deal of preparation we are currently undergoing a restoration of the original design by the architect Joe Lee.  Joe designed over 275 courses with the majority in the southeast and some overseas.  We selected Billy Fuller of Billy Fuller Golf Design to oversee the project; he came highly recommended as a restoration specialist.

Closing date was April 1, 2009 with a scheduled re-open date of October 1, 2009.  With “A Quality Golf Experience” as our mission statement, we sought to make our Hotel Guests and Members feel important to us by arranging several area courses for them to play during this time.  My staff handles all of the arrangements and is on location to assist with the group bookings.   Offering outstanding service is important to me, so I wanted that to continue even though our course is not open.

Hampton has 4 holes out in the marsh, connected by 800 feet of bridgework, which take your breath away on the back nine.  With over 95% of the people who play here saying, “this is the best golf experience I have ever had”, our goal is to put it back for the next generation to enjoy.

The restoration includes replacing greens with Mini-Verde the newest in the hybrid family.  Our tees, fairways, and rough will be Celebration, a new Bermuda grass that can handle shade well.    Our bunkers will be reshaped and grassed with Empire Zoysia.  Finally we have a collar of Tif-Sport to give us four types of grasses.   It will be a real “WOW” factor to see when you come to visit our hotel and play the course.  Whether it’s your first time or seventh time, you do not want to miss it.   

We will update you on the blog, but you can go to www.hamptonclub.com to view progress as work continues.  It is changing everyday!