Eleven new holes, 18 new greens, a new irrigation system, 18 reseeded fairways, new ponds, a refurbished ClubhouseÉBut the same familiar, classic Billy Bell design.When noted Billy Bell redesign specialist Forrest Richardson was retained by the City of Ventura to rebuild the 73-year old Build Buenaventura Golf Course, many of the locals, including some vocal Men's Golf Club members, were skeptical that the project would amount to anything more than an overpriced solution to the site's many obvious safety problems - and an "overpriced solution" that would likely lop off too much existing yardage and jeopardize much of the old course's charm.

Golf Solutions, owners and managers of the 54-hole Wigwam Resort west of Phoenix, Arizona have begun restoration work on the famous Gold Course and portions of the Blue Course. Using aerial images from the 1960s, when Robert Trent Jones, Sr. completed his transformation of the property from 18-holes to 36-holes, golf course architect Forrest Richardson is leading the effort.

The Pete Dye Canyon Golf Course in Park City, Utah, and The Hideout Golf Club in Monticello, Utah, were each selected as winners of Golf Inc. Magazine's 2003 Development of the Year competition. The contest, conducted by the nation's leading publication for golf course owners, developers and general managers, was designed to highlight the country's most innovative new courses opened during the past year. Selections were based on aesthetic and environmental qualities and on the ability of the development team to realize its overall vision for the course.

The long-awaited solution to the Arizona Biltmore's development dispute has finally ended. And this translates to great news for fans of one of Phoenix's most treasured and historic courses, the 18-hole, par-72 Adobe Course. Originally built in 1926 and designed by William P. "Billy" Bell, the course is among the oldest in Arizona and the least changed from its original routing. Every U.S. President from Eisenhower through Clinton has played the course, continuing a tradition of celebrity golfers who have stayed at the adjacent Arizona Biltmore Resort.

Arizonans will finally get a true linksland golf experience, although it will require a brief bit of international travel. The popular destination, Puerto Peñasco, or Rocky Point as it is known to locals, is a Mexican seaside destination just south of the border from Arizona. It has lured generations of Arizonans with its white sand and laid back atmosphere. But, when it comes to golf, Rocky Point has had what could be described as a 'rocky' time attracting a developer willing to build the resort and fishing community's first course. Although a Nicklaus course, Laguna del Mar, has been under construction off and on for the past few years, it's completion schedule is still not fully resolved.

Golf course architect Forrest Richardson, of the United States, has recently completed a book, Routing the Golf Course. The 528-page reference work covers the origins of golf courses, how land is evaluated for golf, laying out the course and techniques for presenting routing plans. Featured chapters include an in-depth look at St. Andrews and its influence to golf course design, and Cypress Point in Monterey, California that is often heralded as the "best golf course in the world."

Continuing a tradition of orchestrating complex landfill and reclamation golf projects, Phoenix-based golf architect Forrest Richardson has recently put forth a plan to transform an active landfill Alberta, Canada into a large golf campus. The project, called Spyhill, will be a City-sanctioned public facility on approximately 350 acres. Planning is underway with the City of Calgary's Departments of Solid Waste and its Golf Division. The joint venture, if it proves to be feasible, calls for 36 holes of regulation golf, a full-length practice range, and a 9-hole golf course for use by youth and the disabled. This short course would consist of pitching-length holes.

Closed some 25 years ago, a small landfill in the northern reaches of Henderson, Nevada continues to inch closer to its final use: an 18-hole, regulation-length municipal golf course. Golf Course Architects, Forrest Richardson and Arthur Jack Snyder have been leading a team of specialized consultants through a maze of due diligence steps, now in their second year of advance work.