Nemacolin Woodlands Resort Announces Nine Hole Addition To Mystic Rock Course

Pete Dye, the legendary golf course designer who designed the original Mystic Rock course, has designed and will oversee the expansion. The addition is scheduled to open for play in the summer of 2017.

Recently named the number one “Public Course in Pennsylvania” by Golfweek and one of “America's 100 Greatest Public Courses” by Golf Digest, Mystic Rock has a rating of 77 and slope of 149 from the championship tees, one of the highest ratings in the country (as rated by the United States Golf Association). Host to the 84 Lumber Classic, a PGA Tour event from 2003 – 2006, Mystic Rock opened for play in September of 1995 and underwent extensive renovations in 2004.

“It's fitting that as we celebrate Mystic Rock's 20th anniversary, the resort continues to experience an increase in golf activity, which was the catalyst for this expansion,” said Jennifer Jubin, Nemacolin Woodlands General Manager. “Last year, we recorded a record number, 42,000 rounds with 24,000 of those being played on Mystic Rock and the balance on the original Links course. Despite national trends that saw golf rounds falling and courses closing, golf at Nemacolin is trending in exactly the opposite direction.”

The nine hole addition will stay true to the architectural design of Mystic Rock's original 18 holes, which placed heavy focus on incorporating the natural topography and terrain. Large boulders that were unearthed during construction, undulating greens, wide expanses of white sand bunkers and beautiful lakes add the elements of spectacular scenery with what has proven to be a true test of golf. At the time of the original construction, Pete Dye explained, “Environmentally, we've set this thing up on a mountain like nothing that has ever been done in this state.” When asked about his approach to the newly designed nine holes, Dye quipped, “I am always hoping for bigger and better!”

The challenging nine hole layout will place a premium value on accurate shot placement. Site work on the addition began in December of 2014 with construction scheduled to begin next month. Playing to a par 36, the nine holes will encompass 84 acres of existing turf, a number particularly familiar to Dye's friend and resort founder, Joseph A, Hardy, who also founded 84 Lumber Company, a national building materials supplier.

Overall, 80 percent of the addition will be grown from seed with the greens, tees and fairways to feature improved varieties of Bentgrass, the primary rough will be sodded with Bluegrass, while the secondary rough will be seeded with a low-maintenance Scottish fescue blend.

In March of 2015, Nemacolin completed a 15-month $30 million renovation project which included 263 of the resort's 318 rooms, 32,000 square feet of meeting space, public spaces and landscaping. The resort has also signed an agreement with Michael Graves Architecture & Design to oversee the property's master plan and future real estate development. MGA&D has worked with clients such as Target, Alessi, Stryker and The Walt Disney Co. Real estate sales are anticipated alongside the golf course opening for 2017.

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