Bryan
Park Golf & Conference Center (Champions Course), Greensboro, N.C.
July 12-17
Yardage:7,195 yards
Par:35-36—71
Defending champion:Brad Benjamin
Opened:1990
Designer:Rees Jones
USGA championships:This will be the first USGA championship conducted at Bryan Park and just the second APL held in the Tar Heel State. The 1986 championship at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons was won by Billy Mayfair.
Championship notes:For match play, the tee markers at the par-4 10th hole will be moved up to allow competitors to attempt to drive the green. No. 10 will measure 390 yards in stroke play and 311 yards during match play.
Course notes:Seven holes on the Champions Course border scenic Lake Townsend. … When the course opened, Golf Digest ranked it as the No. 2 new public course in the U.S.
History of Bryan Park:In the 1960s, long-range planning for a family-oriented recreation facility and golf complex began, and in 1970 voters approved a $950,000 bond for the creation of Bryan Park and Golf Course. In recognition of their years of interest and devotion, the park was dedicated to Joseph and Kathleen Bryan in May 1971. Through the commitment of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation and the City of Greensboro, the 1,550-acre Bryan Park complex includes two golf courses, the Bryan Enrichment Center, the Jim Batten Soccer Training Facility at Bryan Park and picnic areas and other amenities.
Keeping ‘green’:The 1,550-acre facility is a safe haven for small birds and mammals, with approximately 12 acres of surface water in the form of retention ponds. Among the wildlife that can be found at Bryan Park are deer, turkey, fox, squirrel, raccoon, beaver, muskrat and ground hog. The course also has an Eastern bluebird trail consisting of 100 nest boxes. In 2008, Bryan Park had the most productive trail in North Carolina with more than 1,200 fledges, and its annual average is 850 fledges. Osprey nesting platforms adjacent to the property have also been successful. Lake Townsend, a 1,200-acre reservoir adjacent to Bryan Park, is a primary water source to the Greensboro community and the course is subject to periodic water quality testing.