Golf Renovation - Nicklaus/Tom O'Toole - Normandie in St. Louis

The Normandie Golf Course renovation in St. Louis is a project that is being spearheaded by Jack Nicklaus with Tom O'Toole from the USGA. Nicklaus has donated his time to the project. Chris Cochran, ASGCA, is the lead design associate onsite at Normandie.

The Metropolitan Golf Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association owns Normandie Golf Club. The course was acquired from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2022 for $1.5 million. The goal of the project is to revitalize the historic golf course with new grassing and the latest in bunker liner technology.

The renovation will include a number of changes to the course, including new flat tee boxes with newly sloping, contoured greens. Updating the irrigation system to HDPE pipe with centralized computer system is another major undertaking in the project. The renovation was budgeted to cost $15 million and has started construction as of October 2024.

Initial design plans were to re-route the golf course, but Cochran decided to retain the original routing and lengthen the courses regrassing with new greens and new tees. A new irrigation system is also part of the course upgrade. Target for project completion is autumn 2025.

The Normandie Golf Course renovation is a significant project that will increase the back tee yardage of the course to 7,007 yards and have a major impact on the St. Louis golf community. The new course will be a valuable asset to the city and Metropolitan Golf Foundation. There is anticipation for the site to be used in national amateur and regional golf tournaments.