Building on success with the Oneida nation of central New York, Robert Trent Jones II has entered into an agreement with the Seneca of western New York to build a golf course in the town of Lewiston, a few miles north of Niagara Falls. The site, next to Joseph Davis State Park, had been slated for golf course development for years. The financing never came together, and the project repeatedly stalled. Then came the Seneca nation. After an exhaustive search that included Jack, Pete, Greg, and other name architects, they decided to employ RTJ2 to design their Niagara County golf course.

Not much is known about the layout, other than its intent to work in harmony with the land. That should not be too difficult, as the land is fairly flat. Only to the south of Buffalo can hill country be found. However, the Oneida’s Kaluhyat course at Turning Stone resort was built on similar land, and the results were quite stunning. In fact, it is safe to say that, alongside the Smith and Fazio courses at Turning Stone, the Jones2 course is easily the most difficult of the trio. Only the lack of spectator viewing areas and movement corridors keeps it from being used as a tournament venue (this year alone, Turning Stone hosted the National Club Pro championship and the B.C. Open). What is known, though, is that the routing plan will work in a somewhat clockwise manner, to ensure that the majority of wayward shots (read: slices by righties) will not trespass onto local highways or neighboring homesites.

Although no shovels have been ceremoniously planted in the ground, the Seneca course is projected to open in 2008. Given the history of Revolutionary conflict and the native connection to both sides in the American Revolutionary war, a historical tie-in seems possible, if not probable. The partnership of Robert Trent Jones II as lead architect and Ty Butler as project architect will repeat their Kaluhyat success at Lewiston.

An interesting footnote to the story is the River Oaks element. On Grand Island, a six-mile long oasis situated between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, Desmond Muirhead crafted an intriguing layout, filled with challenge and deceipt, before descending into madness. Adjacent to a Holiday Inn, River Oaks presented a unique possibility for the Seneca. The nation explored the opportunity of purchasing and rennovating the course, before deciding to construct a new 18 north of Niagara Falls.

The site wetlands amendment map can be viewed here.

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