Clubhouse Opening Marks Final Stage
(Laredo, Texas) — The Max A. Mandel Municipal Golf Course, designed by
world-renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr., enjoyed a soft opening last October. Now with the completed clubhouse the facility is 100 percent open for business.
The City of Laredo’s significant new golf course project is poised to achieve national and international recognition. A special event with Hall of Fame golf legend Nancy Lopez will be the crowning touch on a project spanning almost four years.
Jones brought his celebrated design team’s genius to transform a landscape that features two deep arroyos, a rich variety of mesquite trees and river vega flora into a spectacular 18-hole layout that already has captivated and attracted golfers from not only Texas and Mexico, but also outside the region. Seven of the holes on the course incorporate memorable vistas of the majestic Rio Grande, notably as the par-3 15th whose green is perched some 60 feet above the river.
Jones said of the new course: “The City of Laredo graciously provided us with the latitude to let our imagination roam free across a rare piece of land that exuded the rugged essence of this storied region. For the one-time capital of the Republic of the Rio Grande, we have created a golf experience that we hope will be a source of great pride and satisfaction for the public. We believe the City of Laredo’s inaugural public golf course is destined to be regarded as one of the best public golf courses in Texas.”
The Robert Trent Jones II firm, which has designed 273 courses in some 44 countries on six continents, credits four previous Texas courses in its portfolio. The esteemed architect’s reputation for honoring the cultural, geographical and historical aspects of each project coupled with a sensitive respect for the environment lends an invaluable luster to the City of Laredo’s impressive undertaking to deliver an unmatched golf experience in Texas.
“The City of Laredo is proud of this very special golf course that will rate as one of the very best public access facilities in the state of Texas,” said Horacio De Leon Jr., Assistant City Manager and project manager for the golf course. “The City expects the Max A. Mandel Municipal Golf Course to put Laredo on the map as a golf destination for tourists and the business community. Hopefully, this will be the start for several more courses, which ultimately would position Laredo as the next great golf mecca. We expect that this course will appeal to experienced golfers throughout the world, as well as sparking an interest with youth and aspiring new golfers in our community, thus generating more excitement for this wonderful sport.”
The golf course is named in honor of one of Laredo’s most prominent and highly respected citizens. The late Max A. Mandel was a successful bank executive whose 45 years of service to the community is legendary. His vision helped put the City of Laredo on a strong economic foundation. The course sits on Mandel’s farm, named Las Islitas (Spanish for “little islands”), and the Mandel family generously donated a total 390 acres of land, $1 million for the construction project and water rights for irrigation purposes to the City of Laredo to commemorate Max’s philanthropic spirit and civic legacy.
The challenging par-72 course will cater to golfers of all ability levels, with five sets of tees available and yardages ranging from 7,069 from the back tees to 4,897 for the forward tees.
A provision has been made for competitive tournament tees to be extended to 7,297 yards,
and a dedicated “juniors” teeing area on each hole is incorporated to increase enjoyment for family play.
Key community and third party partners who are closely involved with the Max A. Mandel Municipal Golf Course include: the Mandel Family, land donation and benefactor; Foresight Golf, the lease operator; Landscapes Unlimited, the construction firm; and architectural firm RTJ II.
For more information on The MAX, visit the club’s website at www.themaxlaredo.com or call 956-726-2000.
Contact: NEOhioGolf@yahoo.com
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