Progress on an 18-hole golf course designed by an internationally-renowned course architect on former agricultural land above the Snake River in Franklin County continues to move forward, with tentative plans for preview play in the summer of 2027.

Land Water Sky LLC, the developer of the River Ranch golf course and resort, has already begun growing grass for the front nine holes of the course earlier this year, according to an August release. It planned to do the same for the back nine in late August and September after finishing rough shaping of that portion of the course.

“We will interseed with a variety of fescues and bluegrasses on the entire golf course during the fall months and next spring as we prepare for preview play next summer,” the developers said in a statement.

Work on the project began in earnest in the fall of 2025 after several Tri-Cities developers, including Kennewick City Councilman Brad Beauchamp, Ben Harris and representatives of the Tiegs family, paid $9.2 million for more than 300 acres on bluffs above the river. The parcel belonged to Gordon Brothers Wine Estates and was sold at auction as part of the winery’s bankruptcy proceedings.

“We all walked the property and just realized how dramatic and unique it is,” Harris previously told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

The group has recruited David McLay Kidd, who designed award-winning courses at Bandon Dunes in Oregon as well as in Scotland, to lay out the course. But they have plans beyond providing golfers great sight lines. Land Water Sky LLC’s special-use permit application to Franklin County also calls for amenities such as a clubhouse; a restaurant; 15 stay-and-play cottages with four bedrooms per unit and a parking lot with about 200-250 parking spaces.

Maps and documents filed with the county for a comprehensive plan update indicate other possibilities, including dozens of single-family homes, a boutique hotel, event center and more. The goal is to create a new opportunity to draw tourism to the region, along with subsequent visitor spending, developers have said.

The developers have not disclosed the value of their investment in the project. However, Harris has previously said he and his partners envision a development that could add as much as $200 million to Franklin County’s tax base.