Two-time Masters Champion Bubba Watson and three other former University of Georgia golfers, including multiple-time PGA Tour winners Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd, are part of a group behind the creation of new, invitation-only private golf club about 10 minutes from downtown Athens.

Tripp Davis is the architect on record for the new course, called “The Rose,” which will be situated on a 588-acre property with natural rolling topography and long views.

In a unique collaborative effort, Watson, Todd and Kirk will provide input in helping shape the course, which is the vision of another Georgia Bulldogs golfer: Nick Cassini, a two-time All-American who played on the 2001 U.S. Walker Cup team. Cassini, who played at Georgia from 1999 to 2001 and was teammates with Watson, is a co-founder and developer of The Rose Golf Club with his brother Dimitri.

“I met Tripp on a recent visit to The Rose property and he shared a vision for blending tradition and modern design using the natural landscape that sounded incredible,” said Watson, who won the Masters in Augusta, Georgia — about 95 miles from Athens — in 2012 and 2014. “I believe Tripp is the right person to help us build a course that is special and unique.”

Construction on the course will start this summer, becoming the latest new golf construction project in the state. Two Georgia destination properties are in the process of building new courses, with McLemore adding a second 18-hole course in The Keep, and Reynolds Lake Oconee bolstering its golf-rich portfolio with another nine holes from Tom Fazio to give the property a seventh 18-hole layout.

The Rose Golf Club, meanwhile, is named after the state flower of Georgia, the Cherokee Rose. The club’s vision is to create a strategically interesting and varied golf course over firm and fast conditions, Davis says. Dramatic bunkering and native grasses will frame shots over a rolling landscape with unique landforms.