Aerial of the Day #276 - 7 Jan 2003

[Scott_Burroughs]

Here's an aerial requested by more than one person, though
that doesn't necessarily make it a household name.  A bit of
an oxymoron name.

[THuckaby2]

WOW!  You likely had to do some
searching to find this.. it is pretty
remote.

Round up those aqua-dogeys!

TH

[George_Williams]

Is it in California?

[THuckaby2]

George:  yep.  That has to be very
evident to regulars of Scott's
pics... whenever I chime in, it's
95% certain that's where it is...

TH

[Mike Benham]

I like the Par 4 in the upper left hand corner where the
second shot is between a 5-yard wide gap in the treeline.

[THuckaby2]

Mike - me too - that is one
damn tough hole.  I also strangely
like the hole two holes prior... near
right-angle dog leg left.  Never
have figured out the best way to do
the tee shot there...

There really are many great holes
on this course, many in the relatively
newly added back nine.

On top of that, at least when I was last there
two summers ago, firm and fast
were VERY present... closest approximity
to real links conditions in CA, at least then...

TH

[Scott_Burroughs]

Check out all external features in the aerial to get a gist of
where the course is.

I believe this is the first AOTD from this architect, of whom
one of our own has done work on this course, since he
worked for the name archie.

This club needs to take down a lot of trees to get the agua
views this course deserves.

Mike,

That small gap reminds me of #12 at Prairie Dunes.

[THuckaby2]

One of our own did a LOT of work there.
Hopefully he sees this!

TH

[David_Tepper]

Thanks for the post Scott! Looks like a lot of work was involved, but the post turned out great. While much, much closer to San Francisco than Bandon Dunes, this course is not a whole lot easier to get to. Excellent fish & chips served in the refreshingly modest proshop/clubhouse.

[Scott_Burroughs]

I suppose only one-story homes are allowed here on the ocean.

Where are the cattle and horses?

Holy headstones, Batman, who was that name architect again?

Reach alert! (I'm reaching here, I mean)  The back nine
project archie's wife probably wanted him to work a little
closer to home on this one, may her husband be
granted that wish, with a near-perfect sandy property, his
enthusiastic amateur architect partner in tow, and an owner
who wants what they want and won't step in their way.

[David_Tepper]

Scott-
Actually, instead of cattle and horses, this property (and others along the coast) was more often the domain of sheep and sheep dogs. Now, you are more likely to see deer roaming the course.
Two-storey houses are permitted, but the building codes are VERY strict.
Does anyone know how to pronounce Gualala?
DT  

[Mike Benham]

Is this place for the "Birds"?

Is there a Hawaii connection with Dole Pineapple?

[THuckaby2]

David:

Gwahl-ah-lah.

My uncle lives in Elk, a bit north
of there.  Correct pronunciation
is ingrained.  

TH

[Dan Grossman]

Wow - I've played this course and didn't
even come close to recognizing it.  I made the
poor choice of driving up there and back in one day
from SF.  Not only did it take 6 hours, I got car sick on the 1.

[Scott_Burroughs]

This is The Sea Ranch GL, near Gualala, CA, a few hours up
the coast from SF, designed by Robert Muir Graves.  Our own
Neal Meagher ("may-her") was the project architect on the
back nine (right side of pic), completed in 1996.  Original
nine was completed in 1975.

Yes, Neal conspired with David T. and Gib to suggest Sea
Ranch as an AOTD at dinner last month   .  I knew
about Sea Ranch from an earlier reference from the NorCal
gang sometime last year, when they were suggesting places
to play on the wasy to Bandon.

Here is the layout:



and a better aerial view, chopping off a few holes, showing
proximity to the ocean:



and pics can be found by going here and clicking on any hole:

http://www.888searanch.com/golf_links_layout_map.html

main site of golf course, including a web cam:

http://www.888searanch.com/Golf_Links.html


other clues include:

I was wrong, this was not the first RM Graves AOTD, as
Maderas, also worked on by Neal, was a previous AOTD.

oxymoron-ish name "Sea Ranch"

"round up aqua-dogeys" refers to a sea ranch

can sea ocean in lower left of aerial

"agua views" and need to take down trees to see them.  Go
to the web site and see the ground pics of the holes.  Despite
bordering the ocean, you can see little of it due to the tree
growth.

"one-story homes" = "ranch"-style, on "ocean" ="sea"

"cattle and horses" often found on a "ranch"

"headstones"/architect = "Graves"

"project architect"/"may her" refers to Neal

"Gualala"

"The Birds" was filmed just down the coast in Bodega Bay

"Dole Pineapple/Hawaii" reference is due to the fact that
Castle & Cooke was one of the developers of Sea Ranch,
purchasing 5,200 acres in 1963.  Castle & Cooke owned the
Dole brand at one time ...  (I didn't know this)

[David_Tepper]

Scott-
Thanks again for doing this post.
Looking at the aerial photo you have posted immediately above, one can see how unfortunate it was that the golf course property was given virtually no ocean front exposure when this development was laid out 30-40 years ago. It is a shame that at least 2 or 3 holes could not have been routed along the seaside cliffs, ala 7-8-9-10 at Pebble Beach. Only one par-3 (#8 on the original nine) has any ocean-front exposure and enough houses have been built now that you can no longer even see the ocean from the tee on that hole. You can see the ocean only from the green. Still, Sea Ranch is still a great place to spend a few days. There is a very good, grass-tee driving range and a nice short-game practice area.  

[Neal_Meagher]

Thanks to Scott for posting this AOTD.  If anything, it and the oblique aerial show what is the course's relation to the ocean and what might have been its relation to the ocean.

As I have been told, the planning for the development began in the early-mid-60's which coincided with the beginnings of the California Coastal Commission which was recently discussed on another thread.

As Tom Huckaby mentioned, it is a long way from anyplace, and as such the original nine was sufficient for the first 20 years until permitting, financing and the economy met to allow construction of the other nine in 1995-96.  The new holes more or less follow the original routing done by Mr. Graves in the early 70's.  The real challenge in the new work was in making it feel as much like the other one as possible which proved more difficult than one might think.  We almost pulled it off.  The new work is just a wee tad too moundy.  Live and learn.

Also mentioned here are the trees, of which there are too many, but would you believe that they have actually been removing a lot of them recently?  It used to be really claustrophobic in spots.  

The original nine was a departure for Mr. Graves, using a milder, windswept style that was in keeping with the naturalistic theme of the entire property.  You can see in the aerial that numerous bunkers feature turf islands and some almost straight line edges.  However, the patented wavy edged greens are in full evidence.

It is not without its faults, and a more intimate sense of being seaside could have been ensured by flipping golf with housing, but it stands as one of the lasting designs by the Graves firm; as an Armenian scribe is fond of describing some courses as a museum piece, this one is the physical manifestation of 70's supergrahics, harvest gold and avocado green.  It will be interesting to see it evolve further.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Neal,

Perhaps the ground pics shown on the course web site were
taken before the tree removal.  The aerial does seem to have
fewer trees than those pics.