[Matt_Ward]

I've been to the place twice -- the most recent being earlier this month.

Be curious to know if others have played it and what their thoughts are.

I really liked the design and a number of the holes there are high quality -- no doubt it required plenty of
work to get it ready for a complete 18-hole layout.

Very interesting how David did the routing for the front which occupies the lower half of the property and
how he managed to use the inner half on the top tier of the property which afford some really solid views
of nearby BLM land and in the distance the outlines of Laughlin itself.

I'll weigh in with detailed comments shortly -- interesting to note that Golfweek has it within its top ten
for public play in the Grand Canyon State. Glad to see that because so much of AZ public golf is centered in
and around the greater Phoenix area.

[Forrest Richardson]

I enjoyed the course and especially liked the back nine with its wild holes along the canyon/cliff. I cannot recall the number, but I also really liked the downhill hole on the front where David has the mine shaft. It is among the toughest courses I can ever imagine...from the back with wind howling.

[Tom Yost]

I believe it's spelled Druzisky.

I haven't yet played Laughlin Ranch, but I am familiar with David's work at the Duke at Rancho El Dorado,  a reasonably priced and well conditioned daily fee course in Maricopa AZ.  Although it is part of a real estate development, the Duke has very wide playing corridors and a great mix of holes with intriguing greens complexes.   Having played the Duke several times, I am quite interested in getting over to play Laughlin Ranch.

[Derek Dirksen]

Matt, how was the condition of the course?  When it opened it was in great shape.  The development filed for bankruptcy a couple of years ago.  I hope it is being kept up.  It is a good design and a pretty course.  Fun to play.  A lot of work went in on the construction of it.

[Matt_Ward]

Forrest:

One of the really superb challenging holes is the par-4 14th -- plays roughly 450 yards and goes downhill but generally into the prevailing headwind. You need to reach a specific landing pad and from there play to a well contoured green that is much wider than deeper.

Agree with you -- when the wind is up you really need to bear down when playing there. Hard to fathom how the course only cracks the top ten -- I can make a very solid case that with firm and fast conditions it's certainly a viable candidate for my personal top five AZ public courses.

Derek D:

Sadly, the course was recently aerified shortly before a played it -- likely about 7 days prior. It was healing but to complicate matters the turf was really moist - not saturated but hardly anything close to ideal. Still I can remember my first time there and seeing it play more firmer and faster than my just concluded recent play.

Unfortunately, when you are attempting to sell homes that are not selling it's better to keep the place in verdant green shape than to allow even a speck of brown color to intrude.

LR with top tier playing conditions would only add to the aura in playing there. No doubt the heat you get now is counter-balancd by the more ideal temperatures you get in the Fall and much of the Winter months.


Gents:

One of the best uphill public holes you can play in all of AZ is the 10th at LR. Plays far beyond it's listed 446 yards. Tee shot must favor the left side -- but it's a big carry to avoid deadsville if you pull it. Well crafted solitary bunker guards the right third of the green and you need to pull 2-3 clubs more than the yardage indicates even if the wind is behind you which it often is.

[Matt_Ward]

The difficult thing for LV will be those who want walking as an option. It's a tough walk no doubt but I imagine there are those who can do it.

I really liked what was accomplished here although I did err -- Golfweek rated it #11 among public layouts in AZ.

Wish them well as they try to sell homes around the course. Plenty to offer there no doubt.

[David Druzisky]

Great!  A thread on Laughlin Ranch.  Thanks Matt for making it out there - twice at that - and thinking enough of it to start a post.  I have always wondered how many on this site have had the opportunity to get to Laughlin/Bullhead City and play it because I have not seen much on it here and am not one to post on my own stuff.  It is not that far from Vegas so visiting it would be tied into a trip to Sin City more so than Phoenix.  Same type of trek as going to Mesquite but with better casinos and water sports.  The course is wide, full of options and the features are well crafted so it has much of what everyone on this site looks for in an enjoyable golfing experience.

Thanks for the kind words about it.  It required significant attention on my part to develop and I think it was worth it.  Difficult site and fast paced effort.  Fortunately a big budget helped at least until the money ran out shortly after it opened up.  At least we made it that far I guess before this economic mess came along.

Matt:   Glad you like 10 and 14.  I thought 10 would be sneaky good because of the green and the type of golf shots that would be required to get to it, and many have told me 14 is the best driving hole - you must like your driver.  This can be a tough time of year there for maintenance as they are probably trying to hold onto the rye a little longer.  Getting through memorial Day is key to them.  After that is it just bloody hot!  It is definitely best when dry because there are plenty nursing slopes and ground game options to help players manage the wind.  We plated the entire course with 12" of sandy soil that included Profile so it should be easy to maintain that trait.  Yep, definitely not walkable with nearly 400' of vertical relief from one end to the other.

With the development being in Bankruptcy they are managing the course on about 1/2 staff levels.  I have not been there in quite some time so I have heard differing reports on its presentation but mostly positive.  I am sure they are doing their best and hopefully it helps that it was built so well.  It is still a tough climate to manage a course in at times and sometimes Mother Nature will weigh in no matter your resources.

Would love to hear from others that may have played it - good or bad.  Good thing is I can always blame the weather for the bad.
If I can remember how, I should post a couple photos to help peak some curiosity at least.

Tom:  Great to hear you like The Duke.  (Also thanks for the spelling correction on my easy to remember Western Pennsylvania Ukranian name.)  The course was intended from the beginning to be a quality course of value within the market while helping establish Maricopa and the associated housing/development.  Considering that the area was the fastest selling market in the world back when we opened the course I think it worked well overall for my clients.  Many tell me they think the course is really fun to play (wide and accommodating) and sneaky good.  It only gets overlooked because of the houses it weaves through.  The course had to satisfy a lot of development retention and detention drainage needs too so that dictated some of the design.  Not sure many can tell though.

It was recently purchased and the new owners want to make sure it is at it was originally intended to be so it looks like I am going to get out there soon to see if it is. The only thing that it may be lacking - I have not been out there in several years - may be the short cut areas around the greens.  They were a key ingredient in the design with the large greens falling off in multiple directions.

I hope you get a chance to make it out to LR.  In the Spring the drive from Phoenix for the most part is really pretty (I only made it about 100 times!) and unlike Veagas the casino lodging is cheap.

[Matt_Ward]

David:

The site in general -- and what you had to do to overcome the natural obstacles that went with it is a big part of the story of LR.

I like the course but the turf conditions when I was there most recently were just not that good -- too much H20 had been dumped onto the course and absent firm and fast conditions I had to just think how the course would play under more ideal circumstances.

David, by all means post some pics - especially ones you have on #10 and #14.

I agree the harsh hot / dry climate does play a major role -- but it seems as the primary driving force is to keep the course GREEN no matter how it might / does impact the architectural elements you so wisely provided.

[Matt_Ward]

David:

I think so much of what keeps LR in the background is the location and the inability for people -- even those associated with various rating polls and the like -- to see beyond the same "names" which often time dominate the discussion concerning course architecture.

I've been to LR twice and it's trully a marvelous creation givren the elevatiion changes you had to overcome. The course is well done --although I would enjoy seeing it in more optimum conditions.

No doubt you are right about the focus on Mesquite, NV -- but the Laughline area could use another star course to really tilt the meter in its favor. I've played Mohave and The Refuge and both are good but not anywhere near the likes of LR.

I wish the facility well but it's clear that unless they ramp up the meter in terms of their overall exposure they will continue to languish. That would be a pity. Before going -- can you forward me your direct cel # ? Forward me via the internal message system here on this site or via my direct e-mail at mattwardgolf@hotmail.com

[Derek Dirksen]

Here are a few picks from construction and when I played the front nine.  We were not quite finished with the back nine yet.


Hole 1


Hole 1 - view from the 1st landing area


Hole 1 - view into the green complex


Hole 1 - view of the green


Hole 2


Hole 2


Hole 2 - view from the green towards the tees


Hole 3 -


Hole 3


Hole 4

[Derek Dirksen]

I didnt mean to post the last reply so quick.  Anyway here are a few more photos.

Hole 2


Hole 4


Hole 4


Hole 4 - green from cart path


Hole 4 - green


Hole 4 - green


Hole 4 - view back up the hole to the tee


Hole 4


Hole 4 - view of the mine shaft


Hole 4 -


Hole 5 -


Hole 8 - during construction


Hole 8


Hole 8 - close up of left upper fairway and bunker


Hole 8


Hole 9


Hole 13 - during binker construction


Hole 13


Hole 13 - after sodding before native planting


Hole 14


Hole 14 - view into green complex


Hole 18

[Matt_Ward]

Derek:

Thanks for posting the pics !

It's an amazing testament to what was needed in order to complete the course.

I like the routing because it could easily have become an impossible course to play -- that's not the case.

The issue now is one of daily playing conditions -- when I first played the course it played rather firm and fast. My last visit
there about two weeks ago was incredibly moist -- the greens were also rather slow. No doubt there's a desire to keep the place
green to make sure people don't get turned of by a "brown" golf course.

LR requires plenty of skilsl with the driver -- I really like the par-4 14th because the drive needs to go down the right side but that' where the greatest amount of danger is located. The narrow green is also well done and handles only the best of plays.

[Derek Dirksen]

David

Renee, still puts the dozer xmas orniment you gave me on the tree every year.  Thought you might get a kick out of that!!! 

[Matt_Ward]

The interesting aspect for Laughlin Ranch is how often a developing marletplace really needs a second course to provide an added bump of excitement. You can see that situation in a variety of ways ... Mesquite is a good example, St. George is another, ditto the Santa Fe / Albuquerque area. Laughlin and the Bullhead City area just across the Colorado River is in need for such an addition.

No doubt the financials will need to sort themselves out for the re-emergence of Laughlin Ranch. Like I said before -- the site is indeed an impressive accomplishment to get the quality golf that's there although turf conditions were too soft for my liking -- but clearly the main needs are to survive through the existing tough times and see what shakes out after that.

[David Druzisky]

That is a key point Matt.  While many markets are over served and we are seeing a thinning of some of those, there do remain some areas that would benefit from more golf and in other I believe new or better golf to add to or replace old poor courses.

I was in the midst of routing the 2nd course for LR when the development ran into trouble.  The existing course had pretty good numbers for its first year.  The location there in Laughlin/Bullhead attracts something like 4 million visitors a year through the area but it has not been for golf up to this point.  One course - even a good one - is not enough to justify marketing the area for golf or looking to go there for golf.  Mesquite only does well because it has tho one marque course and several others as throw ins for trips to the area that help justify it as a golf destination.  Oasis started that tren there in Mesquite but Wolfe has easily replaced Oasis as Oasis has deteriorated from it's original being.

My client at LR had envisioned up to 4 courses for the entire 8,000 acres at some point.  They all really would have helped each other and created a market where it does not currently exist.  When you package golf with al the other activities offred in the area - especially compared to Mesquite - you would have a great destination.  Gambling, spa, watersports on the river and Lake Mohave, and cheap rooms = good times for many to be had.  There is even an international airport there that accepts 737's and similar!

Even Bandon has gone with the more is better theory.  Introducing a new course every several years or so as been a great way to keep that a fresh market and make the effort much more worth while, especially now in this economy.

You did play the course at about the only time that it would see wet conditions.  holding on the the rye as long as they feel they can is one and then right after overseeding would be the other.  We had discussions about not overseeding there but it gets colder there at night and in the winter than does Phoenix.  So it is hotter and colder!  Vegas is a good 1,000 higher and that makes a difference when trying to compare it to there as well. 

[Matt_Ward]

David:

I also think Laughlin has been hurt by the spreading out of casinos beyond the immediate Nevada area. Not many years ago the casinos industry was centered in only two (2) areas -- Nevada and Atlantic City. Now, they are literally everywhere. Laughling / Bullhead City / Lake Havasu, et al, never really made a golf conscious push like you see with Mesquite and it's Golf Mesquite program.

The golf designs that did come forward were literally unconnected stand alone projects. Having a more united marketing effort, along with a strong companion layout to LR would make a prolonged visit there a better choice. I've played a few of the other layouts there -- I did like what the Palmer people did at The Refuge at Lake Havasu and Mohave is also good in spots. Neither of the two equals what you get at LR though.

David, the issue for Laughlin is that far too many times the casino mindset is to view golf as a way to keep people away from their tables and various games of chance. Vegas suffered from this same mindset for many years and some say it still exists today.

When the economy turns around there might be an opportunity for the players there to form some sort of golf network -- few golf people think of the towns I mentioned as a place for their time and $$.

Yes, I realize the turf reasons you mentioned -- I would just love to play the course in optimum firm and fast conditions because the design elements, as you well know, have been included for just such a purpose.

I'll say this again because it bears repeating - some of the bext examples of uphill holes I have ever played are at LR. The short 2nd works very well -- although a smaller green would have worked a bit better. The 9th and 10th are also well done examples of this type of hole -- especially the starting hole for the inner half with its neatly tucked solitary bunker hugging the far right side of the green.

[David Druzisky]

First time I have heard someone thinking the green on 2 could be smaller.  It has some very distinct areas with pretty good transitional slopes within to it that come into play depending on your choice or result off the tee.  I think if you played the course with green speeds anticipated at around 10 and firmer conditions as you are wishing for you might think it okay as is if not treacherous at certain angles of approach.  Both this hole and 16 I thought really came out nicely for short uphill par 4's.  But, then again I am biased.

DbD

[Matt_Ward]

David:

I guess I would change my mind if I played the green at real speeds -- my last visit was more akin to taking shoulder turns to get 10-foot putts to the hole.

I agree that green speeds would clearly dictate a range of strategic elements that were not readily seen when I played there.

I do agree with your take on #16 -- I also like what #12 offers. Love that blind tee shot over the hill !!!

[David Druzisky]

Here is a stab at some photos.

Hole 12 from the tees followed by the view down to the perched green from the top of the hill/landing area.

[Matt_Ward]

David:

Just a quick question -- was there much earthmoving and shaping with the 12th hole ?

I like the way it sets-up at the tee -- many people will bailout to the right but that's the worst place
to go -- challenging the left side is the smarter play but it takes a bit more from the execution side of
things.

[David Druzisky]

I would say 12 was one of the least graded holes.  We had to take the tee area down to get the tees as far left as possible to create the angle and a slight view of the green from the back tees.  The green area had some large dozer shaping done on it and to make the tie-ins to the grades above and right.  There are some large lots right of the hole so some of that grading had to do with getting them at keast slightly higher than the hole so the views wouldn't be blocked by the golf.  The entire property slopes up to that hole with the high point of the property at the landing area.  Then, it just falls straight down 120 feet or so into the valley below so the hole is perched on the edge.

Also, I had to design it around a trans continental AT&T fiber optic line that ran across the hole at just below the high point in the landing area/hill so that area was just sort of rolled off or flatened to make it more suitable for use without disturbing that line.

The green is a bit of a punchbowl with the ridge coming across the right front from higher ground to the right back which protects the approach from the right side bail-out.

Here is a before photo taken along the edge between the tees and the landing area with the post identifying the AT&T line and thus the high point of the final design as seen above.

 

[Matt_Ward]

I have to say the only real weak hole for me on the inner half is the lame par-3 13th -- it just doesn't add much to the side. The 12th is a great contrast to what you face with #10 and #11.

[Matt_Ward]

David:

Can you explain how the unique 14th hole came into existence? Also, was the split fairway situation at the 15th hole always something you wanted to do. I don't see the left side option being viable in most circumstances.

[David Druzisky]

I was able to have much more influence on the land plan on the back and the result was being able to save and work around some existing native areas and use them where applicable to the benefit of the golf.  The native area on the inside of the hole there was one of the more subtle areas of the property so creating something that would tie into it would be easier than many of the others.  I was able to route the hole nicely around it as the land slid down the hill.  The down hill aspect allowed visibility of the hole as it moved around the native area and the golfer visible option of the angle to pick off the tee.  I think the land there just sweeps nicely - both what was saved and what was created to compliment it.  Also, as your eye follows that sweep it picks up on some great landmarks beyond along the way.  The bunker does not appear on the same angle so it helps deceive the eye.

As you said the green sits mostly perpendicular to the line of play.  Being a down hill approach with big distant views beyond and wind often in your face I felt distance control would be of a challenge so the fairly shallow green compliments that without too much challenge if you go beyond.  it is a bit more hairy if you go short or especially short left into those deep hazards.  As with most of the greens there is two distinct areas within the surface so that keeps things honest and guarded as well.  Because of the wind there I made the greens big but with pretty good contour within to establish distinct areas.  While better players strive to be in the right area and will need to be to score, average players and less are just happy to be on the green.

Overall the property really made me work hard just to get the grades to work in a manner that didn't look like it and that provided the right kind of lies and stances within primary areas of play.  14 one was one of the few holes that once we made the large cuts to facilitate the development at the edges, it was easy to shape something very attractive and that worked well there.

15 was meant to be optional from the beginning but only on a rare occasion - when the wind is behind you and down the hill.  It is a bit of a leap of faith and probably more suited for a private club.  Thomas' original LA North #6 was the inspiration there.  We positioned several rocks and plants up on the top of the hill you hit over so that eventually you can pick up on the alignment you want.  I also think I would like to see the hole tee set up managed in a manner that on occasion the tees are moved way up to allow that option to come into play more often.  If the tees are moved up, long down the right gets to be a bad choice too.  I believe that there is no reason golf holes can't set up drastically different throughout the week.  We work far too often around par, slope, yardage, handicap etc.  If I wanted to work in numbers I would have been an accountant or something.  Then again, I would be making more money about now too! 

[Matt_Ward]

David:

Best hole at LR is ?


Most underrated hole is ?


Hole that you would have liked to see changed in some meaningful way is ?

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