LACC North, the restoration

[Jon Spaulding]

Might this eventually be considered the greatest large scale restoration effort in US history? The North opens for play next week.

The work by Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner, and Geoff Shackelford is nothing short of inspired from both a visual as well as historic perspective.

The course returns to the Thomas "course within a course" concept, with holes #7 and #11 playing as long 3's, OR short 4's. #5 to play as a short or long 4 depending on pin location.

#6 returns to the wonderful, option laden short 4 as depicted by Geoff's sketch in "The Captain". #2 returns to a long, ball busting 4 across the creekbed to a well contoured green, matching up with the Thomas 2nd hole theorem. A multitude of foliage has been removed throughout, and fairway corridors have been widened, including the removal of all rough in the adjoining 10th and 16th fairways.

Here are a few photos to start the conversation.

Fowler's original 17th, playing as a 19th hole


#8 Before:


#8 After:


#6 Before


#6 After

[Jonathan Cummings]

So when's my invite??? 

[Brian Joines]

Those pictures are great, thanks for sharing! The bunker improvements are really striking. I can't wait to see the rest.

[Anthony_Nysse]

Looks like Gil, Geoff and Russ have a tremendous product on their hands!

[Matthew Schulte]

Beard Puller:

Thanks for showing.  What a dramatic change!  That took a lot of courage.

[Greg Ohlendorf]

The bunkering looks great! Can't wait to see more.

[Alex Miller]

W O W !  

I had the fortune to play LACC North four years ago and the difference from these photos seems night and day! I love the changes to #6, which I could tell was a diamond in the rough (literally) when I played there. Can't wait to see more photos. Also if 2 is a par 4, the course is 35-35 now, correct? Is 8 30 yards shorter?

[Tim Leahy]

So when's my invite???  

2012 Kings Putter site?

[Alex Miller]

So when's my invite??? 

2012 Kings Putter site?

2022 US Open Site? 

[Jon Spaulding]

Matt, they don't allow beard pulling or shorts at LACC

I'll advise the club that this esteemed group is interested in having KP2012 there and report back with a resounding "no".

New #2 green (roughly the same location as old #8 green)


#2 green, back of new #3 tee (note tree clearing back in 2nd fairway)


#3 tee shot (same, only 20 yards longer)


#3 green before (thanks Harbottle)


#3 green after (with restored boomerang feature )


#4 Before


#4 After (I believe there is still some work to be done on the fronting wash)

[Joel_Stewart]

You just have to wonder what John Harbottle III was thinking and what is he thinking now?

Will he take LACC off his web site?
http://www.harbottledesign.com/projects.html

[Jeff_Mingay]

Very, very, very interesting.

I have to agree with you, Jon. This may very well be one of the most important restoration efforts to date, throughout the world.

All the best to Gil, Jim, Geoff and their team there, at LACC North.

[rjsimper]

Wow. The bunkers look awesome.

[Jay Cox]

Does anyone have photos showing the bunker style at LACC from the orignal design through this restoration?  I think it would be extremely interesting to see and discuss the full progression.

[Jon Spaulding]

Wow. The bunkers look awesome.

digital sarcasm.....

[Jon Spaulding]

Does anyone have photos showing the bunker style at LACC from the orignal design through this restoration?  I think it would be extremely interesting to see and discuss the full progression.

Jay, I have a couple of comparisons but would need to get certain permissions to post in a public forum.

From what I have seen, the "new" bunkering will match up extremely well with the 1928 Bell bunkering once some weathering occurs.

The club took great measures (a test area) to compare different strains of grass to see which would hold the Bell look the best and minimize maintenance.

[Jon Spaulding]

You just have to wonder what John Harbottle III was thinking and what is he thinking now?

Will he take LACC off his web site?
http://www.harbottledesign.com/projects.html

The LACC job was a long time ago. Perhaps the man learned something. Well, then again, maybe not .

Most comical is the cheesy photo of him in the club history. Might as well have had a caption saying "Hi, I'm Troy McClure, you might remember me from renovations such as _____"

[Kris Shreiner]

Jon,

Thanks for those great pictures and comments. I've always held LACC North in high regard, and that was BEFORE this restoration. WOW! The course, to me, was very challenging, yet fair. I'd rate it tops in So Cal for my money. How good will that Walker Cup be ....I'm there all week long if I'm breathing!

[Chip Gaskins]

Jon

Great update, thanks!  Course looks really good.

Simply comparing the before and after I have to wonder how LACC was even rated so high with those round uneventful greens.

Also what type of grass for the renovation?  I think it was common bermuda before,no?

Thanks
Chip

[Jon Spaulding]

Jon

Great update, thanks!  Course looks really good.

Simply comparing the before and after I have to wonder how LACC was even rated so high with those round uneventful greens.

Also what type of grass for the renovation?  I think it was common bermuda before,no?

Thanks
Chip

Round, uneventful, but the best conditioned and quickest these eyes have seen combined with slope amounted to a decent test.

Even the new version has relatively benign greens with respect to contour, similar to say a Kinloch. The property is interesting enough already, no need to have beard puller style internal mounding and whatnot.

The turf is the same; bent greens, bermuda everywhere else. I am unsure of the exact type they settled on for the bunker fingers.

[Mike Cirba]

Jon,

Thanks for posting those terrific pictures.   This is very much a very important restoration, much like Sleepy Hollow is back east.

I spoke to Jim a few times over this past year about LACC and his excitement about the work was palpable.   Gil just gives that standard response, "it's pretty cool". 

I'm hoping to see more of their work before too long at a place near and dear to my heart, but it's great to see that they are getting to put their artistry to work, even in these difficult economic times.

[Joel_Stewart]

You just have to wonder what John Harbottle III was thinking and what is he thinking now?

Will he take LACC off his web site?
http://www.harbottledesign.com/projects.html

The LACC job was a long time ago. Perhaps the man learned something. Well, then again, maybe not .

Most comical is the cheesy photo of him in the club history. Might as well have had a caption saying "Hi, I'm Troy McClure, you might remember me from renovations such as _____"

How many years ago, 8?  Considering they have been planning this and now the course has been closed for a year, it seems they started thinking about it maybe a year after Harbottle finished his work.  (They also delayed it for 6 months to a year when the financial markets collapsed). I applaud LACC for seeing their mistakes and fixing them.  I wish more clubs (like Olympic, Medinah and even Augusta) would recognize bad judgement and restore their courses.

[Jon Spaulding]

You just have to wonder what John Harbottle III was thinking and what is he thinking now?

Will he take LACC off his web site?
http://www.harbottledesign.com/projects.html

The LACC job was a long time ago. Perhaps the man learned something. Well, then again, maybe not .

Most comical is the cheesy photo of him in the club history. Might as well have had a caption saying "Hi, I'm Troy McClure, you might remember me from renovations such as _____"

How many years ago, 8?  Considering they have been planning this and now the course has been closed for a year, it seems they started thinking about it maybe a year after Harbottle finished his work.  (They also delayed it for 6 months to a year when the financial markets collapsed). I applaud LACC for seeing their mistakes and fixing them.  I wish more clubs (like Olympic, Medinah and even Augusta) would recognize bad judgement and restore their courses.

The club history is dated 1997.....and includes the master plan by Harbottle, along with photos of the "restored" course. So this has been a long time coming.

I agree with your comments on those other places. My hope is that Riviera and Bel Air see the error of their ways (Fabio) at some point in the near future.

[Jim Eder]

Firstly, THANK YOU for the pictures!!  I was eagerly anticipating seeing the work and I must say it looks AMAZING!!! I have always loved LACC North and this work appears to have elevated the course even further. I dare say could it be in the top 5 in the country now? Congratulations to the membership for taking on this step and having the courage to do the right thing. And congratulations to Gil, Geoff, and Jim for a job that looks extremely well done. It is wonderful to see the return of the "course within a course" which in my opinion is just wonderful.  George Thomas is my favourite architect and a return to his vision is tremendous. I wish we had more examples of his genius and fine work. Congratulations to all for this wonderful return to superbness!!!  And thanks again for sharing the pictures. An absolute delight!!!

I wish the membership at Bel Air would take a look at this work and make the same excellent decisions LACC has made................... We can only hope........................................

[Adam Clayman]

Thanks Jon for the update

The irony, in the whole, is how it takes balls to do the right thing.

Cirba mentions Sleepy Hollow, but also Mark Struder at Oakmont and places like Shinnecock, deserve partial credit for paving the way. GCA.com too.