Del Paso CC (Sacramento, CA) to host 2015 US Senior Open

[David_Tepper]

Del Paso CC will host the 2015 US Senior Open. I believe Kyle Phillips did a major renovation of the course 5-7 years ago. I also recall Del Paso hosted the US Womens Open 15-20 year ago. Does anyone know the original GCA of the course? Flynn?

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/04/02/sacramento-snags-2015-u-s-senior-open-golf-tournament/

[Matthew Petersen]

Kyle' site says:

"Original Private John Black Course Opened 1916"

[Kevin_Reilly]

Remember this thread from 2003 or so?  DT, it is Fowler.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,6953.0/wap2.html

[David_Tepper]

Kevin -

Thanks for digging that thread up. I vaguely remembered there was such a thread and I did recall that one of the "golden age" guys did some work on the course back in the day. I also seem to remember that, at the time, Tommy N. was rather upset that Kyle Phillips was going to do a renovation rather than a restoration.   

DT

[Matt_Cohn]

Wow! That's really cool. I wonder if they'll narrow up the fairways a lot? They're pretty wide now. But I can attest that they can get those greens HARD.

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

Remember this thread from 2003 or so?  DT, it is Fowler.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,6953.0/wap2.html

whew.... i'm emotionally exhausted after reading through those archives.  So, in the end... what did Del Paso end up with?  Among the treehouse members of the time, there was much consternation about what the course would look like at the other end of redo (this is my term to encompass either renovation and/or restoration).  Was there much Fowler to left to restore?  Was the spirit of Fowler's work and strategies adhered to throughout the rest of the work?  Most importantly, are the members happy with their course?

Since this thread orginally aired back in '03, Phliips went on to redo Cal Club in what I'd imagine can only be called in "the spirit of..." Macan and/or Mackenzie.  Some original holes were dusted off and polished up, while new holes and new routing options were introduced.  All to great fanfare -- here and in the golf medai.  How does his work at Cal Club (and can we even) compare to Del Paso? 

Either way, congrats to Del Paso for getting the nod to host this tourney.

WW

[Tim Leahy]

I played both the old Del Paso and the new and Kyle did a great job in my opinion of keeping the character of the old course but making it a championship venue that can hold qualifiers and Opens and really test the golfers. Some of the new par fours are as tough as any I have played and will be a great test.

[David_Tepper]

Wayne W. -

The September 14, 2007 issue of GolfWorld (an issue devoted to architecture) had a fairly lengthy article devoted to the Kyle Phillips renovation of Del Paso. The article went thru how the idea of a renovation was sold to the members, the work KP did and the impact the renovation had on Del Paso's fortunes.

Unfortunately, I can't pull up the article on the web. I do remember that the article was very positive and it was clear that the renovation had rejuvenated Del Paso's membership and raised the club's profile in the Sacramento area.

DT   

[Pete Lavallee]

What did the membership end up doing at Del Paso? Did they get a brand new Kyle phillips course "in the spirit of Fowler" or did they restore the Fowler they had?

[David_Tepper]

Pete L. -

If I recall the article correctly, it was a renovation, not a restoration. I believe the routing of some of the holes was changed and several green sites were moved.

KP makes some reference to the work done at Del Paso in this interview:

http://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/Article/Interview-Kyle-Phillips/1422/Default.aspx

I wish that GolfWorld article was available online, as it described the whole situation.

DT  

[Kyle Henderson]

What did the membership end up doing at Del Paso? Did they get a brand new Kyle phillips course "in the spirit of Fowler" or did they restore the Fowler they had?

At a GCA gathering circa 2006, Phillips said he did a complete overhaul in a style reminiscent of Perry Maxwell's Southern Hills.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Some aerial pics from the club's website:

1926


1930


1937


1960


1970


2007 (maybe someone can update/improve this with Google Earth)

[Kevin_Reilly]

Drat, forgot to re-size those.

[Mike Benham]

Some aerial pics from the club's website:

1926


1930


1937


1960


1970


2007 (maybe someone can update/improve this with Google Earth)

[Kevin_Reilly]

Thanks for the assistance.

[Joel_Stewart]

Now attention is drawn to Sacramento and the Senior Open.

[Adam Clayman]

BRAVO!

[Jeff Bergeron]

Nice golf course. Devoid of interest.

[Carl Rogers]

Nice golf course. Devoid of interest.

I watched a fair amount of it yesterday and I have to agree .... the USGA could hold the event anywhere there are rock hard greens and 4 inch rough.  On the tube, it is hard to differentiate one hole from the next.

[Tim Leahy]

Nice golf course. Devoid of interest.

I watched a fair amount of it yesterday and I have to agree .... the USGA could hold the event anywhere there are rock hard greens and 4 inch rough.  On the tube, it is hard to differentiate one hole from the next.

Then you are not watching too closely. Pavin called these green the best he has EVER played.

[David_Tepper]

"U.S. Senior Open begs for an encore"

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article25736740.html

[Matt_Cohn]

Nice golf course. Devoid of interest.

Uh, sounds like you haven't played it?

[Mike Benham]

Pavin called these green the best he has EVER played.

I believe he said that the greens were the best he ever "putted on", in reference to the smoothness and trueness of the greens.  I don't believe his comment was in regards to the undulations and contours of the green complexes.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Was in CA and went to one day of the Senior Open.

Would agree that Kyle redid the course in Maxwell fashion.  Not my favorite style, but he pulled it off well.  Seems like he did a lot of re-routing from the aerial photos and the one visit I made to the course when designing in nearby Davis about 15 years ago.

I liked the contouring of the greens a lot. 

Also saw many fw where he had drainage swales to one side.  The main hazard wasn't the bunkers, but rather, if you hit the fw, you had a mostly level lie, but if you drifted off to the rough, you probably had a 10-15% side slope - not unplayable, but not as easy as the fw for both grass height and slope, both making the shot more difficult.

[Kalen Braley]

Heres the current routing, looks like he made quite a few changes...