Brambles (Duncan, Coore & Crenshaw)

[Michael Chadwick]

It’s worth celebrating that two premier clubs, Brambles and Ladera, have recently opened in California, a state where building a new course is fraught with challenge. I haven’t been to Ladera yet, but I wanted to see Brambles early, so I signed up for a Fried Egg ClubTFE event to take two walks around the design. Though Brambles is in Coore and Crenshaw’s portfolio, the course is arguably James Duncan’s, a longtime lead associate of theirs, who founded the club and brought his idea to realization over the course of the last dozen years.



Part of Duncan’s vision for Brambles is that the authenticity of its design architecture, maintenance practices, and club ethos will culminate in noteworthy land stewardship and sustainable operations. The club selected drought resistant zoysia for fairways and greens, and its superintendent hopes to be among the least intensive water users in all of American golf. A herd of sheep are used to maintain rough. There is a deliberate attempt for the course to tie-in naturally with its foothill valley and surrounding oak groves, and perhaps a byproduct of not wanting to be too interventionist is that the course’s grow-in has taken time. The hazards, mounding, and outlying areas still appear quite raw as they undergo preparation to be planted with native perennial grasses. Once the transition zones from zoysia to native get established, I have no doubt the course will meld with its surrounds as well as the state’s best inland examples like LACC, Valley Club, and Rustic Canyon.



Already there is much to enjoy. The ball runs along the fairway’s micro contours. The green shaping is stellar, subtle in the ways we appreciate C&C’s work, but large slopes inject flair into the complexes, like the steepness of a tiered ridge on the par 3 3rd, or a front hollow on the par 5 7th, or the gargantuan waves of the par 3 16th. The 1st green is an intricate marvel, guarded by a shallow but penalizing barranca—a hazard frequently deployed throughout the course, cutting through holes like veins on 1, 2, 9, 11, and 17. Every green has a captivating feature, even if I can’t directly recall them from every pad after an initial visit.


1st



1 green

The opening hole has an elevated tee adjacent to the clubhouse, playing to a long fairway set at an angle reminiscent of Machrihanish’s opener. A shallow but severe barranca guards one of the best contoured saddle greens on the course. The scorecard, as of now, does not have par assigned to holes, so it’s up to you or your opponent whether it’s a handshake par 5 or a stout par 4.


2

The 2nd is a nice, minimal par 4 with a crossing ditch set on a diagonal in the landing zone, though a good drive from the appropriate tee should carry it. Nice potato chip green with more slope in the front than appears. 


3

3 is a sub 150 yd par 3, flanked by deep bunkers, with a severe slope from the upper back portion of the green. Probably my favorite of the one-shots.


4 tee


4 approach

On the longer par 4 4th, a specimen valley oak stands sentinel along the inside of the dogleg. Its trunk is rooted in the course’s deepest barranca that continues along the left side of the fairway to the green, yet the natural inclination to veer right is complicated by a perfectly placed centerline fairway bunker. The player who splits the oak and the bunker is rewarded with the straight view to an uphill green site nestled in an oak grove.


5 tee


5 approach

The drivable par 4 5th is bound to be a favorite, featuring a blind tee shot and laid over the property’s most rambunctious land. A cavernous bunker protects short left of the green, so best to play the tee ball further right on the hillside and allow the slopes to feed the ball towards the green. Those who lay up still face a testy pitch to a green benched on the hill; anything too aggressive without enough spin can tumble over the back. Wonderful architecture when there are trade-offs for either decision off the tee!

6 (not pictured) is a long par 4 with a significant bunker protecting the inside elbow of a dogleg left. Out of bounds runs the entire right hand side, a theme that continues onto the 7th.


7 tee


7 approach


7 looking back

The par 5 7th has perhaps the course’s most fascinating contours on approach and around its green. Similar to Talking Stick North’s 2nd, out of bounds runs along an entire side. While there is ample width off the tee, the fairway constricts closer to the green. The land features terrific rolls approaching one of the best greens on property, with a pronounced hollow front left, creating a diabolical tongue surrounded by hazard for tournament pins.   


8

8 is mid-length par 3 with a raised berm obscuring a portion of the putting surface. Our pins were located in the front, but there is a large amount of fill lifting the back end of the green.


9

The 9th is a tactical delight. It resembles a flatter version of Pasatiempo’s 11th, but its green is as if St. Andrews’ Road hole was oriented front to back instead of right to left. A ditch guards the fairway along the left, before becoming a crossing hazard fronting the right side of the green. Any approach that errs too far left has to contend with a lion’s mouth/road hole bunker to reach the putting surface. The hole also has shades of North Berwick’s Pit 13th, for they share the same tee to green strategy; the player who best flirts with the left hazard retains the shorter yardage and better angle on the next shot.


10

10 is an uphill par 4 with a pesky centerline bunker. Great rolling tiers on this elevated green site.


11 tee


11 looking back

11 is a downhill, split fairway short par 4. Part of me wishes the hole played longer, to really encourage selecting the appropriate fairway for the best angle in on the 2nd shot. A few guys instead risked the hazard and attempted to bomb driver as close to the green as possible. If you look closely you can see the wide but shallow green has a thumbprint impression in the middle, which, given the left pin, made our tee balls onto the end of the right fairway a poor choice, since we had such little room to land our pitches!

12 (not pictured) is a longer par 3, over 200 yards from the back tee.


13

13 is an uphill par 4 1/2. I was able to reach the green, though with the benefit of playing downwind. Raised mounding pinches into the fairway in the landing zone. Playing a long approach left of the green is the more conservative play, but beware the massive bunker.


14 in background

14 is a potentially drivable par 4, with a raised green protected by two deep fronting bunkers. The green is situated on a neat intersecting ridge close to 3 green, 4 tee, and a short walk over to 15 tee.

15 deserves pictures, but for some reason I failed to not be distracted by the playing of it twice over. The tee shot is partially blind by a sidehill from left to right, yet what’s visible rightward is a significant fairway bunker, perhaps the largest on the course along with the one on the 6th hole. A good drive still leaves a fairly long approach to an elevated green perched in a foothill, with what’s likely the most severe fall off from the front of the putting surface. A very neat hole, playing into the area not far from the beautiful fourth. Certainly the most intimate area of the course given the greens’ proximity to peaceful oak groves.


16

16 is a thumper of a par 3, 246 from the back tee and still 226 from the 6,600 middle tees. Its brawny size correlates to a Carnoustie scaled wall of a bunker guarding short left of the gargantuan green. A steep fall off on the right collects running in balls not reaching the putting surface directly in line. The green has wavy forms delineating a high back right and a low front left. 15 and 16 are stout back to back holes at the crux of a match.


17

17 reviews keys themes the course has presented throughout its routing, with a hazard cutting between two fairways in the landing zone. It’s a potentially reachable par 5, and its 2nd shot reminded me of an uphill version of the 14th tee ball. Both green sites have similar fronting bunkers, though the 17th’s conceal a bisecting service road directly behind them en route to an entertaining green with a backstop along its left side. I should’ve played this as a 3 shot, but it comes at the right time when you want to go for glory.


18

18 is a terrific, challenging finisher. A large hazard demarcates the right edge of the fairway and the 1st hole. For the 2nd shot, depth perception of the pin becomes difficult, because the elevated green is so massive, sharing the practice putting area on its same surface closest to the clubhouse. Any miss other than right is acceptable, because missing right brings a sheer fall off towards 1 and deep bunkers, from which the recovery is blind. It’s much more advantageous to err short and left on approach—no wonder they placed an unnerving excision of a bunker in that area to block visibility of the safe miss!

I’m not a rater, and for many new builds, I’m quite content to wait longer and ensure my visit comes when the course is near fully settled. But the backstory and philosophy going into Brambles, particularly as a Californian, was too beguiling for me to be patient. The course will continue evolving, perhaps at a slower pace than more recent counterparts in Aiken, but I think that’s okay, and I have to imagine the members have bought into Duncan’s vision. They’re taking their time but going to do it right, and eventually, the course will appear seamlessly native. Until then, there are plenty of architectural features and conundrums to unravel. Its proximity to Napa is advantageous for a number of reasons, and I bet its members know that, like most fine wine, the aging process is necessary to enjoy its fullest expression. 


[/size]
[/size]Thanks to Andy Johnson, Will Knights, and the Fried Egg team for arranging the day, and congratulations to Brambles’ membership on having an incredibly thoughtful design to enjoy and steward.

[Niall C]

Michael


Thank you for the photo tour. I'm not sure the 1st reminded me of Machrihanish even with the diagonal carry but the 7th did remind me of a hole at Goswick. Overall it looks like a largely ground hugging design which is in keeping with the general topography which I think is to the gca's credit. I'm sure other gca's might have been tempted to shift a lot of dirt and build everything up. I'm glad they didn't, or at least it appears they didn't.


One comment you made which I really didn't understand is below. What do you mean by that ?


Niall


Part of Duncan’s vision for Brambles is that the authenticity of its design architecture, maintenance practices, and club ethos will culminate in noteworthy land stewardship and sustainable operations.

[David_Tepper]

Recent video on how the course will be maintained:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=7MDaMxDVQus

"We want it to play better than we want it to look."

[Niall C]

David


Thanks for the link. I think I know what they mean when they say "plays better than it looks" however to me that's the way it should look and it looks great. Personally I think it would be better not to infer it looks rubbish but that's just me. More and more I'm enjoying courses on open landscapes. Preferable to courses where each hole is secluded from the others.


BTW - James Duncan - sounds maybe from NZ or Oz ?


Niall

[PCCraig]

I really want to see Brambles. Looks amazing and totally my cup of tea.


James Duncan is also doing some good work here in the Twin Cities at Somerset Country Club. Restoring a bunch of the Raynor there.

[Kevin_Reilly]

BTW - James Duncan - sounds maybe from NZ or Oz ?

CV here...except place of birth!


https://www.jhduncan.com/james-bio

[Chris Mavros]

I enjoyed the review, Mike.  Nicely written hole descriptions.  I look forward to getting out there at some point and visiting; it seems they did a great job capturing the natural setting within the structure of play.

[Ben Stephens]

Looks similar to Rustic Canyon - both understated and not 'in your face' golf course.

[Paul Rudovsky]

James Duncan was raised and I believe born in Denmark.


Course looks stunning!

[Philippe Binette]

Finally, a golf course ... not just a sand flash extravaganza...


Simple, understandable golf architecture!!

[Joel_Stewart]

I played it in April with James Duncan and its wonderful, almost epic since the golf course is located in a valley on 660 acres. With that said  it wasn't ready to play as the zoysia grass needs more time to mature. The greens were only running about a 6 so putting wasn't really possible. I know they've had a summer of play (the course was closed in August) some friends went last week and said its still not grown in enough to enjoy it to its potential.  My guess is next year will be much better.


One of the things they did was not build USGA spec greens. As a result you have these large beautiful natural contours like Prairie Dunes or Sand Hills which is something you rarely see these days. I hope it works because even though its located close to the Napa Valley with the vineyards enjoying great soil, this site wasn't blessed with great soil.     

[Brett Hochstein]

I played it in April with James Duncan and its wonderful, almost epic since the golf course is located in a valley on 660 acres. With that said  it wasn't ready to play as the zoysia grass needs more time to mature. The greens were only running about a 6 so putting wasn't really possible. I know they've had a summer of play (the course was closed in August) some friends went last week and said its still not grown in enough to enjoy it to its potential.  My guess is next year will be much better.


One of the things they did was not build USGA spec greens. As a result you have these large beautiful natural contours like Prairie Dunes or Sand Hills which is something you rarely see these days. I hope it works because even though its located close to the Napa Valley with the vineyards enjoying great soil, this site wasn't blessed with great soil.     

Joel:


The zoysia is coming along pretty well after a full season. As of a week ago, there is a good amount of bounce and roll through the fairways and greens surrounds.  I putted a few from well off the green (15-25 yards) without much problem, and unlike say the bent surrounds at some places, it wasn't always an automatic putter pull, which I liked.  Some spots are "stickier" than others, but I imagine they only get tightened up with time.  The greens must have really sped up a lot over the year, as they felt to me to be over 10, even with a fresh topdressing. That felt about right to me too with the amount of contours both big and small.


Brambles is really cool, and I love that they've pushed for something that is both different to most all of American golf yet feels perfectly in place within the rustic NorCal setting.  Their patient approach, which is ongoing, is really starting to pay off and only will more over time, especially as they start to devote strong attention to the native areas off the fairways over this winter and beyond. Longterm thinking and dedication toward it is all too lacking these days. It's special to actually see such an approach in action with the envisioned payoffs coming to life along the way.


One last note--soil for growing grapes is not good soil for growing grass, and soil for growing grass (probably) isn't good for growing grapes  . In general, it's the same heavy stuff across the whole region, minus sandy bits along the coast. That said, the fairways at Brambles are doing pretty darn well on the native NorCal clay. Generally seems to be the case with warm season grasses, which are typically hardier and more adaptable to less-than-ideal growing conditions.

[Matt Schoolfield]

An accompanied round for three at Brambles is one of the items available in this years SF Public Golf Alliance auction.

https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/32690/auctions/169818/auction_items/5661111

I know this is one of the more exciting courses this year, and it's already got a ton of attention and acclaim, so I thought that might be of interest to folks in this thread.

[Craig Sweet]

Looks like angles matter at Brambles.

[Kevin_Reilly]

One last note--soil for growing grapes is not good soil for growing grass, and soil for growing grass (probably) isn't good for growing grapes  . In general, it's the same heavy stuff across the whole region, minus sandy bits along the coast. That said, the fairways at Brambles are doing pretty darn well on the native NorCal clay. Generally seems to be the case with warm season grasses, which are typically hardier and more adaptable to less-than-ideal growing conditions.

Brett, as you know well, the clay-based soil in Orinda is terrible for F&F golf, yet it (Orinda CC) is firm throughout the year.  Hopefully will be the same at Brambles in the years to come.

[Brett Hochstein]

One last note--soil for growing grapes is not good soil for growing grass, and soil for growing grass (probably) isn't good for growing grapes  . In general, it's the same heavy stuff across the whole region, minus sandy bits along the coast. That said, the fairways at Brambles are doing pretty darn well on the native NorCal clay. Generally seems to be the case with warm season grasses, which are typically hardier and more adaptable to less-than-ideal growing conditions.

Brett, as you know well, the clay-based soil in Orinda is terrible for F&F golf, yet it (Orinda CC) is firm throughout the year.  Hopefully will be the same at Brambles in the years to come.

It helps when you have a great superintendent who can flip that around to their advantage through restraint and other practices. It also helps to have done tons of drainage and topdressing work over the years, which is what helps to get by in the winter when there is no control over how much water the course takes.  When there is a drier winter, though, with control over irrigation and how much water the course takes (amidst cooler temps), look out.  Some of the fastest/firmest conditions I've experienced in this country were at the tail end of the dry 2022 winter at Orinda. 


Good and great grass can be grown on terrible soil, but the margin for error is far slimmer than something free-draining. Heavy clay is almost always in a state of "too wet" or "too dry," and changing from one state to the other is difficult and time consuming. Straddling that narrow ideal line in between the two is the challenge, a challenge many of the great superintendents in this state don't get enough credit for.