Courtesy of the Monterey County Herald, via GolfObservers, via Mr. Shackelford.  (NOTE: I still can't find out the name of the architect behind the renovations).

Course changes coming along
By JERRY STEWART
Herald Correspondent

The transformation of Bayonet/Black Horse Golf Courses into Seaside Resort is well underway and so far all signs, as expected, are positive.

Within the last month, six holes on the front nine of the Bayonet Course (which closed in early September) have been re-seeded. Along with the fairways and greens being re-seeded , the bunkers on each of the first six holes now feature white Pebble Beach sand. Another change is the daunting par-4 fifth hole has been altered a bit. Instead of playing fairly straight off the tee, the lengthy hole is now set up to play as a slight dogleg toward the right.

According to Bayonet/Black Horse general manager Joe Priddy, the goal is to have all nine holes on the front of Bayonet re-seeded by the end of October. The renovated front nine is expected to make its debut sometime in April.

"We're very excited. Everything looks great," Priddy said. "Right now the target is to re-open the front nine in April. The way things are going, it could be sooner than that."

The changes at Bayonet and Black Horse courses will coincide with the addition of a 330-room resort hotel and 125 planned residential homes that will surround the layout. The new hotel is set to be built on the site of what is now the two courses' driving range.

When the front nine renovation at Bayonet is completed, either the back nine on the Bayonet course or the front or back nine on the Black Horse course will undergo a facelift. Eventually, each part of each course will be new.

"We're not sure right now what will come next in regards to the courses," Priddy said. "That's a decision that has yet to be made."

One organization that has been keeping a close eye on the proceedings is the United States Golf Association. Bayonet Golf Course has hosted a slew of prominent golf events including the former Buy.com Monterey Peninsula Classic, the Champions Tour Wal-Mart First Tee Open and PGA Tour Q-School events.

"We've had a lot of conversations with the USGA," Priddy said. "Right now, they're just waiting to see how things unfold."

Huck

The one course in the world where a true restoration would actually mean ADDING trees.....

Tom,

It's a Greek tragedy. The old Fort Ord courses were the heart and soul of affordable golf in the slipstream of the Pebble Beach ripoffs.

I remember playing the Bayonet over thirty years ago when out of possible one hundred contestants, not more than a score seemed to have broken eighty.

A friend of mine came over from South Africa in 1992/93 and played seventy two holes to win the Senior Tour qualifying event and avowed it was indeed, the toughest course he had ever played. It may have been hyperbole, a la Gary Player,  but he went on to win the USGA Senior Open in 1994 at Pinehurst, yep, Scruffy Hobday.

Bob

Tom,
The gentleman who is overseeing the project has a student at my school.  He is not a golf course archie but a project manager.  I have spoken with him a couple of times about what they were doing and all I'm gettting is regrassing?.
Just to get it in shape for the big hotel/resort.  Just what we need here another high end resort.

Tom,
The gentleman who is overseeing the project has a student at my school.  He is not a golf course archie but a project manager.  I have spoken with him a couple of times about what they were doing and all I'm gettting is regrassing?.
Just to get it in shape for the big hotel/resort.  Just what we need here another high end resort.

Stan - that's pretty much my take - neither of those courses needed re-grassing in any way shape or form!  They're prettying up a course that needed none of it... then when I read about white Pebble Beach sand, well.... the soul of golf is shrieking.  No offense to the gentleman you know doing the project - heck he has to follow his marching orders - and in the scheme of things more people will be happy about all this than fuddy-duds like me complaining, but well.... I shall miss the old affordable Bayonet.  To me this is a lot like the horrifying thought of someone "regrassing" PG Muni.

TH

Those golf courses, even in their beautified, emasculated form, are still extrordinarily difficult for resort courses. I wonder how that will fly if they are trying to attract the husband and wife crowd..

Hmmm... good question.  One wpuld have to assume more emasculation is occurring right now.  If not, they might have a tough go of it with the resort crowd.  They're never going to be as beautiful as the courses inside the drive... nor those in Carmel Valley... nor does the golf holding anything particularly unique, save for being really really tough - and both courses are, even in the current emasculated form.  Take away the toughness and what's going to make for a memorable round there, getting people to pay the big money?  Will they get any repeat business?  From what it sounds like, you're going to have boring courses with some decent views (but paling in comparison to the courses inside the drive), nice conditions but heck, that's common for the area... I just don't get it.  But then again I'm a consumer, not a developer.

TH

TH -

Actually, and I am stealing this from John K., if you were to clear most the trees that you so dearly love, you would have views of Monterey Bay that would far nicer than the view of trees when playing Poppy Hills and 15 of the 18 holes at Spyglass ...

A bigger issue might be the weather.  The Seaside area is on the edge of the fog shrouded valley that heads towards Salinas and I suspect gets far more foggy days than the Carmel side.

Huck, Re the grassing. I suspect the dreaded Double K is out as an experience enhencer, and they are making the turf more user friendly. Maybe Bluegrass? Or Rye would be better so they could stay green in winter. Besides, few visitors are use to the double K, unless they are from L.A. and play at Rancho Park.

The downside is any other turf will have balls going even farther off line into the nether regions. Likely causing them to eventually have thick 5 inch rough, making it absurd again. Just in a different form.

Changing the tee angle on five makes little sense, unless the slicer is once again being appeased, or patronized.

The grass (turf) in many places is already a bizarre strain of ... something ...

Adam - your guess is much better than uneducated mine when it comes to the grasses - I sure hope they don't add kikuyu!  All I do know is that the previous conditions were fantastic - firm and fast, incredible drainage, just not emerald green.  

And good thoughts re 5... who knows what they have in mind there.  It was a stone bitch of a hole going straight - not sure what moving the tee to the right adds...

5 is an absolute monster of a hole. Maybe moving the tee right will make it a bit easier of a driving hole rather than being dead straight.

All I know is I am humbled every time I play there, both tee to green, and on those tilted greens. I can't imagine how tough it was before.

The fifth has this marvelous little rise or a roll just before the green on the right. It creates all the deception one can handle to a green that looks like it extends closer on the left, than it does. The green shape is more of an elbow, with the negative space on the left. Playing towards the left removed some of the deception but not the challenge to get the ball back to the left section of the green.

Huck, I was hoping that you had played the fifth when there was a tree in the middle.

Isn't this the hole that had a tree in the middle of the fairway, where Trevino said he would never return to the course until it was gone?

 I had heard they called him up and offered to let him cut it down when it was finally decided.

Jack, himself, also once walked off this course after five putting the fifteenth green. Vowing never to return. It helped that the green is adjacent to the parking lot.

One of my greatest rounds was at Bayonet, pre changes. Shooting a 78 with most of the damage done on Tom's favorite #12.

They are also seeking a new Superintendent at this time. Seems like "renovations" quite often also involve changes in management.

SB:

Re #5, I gather they're going to cut the hillside as heavy rough or something?  Remove the small trees on the left?  That's the only way to make #5 a dog leg right sans moving the tee, and as I imagine it, well... I don't see that as an improvement.  Yes it will make the hole tougher - but that hole sure doesn't need strengthening.  I also don't see the angle in from the left being nearly as fun (in the way Adam describes) as it plays currently... Man this is sounding like a bad idea all around.

Re the grasses, the course played firm and fast always and I am neither kidding nor exaggerating when I say it had the best drainage in all of NorCal.  Seems to me just like strengthening #5, it's something that's interesting but not needed.   But if they were spending excess funds on controlling kikuyu.... and this will NOT mean jacked-up green fees.... well then of course that makes sense.

But again I am just a lowly consumer.

The new green fees post-remodel will be interesting to say the least.  Have such been established?

TH