[Nick Church]

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."

[Tom Huckaby]

The soul of a once-unique golf course continues to get torn to shreds.

Thanks for posting that Nick, but as I read that, it makes me sad.

TH

[Sean Leary]

Huck

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

[Tom Huckaby]

Huck

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

Right on, brother.  And of course that makes no sense... but all the sense in the world to those who knew it when.

 

But that ship has sailed, anyway.  What's making me weep now is they're taking a challenging, fun, decently-priced course with fantastic conditions (best drainage in all of NorCal, wonderful quick firm greens), if a bit scruffy around the edges... and pretty-ing it up just so they can compete the with joneses near them.  "White Pebble Beach sand" - good lord.  Yeah, just what Monterey - and our area in general - needs:  another resort with $200+ green fees on overmanicured courses.

[Bob_Huntley]

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 Huckaby]

Bob:

Well said, my friend.  A greek tragedy it is indeed.  What once was the brutal ultimate challenge at a very fair price is now a very fair course (by all definitions of that word), and soon to be very nicely conditioned, keeping up with its neighbors.  In most cases that's a fine thing... but in this case... well.....

 

[Stan Dodd]

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.

[Nick Church]

I did get to play the back nine of Bayonet over Labor Day.  It was fun to let my mind wander back to the days when my friend and I ran around woods on the 12th.

I was disappointed not to play the front nine.  Still, at least I got to revisit some of my very first golfing memories.

[Tom Huckaby]

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

[Sean Leary]

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..

[Tom Huckaby]

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

[Stan Dodd]

Since they have no LAKES maybe they need white sand to make the experience.  There are not many "memorable" holes.
Just a bunch of hard ones that call for you to hit shots that move both ways and in the day tested your putting to a high degree.  I don't see the husband /wife group going there over Quail, Carmel Valley Ranch or the Pebble courses.

[Mike Benham]

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.

[Tom Huckaby]

Mike:

Interesting question.  Yes, complete tree clearance would give some nice bay views, but still from quite far away - in any case they would STILL pale in comparison to those inside the drive other than those you cite - farther away and far less dramatic coastline in view.  And remember the first 5 holes at Spyglass are the competition, seemingly.  Poppy Hills remains the NCGA member course played for price break more than anything else... Does that course really get much non-NCGA member play?

Then the question becomes would Bayonet or Blackhorse be better in the overall with absolutely no trees... Man that's tough for me to imagine.  The land there is rolling and so it might be kinda neat, but sans any trees, you have some EXTREMELY wide corridors and it's tough to imagine what separates them... high rough?  Artificially inserted mounding?  Nothing?  None of those choices sound very interesting...

I'm still thinking that's a net negative.  But my heart and mind are still thinking of the course as I once knew it - the claustrophobically tight beast.  Perhaps no trees at all WOULD be better than the emasculated "fair" course that exists now, and they are pussifying even more.  That is interesting food for thought.

TH

[Adam Clayman]

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.

[Tom Huckaby]

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...

[Mike Benham]

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

[Emmy]

Nick:
To your inquiry about the architect behind the renovation work, I believe it's Gene Bates with Bates Golf Design Group.

[Sean Leary]

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.

[Tom Huckaby]

Sean - interestingly, 5 is a hole that never changed much - until now, that is.  The trees on the right were a little thicker before, sure, but not night and day like much of the rest of the course.  It always was a stone bitch of a hole, straight up the hill, 450 or so... I can count on one hand the times I've gotten on that green in two shots, and I've played the course at least 25 times.

Moving the tee to the right to me just seems like one will blast the ball out into the left rough... I'm having a hard time picturing it.  But it will make a tough hole even tougher... that is unless they butcher the trees on the right even more... hmmmmm....

TH

[Adam Clayman]

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.

[Tom Huckaby]

Adam:

Man my memory aint' what it used to be... but you're right!  Tree in the middle of #5.  It was up fairly close to the green, wasn't it?  Like 100 yards short?  Oh god yes, that complicated things.  Funny how I spaced out on that - that tree has been gone for a long time now.  In any case I started playing the course in the early 80s, military days.  But great call re the deception by the green also.  Odds are they ruin all of that in the current work.

And no surprise that damage occurred to you on the OLD #12.  Don't get me started again.  The very soul of golf shrieks for what's been done to that hole.

Funny, one of my greatest rounds ever also occurred a the old Bayonet... 73 from the tips, absolute perfect golf save for one unplayable in the underbrush, on 2.  And that's kinda the point... of course I suck now so any 73 is cause for rejoicing, but if I did it there, it would be no huge thing the way the course is now.  Back in that day that 73 felt like a better round than Miller's 63 at Oakmont.  And in a way it damn well might have been.  Me close to par on a course that Jack can't/won't finish.... that says it all.  God I hated the course as it was... and god I also loved it.  It was unique.  It was the standard by which one could judge his game.  Oh well, I've said it too many times before.

[Don_Mahaffey]

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

[SB]

The tee on the 5th hole isn't moving, but the fairway is.   Don't worry, the new hole will still be a bitch, if not more so.  

The turf change is because the fairways were an uneven mix of poa, kikuyu, and as Mike said.... whatever.  The decision as explained to me was primarily an agricultural one, that trying to maintain different grasses was nearly impossible, and they spent too much time, $, and effort trying to contain the kikuyu.  

The sand seemed pretty white to me already, I'm not sure that will be much of a change ... really just a marketing comment.  

[Tom Huckaby]

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

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()