Shadow Creek Post-Rebuild Update

[William_G]

Just played Shadow Creek last week.

Great weather, no wind. Limo to and fro from Aria (what a hotel!).

Especially a pleasure to walk the course and play with the pro/manager and a course designer while a caddie drove the cart, etc... Thanks again!

Future walking paths from tees to green/fairways were discussed.

The golf course now has all new green complexes and approaches, with some select new tees to add length and difficulty.

As I had not played the course before, I can only say that the pictures from before are definitely different, and the city is now growing around the course.

The course was in pristine condition after being over seeded, the greens were impeccable, and the course architecture remains largely unchanged. An amazing Fazio layout that used to be in the middle of the desserted desert.

Many trees were lost during the rebuild/redesign, some due to health, some due not surviving the replanting, and some due to improving air and sunlight around the greens. Some greens were also moved slightly to acommodate future health and growth of grass.

The lost trees have effected some sightlines behind the greens and elsewhere, but will grow back where needed, etc...

Each green now has Sub Air, so lots of sucking and pumping can be done!

A new six or so hole practice facility was built to the left of #5!

What is also big news is that the course and Aria will be hosting the Micheal Jordan Celebrity golf tournament this spring. So for four or five days, the exclusive facility will open its doors, undress, and show its stuff to whoever shows!

This should be the most successful MJ event ever.

Thanks!

[Anthony_Nysse]

I am playing here in 2 weeks. I know that the course now features bentgrass tees, greens and approaches and I am sure they were flawless. How many groups were out there when you played? Did you take any photos?

[William_G]

I am playing here in 2 weeks. I know that the course now features bentgrass tees, greens and approaches and I am sure they were flawless. How many groups were out there when you played? Did you take any photos?

No pics, didn't seee anyone!

[George Pazin]

Why would you need Sub Air in the desert?

[William_G]

Why would you need Sub Air in the desert?

Because they can.

[Anthony_Nysse]

Most Sub Air or Precision Aire systems have the ability to also pump warm and/or cool air into the drain lines of the green, hence warmer or cooling the root zone. They do much more then just suck water.

[John Kavanaugh]

Bill and Tony,

What do they charge these days?

[Bruce Hospes]

How many times has Shadow Creek been "updated"?  2-3 times?

[William_G]

Bill and Tony,

What do they charge these days?

500

[William_G]

How many times has Shadow Creek been "updated"?  2-3 times?

Not sure, but this was a rebuild of every green including redesign and addition of tess, etc... so this was the only rebuild iI've heard of. Thanks

[George Pazin]

Most Sib Air or Precision Aire systems have the ability to also pump warm and/or cool air into the drain lines of the green, hence warmer or cooling the root zone. They do much more then just suck water.

Thanks Tony!

[Scott Macpherson]

William,

Am just curious, who is credited with the re-design and who was it you played with? Did they have an on-site architect?

scott

[Paul Jones]

Did you take any photos?

When I played there about 5 years ago, they did not allow cameras.

Paul

[William_G]

William,

Am just curious, who is credited with the re-design and who was it you played with? Did they have an on-site architect?

scott

Played with Mark Brenneman, the Club Manager and a friend of his.

from the Robb Report

"Opened in 1989, Shadow Creek represents a turning point in golf-course design, when man and machine proved they could reinvent Mother Nature. Fazio was given a mandate to turn 320 acres of barren, dead-flat desert into a traditional parkland design evocative of North Carolina’s wooded mountains. The transformation required so much earth moving that the elevation change went from 6 feet to about 60 feet. Fazio also added boulder-lined streams to the landscape, one of which leads to a dramatic waterfall behind the 17th green. But the signature feature at Shadow Creek is its man-made forest, which isolates each hole from the next one.

Roughly two decades later, Fazio returned to Shadow Creek to update the course, which reopened last December after an eight-month closure. A large part of the reconfiguring involved taming the forest that he had created. "We originally introduced more than 20,000 trees to create the intimacy that is the course’s trademark," says Mark Brenneman, the longtime general manager of Shadow Creek. "But once watered, they thrived in the sun, and have doubled or tripled in size, creating too much shade and blocking airflow, which led to problems with the grass." The encroaching forest also obscured views, making it harder for players to see once perfectly framed holes.

Fazio’s updates aimed to increase visibility while maintaining the course’s hole-by-hole isolation, which involved removing and trimming trees. He also rebuilt every green, since the best agronomy of 1989 was no longer state of the art. A seven-acre nursery became a comprehensive short-game practice area with bunkers, greens, and roughs that are maintained to reflect the conditioning on the course. Finally, the water features were brought more into play by relocating several greens, tees, and fairways closer to the hazards. "Playing next to water is not something people think of when they think Vegas," said Brenneman, "and we wanted to embrace that." "

[William_G]

Did you take any photos?

When I played there about 5 years ago, they did not allow cameras.

Paul

Still true. Except for the upcoming MJ Tourney.

[John Kavanaugh]

Bill and Tony,

What do they charge these days?

500

And they paired you with the club manager and his friend....ychk.

[William_G]

Bill and Tony,

What do they charge these days?

500

And they paired you with the club manager and his friend....ychk.

gladly do it again, we all played at the same level, fun!

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