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JC Jones

  • Karma: +0/-0
Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« on: August 06, 2013, 10:48:27 AM »
All this talk of Joe Hancock on the Kingsley thread reminded me that he is down in LA building this course.

One thing is for sure, if Joe is on the dozer, the course will be very, very cool. 

Perhaps Joe can chime in and give us the skinny on how things are going and maybe even post some pictures or email them to someone who can  ;)

Here is the thread from 2 years ago:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49975.0.html
I get it, you are mad at the world because you are an adult caddie and few people take you seriously.

Excellent spellers usually lack any vision or common sense.

I know plenty of courses that are in the red, and they are killing it.

Eric Smith

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2013, 10:58:34 AM »
Ha! Just hung up with him. It sounds like things are moving along nicely, with 12 greens shaped so far. He's confident they're putting a fun golf course in the ground there next to the casino.

Also said he might try to get back home Mashie weekend.. ;)

Don_Mahaffey

Re: Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2013, 07:51:19 PM »
Y'all need to quit calling Joe so he can get some work done!

JC Jones

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« Reply #3 on: August 06, 2013, 07:54:13 PM »
Work?  He's riding around in an air conditioned cab playing in an adult sandbox!
I get it, you are mad at the world because you are an adult caddie and few people take you seriously.

Excellent spellers usually lack any vision or common sense.

I know plenty of courses that are in the red, and they are killing it.

Joe Hancock

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2013, 09:36:26 PM »
I have to respond in all seriousness about how fortunate I am to have this opportunity. There's very few new courses being built in the USA right now, and I get to be Todd Eckenrode's guy in the field as well as being the shaper doing his work?  There's more experienced guys out there who would love to be in my shoes, and I understand how special this position is. So, thank you to Todd for the chance and the confidence he has shown throughout. He has been nothing but a pleasure to work with. And, I'm sure Todd will allow me to thank Mike D. here for all the teaching over the years!

It's interesting to look back at the history of this project, as it has involved a lot of entities and changes. It was first batted around in 2006, and it took several ownership changes and a lot of engineering to get this going.

They started to move and import dirt late last year. The site was utilized as a dump site for channel dredging, so there was a little elevation in the middle of the property, but not much. There is somewhere around 1 million cu. yards of soil(clay) being imported to get the minimum level of the property at 4 feet above sea level, and higher. The highest point, once the course is finished, will be around 14 feet above sea level.

Todd, and his Associate, Andy Frank, did an admirable job of getting the dirt in place via a good plan. This is a huge job with lots of equipment and people. There is a lot of constraints because of the proximity to water. One of the things we have been mandated to do is make the minimum elevation of every green no less than 9 feet above sea level. That is based on a 100 year flood event(storm surge or rainfall). The challenge for me is to make that 9 feet level look different around the course. Sometimes it looks like an at-grade green, sometimes it looks like a perched green, and sometimes it looks like a green benched into a landform. Variety isn't what we had in the property, but we can create the illusion.

There's an area of the property with some mature pines and live oaks that Todd utilized to route many holes in and out of. It creates a very intimate feeling in that area.


I will try to get an electronic version of the routing from Todd, and then we'll get some pictures posted.Taking pictures of dirt during the rough shaping phase is brutally difficult to get it to show anything, but we'll see what we have. I may take JC up on his implicit offer to put the pictures up!

If you want to look at the property via Google maps, it's just northeast of the I-210 bridge on the west side of Lake Charles. There is an existing casino(L'auberge) w/ a Fazio course immediately to the east. This property is basically a peninsula, and the golf course is being shaped very closely to the water in places.

Thanks for the interest, and I hope that, once done, there will be nothing quite so fun to play anywhere in Louisiana!

Joe
" What the hell is the point of architecture and excellence in design if a "clever" set up trumps it all?" Peter Pallotta, June 21, 2016

"People aren't picking a side of the fairway off a tee because of a randomly internally contoured green ."  jeffwarne, February 24, 2017

Peter Pallotta

Re: Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2013, 10:00:19 PM »
Shame on me for having a closed and prejudiced mind -- even though JC started the thread and I saw that Eric and Don and Joe posted on it (all stars in my book) I didn't click on it until just now because I thought "If I ever get to Louisiana, it sure as heck isn't going to be to play golf, and surely not at a place called Mojito Pointe".

Well, as I say, shame on me -- but I'm sure glad I did read it and offer my congrats to Joe and the rest of the team, and thanks for the details, and yes, from the little I know, if Mr Joe's at the wheel (in an air conditioned cab listening to Medeski Martin & Wood), it's going to be a cool golf course!

Peter
« Last Edit: August 06, 2013, 10:03:52 PM by PPallotta »

Eric Smith

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2013, 10:47:41 AM »
Y'all need to quit calling Joe so he can get some work done!

You're next..  ;D


If you want to look at the property via Google maps, it's just northeast of the I-210 bridge on the west side of Lake Charles. There is an existing casino(L'auberge) w/ a Fazio course immediately to the east. This property is basically a peninsula, and the golf course is being shaped very closely to the water in places.

Aerial, via Google Earth:




Ground level view, courtesy of Joe:


 
Looks like a nice spot, Joe.

Here's hoping you guys knock it out of the park on this one and there's a Bayou Dixie Cup in its future, with Peter P in attendance, sipping mojitos and winning big at the casino.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2013, 10:50:12 AM by Eric Smith »

JC Jones

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2013, 03:31:38 PM »
One of my biggest fears in life is hitting a clubhouse/pro shop with a golf ball.  

Now I have to add tug boat and freighter.

Looks very cool.
I get it, you are mad at the world because you are an adult caddie and few people take you seriously.

Excellent spellers usually lack any vision or common sense.

I know plenty of courses that are in the red, and they are killing it.

Paul Jones

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2013, 03:22:58 PM »
WOW - the property looks like a mirror image of L'Aberge du Lac.  That will be quite a few courses now in Lake Charles with Westlake being built in the last 5 years.
Paul Jones
pauljones@live.com

Paul Jones

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Mojito Pointe - Eckenrode - Louisiana
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2013, 03:24:01 PM »
P.S. - I live about 90 minutes from the course.  If any GCAers come down, please let me know.
Paul Jones
pauljones@live.com