A 7 month project to upgrade bunkers and irrigation has just been completed and the course fully reopened on September 7. During construction 2 holes were closed and carts, at a reduced rate, were mandated. Temporary greens on 6 and 13 allowed an 18 hole score to be posted.
No work was done to the green complexes although hole #4 is significantly changed with the fairway shifted as far left as possible. A hooked drive can now bound through the 10 yard patch of rough and find the native. The green side bunker which used to guard the front left is now centrally placed.
All bunkers were reconstructed and liners were added. The Rees version of the bunkers had steep grass slopes with a rather flat sand bottom; they were deep. They presented a very difficult shot to what generally would be a pin position that sloped away from the golfer. The new iteration can best be described as “puddles of sand”. There’s a moderate 10-20% slope of turf and the sand continues in the same fashion with no discernible lip. They are much easier to play out of and the sand conditions are absolutely perfect.
3 of us went over the par 5 9th and found a new chipping area of short grass that slopes dramatically away. In the past you would hang up, in the long grass on the greens back slope, we all found our balls 25 yards away with a pitch that was impossible to stop by the hole. There are numerous chipping areas that were very well constructed. Rees hydoseeded rye grass to tie in the green complexes to the Kikuyu fairways. This project added Bermuda sod to these areas and it works really well, with options ranging from a very realistic chance of putting to wedge play.
The most dramatic difference is the tree clearing, hundreds of trees were felled. The bark beetle has been decimating the native Torrey Pine trees and they have cleared out most of the dead or dying. Lots of Eucalyptus came down too and the unobstructed views across the property are now very stunning.
The left side fairway bunker on hole #12 was moved further down the fairway. Two new bunkers were added to the left side landing area of the par 5 13th hole. Another bunker was added just past the existing fairway bunker on the 17th hole extending to about 120 yards from the green. The 18th now has 5 bunkers in the landing area on the left hand side of the fairway.
The 6,200 yard gold tees allow the average golfer to “interface with the architecture” of a 7,600 yard golf course which is really quite unique. The lack of doglegs, which could be the Courses greatest drawback, does allow for an enjoyable round from the forward tees.