Todd Eckenrode of Origins Golf Design will soon break ground on a project to renovate the course at Diablo Country Club, located at the foot of Mount Diablo near San Francisco, California.

The work will include the reconstruction of all greens and surrounds, a reduction in the overall maintained turf area of around 35 percent, the reconstruction of all bunkers – many to their original design – and tees renovated to a more natural shape and contour.

The course’s original nine was designed by Jack Neville – his first design before co-designing Pebble Beach with Douglas Grant – and opened in 1915. The second nine was laid out by William Watson in 1920. Watson then continued to work in San Francisco, creating layouts at the Olympic Club and Harding Park.

Eckenrode will oversee architectural work on the Diablo renovation alongside his senior designer Andy Frank. The original routing will remain the same, and the project will also see a new irrigation system installed and the resurfacing of all greens and surrounds with bentgrass, and all other areas with a drought-tolerant bermudagrass.

The project team includes contractor Landscapes Unlimited, irrigation contractor Foremost Construction, landscape firm Pinnacle Design and independent shapers Matt Flint, Brett Hochstein and Joe Hancock.