Montecito Club in Santa Barbara, California, will complete a regrassing project on its Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course this summer.
Last year, the club – formerly known as Montecito Country Club – converted grass on the first, ninth and the back nine holes to the new Platinum TE paspalum variety. This summer, the club will complete the project and install the same variety on holes two to seven.
“The Montecito Club’s vision for improved golf course playability and significant reduction in water usage continues as we have taken the opportunity to re-sod with Platinum TE paspalum turfgrass,” said Tennessee McBroom, director of agronomy. “Platinum TE provides an unprecedented dark emerald-green aesthetic; this new playing surface has an upright growth pattern and allows the golf ball to sit up on the single cut fairways and rough with unparalleled playability to any golf course on the West Coast.”
The regrassing project follows a golf course renovation that Nicklaus Design completed in 2019. A highlight of the renovation was incorporating natural elevation changes, with views of the Santa Ynez Mountains, Pacific Ocean and Channel Islands featuring throughout the round. Bunkers were also updated and filled in with crystal white sand.
Ty Warner, owner of Montecito Club, has spent $119.5 million on the club over the past five years, including on a variety of expanded outdoor amenities such as a new outdoor sports complex, featuring pickleball, basketball, beach volleyball, badminton, soccer, an MLB-quality batting cage, and a 15-foothigh sledding hill for children on synthetic turf. In addition, there is a new, crushed oyster shell bocce ball court with LED night lighting and a 25,000-square-foot pool complex.
The club has also completed work on its indoor facilities, including the 6,500-square-foot fitness centre that has panoramic ocean views, Matrix and Peloton equipment, a studio for group and virtual fitness classes, a diagnostics room and a recovery room. Montecito Club also now has an interactive Kid’s Club, a 21-seat Dolby Atmos Theatre, a retro arcade, and two AMF bowling alleys.
The club is also set to install a new practice facility building with two Full Swing hitting simulators.
“My vision is to create a private club like no other,” said Warner. “We are pleased to open this innovative club with a focus on our golf course and outdoor amenities to provide a club experience superior to any other in the US.”