21 a number of places. It also gave us room to expand the range and create an open vista from the clubhouse looking out to the golf course. “The joint fairway now has bunkers and, in the distance, some old mature oak groves. The work on these holes was really a game changer from a visual standpoint.” The project also included rebuilding three greens, two of which (the par-three ninth and seventeenth) were severe and problematic from a playability standpoint. “The third and fourth had also been changed,” said DeVries. “Originally three was a long par four and the fourth was a long par three of around 250 yards. We think sometime between 1925 and 1945 the fourth had been changed. The fifth is a par three as well so I think the club was opposed to having two par threes in a row. They were very difficult holes. So, they basically made a medium par four of the third hole and a short par four out of the fourth, and neither were great. “We decided to restore the original balance to the routing by shifting them and making a long par-three third and a long par-four fourth, building a new green for the third and expanding the fourth green.” Bunkers were a key part of the project, with some removed and others restored to a Colt style. “We followed Colt’s concept of doing bunkers asymmetrically with an odd number of sand hazards around greens rather than two f lanking bunkers,” said DeVries. Better Billy Bunker liners were installed in all. The project also included re-establishing green perimeters to match the ‘push-up’ style seen elsewhere on the course. XGD had previously been installed, and the greens were turfed with Pure Distinction bentgrass sod that was grown on site. Some greens have been expanded to restore original pin locations while surrounds were expanded to bring back a wider variety of recovery shot options. These recovery areas have 007 bentgrass for playability and maintenance. Fairways have also been widened too. Tree management has included the planting of native species to screen the perimeter of the golf course from nearby development and roads. Thielen Turf Irrigation has installed a new Toro irrigation Photo: Lukas Michel/CDP A joint fairway has been created for the first and eighteenth holes
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