63 to offload and for a generally unpredictable look.” The combination of formally maintained areas and informal, native scruffy grasses gives the West a distinctive look. The short-cut fairway ground, comprising TifTuf bermuda, is extensive and is seamlessly tied into tees and grounds – 100 acres worth, in all. This is dotted by another seven acres of the chunked-out native grasses. Added to this are extensive sandy areas – 106 bunkers, comprising 135,000 square feet of bunkering, most of it edged with that native mix. The result is a startlingly well-defined palette of materials for a golf course that looks like it has been there for ages. Most greens are sited at grade level and not heavily defended up front by bunkers that need to be carried. The course thus allows for lots of ground-game play. Elite players will still play the aerial game anyway, so it’s not as if opening up the fronts makes the game any easier for them. And if/when they miss the fairway and find themselves in rough or bunkers, they’ll have the option of working a well-struck shot to the green, though they’ll have to judge properly the bounce and roll out – something they are not accustomed to doing. The fairway bunkering often cuts across the line of play, thus providing options for players who take a diagonal Images: Apogee There are extensive sandy waste areas on the West course, designed by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner
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