27 fairways, approaches and greens allow the ball to bounce and roll – the ground game can very much be played and that makes for a much more interesting playing experience. The course has been opened up quite a bit, with the vast tree removal a big part of that. The corridors are wider, leading to a grander scale and the views across the property have been recaptured as well. The style and scale of the bunkering also lends to a dramatic aesthetic. Can you tell us more about the impact of that tree work? The land has a lot of great character to it, but most of the holes were narrow and lined with trees – you could only see the hole that you were on. By removing the linear nature of the trees, creating clusters of trees, connecting fairways and removing trees behind greens, the views throughout the course have been recaptured. The third and fifth holes are great examples of this, as well as holes four, fifteen and sixteen. I can’t really describe how different those areas feel now, but these are the most talked about new features by the members, so I know they are seeing it as well! Which holes best capture your work? The holes that have been most dramatically improved are the parallel par threes – the second and sixth. These holes were basically set in a wet bog before and were not very natural. The setting has been transformed – it now features a natural meadow and creek, highlighted by native California sycamore trees. We made a great effort to make the holes play differently as well, with hole six being more of a drop-shot par three, closely protected by hazards and a sharp slope to one side. Hole two is more generous in its approach and seemingly plays simple from the right side. However, the green has an interesting boomerang shape around a ridge that cuts into the middle of the green from this right side. This ridge is impactful on shots and creates smaller hole locations in front and behind it that are a lot of fun. The ‘bowl’ area of the green in particular is very hard to access over this ridge, but if you do, the ball should settle very close to a hole location there. Photo: Channing Benjamin Eckenrode has opened up the course via tree removal, which has also highlighted the site’s native California sycamore trees TEE BOX
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