By Design - Fall 2018

surfaces to highly contoured ones will make a resort course fun, memorable and worth spending one’s hard- earned cash to play.” Different priorities “The emphasis does tend to change when looking at courses played mainly by the resort golfer,” says Steve Weisser, ASGCA, of Rees Jones, Inc. “Our recently completed TPC Danzante Bay course in Loreto, Mexico, is a good example. Desert golf, due to the limited amount of turf, can be inherently difficult for infrequent golfers. At Danzante Bay, we were encouraged to design a course that was different from others in the Baja—one that was dramatic but not overly penal. “We were fortunate to be given free rein to choose the land that best suited the holes topographically. Because of this, we were able to create angles that were challenging from the back tees while nearly eliminating forced carries as the tees move forward. Additionally, the turf areas are wide, particularly in landing zones. “Each tee shot has turf bail-out areas on the high sides of holes where the ground contours create natural containment and turf swales with pockets on the low side. By doing so, we feel the resort golfer will encounter a course that offers variety and playability which gives each player a one-of-a kind experience through the course’s dramatic landscapes. Each player will enjoy what they find initially and will want to play the course again to discover the options that present themselves with each round.” Cynthia Dye McGarey, ASGCA, of Dye Designs, adopted a similar approach at West Cliffs in Portugal, where environmental restrictions limited the turf area that could be used. This emphasized the importance of tee placement. “For resort play I like a lot of teeing options,” she says. “At West Cliffs the tees are designated by handicap. If players tee off from the appropriate tee they have a good experience. Also, since this is a coastal golf course it is important that it is flexible.” Dye McGarey also made intelligent use of angled fairways to provide width where it was needed. “I like landing areas wide,” she says. “I prefer no blind shots on a resort course.” The result is a golf experience that makes the most of its spectacular setting, and isn’t quite as difficult as it looks. 17 Arnold Palmer Design Company recently made changes to PGA Tour host course SilverRock Resort in La Quinta, California. The fourteenth, originally a long demanding par four nestled against a penal canal, was converted into a reachable par five to help make room for the resort hotel. Brandon Johnson, ASGCA Associate, says: “We shifted and realigned the green to allow for more width on the second shot and help reduce the penal nature and influence of the adjacent canal. This allowed for the combination of pin location, contour and width to profoundly influence the second shot decision-making process while serving double duty to make the hole more strategic and receptive for players.” On the eleventh, the team sited the new green to take advantage of a helping side slope to the green and a pre-existing water feature. Johnson says: “A carry over water is balanced by ample room short and to the right with the grand reward of helping contours that funnel shots played off right bank down towards green.” PROJECT PROFILE SilverRock Resort La Quinta, California The eleventh (top) and fourteenth holes at SilverRock Resort Nicklaus Design seeks to embrace the natural surroundings, like the rugged coastline of the Cabo Del Sol Ocean Course in Mexico, in its resort designs Photo: Jim Mandeville/Nicklaus Design Photos: Arnold Palmer Design Company – Brandon Johnson