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Arnold Palmer Talks About Pebble Beach Golf Links Renovation for the 2010 U.S. Open
April 30, 2010
Arnold Palmer talks about the bunker renovation that was done at Pebble Beach Golf Links in preparation for the 2010 U.S. Open.
The U.S. Open is often regarded as one of the most difficult and challenging championships in the world and presents a stern test for the greatest players in the world.
Posted: April 30, 2010 04:10 PM
Arnold Palmer Designed Course The Bridges Golf Club Hosts Champions Tour Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Open Qualifier
April 27, 2010
Three Champions Tour players had to get through Arnold Palmer designed course first to qualify
BILOXI, MS – The open qualifier for the PGA Champions Tour Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic completed play today at The Bridges Golf Club at Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis. The field consisted of many recognizable PGA Tour names. "This must be the toughest tour in the world to play on" said Chris Altese, PGA Director of Golf at The Bridges. "It is hard to believe you would have players of this caliber competing in an open qualifier." Rod Spittle and James "Big Daddy" Mason took two of the three qualifying spots both posting 4 under par 68s to lead the field on this Arnold Palmer layout - one of the many courses dotted along this area nicknames the "Golf Coast.". Jay Don Blake, Terry Burke, and Robin Freeman all shot 2 under par 70s in the perfect but breezy conditions and played off for the last remaining spot in this week's Champions Tour field. All three players made par on # 10, a 352-yard par four, which continued the play off to # 17, a demanding 426-yard par four. All players struck perfect tee shots down the middle of the fairway. Blake and Burke both missed their 20 foot birdie attempts while Freeman center cut his 8 foot birdie putt to move on to the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic field.
For MS Gulf Resort Classic Champions Tour info go to www.golfcoast.com/champions/. For a complete results of the Monday qualifier go to: http://gulfpga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gulfpga10/event/gulfpga1029/contest/1/leaderboard.htm.
Posted: April 27, 2010 10:09 AM
Arnold Palmer's Bay Area Gem
April 19, 2010
By Mike Bailey, Senior Staff Writer - GolfCalifornia.comVALLEJO, Calif. - It's easy to get lulled into a false sense of serenity when playing Hiddenbrooke Golf Club for the first time.
If you catch this Arnold Palmer design in the early or late afternoon light, the colors of the fairways, greens, wispy fescues and tan hills are somewhat mesmerizing. But at every corner, danger lurks, whether it's in the form of a dogleg, sloping green, imposing water hazard or a grove of trees.
Amazingly, you hardly notice the houses in this development located within a half hour of San Francisco and Oakland. They are set back far enough that they don't detract from the splendor of the golf course, which has received a five-star rating from Golf Digest. And the homes certainly don't interfere with golf shots. And at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club, which hosted the LPGA's Samsung Championship from 2000-02, you'll get to hit a great variety of shots.
No two holes alike at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club
"I think what people really like here is the great variety of holes," said Siegfried Wroebel, head golf professional at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club. "The ladies really enjoy it because they think it's a fair golf course."
Indeed, there are five sets of tees, and the more forward tees make the course straightforward to navigate. But move back to the tips of what might seem to be a benign yardage at just more than 6,700 yards, and it's all the golf course you want.
It's also a very memorable golf course. Each hole is unique with its topography and views of the valley and hillsides below. Throughout, you'll find babbling brooks and picturesque lakes and ponds, which often come into play. Those who can shape shots will have plenty of opportunity to work the ball both ways. And the par 5s, in particular, present some risk-reward opportunities.
Hiddenbrooke Golf Club's first par 5 is the fifth hole, which has water all down the left side as well as fairway bunkers. At 539 yards one tee up, many players might think about reaching this green in two, but you almost have to hit a perfect shot to avoid the lake or high grass on the right.
The better bet is the par-5 12th, which may be one of the prettiest holes on the golf course. At less than 500 yards from the tips, it's reachable in two, but the green is perched high around a corner with four foreboding bunkers cut into the side of a hill. Find the wrong place in one of those bunkers, and par is a challenge.
Speaking of challenge, Wroebel believes that the long par-4 eighth, with its narrow fairway and hazard down the right side, is one of the most difficult holes on the golf course. There are also a couple of greenside bunkers and a fairway bunker left on this 440-yard dogleg right, which means you've got to thread a couple of shots.
Read the full article at GolfCalifornia.com
Posted: April 19, 2010 10:05 AM
GAME ABROAD
April 08, 2010
The Arnold Palmer Design Company stays on the road with a host of top projects around the world
It wasn’t that many years ago that golf was regarded as a distinctly Western—even a specifically European—sport. No more. Golf is now the world’s game, and the Arnold Palmer Design Company is leading the way in making sure everyone has a place to play.
To that end, APDC has built more than 300 courses in nearly 30 countries around the planet, pioneering the game in the Far East and setting the world standard for what defines a top quality golf experience. That tradition, established nearly 40 years ago, continues today with projects ongoing in South America, China, Cambodia and elsewhere. Time was you only needed a driver’s license and a set of clubs. In the modern game, you’d better have a passport in your bag if you’re going to visit any of the following international offerings from Arnie and his excellent team at APDC.
APDC architect Thad Layton's winning design for the Lido Competition
Home
APDC Executive Vice President and Senior Architect Erik Larsen is set to become president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects after being elected at the organization’s recent meeting. The long-time ASGCA member and current treasurer will be taking the prestigious position once held by Ed Seay, whom he counts as a mentor, and also by Robert Trent Jones and Pete Dye, among others. Larsen plans to promote the “value of the golf course” as a recreational, social and economic amenity.
Also in the spirit of awards and accolades, APDC architect Thad Layton has been picked to judge the 2010 Lido Competition, a prominent golf design contest. Co-sponsored by Golf World and the Alister MacKenzie Society, the competition awards the designer whose hand-drawn entry best utilizes MacKenzie’s design philosophy within the confines of a two-shot par–4. The Lido is based on a magazine design contest MacKenzie won in 1914. His winning hole, a par–4 with triple avenues of play, was later constructed by contest founder C.B. Macdonald on his Lido Golf Club on Long Island, NY. Sadly, the course, and hole, did not survive World War II. Layton, the 2003 Lido Prize winner, is an excellent choice to judge this year’s entries.
The APDC-designed Rivers Edge Golf Club in Myrtle Beach, SC, celebrated its 10th anniversary last September with improvements to the greens and a heartfelt pat on the back from Mr. Palmer himself.
“All of us at Arnold Palmer Design congratulate Rivers Edge on their 10th anniversary,” offered the King. Greens have been transitioned to the environmentally friendly SeaDwarf® Seashore Paspalum turfgrass, a grass APDC has utilized with success at other courses, Palmer says.
“All the courses that we have designed that use paspalum grass are very pleased with the results and we think everyone at Rivers Edge will enjoy the new greens.”
South
Moving south from Myrtle Beach—way south—APDC architect Eric Wiltse has been working on a course near São Paolo, Brazil, called Fazenda Boa Vista. The site, which will feature 18 holes from APDC, reminds Wiltse of the rolling hills of Kentucky and is simply beautiful, he says. Look for more golf in Brazil, with the sport returning to the Olympics in Rio in 2016. Not content to stay in the land of girls from Ipanema, Wiltse is also working on a course in Uruguay. Named “Las Piedras” for its boulder-strewn landscape, this project near Punta del Este will feature rolling hills, beautiful views and a storied atmosphere. Larsen says the project represents authentic golf with minimal impact and a complete sense of respect for both the game and the environment.
“It’s core golf.,” he says. “There’s very little earth movement, wild flowers and native grasses can grow easily and will remain as features of the course. The best word for it: Authentic.”
East
Some 25 years after building the first golf course in China, APDC is continuing to create that country’s premiere golf venues—and the latest have been exquisite indeed. Beijing welcomed the amazing Beijing Cascades from APDC in 2007, and since then the rest of the country is moving to host their own APDC clubs. Future clubs, like a project at Huizhou that would offer views of Hong Kong, are in the works, while The Golf Club at Kunming is likely within a year of opening and should be one the most beautiful anywhere. People with vertigo should be warned: Kunming’s latest gem is going to feature some serious elevation changes. The beautiful lake below should distract from any issues with heights, but craggy cliffs and forced carries might add to the stress a bit.
Brandon Johnson, the APDC architect who’s been working on the project since the start, says numbers 12 and 14 are especially challenging.
“There are big ravines in front of them and it’s dramatic,” he says. “There’s room for error but, yeah, if you miss it there, wide in the right spot, you fall off into oblivion.”
APDC architect David Couch isn’t having the same issues with his project, also in Kunming. While the inspirationally named Chinese Entrepreneur Home Golf Club doesn’t offer the dramatic changes in elevation of its neighbor, it does feature a freshwater lake nearly five miles in length. And with 27 holes, there will be plenty of challenging golf for all.
Yet one more APDC course under way in China, Panda Valley Golf Course should be a stunner. Just 45 minutes from Chengdu, it offers unique mountain play, a fast-moving river and incredible views. Layton, who’s working on the project, explains: “Usually mountains are arranged such that they form ridge lines that connect.” In contrast, he says, “These look like they’re dropped out of the sky… Independent mountains, thousands of feet high.”
Its name comes from its proximity to a panda reserve, near 50 miles away. Incorporating terraced slopes that have held kiwi, rice and other crops, the project is part of a local rebuilding effort following a massive quake two years ago.
Not far from China, Johnson is also continuing work on a project from Cambodia’s Sokimex development group. Construction on the 18-hole wonder should begin this year, and they’re hoping to get a few basics completed before the rainy season kicks off. The incredible downpours Southeast Asia experiences between May and October are followed by severe dry weather, making course maintenance a bit of a headache. However, the fantastic natural beauty makes all efforts worthwhile.
“We took cues from the existing natural jungle terrain,” Johnson says. Because of the thick jungle (chasing balls will be a daunting experience), “There’s big, bold movement in the fairways that will allow people to play, and a lot of strategy around that, too, because your angle of approach could be better from one side of the fairway versus another.” Set on the edge of a national park, and with planned hotels, a casino and entertainment, look for this to be most impressive.
Onward
As engaged as APDC is around the world, there’s more to come. In the meantime, APDC is also getting creative at home. In addition to updating existing designs, the company is moving forward with plans to refit and reposition distressed golf courses currently without stable financial foundations. Bank-held properties that could be viable investments have the potential to benefit from APDC’s design and business expertise. “It’s a response to the economic condition in the U.S.,” says Larsen, explaining that the new effort has the potential to help banks clear their books while also giving communities positive recreational possibilities.
With forward thinking at home and ongoing interest from Mexico, China, South Africa, South America, Russia, India and other locations abroad, the architects at APDC will be busy for a long time coming up with fantastic new projects. We’ll be right there behind them, passports and driver’s licenses up to date, ready to travel as far or near as needed to play their great designs.
Posted: April 8, 2010 02:50 PM
