Arnold Palmer Design: Latest News: Archives
APDC Update
May 12, 2009
An iconic facelift, some exotic drama and an educated game are all paving the way for great play with the Arnold Palmer Design Company
Pebble Beach - Hole 18
Thad layton, an architect at the Arnold Palmer Design Company, remembers a day a few years ago when the boss asked for a little assistance.
"He walked in with a set of plans and said, ‘I need some help with these plans, guys,’" Layton remembers. "Dave and I looked at each other and said, ‘This is going to be fun.’"
No kidding. Though the project was essentially just a rehab job (not a new development) it was the course in question that had Layton, David Couch and the rest of the excellent team at APDC excited: Pebble Beach.
"We were really fired up about it," Layton says.
Anytime anyone puts a shovel in the ground at Pebble Beach, people are going to notice, and the changes—restorations, really—APDC has effected there are certainly worth noticing.
Pebble Beach is only one of the many projects the firm has taken on in recent years. Busy as ever with projects at home and all over the world, APDC is leading the course design business, expanding both the quality of the industry and its own operations even in tough economic times.
Pebble Beach
In preparation for hosting the 2010 U.S. Open Championship, the team at Pebble Beach decided it was time for a little shaping up. Some years ago, the Pebble Beach Company’s Senior VP of Golf R.J. Harper presented Palmer with some ideas for course improvements. The master plan was discussed by Pebble Beach’s owners and board, which includes Palmer and actors Clint Eastwood and Peter Uberoth, among others. The end result is a bit more length and a few more challenges, more in line with the course’s original set up.
"Digging up some old photos from the early 1900s of the golf course, it looks a lot different than it does today," says Layton. "It got a bit rounded off over time and has a bit of a dull edge to it. The old black-and-white photos are really flamboyant, really splashy. We tried to inject a little of that old character back into it and bring it up to today’s standards in terms of length."
Some of the most dramatic changes were on No’s 6 and 18, where the ocean was brought more into play through strategic placement of bunkers and Cypress trees. Specifically: On 6, the large fairway bunker at the lower landing area was replaced with five new bunkers that shift the landing area towards the ocean. On the iconic 18, two Cypress trees and a fairway bunker were added in the landing area, which forces longer hitters to aim left towards the Pacific. Overall, four greens and 16 bunkers have been rebuilt, altered or installed; 11 tees have benefited from enhancements; six holes have had trees added or adjusted; and the total course length has been extended to 7,014 yards.
As Layton put it: "It’s been a fun one to work on."
Look for more on the renovations at Pebble Beach in the next issue of kingdom.
Kunming, China - Hole 13 - The Rock Gorge
Across the Sea
About as far away from Pebble Beach as you could get, APDC architect Brandon Johnson has been busy working on a course in Kunming, China.
"That’s the big one on my desk," he says.
Big indeed. Sitting above a large mountain lake, canyons, gorges and lakeside play provide a world of challenges with elevation changes of 300 feet and what Johnson says are a number of "heroic carries." When completed, the course will be one of the few links-style courses in China, with native grasses and pines gracing the rambling contours.
A Balinese-style clubhouse with wide doors open to the wind and incredible views will provide an epic place to relax following a round at this course, which is past the halfway point in terms of development.
Well north of Kunming, Moscow is the latest international destination set to benefit from an Arnold Palmer course. Layton and APDC’s Executive Vice President and Senior Architect Erik Larsen have been working on a core golf project just outside the city.
"It’s one of the prime places in Moscow," says Layton. "Ideal elevation changes, 60 feet top to bottom; nothing dramatic but subtle rises and falls across the property."
A relatively flat city with a playing season that’s near seven months long, Moscow is relatively new to golf. This development will be private, but APDC is pushing to expand the public game there as well. Layton says the plans are near 90 percent done and that ground should be broken this spring.
In warmer climes, architect Eric Wiltse says APDC may be taking on projects in Cambodia, Brazil, India, Costa Rica and even on the island of Mauritius, off the west coast of Madagascar. Good reasons to keep your passport up-to-date and your traveling bag ready.
Newport Dunes
At Home
Besides Pebble Beach, the other big news this year in the U.S. is the golf course at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
Shooting for a July opening, Johnson, who, along with Erik Larsen, is an NCSU alum says the course turned out great—excellent news for the NCSU golf team, which hasn’t had a course of its own until now.
"There are some really interesting shots out there," says Johnson. "Options off the tee, options to the greens and some heroic shots. There’s a lot of variety."
With two archrivals nearby (Duke and UNC) and no real home course, there’s been a gap in the athletic department and in the university’s amenities overall. The new course should go miles in putting that issue to rest. More than just a college course open to the public, it’s a top-drawer design offering terrific playability.
"This one’s going to turn some heads," says Larsen. Does that have anything to do with the fact that he and Johnson are alums? "Well, we did put a little something on it," he says.
Also in North Carolina, White Oak Golf & Equestrian Community in Tryon is near complete, with just a couple of holes left to finish. The gorgeous 1,110-acre resort and golf community has been heavily anticipated and should be a stunner when it opens. The sooner the better for Padraig Harrington, who is planning to call the neighborhood "home."
Up the street in Hendersonville, Seven Falls Golf & River Club is still in the works. When it’s done, residents and guests will enjoy top-notch Palmer golf and a full-service river lodge for fishing and boating on the incredible French Broad River. A 60-acre practice course is already open, with what is arguably one of the most comprehensive facilities anywhere.
In South Carolina, The Reserve at Lake Keowee has been planning on adding a Palmer course to its lakeside community. After a few delays, the project is back on track and should be underway again this year—good news for the locals, who will enjoy one of the first Palmer Premier courses to be built.
Texas welcomed a new links-style course recently when Newport Dunes opened in Port Aransas. Already winning awards, the course winds through the natural dunes of Texas’ Gulf Coast and offers fast greens, deep sod-stacked revetment bunkers, oversized water hazards and plenty of native rough.
So whether you have to saddle up, gas up or buy a plane ticket, APDC has given you the perfect excuse to shine up your clubs and explore the world. With more great courses on the way soon, you’d better hurry up if you want to play them all.
Posted: May 12, 2009 11:42 AM
