By Design
Fought to the Finish
Course designer John Fought upgrades two popular Troon facilities
By George Fuller
When the John Fought-designed Players Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort opened in Nov. 2007, it was immediately lauded as both a much-needed and dramatic upgrade over the course that was previously in its footprint, and a perfect complement to the Clive Clark-designed Celebrity Course that had opened the previous year.
But for Fought, the job wasn’t quite complete. Now, 18 years later, he’s back to finish what he describes as “the course I wanted to build in the first place.”
The course will close on March 5, with a reopening slated for later in the fall. The Celebrity Course will remain open to accommodate hotel guests and public play.
“We’re not building a new course,” Fought shared,” but we’re touching every hole.”
“The primary work will include building two new holes to replace Nos. 17 and 18 that currently wrap around behind the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and border Highway 111,” said General Manager Robin Graf.
That land will be reintegrated by the hotel and the two new holes will be “fit like puzzle pieces” into the existing layout, as Fought described.
The new configuration will play to par 71 and extend more than 7,100 yards from the back tees. (It currently plays 7,376 yards from the back tees to a par 72.) The slightly condensed yardage will “enhance walkability as several greens will be closer to the following tees,” Fought said. “Still, it will be a full-size championship layout that can handle any event. It’s a course that will be set up to make you think.”
Fought has also been engaged at Alpine Country Club, the magnificent Troon Privé-managed facility in the Wasatch Mountains near Highland, Utah. His two-year project at this busy family-oriented club started with the idea of expanding the driving range and practice area, but it soon became clear that holes No. 5 and 9 would need to be adjusted to make space. And while he was at it, why not freshen up a few other holes?
The result will be a greatly enhanced practice area with a double-ended range and multiple targets for different clubs, and a club and course that’s “set up for the future,” as General Manager Michael Bickett explained. “The project was driven by increased usage and allows us to better serve the growing membership.”
Bickett shared that No. 9 will be a completely new hole. It will have the same par as the current No. 9, but with a huge new double-green complex that will tie into the new practice area. No. 5 will be shifted to allow more room for the new range, though the hole will play mostly the same.
The two-year time frame allows members access to a full 18 holes during construction. The current No. 9 will remain open while the new No. 9 is being built and grown in. After that, the driving range construction will begin on the site of the old No. 9.
A new green and tee boxes on No. 7, a new tee on No. 15, and a new green on No. 17 that adds 35 yards to hole will comprise the balance of the work.
“We’re modernizing and refreshing the course,” Bickett said, “This project shows that as we grow, we’ll reinvest in the club.”
