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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

How Can Golf Greens Become Even Greener?

El Caballero Country Club celebrated its reopening Nov. 17 — the culmination of a three-year, $10 million renovation to modernize its championship golf course.

The par-71 course in Tarzana has been upgraded to increase the environmental sustainability and all-level playability of the greens. The course has been lengthened to about 7,019 yards, with all turfgrass replaced with hybrid Bermuda, a drought and disease-tolerant blend. 

“We are excited to relaunch El Caballero and position our championship golf course for the future, especially in light of recurring drought conditions in California and the need to be a responsible environmental leader in the golf community,” General Manager Phil Lopez said in a statement. “Now more than ever, we all need a sense of community and shared experiences to sustain us during these challenging times. We know our members feel that at El Cab.”

The new putting greens and better positioned bunkers are intended to make the course more challenging for the better player and more rewarding for the average one. 

“The course’s modern redesign will give players a state-of-an-art experience, providing them with the tools they need to improve their skill level,” PGA Head Golf Professional Tasha Bohlig said in a statement.

Originally designed by renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr., the course has been redesigned by his son, Rees Jones. In a club video about the renovation, the younger Jones said, “(Design Associate) Steve Weisser and I looked at every feature and made decisions on what we should modestly change, dramatically change and what we should just leave alone. We opened the entrances to a lot of greens because we wanted to allow, for the player that doesn’t hit the ball very far, a better chance to access the greens. 

“Green contours are what the members will find different, probably more manageable,” Jones added. “You have to really consider the contours of greens when you restore a golf course like this.” 

Along with native landscaping, the club has upgraded tennis courts, newly built pickleball courts and an upgraded dining program.  

“We needed to be more sustainable in the future,” said Lopez. “We don’t have (recycled water from the Department of Water and Power) in the area. We’re living on potable water and we had to figure out how to use less water. It has become expensive.” 

The solution of trying to provide a quality product year-round came with the removal of rye grass and substituting hybrid Bermuda grass, which makes for a more consistent year-round playing field. 

“We anticipate using 25 to 30 percent less water on an annual basis,” Lopez said. “That saves us 20 million to 30 million less gallons of water a year.” 

Before it reopened, the task of overhauling the 100 acres of playable golf course was met with more than two-thirds approval from El Caballero’s membership. 

Since the relaunch, Lopez said, “the reviews from the membership have been overwhelmingly positive.” 

Planning of this project began prior to COVID-19. And while golf had been waning in popularity before the pandemic, interest in the sport has gone up, according to Lopez. 

“COVID has been a boon for golf,” he said. “An off-the-charts boon. It’s one of the safest activities you can do in the COVID world. A lot of people who have never played before are picking up the game.” 

Lopez said that the makeover had nothing to do with trying to increase club membership. 

“The club is always looking for new members but we’re not in a position of a membership drive,” he said. “This wasn’t done to attract membership, this was about providing the membership with terrain that is quality and more sustainable.”  

The intent — in addition to sustainability — was to have a top-tier course, Lopez added. El Cab represents the first time that a USGA championship was held in the Valley back in 2018 with the U.S. Women’s Amateur Fourball. 

“It’s always been considered a great golf course and we want to bring more championship golf to the club in the future,”’ said Lopez, a Granada Hills native. “That can only be good for the Valley.” 

The club — whose long history includes hosting numerous U.S. Open Sectional Qualifiers, LPGA events and charity tournaments – was originally opened in 1957 by founder Bernie Shapiro. 

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