Napa Golf Associates, LLC., owners and operators of the Chardonnay Golf Club, Napa, Calif., announce the upcoming “re-launching” of their golf facility.
Ken Laird, a local Napa Valley wine industry entrepreneur and managing partner of the ownership group, along with his partners Jim & Gus Gianulias, California real estate developers, acquired the 27-hole golf club out of bankruptcy in August of 2005. Unfortunately, since acquiring the facility, the slump in the golf economy that started back in 2001 hasn’t rebounded and has been exacerbated by the current economic recession.
The Chardonnay Golf Club, in response to the current golf marketplace dynamics, have decided to commit 100% of their resources into the upkeep and maintenance of an 18-hole golf course facility instead of 27-holes.
According to Roger Billings, PGA General Manager at Chardonnay GC, “By transforming the club from 27-holes to 18-holes we will be able to make the necessary improvements and enhancements to the golf course. As an added benefit to the Napa Valley wine country region, we can add to the surrounding agricultural and viticultural ambiance by increasing the total acreage of vineyards that surround the golf course.”
According to Billings, the new 18-hole routing will formally open on April 1 and be the result of combining holes from the old Vineyards nine and Lakes nine layouts to create a new front nine; with the existing Meadows nine hole layout remaining intact and becoming the new back nine.
One of the unique features of this new par 72, 18-hole routing will be the configuration; which will include six par fives, six par fours and six par threes. Part of the transition process included enhancements to the course through the addition of new fairway bunkers and water features. New tee boxes were added to lengthen some of the holes bringing the new layout to 6,948 yards from the back tees. Additional enhancements to the facility in the way of more tee boxes & bunkers and other improvements are scheduled to take place over the next couple of years.
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