The Indian Wells, Calif., club funded the project through anonymous member donations, and work on the front nine began in the summer of 2016. The project included a redesign of all green complexes, reworking the fairway bunkers, adding contouring to the greens, and converting 120,000 sq. ft. of turf to landscaping.
Desert Horizons Country Club in Indian Wells, Calif., has completed a $2 million golf course renovation guided by former professional golfer and BBC commentator Clive Clark.
Opened in 1979, the Desert Horizons golf course was designed by Ted Robinson, Sr., who lived on its 14th fairway for more than a decade during his later life. Through the decades, Desert Horizons’ common Bermuda push-up greens with no substructure had changed significantly, resulting in greens that were elevated and out of proportion with surrounding bunkers. The bunkers, both greenside and fairway, also needed a facelift as their shape, scale and positioning had lost relevance with evolutions in the game and modern golf course construction.
“The golf course had very good bones but had become a little tired,” said Clark.
With nearly 125 golf courses dotting the desert, Desert Horizons faced plenty of competition. Like many area private facilities, the club found itself dealing with declining membership numbers and financial challenges as it battled to stay viable in a highly competitive private club market.
The Desert Horizons Board introduced their renovation plan to the membership and took a vote on an assessment. The vote passed, albeit by a narrow margin. Some golf members downgraded their status and the club was concerned that it would lose others, so the Board put the assessment on hold. Instead, the Board decided it would “pass the plate” and see how much money it could raise through a voluntary contribution campaign. With an oversized thermometer display to track progress in the clubhouse foyer, the donations were kept anonymous and the club didn’t accept pledges, only cash.
“We didn’t count it until we had it,” said Taylor, who spearheaded the fundraising efforts. “We just said, ‘Write us a check.’”
With a goal of raising $1.8 million, Desert Horizons received three quarters of what it needed in the first round of fundraising. Knowing they couldn’t renovate all 18 holes in one summer given the overall project scope, the board decided to work on the front nine first during the summer of 2016. By the end of the contribution campaign, Desert Horizons had raised nearly $2 million.
“When I tell the story to my peers, they cannot believe it,” said Director of Golf Rick Ruppert. “I’ve had other pros tell me that because of what we’ve done, their clubs have followed suit. The renovation is remarkable, but the story of how it was achieved is even more so.”
Under Clark’s direction, Desert Horizons redesigned all its green complexes, including bunkers while also reworking the fairway bunkers to enhance aesthetics and playability. The greens also gained more contouring, particularly on the back nine. “We wanted to add some movement and new visual elements into the golf course,” Clark said.
Constructed to industry specifications with state-of-the-art drainage and hydration, the Desert Horizons greens are now Tif-dwarf Bermuda. Every fairway bunker on the golf course was addressed: either renovated, moved or removed, and some were added. Several trees that were superfluous or problematic for re-shaping green complexes and bunkers were removed. While the course stretches to just over 6,600 yards from the back tees, a completely new set of forward tees was added to offer members a 4,500-yard option. The four sets of tees now combine to offer members a total of seven different course lengths on the scorecard to suit golfers of every ability level. The renovation project also included the practice putting green, which now offers 40 percent more usable space.
One of the most noticeable changes has been the elimination of about 120,000 sq. ft. of turf and conversion of these areas to low-water use landscaping. With a wide variety of hearty and colorful perennial flowering plants, the new landscaping areas enhance the overall visual appeal of the course.
Desert Horizons also benefited from a grant program offered by the Coachella Valley Water District to convert turf areas to lower water use vegetation, allowing the club to add a bit of sweetener to the renovation budget.
“Our members are excited to show the new Desert Horizons to their friends,” General Manager Damien Gallardo said. “This leads not only to new members, but also to increased participation in club activities, and inspires our staff to create new ways for the members to enjoy the club.”
The success of the golf course renovation campaign has started a trend to enhance other elements of the club. “The tennis and pickleball players said if the golf members could do it, so can we,” said MacKenzie. “The culture and attitudes of the members have totally turned around. Everyone here is excited about what we’re doing.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.