The new 12-hole golf course in Yucca Valley, Calif., is scheduled to begin construction in November and is expected to take about nine months to complete. Built on the site of a shuttered golf course, the project is proving to be a challenge to contractors who are working with heavily vandalized wells and electrical.
Construction will begin next month on a golf course in Yucca Valley, Calif., to be called Hawk’s Landing Golf Club at Blue Skies, the Yucca Valley (Calif.) Hi-Desert Star reported.
Landscapes Unlimited, a golf course construction firm, was chosen recently to oversee the construction of the new 12-hole course and driving range, the Star reported.
Dave Linngren will represent Landscapes Unlimited on the project, which is expected to take about nine months to complete. The firm has built more than 100 golf courses, including the Classic Club in Palm Desert, and is planning to start work in Yucca Valley as early as the first week of November, the Star reported.
Landscapes Unlimited has expertise in 12-hole courses, which helped seal the deal for Bill Brehm Sr., owner of the local course, the Star reported.
“They believe in the new revolution in golf: a shorter course will bring people back to the game,” Brehm said.
“Twelve-hole courses are a trend now for a few reasons. People don’t have as much time to play,” Cindy Melland, spokesperson for the Brehm family, said. “A golfer can play just six holes if they have very little time, play two loops for 12 holes, or play three loops for a full 18. It gives golfers more options.”
Yucca Valley contractors are preparing the wells and electrical panels, which were all heavily vandalized, making the renovation of the course more challenging, the Star reported.
“Unfortunately, everything was stripped and stolen during the time the course was vacant and we are starting from scratch on all the electrical,” Tom Humphreville of Custom Electric said.
Southern California Edison has been working with the owners to restore electrical service to the well sites. The pumps and wells had to be completely redone to get them running again. Mike Hildebrand, another Yucca Valley contractor, has been working with well companies to get two of the three wells back in working order. These wells had been operating for nearly 50 years at the course before vandals destroyed them, the Star reported.
Hildebrand’s company has also demolished the old clubhouse building, which will be redesigned and rebuilt primarily with local contractors, Brehm said.
Hawk’s Landing will also use less water than the Blue Skies course, the Star reported.
“It was also a goal of the Brehm family to reduce the water usage, so I have designated over 30 acres on non-irrigated native areas and only 60 acres of turf,” course designer Cary Bickler said. “By comparison, the previous course had over 100 acres of irrigated turf.”
Mike Branning of Unique Garden Center is working with the Brehms to create a native planting pallet that will be both aesthetically pleasing and water-conservative. The 12-hole design will also help the course use less water, the Star reported.
“I had meetings with a lot of leaders in the community who believe in conservation,” Brehm said. “They want to see a golf course where less water is used.”
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