Virtual Flyover
Holes #8-#9 (05:45-06:43)
‘We look at the golf course as sets of holes, and try to create as much diversity within those sets to maximize how the holes are presented and played. For the par 3’s we try for 100 yards of differential from the longest to the shortest with appropriate yardage breaks in between. We do the same for the par 5’s. This can be a bit more challenging given the property and land at times though. For par 4’s we like to see 200 yards from the longest to the shortest. If we can create a great 490 yard par four, we want to offset with as great of a 290 yard hole.
In the context of the current 8th and 9th hole corridors we realized quite quickly that the current 9th hole most likely played very difficult for a large percentage of the membership given the sharp elevation in the fairway. We also felt that the setting for the 9th green was one of the most beautifully framed on the course and we wanted to put all of the members in the best position to experience the approach into the green. So, for hole #8 we want to create a truly great short par four that provides optional lines of play depending on the daily set up. One of our favorite holes to watch in golf is the par 4 10th at Riviera CC. The opportunity to make a relatively easy par is available if played conservatively, but the more aggressively the hole is played larger numbers come into play. It affords the best players in the world such a unique challenge, which the members get to enjoy every time they play. The tees would set from the forward tee position on current hole #8 and run left of where the current 9th tees sit. This also provides a greater margin of safety with errant tee shots from hole #14. The green would sit just past the crest of the current fairway, but at a much lower elevation with the grade shaped more gently back towards the tees.
The 9th hole would become the short par 3 on the golf course at 156 yards. The opportunity to craft a much more engaging green complex than the current one is amply available given the movement and character of the land - little of which plays into the current design. In this manner we will be able to get all of the membership in the best alignment to appreciate a much improved and more aesthetic shot into that incredible setting.'
Holes #15-#17 (10:05-12:22)
'The majority of the Master Plan for Wayzata entails re-designing the golf holes within their existing hole corridors. The revised course will be very familiar to the membership, but much more strategic, engaging, and aesthetic. Holes #15-#17 also utilize the existing hole corridors but in a different fashion. We would like to reverse these golf holes playing hole #15 as a par 3 in reverse of existing hole #17, #16 in reverse of existing hole #16 as a par 5 to current #15 green area, and hole #17 as a long par 4 in reverse of existing hole #15. The main reasoning being that this allows us to utilize the existing character of the property to a much better effect in crafting better golf.
Standing on current #17 green and looking back towards #17 tees is a far better view shed and environment than the direction the existing 17th plays. With the green set near the blue tee area we can incorporate the framing of the setting including some beautiful Eastern White Pine trees that sit to the left of those current tees. Hole #16 contains one of the best topographical features on the property, the large hillside from which the tees play, but then the golf is relatively flat and uninteresting from that point. If we turn the golf hole around we can play off and over the hillside with a bunker scheme that provides optional lines of play into what would be a short par 5. As designers we look at the second half of the current 16th hole and scratch our heads trying to figure out how to make it more interesting, looking opposite the available quality of the land jumps with potential. Hole #17 would play from the large Oak right of the current 15th green back down the 15th fairway to a green set near the white tees. We would expand the pond out into the current fairway creating a cape hole that hugs a much larger and more visible body of water the entire length of the hole providing something Wayzata CC currently does not have - a green set on the water. Another domino effect of this potential reversal is the space to shift the back two tee sets on #18 to play across the pond. This is a much better angle for the golf hole and works well with the concept for hole #17.'