Thursday, July 05, 2001
Water refreshes at California
Better greens result from new irrigation
By Carey Hoffman
Enquirer contributor
Mention California Golf Course and the first thing that comes to mind for most golfers is water. So it is ironic that water — or more specifically, a lack of it — has been the biggest issue for California this season.
View from the 17th tee.
(Gary Landers photo)
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California is built around two large reservoirs for the Cincinnati Water Works facility across Kellogg Avenue. But the course draws no water from them and was saddled with an antiquated irrigation system that kept conditioning below ideal levels.
That has begun to change in the last month with the advent of a new, state-of-the-art, double-row irrigation system. But its installation made for a rough first half of the season for golfers.
“The course went awhile without getting any water,” said California head pro Larry King, referring to this spring's extended dry weather. “The dry spell came and the course felt that. We were just lucky we had some wet weather come when we did. (Installation) might have messed up pace of play, but I hope our customers realize we are trying to make the course better.”
Putting in pipe required one or two holes at a time to be closed from February through mid-April. But completion of the irrigation system has begun a rapid recovery.
Instead of a single row of irrigation with limited water pressure that watered just the fairways, now fairways and rough get water. Greens and tees that had only one sprinkler head now have five.
It should bring significant benefits to a course that bears the stress of about 50,000 rounds a year.
“There's already been a tremendous improvement,” King said. “Our greens are going to get so much better because we can water them at night. One of the biggest complaints of our players is that the greens are too hard and just not right.”
Improved irrigation will allow California to mow its greens using a technique called “verticut,” where a brush in front of the mower stands up the grass and allows for a closer cut.
Conditioning is particularly important for California's aging foundation. The course was built as a WPA project in 1935, long before modern construction techniques. California is a Cincinnati Recreation Commission course operated by Kemper Sports Management.
Playing California stands out as a treat for fans of old-school course design. Many of the holes are straightforward, but constant changes in elevation, crowned greens and mature trees require players to remain vigilant.
With its fir trees and the two reservoirs as backdrops, California displays more style than a number of more recent designs.
The front nine, in particular, stands out as traditional. The back nine has a more rugged character, running through higher ground along the edges of wooded areas.
Four holes were changed around 1970, said Lenny Byrd, a pro shop employee at the course who worked full time for the CRC beginning in 1960 and played California as early as 1947.
The current stretch from holes No.11 through 14 was routed through woods south of the existing course, repla cing four older-style holes that were north of property near Apple Hill Road on land that the Water Works had plans for. The loss of those holes explains why the layout has a gap that requires a walk of more than five minutes around the reservoirs to get from the No.16 green to No.17 tee.
The change cost the back nine its only par-5 hole, leaving just one par-5 and three par-3s to go with 14 par-4s on the course. That is one reason why California frequently plays harder than the yardage from the tips of 6,245 and a slope rating of 121 would suggest.
“I think the back nine is at least three shots harder than the front,” King said. “On every hole on the back, there's a chance to lose a golf ball. It's one of the tightest nine holes of golf for driving the ball that you can play in the city.”
King said he expects course conditions to do nothing but improve throughout the rest of the season. That promise has credibility, thanks to the solid job Kemper has done upgrading conditions at other CRC courses. Besides its dry spring, California also is battling to recover from damage done to two greens by vandals and problems on a third from a mole.
“We're trying to market California as a place in which people can come and have fun without a lot of overbearing rules,” said Rob Williams, supervisor of golf for CRC. “We want it accessible and available in terms of tee times, and we look to continue to draw golfers from Northern Kentucky, all of eastern Cincinnati and the city of Cincinnati proper.”
Check out our Tristate golf guide for a directory and features on local courses, coverage of the Men's and Women's Met, and other news.
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Golf course profile: California
