Creating Sagebrush: #11.

Whereas the 2nd hole was one of the simplest to create at Sagebrush (see previous post), the 11th was quite challenging to build. This 500-yard par 4 is a very important hole too. Along with the 8th (another long par 4 that also required a major construction effort), the 11th hole is key to the routing coming together; getting golfers to a beautiful spot at the back of the property (where the wonderfully short 12th and 13th holes are interrupted by 'The Hideout').

There's a lot of talk about 'minimalism' in golf course architecture these days; and, finding natural holes - like Sagebrush's 2nd - requires unique talent. But to be a great golf course designer, you must also possess extraordinary powers to visualize possibilities through construction work. Most holes at Sagebrush were quite easy to 'see' on the raw ground before construction of the course began; not the 8th and 11th though. In fact, when Rod Whitman first pitched what is now Sagebrush's 11th hole, most people involved with the project couldn't see it at all. 

Below is a pre-construction view of the proposed green site (click on all images to enlarge). This photo was taken from the 11th hole side of a massive fairway area shared with the adjacent 14th hole, at right. This proposed green site for the 11th hole was a steep hillside; a beautiful spot, but not an ideal location to build a green, really.

Below is a similar view during construction. Work is being done to soften a steep slope in the fairway area, some 300 yards off the back tee. The beginnings of a green pad, created by gouging material out of the hillside there, can also be seen in the distance. It took quite a bit of time and material to create a site for this green that was large enough and flat enough to accommodate golf. In fact, a lot of work went into creating all of the greens at Sagebrush. Due to the extreme nature of the site, it was challenging to make these sites flat enough while at the same time creating interesting putting greens.

Finally, below is a view of the 11th green site complete (photo by Duncan Ridley). It's another of Sagebrush's many massive putting greens, featuring some neat 'waves' rolling across its surface from front to back. (Quite a climb is required to get to the short par 3 12th, which is well above the 11th green, playing across a tiny plateau in the shadow of that large rock face you see in the image below.)

Sagebrush's 11th hole is monument to extraordinary imagination in golf course design.

Creating Sagebrush: #2.

News that Dick Zokol's no longer associated with Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club has made me a bit nostalgic. Looking back, I feel very privileged to have been a part of creating such a distinct golf course in such a stunning setting. It was great fun.

When Rod Whitman first visited the property where Zokol wanted to build Sagebrush, he thought it was going to be impossible to play golf there - particularly in traditional fashion, as Dick envisioned it. There's over 300 feet of elevation change across the property. Rod's opinion changed as the routing came together though; and, it's Rod's routing that allows the course to work so well.

Holes like the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 8th (!), 11th, 13th and 16th required a lot of effort to put together. But there are also a number of very natural holes at Sagebrush, like the long-ish par 4 second for example. Following is an interesting sequence of photos illustrating the very 'minimalistic' development of this hole (click on all images to enlarge).    





Before construction: The tee shot plays over a rise immediately in front of the tees that hides the fairway from view. Above is a look down toward the proposed green site - hovering above Nicola Lake, in the distance - from the top of that rise.   


During construction: Vegetation and topsoil was delicately stripped from the fairway area, with effort to preserve existing terrain. Topsoil was then screened on-site and replaced after shaping and irrigation installation. As you'll see below, very little shaping work was required in the fairway area at the 2nd hole. In this photo, you can also see the green 'padded out' behind the pile of stripped topsoil. A small ridge that jutted out of the hillside, at left, in front of the green site was cut down. Material from this cut was used to create the green pad.



Finished and seeded, with the 'green' clearly seen in the distance: The greens are consistently massive at Sagebrush. This one, at 2nd, is only half the size of the 7th and 16th greens, but probably still measures 12,000 square feet or more. Most interesting is the distinct right to left angle of the green. My favourite holes are back-left. When the flagstick features over there, you're well-advised to drive down the right side of the fairway or face a very tricky approach from the left side. There's a neat rise in front of the green as well that makes front hole locations equally interesting.  



Complete: The fairways at Sagebrush - which in most areas transition into native vegetation (there's very little rough) - were planted with fescue. Conditions are always firm as a result. The downslope in the foreground will propel tee shots way down the fairway at the 2nd, turning this 440-yard hole (which in a preliminary draft of the golf course plan was the first) into a drive-short iron some days. The bunkers cut into the natural knob right of the fairway were Zokol's idea; I remember being on-site by myself one weekend when I personally scratched 'em in. You can also see a small bunker right of the green in this photo; there are three more behind the green, principally designed to prevent balls from falling off a cliff there, and another left of the putting surface.

The 2nd at Sagebrush - an incredibly natural hole in an incomparable setting.

Dick Zokol and Sagebrush.

With Zokol and Whitman, on-site, during the construction of Sagebrush.

I'm really disppointed to find out that my friend, Richard Zokol, has parted ways with Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club. Not unlike Bobby Jones and Augusta National, there (was) Dick Zokol and Sagebrush. You can't speak of one without immediately thinking of the other.

Sagebrush was Dick's idea. And, along with his partner, Terry Donald (who's still involved with the club), he put a difficult deal together to realize his vision.

I spent more than three years working with Dick (Rod Whitman and Armen Suny) on the design and construction of the golf course at Sagebrush. We didn't always agree, but I got to know Dick well. I developed a healthy respect for him as a big thinker. His clear vision and determination are very rare. (No wonder he's one of very few Canadians who've successfully survived the PGA Tour for more than two decades.) Dick's tough, and he was always resolute with his vision for Sagebrush.

The place turned out pretty good. Named Best New Canadian course for 2009 by Golf Digest and SCOREGolf magazines, Sagebrush currently ranks #28 on the list of the top-100 courses in Canada. But it's more than that. All of the very best golf courses share a single common characteristic. That is, they're all distinct. Sagebrush is an extremely unique golf course. Its massive scale, which Zokol imagined from the get-go, is unparalleled. But, perhaps most important, it's a fun course to play. Dick always wanted it wider and bigger, mostly so everyone had enough room to play golf. This was, arguably, his most important contribution to the golf course design - playability. Dick was adamant that all golfers, Tour players and hacks alike, were simply going to enjoy Sagebrush.

Even though he's stepped down as chairman, I can't imagine the names Dick Zokol and Sagebrush won't be linked forever.