"The result is a startling transformation that makes the California Golf Club of San Francisco arguably one of the golf-rich state’s five finest courses for the first time in its history."
/Ran Morrissett profiles the dramatic restoration of California Country Club, explains the role of various team members in this post, and contends that the project transcends the typical restoration, realizing something greater by combining the best of modern agronomic and architectural practices with MacKenzie's original redesign vision.
Some of the greatest designs ever seen in the United States- Lakeside, Bel-Air, and Los Angeles - were radically changed for the worse prior to World War II. Other designs like Pasatiempo were compromised by the subsequent residential component that was built too close to the playing corridors. Only a few clubs like the Valley Club of Montecito have retained and/or returned the best playing attributes ofthe course'soriginal design.
Yet, there is one club that has returned the best Golden Age design features to its course and taken full advantage of the finest aspects of modern golf architecture and agronomy. The result is a startling transformation that makes the California Golf Club of San Francisco arguably one of the golf-rich state’s five finest courses for the first time in its history.