Diablo Country Club, Diablo, California, is set for a renovation to be led by Todd Eckenrode, ASGCA (Origins Golf Design). The club’s first nine holes date back to 1915, and the “newer” set of nine celebrates its centennial in 2020.
Golf Course Architecture reports:
The work will include the reconstruction of all greens and surrounds, a reduction in the overall maintained turf area of around 35 percent, the reconstruction of all bunkers – many to their original design – and tees renovated to a more natural shape and contour.
The course’s original nine was designed by Jack Neville – his first design before co-designing Pebble Beach with Douglas Grant – and opened in 1915. The second nine was laid out by William Watson in 1920. Watson then continued to work in San Francisco, creating layouts at the Olympic Club and Harding Park.
Eckenrode will oversee architectural work on the Diablo renovation alongside his senior designer Andy Frank. The original routing will remain the same, and the project will also see a new irrigation system installed and the resurfacing of all greens and surrounds with bentgrass, and all other areas with a drought-tolerant bermudagrass.
The project team includes contractor Landscapes Unlimited, irrigation contractor Foremost Construction, landscape firm Pinnacle Design and independent shapers Matt Flint, Brett Hochstein and Joe Hancock.