Toshiba Senior Classic: A New(port) complexion

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - In keeping with tradition, the Newport Beach

Country Club has slightly altered the look of the Toshiba Senior Classic.

For members of the Senior PGA Tour returning to the event, they’ll

first notice a new and improved driving range, then, once on the golf

course, they’ll detect two reconstructed tee boxes on the front nine and

a more friendly fifth hole, which has been tough on them in past

tournaments.

But the biggest change will come on Newport Beach’s signature hole No.

17, which was spotlighted in 1997 when Bob Murphy sank an 80-foot birdie

putt to win a then-senior tour record nine-hole playoff against Jay

Sigel, and again in ’98 when Hale Irwin’s tee shot was stopped from

rolling into the lake by a bunker rake on his way to setting a course

record (62) in the final round.

“It’s that local knowledge -- you learn where the rakes are,” Irwin

cracked afterward, when he passed 11 players to win Toshiba Classic IV.

The most compelling hole on the course now features a second bunker,

strategically placed in front of the green. With two bunkers, fewer golf

balls are expected to roll downhill into the large water hazard.

Instead, the sand will trap more balls in the sloped area below the

green that has had trouble with coots eating the grass seeds and, thus,

making the hillside rough too short to seize balls from speeding

downhill.

“With the new bunker configuration, it’s going to give that hole a

totally different look,” Newport Beach head professional Paul Hahn said.

“Before, with the bunker over to the right (of the green), it gave them

an opening, where you could kind of feel your way into the green. But now

you have to go over the bunkers.

“It could be (even tougher), because of the vision that they have

looking at the green.”

Last year, No. 17 played many a trick on the 50-and-over field,

pumping up the scoring average to a tournament-high .253 over par.

The hole, which also has a two-tiered green with a severe drop from

the top shelf, forced eight double bogeys and four triple bogeys last

year, the most in the tournament.

But there should be no more repeat performances of Irwin’s miraculous

up and down with balls now rolling off the green and into the bunkers.

“By adding six, seven, eight yards of bunker, it makes it pretty much

impossible to hit into that bunker and have it roll into the lake,” club

president Jerry Anderson said.

The driving range area is probably the next most radical change on the

course.

The entire area has been made level, while hitting stations have been

moved backward, closer to the cart path, making the hitting distances

longer. A dozen Fiberbuilt mats have been added, but the senior pros will

hit off grass.

The concrete cart path has been doubled in width and extended at the

end, with a triangle shape that provides 10 parking spots and easier in

and out access.

“We’ve also landscaped in the middle turn circle area,” Anderson said.

“It all looks good. The range will be in good shape for the players.”

Further, Newport Beach superintendent Ron Benedict has built a mound

behind the fifth green and reconstructed the tee boxes at holes three and

six.

The mound behind the fifth green is expected to help the players with

vision to the green and club selection on their approach.

The golf course is almost 50 years old and features about 2,000 trees

along 100 acres, including 631 palm trees, Benedict said. But the club

has a standing policy: As long as it hosts the Toshiba Senior Classic, it

will continue to pump dollars back into the golf course for improvements,

upgrades and redesigns.

Following the 2000 Toshiba Classic, the club will build a mound behind

the 18th green in an effort to create a little more “flash,” Anderson

said.

“There has certainly been a lot of history on that 18th green the past

two years in the Toshiba Senior Classic, but the remodeling will make it

a more challenging finishing hole,” Anderson said.

Last year, the club scored an ace with its reconstruction encompassing

holes three, four and five in the outermost corner of the golf course.

The club, which has spent about $500,000 the past two years on

improvements to the golf course, added a rock retaining wall in front of

the fourth green, along with a cascading waterfall and an updated

irrigation system. Local wildlife also favored the improvements to the

lake, which has been inhabited by geese, ducks, coots and Egyptian swans.

Ted Robinson, Sr., one of three golf course architects in the history

of the par-71, 6,584-yard layout, provided the vision and work for the

half-million dollar improvements at Newport Beach Country Club the past

two years.

In the far corner last year, colorful flora was planted on a mound

seven feet high bordering the third fairway and fifth tee box. More than

20,000 yards of dirt was moved in the project, which received rave

reviews.

William Bell designed the original course in 1952 when it opened as

the Irvine Coast Country Club, then Harry Rainville provided redesign in

1973.

Robinson was initially hired for added artistic endeavors in 1985,

after the current ownership group took over.