BEHIND THE HEADLINES Steve Friedlander

The Pelican Hill Golf Club, which closed for renovations more than two years ago, is scheduled to reopen Friday with two courses, a practice range, a clubhouse and a restaurant.

In anticipation of the reopening, the Daily Pilot toured the green with Steve Friedlander, the Irvine Co.’s general manager for golf, and asked about his forecast for the coming years. The full Resort at Pelican Hill, which will include a hotel and wedding site, is scheduled to open in 2008.

Q. Explain your golf background leading up to your position with the Irvine Company.

A. I became a golf professional and PGA of America member in 1975, and worked my way through the ranks. I started as a teaching professional; then became an assistant professional, and eventually worked my way into positions, where I was responsible for all golf operations at multiple clubs. I’ve been involved in high-end and luxury resort properties for nearly 20 years.

Prior to joining The Irvine Co., I served as general manager and group director of golf at the Kohler Co., where I oversaw Whistling Straits in Wisconsin and The Duke’s St. Andrews in Scotland. I also worked as director of golf at both Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami and Ventana Canyon Golf & Racquet Club in Tuscon.

Q. Tell us about your experience at Whistling Straits in planning and organizing the PGA Championship, one of the four majors on the PGA Tour.

A. Planning started in 2000 — four full years before the actual event. I worked closely with the course’s designer, Pete Dye, to create the infrastructure to accommodate 320,000 attendees and park 27,000 cars daily on site. The job also involved working closely with Kerry Haigh, the PGA’s senior director of tournaments, to ensure the golf course was perfectly conditioned and the ultimate test for the world’s greatest golfers.

In addition, I served on the event’s Executive Committee, which involved organizing 63 volunteer committees with some 3,500 volunteers. The 2004 PGA Championship set a number of records, including attendance and merchandise sales. I usually tell people that preparing for the championship is akin to building a stadium for the Super Bowl, except that the game lasts seven days and immediately afterward you dismantle what you’ve built. That’s what it was like.

Q. You’ve been at Pelican Hill Golf Club since early 2007. What has been taking place behind the scenes in planning for this Friday’s grand re-opening?

A. Preparing the club to reopen has been a significant undertaking. It involved completing a wide variety of enhancements to the courses. As you may know, we invited Tom Fazio, the original designer, back to recommend changes. Completing those changes involved everything from ensuring the new grasses on the courses grew in properly to testing each of the more than 12,000 irrigation heads.

Getting ready for Nov. 2 also has entailed finishing construction of the new clubhouse, hiring and training approximately 200 employees, ordering merchandise and so on. Just to give you a feel for the range and volume — we purchased everything from 160 new golf cars to 50,000 Nike Platinum practice balls.

Q. What are the most notable changes that golfers familiar with Pelican Hill Golf Club will notice?

A. As a result of Fazio’s changes, two of the finest courses in the region are now even better. Golfers will notice new turf on the fairways, as well as new grasses in the roughs — the contrast is just beautiful. They’ll also notice that the courses have 25 new bunkers and about 200 extra yards of total length. We’ve also recaptured the incredible views of the ocean that Fazio originally envisioned, but had been lost over time. In addition, the tees have been rebuilt and resurfaced. And while this might not be visible to the average golfer, it is extremely important: We installed a state-of-the-art water management system to irrigate the courses and trap and treat run-off.

Q. As general manager for golf at the Irvine Company, what exactly is your role in moving forward?

A. To inspire unprecedented experiences! This is truly one of the most spectacular destinations in the golf world, and my first priority is to ensure that, day in and day out, we provide exceptional service to match the setting. There are a thousand and one details that go into doing that — from stocking the golf shop with the very best merchandise to grooming the courses perfectly to offering the most personalized service at our Golf Academy.

Q. What is the experience you want golfers to expect and enjoy when they play Pelican Hill?

A. From the setting to the service, we expect that the experience will be unprecedented. Very few clubs, if any, can offer the combination that we do — a spectacular seaside setting, beautiful architecture, a wealth of amenities, ideal weather and excellent service. We want golfers to feel as though they’ve entered our own homes, with attention paid to every detail.

Q. You’ve obviously had experience in playing and/or working at some great golf courses. How do the courses at Pelican Hill stack up nationally?

A. I have been fortunate to play on the greatest golf courses in the world, and believe that both courses at Pelican Hill rate among the best, both in terms of playability and how memorable they are. Tom Fazio has designed two of the best golf courses in the country on one of the most stunning pieces of land anywhere with arguably the best weather anywhere. It’s a tough combination to beat.