Two of southern California's more renowned golf courses will close on Nov. 30 for up to two years. The Irvine Company, which owns Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast, Calif., will shut down the two Tom Fazio-designed courses that overlook the Pacific Ocean to build a destination resort called Pelican Hill at Newport Coast.
On the drawing board are a 204-room hotel, a 128-villa residence club, spa, restaurants and new golf clubhouse. Construction is scheduled to begin next month with the hotel slated to open in 2008.
Resplendent with ocean views and playing through rugged canyons, the South Course at Pelican Hill (6,564 yards, par 70), which opened in 1991, set the standard for high-end public golf in southern California and helped cement Fazio's reputation as one of the industry's top course architects. The North Course (6,864 yards, par 71), with equally dazzling ocean views, opened in 1993.
The Irvine Company, which will manage the resort, said Fazio will "recommend and oversee enhancements to the courses," each of which are expected to reopen for play -- along with the new clubhouse and practice facilities -- in 2007. Architect Andrea Palladio, famed for his classic country villas that reflect that drama of their settings, will design the hotel.
As part of Pelican Hill's construction, the Irvine Co. said it will install a state-of-the-art water management system. The installation of system, the company said, is what requires the courses to be closed. The Irvine Co. said the system requires large subterranean cisterns, which will hold as much water as one and a half Olympic-size swimming pools. The cisterns, the Irvine Co. said, will capture and hold water runoff, which will be used for irrigation.
Copyright 2005 PGA.com. All rights reserved.
