Nearly a year after architect Gil Hanse and his team broke ground, the Lake Course at Olympic Club is looking better than ever.
Recently re-opened the enhanced par-71, 7,050-yard Lake Course features greens that are 35% larger and connect more naturally to the surrounding bunkers. The expanded green complexes provide a new variety of pin placements for both day-to-day play and championships.
Meanwhile, fairways have been expanded 25%, allowing for new fairway bunkers throughout the course, including the reintegration of historic bunkers on the iconic 18th hole.
Of note as well is a complete re-routing of the 7th hole, with the green now sitting closer to the 8th tee box area.
“The level of precision required to score at The Olympic Club is still going to be very high for the players who are setting out to score," Hanse said. "But the level of precision to just go out and play golf and enjoy yourself is a little bit lower, because of those demands on the approach shots."
Down the coast, Pebble Beach Company announced a partnership with Hanse and Jim Wagner and Hanse Golf Course Design to re-design The Links at Spanish Bay.
“The Links at Spanish Bay possesses nearly every raw element you’d want in a golf course, from expansive ocean views to rolling, sandy terrain,” said Hanse. “With these natural attributes already in place, our team will have a significant head start on delivering a final product that will be in the top echelon of ‘must play’ courses.”