COVER STORY
Here is an artist’s rendition of the entrance to the new clubhouse at Verde River Golf & Social Club. The new digs will be the design of noted architect Bing Hu of H&S International.
bones and truly was one of the best- kept secrets in Arizona,” he noted. “Its lasting popularity is a testament to the excellent work Ken Kavanaugh did on the original design.” Reflecting on the directive from his
client, Lehman went on to say, “Shea Homes has a great ability to make things happen. What they were looking for from us was simply for a way to make the golf course even better. We looked at the course hole by hole, feature by feature, to see where we could improve. Except for the three brand new holes, we didn’t need to make a huge number of changes. With everything we did, the idea was to make the golf course a little bit better and to add value to future homeowners.” Indeed, homeowners who purchase
property at Shea Homes’ newest master- planned resort community, Trilogy at Verde River, will have a golf course worth bragging about when it reopens in early November. Daily fee players will be welcome at least through the spring of 2017; eventually, the course will transform to members-only. “The course has amazing long-range views,” says Lehman. “It’s very quiet and private. You feel like you’re away from everything when you’re out there. You’re very much in harmony with nature when you’re playing this golf course.” In terms of specific tweaks to
individual holes, Lehman espouses a design philosophy that stems from his fondness for the classic links courses of Scotland, England and Ireland.
22 | AZ GOLF Insider | FALL 2016 “As I design more, I’m getting
further and further away from greens that penalize you and punish you,” said the former British Open champ. “In general, I take most of my ideas from links golf, which always seems to give a player the ability to recover. “Except from a pot bunker, the ball
usually winds up somewhere where there’s some chance at recovery when it’s offline. At Verde River, we’ve really worked hard to provide opportunities to recover from a wayward shot.” Most of the changes to Verde
River have embraced a light touch. “This is not an overhaul renovation,”
says Lehman. “It is a ‘what can we do to make a hole better without rebuilding a hole’ job. It’s a matter of changing the mowing patterns to make tee shots more forgiving or more strategic. It’s removing a finger in a bunker, so that you can hit a 5-iron out, instead of pitching out sideways. It’s maybe filling in a bunker, or flattening a bunker bottom. It’s adding or taking out or pruning up a couple of trees, or adding more turf where it’s needed to provide extra room. It’s taking out some sharp edges and steep falloffs, especially around the greens. “The intent was to make it more
fun, more playable. In some cases, we’ve trimmed back overgrown trees and shrubs and added turf to help accentuate the natural washes that run through the property. Not only does that help from a strategy standpoint, but from an aesthetic one as well.”
With the relocation of the clubhouse
will now be the 11th 10th
from the northern side of the existing practice facility to the southern, Verde River underwent a partial rerouting, with new sequencing of holes. The latest version of the old ninth hole will become the first hole, a par-4 of 390 yards. According to Brands, the new opener may take driver out of the hands of big hitters, due to the placement of a large slope and bunker in the landing area. He adds that the hole will also feature a “special occasion” tournament tee next to the clubhouse that will stretch it another 40 yards. From there, the old first becomes No. 2, and so on through the front nine. Likewise, on the back nine, the old has become No. 10. The former No. 12 , and so forth. The old
11th hole has been completely reworked
and is now Verde River’s memorable closing hole. Some 40 yards shorter than its predecessor, at 430 yards, the 18th
demands a drive up over a ridge. A
storm-flow channel that affects a fistful of holes comes into play here as well. “From the landing area in, it’s really
dramatic,” says Brands of the 18th. “You’ve got a green with bunkers left and right, plus a forebunker about 50 yards short of the green that big hitters could find off the tee. And to the right, you’ll have that great new clubhouse, along with a swimming pool that might be the best-looking pool in town.”
www.azgolf.org
COURTESY VERDE RIVER GOLF & SOCIAL CLUB
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