Las Brisas, one of the emblematic clubs of the Costa del Sol and of all Spain, which has hosted tournaments such as the Open of our country, on different occasions, the World Cup, etc., and which was designed by the most prestigious golf architect, the North American Robert Trent Jones, is going to carry out an in-depth reform of its first nine holes. This overhaul of the Las Brisas course will be directed by Kyle Phillips, one of Jones’ favorite disciples, who worked with him for many years, during which time he imbibed his philosophy and his way of doing things. Phillips is also the creator of some of the most prestigious golf courses in the world and one of the most renowned architects today. No one better than he could “interpret” and adapt to our times the basic ideas of the mythical designer.
“This refurbishment,” says Paul Muñoz, director of the camp, “is obviously done to bring up to date some deficient facilities, forty years old, which had hardly been touched.”
“We had to correct,” continues the director of Las Brisas, “all the deficiencies produced by the passage of time, especially in terms of drainage, irrigation systems, improvements to tees and greens, etc. We also had to adapt to new playing materials, although the total length of the course will increase very little. We also had to adapt to the new playing materials, although the total length of the course will increase very little.
“We decided to bring Kyle Phillips on board because, in addition to being one of the top five designers in the world, he was vice president of Robert Trent Jones Course Design for 16 years. The master trusted Kyle so blindly that only he was allowed to touch up and finish some of his last designs when he was no longer strong enough. By the way, a course in the United States very similar to Las Brisas”.
“If our club members,” Muñoz continues, “wanted to respect the work and spirit of the course designer, who better than Phillips to do it?”
“I want to insist on the idea that what we are trying to do is to restore the original philosophy and design, except for some holes, especially in the safety aspect, such as the fourth tee, which will be moved a little to the right because in its current situation many eight balls fall on it. If something is “touched” in other areas”, the director assures, “it will be to restore them to the original design and to improve, as I have pointed out, the three or four points of insecurity that the course has”.
The renovations will begin in mid-April and will be completed by mid-October. Six months in which these first nine holes will be closed to play. This is the low season for Las Brisas members and the time when everything grows best.
The greens
As Kyle Phillips himself explains, “All of the new greens areas at Las Brisas will be similar in style to the existing greens. As anyone would expect in a Robert Trent Jones design, the contours of the greens will be extended to tie in with the surrounding areas allowing the large areas of greens to be sympathetic in the landscaped environment”.
The average area of the new greens will be 565 square meters, virtually the same as the existing greens. A replica of the current design of the greens will be documented using GPS, which will help us to maintain the current concept of the new greens where possible.
The new varieties of Creeping Bentgrass are designed to be cut at a lower height, as well as to reduce the cushion, which will result in greens with more speed and the ball rolling on a more consistent surface.
The slopes of the greens will be similar; however, they could be softened due to the better surface achieved. This philosophy will allow us to create much more flexibility in terms of flag positions, designing simple positions in the center of the greens and more competitive positions near the ends. This would allow for a customized setup based on the level of play the course will receive on a given day while allowing for a variety of flag positions both from day to day and from green to green.
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