The wait has been long, but it has been worth it. Undoubtedly. The expert hand of Kyle Phillips has captained the reform of the Real Club de Golf Las Brisas, one of the great creations of his master for many years, Robert Trent Jones.
Phillips was, in fact, one of the favorite disciples of the legendary English designer raised in the United States, and worked with him for many years, during which time he imbibed his philosophy and his way of doing things.
Kyle is also the creator of some of the most prestigious golf courses in the world and one of today’s most renowned architects. No one better than him could ‘interpret’ and adapt to our times the basic ideas of the legendary designer, says Paul Muñoz Langley, general manager of the emblematic course located in Marbella’s Golf Valley, a short distance from the glamorous Puerto Banús.
Respect for the course designer has guided the major renovation, which began three years ago with the first nine holes and is now ending with the second nine. The course is scheduled to open in the coming weeks.
The members are very satisfied with the result, says the general manager of this course, which has hosted two World Cups (1973 and 89) and four European Tour tournaments (Open de España 1970, 1983 and 1987 and the AmEx Mediterranean Open 1990). Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller would undoubtedly be delighted with the ‘new’ course if they were to play again at Las Brisas and evoke the world triumph they achieved here 42 years ago.
And no wonder. The result is obvious: simply spectacular.
Muñoz Langley gives as an example of the satisfaction of the partners the fact that for the refurbishment of the first nine holes they agreed a budget of 1.9 million euros and, in view of the good results, for the second nine they authorized an expenditure of 3.3 million euros. In total, 5.2 million euros, which gives an idea of the magnitude of the work.
In this second phase, the entire surface of these second nine holes has been changed and equipped with new infrastructure, a nursery of more than 2,500 square meters, irrigation system, new drainage network, four bridges, a new dam, the lamination of fairways with sand and roughs with topsoil, the complete renovation of the design along with all its bunkers, tees and greens.
Six holes have been updated according to the original plans, and three others are completely new: 15, 16 and 17. The course has gained distance, going from 6,130 to 6,600 meters, and the par remains at 72.
Living up to its reputation as a botanical garden with a wide variety of species, many of them exotic, the ‘new’ course has not only not dispensed with any of its trees, but has also increased the number of specimens. “We have transplanted 299 trees and planted 45 new ones,” says the club’s director.
Once the renovation of the 18-hole course has been completed, the renovation stage will affect the driving range, to increase the distance from 200 to 250 meters. It will be undertaken in principle in 2017. “We are going to leave a year off so that members can enjoy a course without works,” says Muñoz Langley.
“It’s going to be a nice project,” he explains, “because we want to put in six target greens and we’ll close the practice tees one day to make a small course of short pars so that people who are just starting to play and want to get into the world of golf have a more enjoyable way to do it.”
The refurbishment of the second nine holes of the RCG Las Brisas has entailed a multitude of actions, which are detailed below.
Hole 10. Just a few steps from the new beach bar is the new back tee, which has made the ball drop zone a little further away on this par 4. The old bunkers on the right have been redesigned to safeguard the inside turn of this dogleg to the left of low handicap players. This will allow higher handicap players to play much further to the right. A tee has also been added ahead of the rest, positioned to the right side of the line of fire of others, just to the left of the path of buggies. The green and its bunkers have been shortened a little, allowing the adjoining slopes to be gentler around them. The selective transplanting of trees has restored a beautiful view of the sea.
Hole 11. This hole remains in the same position, with views from the top overlooking the lake and the sea. The The green has been shortened in distance, thus repositioning it closer to the edge of the lake, guarded by a long bunker to the left of the green entrance. This small loss in the total distance of the hole has been compensated by adding an additional back tee. The bunkers on both sides of the green have been widened and deepened to trap shots that are too long.
Hole 12. The back and intermediate tee platforms of this par 5 have been relocated from the left bank of the creek to the right bank of the creek, thus maintaining all of the tees in line, thus eliminating the need for a protective fence on the left side of the tees. A new bunker sets the target from the tees and comes into play for big hitters. This bunker replaces the two short fairway bunkers. To add definition, two more new bunkers have been built on the outside of the second ball drop zone. Both the size of the lake and the size of the green complex have been expanded. The latter has been repositioned to tempt big hitters, thus enticing them to try to reach the green of this short par 5 in as little as two strokes, but greatly increasing the risk of falling into the water from inaccurate shots.
Hole 13. This par 4, dogleg left, has been repositioned further to the left. All the olive trees in this area have had to be transplanted on the right side of the hole, thus separating the player from the outside environment and the road. New fairway bunkers have been added, one long on the left and one on the right. The new green complex has been set back as a whole, creating much more space from the property boundary.
Hole 14. This hole has been redesigned and is now the longest par 4 on the course. A long shot between the olive trees, next to an elongated fairway bunker on the right, will be the best angle from which to attack the approach shot to the new green. Inaccurate shots will be penalized by the lake, which is now visible very close to the back left of the green.
Hole 15. A series of factors such as the sale of the land adjacent to the course, where the 18 par 3 holes were located, the construction of houses on that land, the proximity of the houses, the pronounced dogleg to the right over them and the little separation of the old green of hole 15 with the tees of holes 12 and 16, have had a lot of repercussions for the club in the past. The design of this new par 5 puts a solution to all of the above. It plays uphill to a green complex in a natural setting and guarded by the beautiful African acacias to its right. From the tees, the creek delimits the right side of the hole, having to surpass the existing lake with a second shot. This powerful par 5 thus balances both 9-hole courses, returning the course to the original par 72.
Hole 16. With the existence, to its right, of the 18th hole lake with its waterfall and spectacular views with the clubhouse as a backdrop, this par 3 played from above has been arranged in one of the most beautiful areas of the entire course. The combination of all the elements provide a majestic and challenging environment to the shortest hole on the course.
Hole 17. This long and challenging new par 4 plays in the reverse direction of the old 17th hole. The tee shot must fly over the lake, and the ball drop zone is located just over the top of the slope, the same area as the old hole. The approach shot is played downhill over the creek to a large green, nestled among olive groves and well guarded by bunkers, just to the right of what used to be the tees of the 17th hole.
Hole 18. The 18th hole rests in essentially the same place. The tees have been extended to the back, moving them to the left and realigning them more with the center of the fairway. A new bunker has been added at the height of the drive ball drop, which defines the edge of the lake very well, trapping all those long balls that go in that direction, thus preventing them from falling into the water. A carry bunker has also been added to the right. The The green has been moved forward and lowered in height, thus facilitating better visibility of the green, while at the same time making the bunkers and adjacent slopes connect better with the green.
Leave a Reply