The Course: Rancho San Marcos GC, Santa Barbara
Its first year, however, proved to be the course’s brief heyday. Opened by a group of local investors, the course was already suffering financially and winter storms that ripped through the Southland only a year later left the mountain property in disrepair. The flooding Santa Ynez River wiped out the third green, and the course’s primary water source subsequently suffered from drought, only allowing them to provide water to a fraction of the course. With little player loyalty in its time of need combined with its physical trouble, it appeared the course could not get any lower. Ty Warner, a Santa Barbara resident and the force behind the Beanie Baby fad, which along with his Ty, Inc. company and investments in real estate have made him a billionaire, purchased the property in 2003. Since, he and his team have taken the layout to new levels. “When Mr. Warner got involved, the golf course was at its lowest point, ” says Greg Villeneuve, operations manager at Rancho San Marcos. “There were holes that had no turf in the fairways and the course and its features were damaged and dilapidated. Mr. Warner put in a tremendous amount of time and work, and the results are remarkable.” With a goal to help the course fulfill its potential, Warner said in 2005, while better protecting the natural environment and fragile ecosystem of the area, he and his team worked to resolve the water and well issues of the 6,817-yard course, as well as replaced all of the course’s turf. Robert Trent Jones Jr. returned to his creation to complete a redesign, including rebuilding the first hole, a short par 5. All of the bunkers were renovated with Augusta White sand (“After January’s 28 inches of rain, none of the newly renovated bunkers had standing water or wash outs, which clearly shows Mr. Warner’s strong commitment to approaching the renovation correctly,”Villeneuve adds). Players in the 2008 Foursomes Championship will experience a variety of spectacular scenery which promotes strategic golf shots and showcases the creativity the redesign implemented to preserve and better the course. Near Lake Cachuma, the course sits in three zones -- the valley, the mesa (back nine) and the upper mesa. Efforts were made to preserve vegetation during its renovation, such as on “Bear’s Back,” the 410-yard, par-4 15th from which a 70-foot valley oak tree was relocated, allowing regrading of the fairway to improve sight lines and playability. Information |
Located 12 miles outside Santa Barbara, Rancho San Marcos opened in January 1996 to positive reviews and accolades: the Robert Trent Jones, Jr. layout was named one of the “Top 10 You Can Play” by Golf Magazine and considered by his design firm as one of the best courses they had ever done. It was also built on the site of the historic Rancho San Marcos, circa 1804, complete with its 19th-century adobe structures and an original stagecoach trail.