Gleneden Beach, Ore. - Salishan Golf Links reopened following a redesign by Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design. The design showcases 18 new green complexes, an additional 400 yards, and new views of the Pacific Ocean and Siletz Bay.
"The major changes needed at Salishan were very simple to identify: drainage of the entire course and making the greens playable and receptive," said Peter Jacobsen, PGA Tour veteran and partner with Jim Hardy in Houston-based Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design. "I feel we accomplished both of those goals, but we did a lot more than that."
The Salishan layout was rebunkered completely, and one hole, the par-3 15th, was completely reimagined.
"The most dramatic change is the new No. 15," Jacobsen said. "Instead of a blind, uphill par-3, it's now a downhill par-3 playing directly at the Pacific Ocean on the horizon. It's one of the exciting changes and improvements that we feel puts Salishan back on the map of tremendous Oregon golf courses."
Eugene-based Spring Capital Group purchased Salishan in 2003 and committed $3 million to Jacobsen Hardy's course upgrade.
The golf course never took maximum advantage of this incredible property, according to Jacobsen. The layout was short, just 6,000 yards, and throughout time, developed drainage problems.
"One of our primary goals with the restoration of this course was to bring it into the 21st century," said Mark Swift, Salishan's director of golf. "Technology of course design and maintenance had long since passed us by, and we wanted to preserve Salishan's well-established place as one of the finest golf courses in the Pacific Northwest."
"Salishan was just a very tired golf course," said Rex VanHoose, Jacobsen Hardy's senior architect in charge of the Salishan project. "We solved the drainage issues, but we also brought a coherent strategy to the entire design. The holes relate much better to the terrain now. I never suspected that we could change things so dramatically, on every hole."
Salishan's new 10th hole illustrates the scope of Jacobsen Hardy's work. What had been a downhill, straightaway par-5 of just 440 yards is now a dry, 457-yard double-dogleg thanks to strategic, fairway-pinching bunkers and a green which sits 30 yards right of the old one.
"It's a great improvement, but we also created a tremendous view of Siletz Bay, behind the green," said VanHoose. "When we got there, the view was completely hidden by dense grouping of trees. You didn't even know the bay was there until you got to the 11th tee. Now you see it from 10th tee.
"The 10th and 11th [a 202-yard par-3] both capitalize on the ambience of Siletz Bay in ways they never did before. The 11th green used to sit below a dike that runs along the bay's edge. We built up a new putting surface to the dike's elevation, so now you're looking out over the water, across a horizon green. We also incorporated a sweeping dune feature behind the green, covered in beach grass, to give you a real sense of arrival on the links nine."
Salishan's front nine, which plays inland through a thick forest of pine, was also the subject of major improvements in playability and design.
"On the front side, I'd say the most notable improvement came at no. 3," said Hardy. "We found a spot for a back tee which added 50 yards to the 3rd hole and revealed a beautiful escarpment feature. The hole measures 416 yards now; the drive plays right over this miniature gulch. The old hole was a shorter par-4 with a hidden creek at 230 yards. Resort guests were always in it. With this back tee, the creek is 300, so it's not such an issue."
"That was the story with a lot of holes at Salishan," added VanHoose. "They were mediocre in terms of fairness and strategy, and now they're quite spectacular, with bolder bunkering."
Source: Phillips Golf Media