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GOLF RESOURCE GUIDE:
The Golfing Nomad
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 Designer Cal Olson didn’t set out to create a golf course in the Inland Empire that would remind players of the great old layouts in England, Scotland and Ireland. It just turned out that way. Olson’s beautiful links-style course at the Links at Summerly in Lake Elsinore was originally part of a major housing development that stalled when the bottom fell out of the real estate industry. The property sits in the middle of the Lake Elsinore flood plain, meaning the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had to dig millions of cubic feet out of the ground and pile it up to ensure the houses were out of harm’s way. That left a 200-acre pit for Olson to work with. “I certainly didn’t set out to create a link-style course there,” said Olson, a designer who has worked on courses from Moscow to Coyote Hills in Fullerton. “But the terrain kind of dictated what we could do.” The first task was to figure out a way to drain a golf course on flat land. As he surveyed the property, Olson thought about courses he’d visited during his career. He realized that utilizing Scottish burns, or depressions that serve as drainage corridors, would work at the new property. “The drainage is really modeled after a course like Carnoustie, which is set on a flat elevation and uses these burns to collect water that slowly works off the golf course,” he said. “As we wound the three miles of burns through the project, we started realizing it might be a good opportunity to take the whole links concept to another level.” What resulted is a course with a distinctive aura. There are no trees or drastic elevation changes, the grass is brownish and wispy, and the sand traps resemble the kidney-shaped and pot bunkers of many British Isle venues. Among the layout’s highlights: the challenging 563-yard, par-5 second hole, where players are first introduced to a winding burn that dissects the fairway; the 383-yard fifth hole, which features a double green it shares with the par-3 14th; the drivable risk-reward par-4 seventh hole; and the double-dogleg 542-yard, par-5 13th, with several different ways to attack the fairway and green. “We hear the word unique all the time,” PGA General Manager Stan Gonzales said. “There is no other course in Southern California that looks like we do.” The location also works wonderfully with the layout. “It’s set beneath the clubhouse and there are no homes around,” Gonzales said. “All you see are parachutists and the Ortega Mountains. It’s quite serene.” The links-style layout also commands some attention to detail for players. “It’s a flat course, so I think the temptation, especially for longer hitters, is to just get out the driver and let it rip,” Gonzales said. “But the course really can’t be attacked that way. The lack of trees makes distance deceiving, so you really need to think out there.” The course stretches to 7,012 yards from the tips, but five sets of tees can reduce it to as short as 5,168 yards. “It can be as hard as you want, but with the five sets of tees, I think any golfer will enjoy it,” Gonzales said. The Links at Summerly also has an extensive practice area, including a 30-station driving range, 9,000-square-foot putting green and 16,000-square-foot short-game area. There’s also the Summerly Grill, which includes its own slow cooker. But the real selling point is the course. “Once you play it, you really want to get right back out there again,” Gonzales said. For more information: (951) 674-3900 or visit linksatsummerly.com. |
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