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Depending on what time you tee it up, Arrowood Golf Course can play as two identical yet completely different golf courses. Get your round in by noon and the course can be a gentle and (somewhat) forgiving track. If you’re hitting the ball good, it’s almost a walk in the park. However, if your tee time takes you later into the afternoon, the course often becomes a brutal and challenging test of patience, concentration and skill. And if you’re not hitting the ball good, it can seemingly morph into a well-protected — albeit lush — torture chamber. The difference? It’s the wind. Specifically, the southwestern gusts that blow in from the nearby Pacific Ocean. And once it starts to blow you’d better hang on to your hat. Because every rolling hill, subtle mound and slippery slope becomes increasingly magnified to the point of sheer frustration. But, hey, that’s what this game is all about: battling the elements and going toe to toe with Mother Nature. Located in the northern San Diego town of Oceanside, Arrowood opened to the public on June 11. It was designed by Orange County-based architect Ted Robinson, Jr., whose other Southland credits include Tahquitz Creek in Palm Springs and Riverwalk in San Diego. “This course is different from others we’ve designed in San Diego, because of the topography and the exctent of the natural areas adjacent to the holes,” Robinson said. “The course feels open an dunconfined, and has something for every caliber of player.” Arrowood features a wide variety of par 4s, from the drivable 282-yard seventh hole to the dead-into-the-wind, impossible-to-reach 465-yard 16th, a hole that is further complicated by an island green surrounded by water. Over the past forty years Ted Robinson has designed over 170 golf courses throughout the world. Current honors include the selection of Sahalee Country Club in Redmond, Washington as the site of the 1998 PGA Tour Championship and the Experience at Koele on the island of Lanai, Hawaii as one of the best new resort courses in the world. In 1993, he was named as one of the Best in the West by Western Golf Links Magazine. Robinson designed courses are currently ranked in the top five in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Hawaii. In Orange County, he is the designer of Tustin Ranch and Tijeras Creek, two of the most financially successful public facilities in Southern California. Locally, he has completed over twenty golf courses in the Palm Springs area including the Marriott Desert Springs, Grand Champions in Indian Wells, and the new Tahquitz Creek Golf Course for the City of Palm Springs. Ted Robinson is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a Master of Science degrees in Landscape Architecture and Land Planning. He began his career as a land planner while teaching at USC. Golf Course Architecture gradually supplanted urban design until it became the dominant activity 40 years ago. He is past President and currently a Fellow of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. n |
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