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 GRAND PLANS: A few years ago I visited Meadows del Mar, the only Tom Fazio-designed golf course in San Diego, and found it playable and challenging. The course’s name has changed — twice — since that time, from Del Mar National to The Grand Golf Club. Between the first name change and the second, Manchester Grand Resorts of San Diego, owners of the Manchester Grand Hyatt and San Diego Marriott among other properties, bought the facility with plans to make it the finest resort in San Diego. Those plans include a hotel, 21,000-square-foot spa, fitness center, swimming pools, hiking trails and access to the golf course for guests. But the main attractions will be the 4,500-square-foot, four-bedroom villas that will be sold as private homes or offered for fractional ownership, which means multiple owners would share the cost of the villa and have country club privileges during the time they are staying there. Each of the 39 villas will be priced in the $4 million range. If you’re in the area, go play the course and check it out while it’s still a public facility — plans this summer are to make it semi-private open to hotel guests and villa owners. DESERT HOT SPOT: When I was growing up, the desert hot spot was Palm Springs. During the ’70s, a lot of the action began heading south and east toward Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert and La Quinta. The city of Palm Springs, however, is making a comeback, or at least Lennar Homes is gambling on that with the recently opened Escena Golf Club and development near the Palm Springs airport. Escena is the first public golf course and home development to be built in Palm Springs in more than 20 years. I really liked the Nicklaus Design layout of the course because it promotes aggressiveness. The fairways are wide so you can let it fly, but the course has a nasty bite if you get too careless. Troon Golf manages the facility, so there’s a high degree of customer service. I think Escena will do really well, and when Lennar builds out the 1,500 homes around the course, Palm Canyon Drive — the main drag in Palm Springs — will come alive. MIRROR IMAGE: Black Gold Golf Club general manager Eric Lohman, who played golf at UCLA, has a twin brother named Chris, who played at the University of Washington. Eric plays right-handed, but Chris is a lefty. When the two of them are on the range at the Yorba Linda facility hitting balls side-by-side, you’ll swear you’re seeing double. BUSINESS GOLF: Suzanne Woo e-mails a periodic newsletter called BizGolf Dynamics. Woo (www.bizgolf.biz) had an interesting tip recently: “Whether you’re new to the game, a low- or high-handicapper, everyone can benefit from a focused practice session. Invite a client or prospect to the driving range for a practice session. It’s a time-saving way to use golf to develop your business relationships.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a client to play golf but they said they couldn’t take time out of the day to play. A practice session could be like a lunch break. Good thinking, Suzanne. HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED: Everyone re-places their divot after a perfect approach shot… Expecting your opponent to tell you when he breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of his haircut… It’s not a gimme if you’re still away… When golfers look up, causing an awful shot, and then look down again, it’s at that moment they ought to start watching the ball if they ever want to see it again… There are only two things you can learn by stopping your back swing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which one is wearing the glove… Don’t buy a putter until you’ve had a chance to throw it. Eric Tracy is also known as The Mulligan Man. He can be reached at eric@themulliganman.com. |
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