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 But that's nothing compared to the status he's achieved as a course designer. The Scottsdale-based Fought has worked on nearly 40 private, resort and public tracks across the country, including restoring Donald Ross's Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in 2004, and working with Bob Cupp on Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon, which was the site of the 1996 U.S. Amateur and 1997 U.S. Women's Open. In the Coachella Valley, he designed both layouts at Cimarron Golf Course, and has been on board for an ongoing renovation at Ironwood Country Club. Fought's latest gem - a redesign of what is now known as the Players Course at the Golf Resort at Indian Wells - opens for public play this month. He also consulted with Clive Clark, who redesigned what is now the resort's Celebrity Course, which hosts this month's LG Skins Game. How would you describe the extent of the changes to both tracks? Both courses are a complete redesign. In other words, they are new courses completely. They were both rerouted and redesigned with all new features, including greens, tees, bunkers and water features. Clive's course also added 30 acres near City Hall. I expanded the range and removed the old 10th hole. The only remnants of the old course are the beautiful trees. These courses should be considered new golf courses. Will players familiar with the courses over the years be struck by how different they look or play? Players who have played golf on the old courses will see and play new courses. Is the newly christened Players Course a tougher course than the original? Or has it been made more player-friendly for all skill levels? The new Players Course has five sets of tees to accommodate all skill levels of players. However, the back tees on the Players Course stretch to nearly 7,400 yards and will be a solid test for the best players. I really think that if the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic were to play anywhere in Indian Wells, this would be the course. However, we also widened the playing areas so that it would be player-friendly. The new sand face bunkers add an element not found in the desert. They have been placed in strategic locations which creates a very thought-provoking round of golf. Were the reasons for the redesigns due to the 20-year-old tracks showing their age, or facing problems that didn't exist in 1988? Or, were the changes more about taking an already decent product and making it even better? The city wanted to have two different courses that were greatly improved. They wanted something that was at a high standard that could be considered among the best in the Coachella Valley. They wanted courses that could have championships and also be popular with the most discriminating golfers. Is there anything about your work at Indian Wells that was influenced by the fact there are so many courses in the area? I think it is fair to say that the bar has been raised considerably in the past 10 years, and many very high-quality courses have been built. Indian Wells wants their courses to be considered the best of the best. This is why they wanted us to rebuild the courses to a much higher standard, both strategically and aesthetically. What do you hope players who were familiar with the original courses walk away with after playing a round on your new course? My hope is that players will enjoy their golf and want to come back and play it again and again. Great courses yearn to be played. I really enjoyed the opportunity to work on this project and I think with a little maturity it will be one of the best courses in Southern California. SG |
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