What's Next from ... Damian Pascuzzo

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Nov. 4, 2011
By LINKS Magazine staff

Champions and Legends Courses, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, California

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One of America's great resorts reopens both its courses -- Champions (formerly the North) and Legends (South) -- in early November after a much needed updating from Pascuzzo, former PGA TOUR player Steve Pate, and architect Jeff Brauer. Champions received most of the attention; only four holes on Legends were changed.

"The courses needed to regain competitiveness in the marketplace," explained Pascuzzo. "We gave some consideration to tournament play, but wanted to make Champions a fun course that everyone would enjoy. So we lengthened the course but also shortened it, adding a set of 'family tees' at 4,200 yards for beginners.

"We took our cues from Dick Wilson's original design. The routing generally stayed intact. The biggest changes can be seen in the fairway bunkering: We kept Wilson's big bunkers, with their dramatic scale and visual impact, but moved them to create more risk-reward, to make players think.

"The finish is a combination of aggressive holes you can attack and others where you have to be conservative. As an elite player, Steve [Pate] was crucial in this: We want the last five holes capable of affecting a tournament. The big rectangular tees we purposely built give a lot of flexibility, making a few holes drivable, like 15, and can make 18 a par five you might reach in two. But on 14 and 17 you're doing well to walk away with pars.

"We also spent a lot of money on the irrigation system and subsurface drainage. We put in miles of pipe and thousands of tons of sand on top to provide a better growing medium for turf."