The Latest in Luxury Resort & Real Estate News

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Troon Golf to Manage Bay Area Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club

(PATTERSON, CA) -- Troon Golf, the world's largest golf course management company,  announced Jan. 12 it will take over management of Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club in Patterson, Calif..

The 36-hole San Francisco Bay Area golf facility is set in the historic ranchlands of western Stanislaus County, which features rolling hills, native wildlife, stands of oak trees, creeks, and vineyards.

Uniquely settled above the Northern California fog line, Diablo Grande is a 30,000-acre residential and golf resort community, located in California's Central Valley. Offering stunning views and sunny days throughout the year, the historic ranch is 80 miles east of San Francisco and 25 miles west of Modesto.

With more than 500 homes built and sold, future plans include a five-star, amenity driven resort and spa and a convention center as the development's anchor. The low-density community will have Spanish colonial villas and a variety of single-family residences, equestrian center, riding trails and a Napa Valley style vineyard with a warm and inviting tasting room.

A specialty shopping village with a grocery store, dining alternatives, banking services, café and office suites will serve the community as well. Currently, development plans encompass the entire acreage with Phase I development, featuring 2,100 lots and the two tournament-caliber courses. Seeking inspiration from the surrounding beauty and its California heritage, the vision for the continued development is a resort-style life with casual elegance and an emphasis on wellness.

"Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club is a wonderful addition to our portfolio," said John Easterbrook, Troon's executive vice president of operations. "We're confident our management services will be a great complement to the facility's unique character and renowned golf courses."

 The 7,100-yard Legends Course, appropriately designed by golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Gene Sarazen, meanders through the natural terrain and surrounding vineyards and has been recognized as one of the best golf courses in the state of California by Golf Digest. The Ranch Course at Diablo Grande, measuring 7,200 yards, was designed by award-winning course architect Denis Griffiths. Characterized by long and narrow fairways, The Ranch Course demands distance and accuracy off the tee. Majestic oak trees, rolling terrain, bunkers and ponds create an array of challenges on all 36 holes at Diablo Grande.

New to Diablo Grande is Chad Pettingill, a 12-year veteran of Troon Golf who has been appointed as the club's general manager. Pettingill brings several years of valued experience to the club after serving Troon Golf at five different facilities, primarily in the southwest. Pettingill has also been a member of the PGA of America since 1995 and played golf on the collegiate level at the University of Utah.

"The property has received a breath of fresh air, and is now ideally poised for Troon Golf's operational team to come in," said Andres Szita of Laurus Corporation. "We are pleased with the agreement, and are excited to have Troon on board in this next phase of Diablo Grande's growth."

Troon Golf oversees golf properties located in 31 states and 26 countries. Among Troon's higher profile properties are Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.,  The Golf Club at Equinox in Manchester Village, Vt., One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island, Bahamas, and The Grove in London, England.

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Hibiscus Golf Club Undergoes Major Landscape Renovation

(NAPLES, FL) -- Although Southwest Florida has been spared the devastating effects of a major hurricane for several years, the scars of storms past still can be found at landmarks throughout the region.

Thanks to a major restoration project recently completed at Hibiscus Golf Club in Naples, the devastation from Hurricanes Andrew and Wilma is now fading even further from memory.

It was less than two decades ago when golfers at Hibiscus Golf Club in Naples were enjoying the challenges posed by more than 1,000 mature trees that beautified the course's 18 holes  - many of which had been planted 40 years earlier when the course first opened to the public off of Rattlesnake Hammock Road.

Then, in 1992, Hurricane Andrew roared across the Florida peninsula, uprooting and decimating nearly a third of the course's original complement of palms, oaks and various other mature trees. Fortunately, the Hibiscus course continued to thrive during the decade that followed and came under the ownership of Nassif Golf Ventures in 2004.

As plans were under way for a clubhouse and course remodel, Hurricane Wilma blew in from the Gulf in 2005 - leaving another 300 trees in its wake. This time, the feel of the course was affected, according to Allan Cooper, general manager at Hibiscus Golf Club.

"It was so sad to see so many large trees lying across the fairways," he said. "We made a whole lot of mulch and tried to focus on the positives, such as the lack of damage to the new greens we had built as part of the renovation."

Despite the setback, the renovated clubhouse was unveiled to rave reviews in late 2007, and the Hibiscus team turned its attention to the lost trees.

Hibiscus Superintendent Rob Trebilcock worked in concert with Stephen O'Donnell of O'Donnell Landscapes and Ken Noble of South Florida Club Management to create a tree replacement and landscape improvement plan for Hibiscus, with more than 200 new trees and 1,200 grasses and shrubs added to the spacious 18-hole layout.

"We focused on restoring Hibiscus to the highest level of its historic beauty," O'Donnell said, "and we were able to accomplish that using several different native species of trees such as Live oaks, Sabal palms and Shady Lady trees. Natives offer great aesthetic appeal and, even more importantly, the drought tolerance and hardiness that work best in Florida's climate."

Trebilcock, O'Donnell and the rest of the team also added Coconut palms and flowering Ipe trees around the greens to enhance the golfing experience, as well as three large coconut palms in the winding bunker next to the green on the ninth hole.

"Our golfers began noticing the difference before the project was even halfway completed," Cooper said. "It's an impressive project to undertake, and we felt it was important in continuing to offer an exceptional golf experience at one of Naples' few true public courses."

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