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Foxtail GC – A Bold New Look by Gary Linn
Golf Today Magazine
Year 16, Number 11, July 2003
by
Bob Weisgerber
Foxtail
Golf Club, in Rohnert Park, offers 36 holes of golf that shows the
touch of a highly regarded architect, Gary Linn. Consisting of the
South Course and the North Course, and occupying land that was formerly
home to Mountain Shadows, Foxtail is a new ball game altogether.
Gary Linn was profiled with his partner, Don Knott, in a previous
Golf Today Magazine article (February 2002, “People in the
Game: A Day in the Architect’s Office”). At that time
Gary was engaged in the planning for Foxtail. Routing plans and
topographical maps were unrolled and being scrutinized. Linn holds
a BA in Landscape Architecture from Kansas State University. Before
joining with Don Knott and their player-partner Mark Brooks, Gary
Linn was Vice President for Design with the Robert Trent Jones II
group.
The Foxtail assignment for architect Gary Linn was clear. Design
a new track the community can be proud of, a course that will draw
golfers who want to test the new layout for themselves. That’s
just what four of us from Golf Today Magazine did recently when
we took on just-completed North course. It was fun – even after
getting lost twice when we followed the cart paths instead of the
directional signs. Makes a guy feel funny to pump one out from the
tee only to have a foursome pull up behind and ask where you came
from! Can’t win ‘em all.
And don’t think you’ll ease into the round on the North
Course. Nope. Hole #1 is real beauty and a good test. You stand
on the tee and the hole speaks to you. It says, “OK, avoid
this stunning bunker so you can set up your next shot. Then do it
all over again on the second shot.” Lots of aesthetic bunkers
and lots of course strategy, just the way a good hole should be.
Gary likes to “show off” the sand, and you see his bunkers
for sure.
Hole #1 is a par five that reaches 563 yards from the black tees
and 533 yards from the blue tees. If you don’t feel like getting
black and blue you might elect to use the white tees at 500 yards.
Or the gold tees are at 469 yards. No matter what tee you use, the
hole is both fair and challenging.
After you make the turn you’ll encounter two more beauties
at #10 and #11.
At last you arrive at #18, not with a sigh of relief but a sigh
of appreciation. It’s another fine hole to remember at Foxtail
North.
Tom Isaak, the CEO of CourseCo, who developed and operates the two
Foxtail courses, spoke highly of Gary Linn’s work, calling
him the “ultimate professional.” He described Linn as
more than an engineer but “a guy with legitimate artistic ability.”
Check it out for yourself.
The North course at Foxtail measures 6851 yards from the black tees,
6394 yards from the blue tees, 5846 yards from the whites, down
to 5261 from the gold tees. Par is 72; slope ratings were not yet
available.
From the four sets of tees, the South course, a Par 71, measures
6492, 6224, 5830, and 5343 yards. Respectively, the ratings and
slope are 71.0/124, 69.8/121, 67.7/119, and 70.7/120.
The courses are located at 100 Golf Course Drive, Rohnert Park,
CA 94928, with convenient access to Highway 101. John Theilade is
the General Manager and Director of Golf. Phone 707-584-7766. The
web site is:www.playfoxtail.com
If the name CourseCo seems familiar to you, it’s no
surprise. In addition to being the operators of Foxtail, Rohnert
Park, they also operate Crystal Springs in Burlingame; Napa at Kennedy
Park, Napa; Riverside, Fresno; Los Lagos, San Jose; Lawrence Links,
Antelope; Mather, Sacramento; Eureka GC, Eureka; Deep Cliff, Cupertino;
Rancho Del Pueblo, San Jose; and the Metropolitan Golf Links, Oakland. |
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