By Kasturi Datta |
Renovation work has started at La Rinconada Country Club, near San Jose, California, with Todd Eckenrode of Origins Golf Design leading a redesign that also reinstates the course’s Golden Age character.
The $21 million project includes rerouting holes to make better use of the site’s natural landforms, increasing the course’s yardage and improving green-to-tee connections.
A visualisation of the redesigned La Rinconada course, which will reopen in spring 2027 (Image: Harris Kalinka)
“This project is about revealing the full potential of a very special piece of land,” said Todd Eckenrode, founder of Origins Golf Design. “The strongest holes were retained in the new layout, and the weakest holes were rerouted in entirely different locations, or orientation. Together, the new routing has wonderful variety, flow, connectivity and a rhythm to it that will really appeal to the golfers.”
The project will include renovating tees, fairways, bunkers, rough, greens and cart paths. Tees and fairways will be regrassed with bermudagrass, and greens with bentgrass.
Todd Eckenrode’s plan is to reroute the course and restore its Golden Age character (Image: Harris Kalinka)
The club’s environmental responsibility is a key component of the redesign, with out-of-play areas being replaced with drought-proof landscaping and naturalised meadow grasses to reduce overall turf acreage. According to the club, the project will help reduce water usage on the course by up to 40 per cent, saving approximately 30 million gallons annually. In addition to a significant amount of tree removal, the course will be reforested with native oak and sycamore trees, restoring both ecological balance and visual character.
“This is a 100-year-old golf course, and we are committed to the redesign evoking qualities of the great golf architecture of this era,” said Eckenrode.
The course will reopen in spring 2027.