Lehman builds 'fun' course at Tucson National
New Sonoran layout is short by modern standards at 6,552 yards, but
it will force golfers to use every club in their bags.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Tom Lehman didn't just design the new Sonoran Course
at Omni Tucson National Golf Resort & Spa and watch it unfold. He
was also the best of the on-site tweakers.
"He not only drew a great design but came to the fairways
as they were being bulldozed," said Tucson National spokesman
David Morgan at the Sonoran Course media day yesterday. "He
was in contact on a weekly basis. He was here more often than
not."
"I'm very hands-on," admitted
Lehman, a 23-year PGA Tour veteran and head of the Lehman Design
Group of Scottsdale since 1996.
The 6,552-yard Sonoran Course, making Tucson National a 36-hole
complex, embraces the desert from which it sprang, featuring elevation
changes and beautiful views.
Lehman's team redesigned the former nine-hole Green Course and
added holes. The new nine was built on a desert parcel on the
property's east end, along La Cholla Boulevard.
Tucson National now has two distinct 18-hole courses, the new
desert and the old parkland Catalina Course, site of the yearly
Chrysler Classic of Tucson. The courses are so different that
combining them for a tournament event is out of the question,
Lehman said.
Lehman's signature here is strategy, challenge and the short
game. It utilizes the natural washes and native vegetation. It
requires a thinking man's approach, with the topography favoring
bouncing the ball onto the green rather than defying nature.
"There is one word we were aiming at: fun," said Lehman,
who won the British Open in 1996. "We wanted to create a
golf course that is fun and playable yet challenging, so the
greens became our focus. A lot of wedges and short irons.
"Length does not make a golf
course. We wanted something that will require every club in
the bag. The card says 6,700 yards (actually 6,552), but we
want people to say they thought it played longer."
Safety amid the many homes filling the area was a prime consideration.
The former par-5 No. 3, downhill with a bank of homes on the right,
was remade into a par 3 and a par 4 to avoid putting a ball in
a pool or through a window, all the while giving golfers more
of a comfort zone. The challenge for the big hitter is still there.
"There are holes where you can take a risk with a driver
because there is reward," Lehman said. "Rather than
force everyone to play a 3-iron, we want them to consider every
club."
Finally, the design was made to "paint a beautiful picture,"
according to Lehman, yet still give a challenge. The 18th hole
is a par-4 "monster," 408 yards along a right tree
border with five sandtraps and offering a view of the Santa Rita
Mountains and Mount Wrightson. It's like the finale to a fireworks
display.
"It's long-range with the vista," Lehman said. "We
wanted it to be memorable."
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