Zinkand Golf Design (ZGD) – led by golf course architect David Zinkand and his more than 25 years of experience designing, managing and shaping projects in the field – is approaching the completion of a renovation project at Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s famed Shore Course in Pebble Beach, California.
Currently ranked among the Top 100 courses in the United States by Golf Digest, GOLF Magazine and Golfweek (Modern list), the Shore Course opened in 1962 but received critical acclaim after a significant reimagining in 2003 by the late golf course architect Mike Strantz.
ZGD’s multi-year master plan respectfully pays homage to what Strantz and his co-designer, Forrest Fezler, created two decades ago, while evolving the design to enhance aesthetics and adapt to modern expectations. The current project, the third phase of the master plan, touches all of the course’s bunkers and waste areas; each is receiving new drainage and capillary flow liners. Concurrently, new sand is being laid in formal bunkers, while existing bunker sand is screened and placed within the waste areas. Some strategically imperative hazards have also been repositioned, frequently toward the line of play, to encourage decision making on the tee and advance the course’s challenge relative to modern play and equipment.
“The Shore Course is rightfully regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful locales for golf,” said Zinkand. “Our team has remained true to what Mike created, while ensuring the course’s eminent playability and seaside character continue to shine through.”
The current work, which is expected to be completed in June, follows a pair of earlier renovation phases. The first was a turf reduction and waste area expansion project which further elevated course aesthetics by increasing the prevalence of native areas featuring unmown fescue grasses. This approach had the important benefit of reducing the course’s water consumption. Overgrown coyote bushes were also thinned and replaced to improve vistas and highlight the property’s native cypress trees and seaside aesthetic.
More recently, a tee renovation project included leveling, refurbishing and regrassing all teeing areas. Select tees were also repositioned. This step was taken to respond to advancements in equipment, as well as provide additional strategic options created by the turf reduction, waste area expansion work, and the current bunker renovations.
“Throughout the entirety of the project, we’ve viewed our work not only through a strategic lens, but also an aesthetic one,” added Zinkand. “For example, we’ve made a concerted effort to pull elements of the seaside holes into the inland stretch of the Shore Course as a means of creating a heightened sense of place. This respect for a golf course’s aura and ecology, leaning into the natural ‘genius loci,’ is a core tenet of our firm.”
“Dave and his team are experts at their craft and a pleasure to work with,” said Chris Dalhamer, director of grounds at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. “We knew they were right for our club when it quickly became clear how much their plans prioritized both current course agronomy and future maintenance needs.”
Prior to founding ZGD, Zinkand was a long-time design associate with Coore & Crenshaw, and before that worked on projects with Pete Dye, Gil Hanse and Mike Devries. These experiences gave him an in-depth understanding of how the classic courses utilize strategy and the natural terrain to instill atmosphere, fun and intricacy into a round of golf. ZGD is currently engaged with a wide variety of projects across the U.S., ranging from restorations and renovations of “Golden Age” courses to new builds with routings that push the creative envelope.
For more information, visit zinkandgolfdesign.com or @zinkandgolfdesign (Instagram).
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