Jim Seimas: Golf Scene - DeLaveaga upgrade rolling along

Tim Loustalot is doing controlled donuts in a golf cart on the first fairway at DeLaveaga Golf Course.

Odd, because he's the head professional. Still, he smiles as he looks at the barely visible tire marks he created.

"Santa Cruz got more than nine inches of rain from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15 and about 25 inches from October to present," he said. "I'd say it's draining pretty well."

An aggressive sandcapping program administered by DeLaveaga's maintenance staff over the past three years is paying dividends, Loustalot said.

And while the city-operated course usually receives 80,000-plus plays a year, few might realize how well the course is draining.

That's because on Sept. 17 DeLaveaga began a $3 million course renovation project. During much of the renovation thus far, the course has been a ghost town.

It's going to be a facelift that would impress even Joan Rivers.

The back-nine is currently open for play with discounted rates. There are temporary tee boxes on every hole and a temporary green on No. 18.

"I like to say this course is 35 years young and used like we wanted," Loustalot said, "so we were able to create our own debt and service that bond."

DeLaveaga is a work in progress. Golf Course Builders International, based out of Florida, is said to be meeting its timeline to complete the project by May 1.

In May 2002, the course instituted an annual 3 percent green fees increase. The course held off the increase this year seeing how renovations were to take place. Rates will be raised, but likely by $5 or less.

For other enthusiasts, May 1 can't come soon enough.

Completely isolated from the hustle and bustle of Highway 1 and downtown Santa Cruz, DeLaveaga is an escape from reality. It's just trees, hills and ocean breezes mixed with a challenging layout carved into nature.

Course officials had three concerns that helped lead to the current changes: Reduced play in the winter due to poor drainage, slow play in the summer caused by back-ups on several holes (but primarily the old, 157-yard par-3 5th hole), and the lack of a quality practice chip-and-putt area.

When completed, DeLaveaga will be a par-70 gem, two strokes lower than when it opened in 1970, and sit at 6,100 yards from the tips. Three USGA-conforming tee boxes are being installed on every hole. In addition, the course is getting new cart paths, several of which have been re-routed so they no longer come into play.

The parking lot has also been repaved and public restrooms installed off of hole Nos. 4 and 14. The irrigation systems running down each fairway and tee area also have been improved.

It won't take a golfer long to see the first of three major undertakings on the course. The 496-yard first hole has a new green moved approximately 25 yards to the left old green, and it is surrounded by three bunkers - two to the right and one on the backside.

In addition, the cart path that used to cut through the middle of the fairway at the dogleg right has been routed the duration of the hole to the right of the fairway.

By relocating the green, golfers now have a clean look at their target on the second shot. The old green was sunken close to a canyon and many-a-player fell victim to bounces that resulted in lost balls. Players routinely slowed play as they went down the canyon to find their balls.

"The change really rewards the person who wants to hit driver on No. 1," Loustalot said of the narrow hole. "Now they have a legitimate look at the green instead of a blind shot."

Another major renovation was the removal of the partition separating the downhill fifth green from the sixth tee box. The sixth tee box is pushed forward 50-plus yards, turning the hole into a par 4, and the fifth green was widened from 3,500 square feet to 6,000 and moved left, but it's surrounded by four bunkers.

"It's the prettiest shot on the course," Loustalot said, of the shot to No. 5, "so we wanted to enhance it. We took out the loop in the cart path. It's going to still be an exciting downhill shot that sits in a beautiful hollow."

No. 6 will feature a new fairway bunker that should come into play for players hitting from the blue tee.

"It's going to challenge the better players to shape their tee shots," said DeLaveaga superintendent Miles Hicks, who is also serving as the project manager. "It's a thinking man's course, for sure."

While No. 5 isn't the course's signature hole, it very well may be, Loustalot said. The fifth hole is located to the right of the "DeLaveaga" sign welcoming motorists, bicyclists and runners. A giant Monterey pine sits near the new green, a feature lost on golfers before changes were made.

"The tree is really something special and we wanted to make sure people took notice," Hicks said.

The biggest change on the back nine is the former 475-yard, par-5 finishing hole, which becomes a par 4. The old 18th green is a now a putting and chipping facility, giving the course two practice areas. The old green overlooks the new, 5,000 square-foot 18th green, which is situated to the left of the lake and surrounded by bunkers.

The old practice facility, located at the entrance of the pro shop, is 1,500 square feet with six holes, hardly enough to accommodate 144-player fields when the course hosts tournaments.

No. 18 will still be a testy finishing hole, Hicks said.

"There is still a Monterey pine at the dogleg that may come into play on the approach shot," Hicks said. "We cut back some of the limbs, but there is still some limbing to do. But it's still the turning point of the hole and could affect some shots."

While the course has cut two strokes and its yardage, Loustalot says DeLaveaga will not lose its personality.

"Our teeth in the course has always been the barrancas and trees, and they're still here," Loustalot said. "The course will play tougher as a par-70 for the advanced players, but it won't lose anything in it's playability for the recreational golfer."

And that's worth doing donuts over.

Contact Jim Seimas at jseimas@santacruzsentinel.com.