Newly restored and renovated, historically referred to as "The Granddaddy" aka the Pine Lakes Country Club...

was given a new $15millon dollar lease on life! Courses architect Craig Schreiner, a co-designer with Nick Price of the Members Club at Grande Dunes, renovated and rebuilt the course, which is reopening Saturday as a 6,675-yard par-70. The routing of nine holes remains from Robert White's original 1927 design, and nine are a medley of holes built and rebuilt over the years.

``We've put back all the luster of the old original holes and modernized them,'' Schreiner said. ``The balance of the other nine are probably a synthesis of the past 50 years.''

Holes four and five are the only entirely new holes and are located on the northwest end of the property near a new main tenance building.

Landing areas off the tee have been widened by thinning trees. All bunkers feature sand native to the site that inhibits plugging and there are just 27 of them on the course. Seven are in fair ways, and two of those are waste bunkers and three are within 30 yards of greens.

``It's a little more forgiving off the tee,'' Schreiner said. ``We've been able to keep things simple and golf needs to go back there.''

Though landing areas are generous, small portions of fair ways will offer the best stance and angles into greens. ``Each hole has a `Position A' that is about 6,000 to 7,000 square feet and is flatter and higher than other areas, and the greens open up to that position,'' Schreiner said.

Rolling terrain that is subtle in some areas and steep in others was reestablished by slightly raising high areas and slightly lowering the low areas, which will also help with drain age. ``There is more movement through the whole golf course,'' Schreiner said. ``It has a visual simplicity but when you play it you'll realize every inch of the course has been reshaped.''

Greens shrunk over time through the encroachment of fairway grass and flattened through years of top dressing. They were enlarged back to their original size from an aver age of 3,200 to 6,500 square feet and again have movement.

``I think it will play a little more strategically,'' Schreiner said. ``It will be more friendly off the tee, but the green complexes have been made more strategic by restoring the bunkering around the greens and green contours.''

The course has three large tee boxes containing a total of four tees, and ornamental vegetation was collected before the renovation and redistrib uted throughout the new layout. The course also features new SeaDwarf Paspalum grass wall- to-wall. ``It's revolutionary in golf,'' Schreiner said. ``It's a salt-tolerant grass that can be mowed to all heights: for greens, tees, fairways and roughs.''

As it has for years, the club will serve Manhattan clam chowder in the winter and mimosas in the summer, but they'll be served in the Robert White pub, which is passed after the ninth, 13th and 18th holes, rather than on the course.

by Alan Blondin - For complete article - The Sun News