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Holes 17 and 18 were originally included in this plan, and approved in a vote by the membership. However, a subsequent petition and vote by the members removed holes 17 and 18 from the plan. Below is the plan that was originally approved, but has been shelved.
In the original course layout, the 18th green was in the middle of our current fairway by the 14th green, it was a par 4, and the course was a par 71. To the right is a graphic showing the original routing over satellite imagery from last year.
Sometime between 1946 and 1948 they moved the green closer to the clubhouse and lengthened it to a par 5. Our former upper practice green, which was sold in the land sale, was that green. They moved the green again in the 1970s to it's current location and kept the extra green as the practice green.
So this hole has been changed from it's original design twice and has always been a slightly awkward par 5 as the hill does not lend itself to a dogleg left as it slopes away from the dogleg and is a blind shot. Blind shots in golf are fine. Holes where the ground slopes against the shape of the hole are fine. Blind shots to a fairway that slopes towards OB is awkward and not a good design.
One of the nice features of Richmond is how little out-of-bounds we have. #3, 4 and 12 were the only holes where we have out of bounds that ever came into play. On our 4th and 12th holes the property lines are 170 and 190 feet from the center of the fairway respectively and 230 to 250 feet to the homes. With the land sale we now have the problem of out of bounds and it is much closer. Out of Bounds is now only 80 to 90 feet from the center of the fairway for the entire length of the hole, backyards (where people may be sitting) are 130 feet, and the homes are 150 feet from the center of the fairway. That is well below the recommended distance of 250 feet.
For these reasons we believe the proposed changes to the 18th hole will make our course better and safer.
Here is the proposed conceptual plan:
And here is an overlay showing the conceptual plan on an aerial image taken in 2023:
As you can see the only major changes are:
Instead of being a shortish par 5 at 504 yards, it will be a challenging par 4 at 420 yards, especially with the predominant wind!
The fairway is simply shifted left so that the middle of the fairway is just left of the current cart path.
A large ridge is built on the right half of the current fairway.
All the trees on the left between 18 and the 15th tees and 14th green are removed, except for the one healthy Redwood tree that blocks the Oasis. The views from the 10th tee and 14th green will be very good.
The green remains as is and this will be a very challenging closing hole.
One item worth noting is that this hole is where we will have the most amount of earth moving. The current location of the black and blue tees on 15 will be dug down about 8 feet so the new middle of the fairway, where the cart path is today, will be at the height of the green. All of the dirt removed will be relocated to the right side to create a ridge that will help bounce balls into the fairway as well as provide a visual block of the homes.
From a safety perspective, OB will be 190 feet from the center of the fairway, 240 feet to the backyards and 260 feet to the homes. These distances are comparable to what we have today on #4 and #12.
Lastly, we plan on relocating some smaller trees, like California Oaks, from around the course and plant them on the right side near the fence to help block the views of the homes, but not impact views of Mt Tam or turf conditions on the course.
Here is a video showing a virtual version of the hole:
Here are some virtual photos of the hole from different locations. Click the arrow buttons in the image to rotate between them.
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