The plan the city of Sacramento had to build another golf course is realized -- 15 years later.

by Rich Skyzinski

THE CITY of Sacramento, Calif., knows firsthand the potential complications of new golf course construction in the state.

Environmental groups. Wetlands. Red tape. It can be enough to make anyone throw their arms up in surrender, which is what the city did in the late 1980s.

But ironically, because it has also experienced firsthand the relative ease with which the process can be managed, the first regulation 18-hole golf course owned and operated by the city in more than 40 years is one month from welcoming its first players.

Barring another onslaught of delays due to weather, Bartley Cavanaugh Golf Course, named for a former city manager, will open the third weekend in June. When it does, it should serve as a fine example of how a municipality can augment existing golf facilities with minimal acreage and limited financial resources -- and a little luck, of course.

Public course players in the Sacramento area certainly will welcome Cavanaugh GC. With the exception of two nine-hole courses and an executive layout, the city hasn't opened an 18-hole course since 1952.

City officials also will breathe a collective sigh of relief when the project finally has been completed. The project was started in 1981 when they looked at developing some of a 265-acre plot owned by the city north of downtown. "It was an old ranch site with lots of creeks, a beautiful piece of land," says Dale Achondo, whose retirement as the city's golf manager coincides with the Cavanaugh opening.

"We ran into so many environmental problems, the process just got longer and longer. It just went on and on and they kept taking acreage. Even though we had 265 acres, we had trouble getting 18 holes on it. Eighty acres were already set aside as wetlands, which we couldn't touch, and the process just got so complicated we decided we needed to look elsewhere. . . . Now, in fact, that property's no longer a flood plain; it's a flood basin, which means it floods quite often."

Nearly 10 years and $500,000 after that property was first considered, the city decided to keep it for other uses -- today it still is undeveloped -- and to try and build its seventh course elsewhere.

It found a diminutive parcel in the hamlet of Freeport, just outside the Sacramento city and county limits, but it was far from perfect. For openers, officials could only procure a commitment to purchase 97.3 acres. There was additional land both north and south, but when the city went to the owners -- both farmers -- and inquired about buying land to add to what it had already secured, it was met with indifference.

"As soon as we purchased the land," Achondo explained, "everyone nearby thought their land was worth a great deal more. We never could come to an agreement to get more land." Neither owner so much as even made a counter offer, so the city went ahead and purchased the 97.3 acres at $6,000 per.

On the positive side the land, as small as it was, was owned by the Regional Sanitation District, which had designated the property as a buffer zone. Buried underground were three 120-inch mains the district used to carry effluent water to the Sacramento River, which, along with the two-lane Route 160, forms the western boundary to the parcel.

As a buffer zone, only greenbelt development was permitted. No office buildings. No homes. No industrial parks. Something wide open, like a park . . . or a golf course. Still, questions remained.

First, could a course with a par of 70 or 71 be built on less than 100 acres? "We looked at building a nine-hole course with a driving range," Achondo explained, "or an executive course. We had some very qualified people look at it, and after lots of discussions with our golfers in Sacramento, an 18-hole course was the direction we decided to take.

"Remember, we're totally independent of city funds. When we lobbied the golfers a few years ago and told them we were raising fees, they raised a voice and wanted to know what we were going to do with the funds. The golfers supported us provided we built a quality, championship, 18-hole golf course."

Another detriment was that the golf division of the Department of Community and Visitor Services, which operates the city's courses and negotiates arrangements with concessionaires and vendors, did not possess deep pockets.

An accumulation of funds did permit it to pay for the architect's fee and the plot's first 40 acres -- it bought the land in 10-acre increments -- but construction would also require several hundred thousand cubic yards of soil. Buying that on the open market would impact the budget severely.

The architect wasn't much of a problem. The city quickly settled on Perry Dye Design Co. of Denver, which showed examples of previous work with minimal acreage: Glenmoor Country Club in Denver, situated on 110 acres, and Cypress Golf Club in Los Alamitos, Calif., whose 100 acres includes a 6,500-yard course, a practice range and five acres for a hotel still to be built.

But finding soil took some doing -- and a little wheeling and dealing.

Into the picture stepped the California Department of Transportation. Caltrans, it just so happened, owned 114 acres just south of the Cavanaugh site, property set aside to mitigate state transportation projects in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley. Caltrans was searching for assistance creating and restoring the property as wetlands and part of a larger wildlife refuge. When the city heard this it decided to make an offer: We'll work with whatever government agencies are required to help construct the wetlands, the city said, and in exchange you'll give us the soil we need.

Caltrans said "deal" and things were off and running. (The Beach Lake Mitigation Bank, which is within the borders of the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, is expected to be completed in late 1997.)

"It was just something in our favor, a win-win situation," said Achondo. "Buying soil elsewhere could have added up to $1 million to the cost of the project. We also did it with their biologist and their environmental group, so we had no opposition at all."

Soon enough, plans were drawn and the arduous process of hauling 250,000 cubic yards of soil was begun. Much of the fill, some 60,000 yards, went to elevate the clubhouse. A pad of some 6,000 square feet was constructed, raising the level of the clubhouse approximately 18 feet. Though that's far higher than the course 15 feet below, it's often lower than the level of the Sacramento River right across Route 160.

Because of the endless rain that pelted California for much of the winter and spring, the river rose as high as 28 feet and didn't fall below 20 feet until late April.

Perry Dye certainly had his work cut out for him. Working with a flat, treeless piece of terrain, he mounded the sides of many fairways to create a rolling, links-like look.

Although the course measures only 6,300 yards from the tips, there's plenty of trouble and more length in places than one might expect. Out-of-bounds is present along the left side of the first five holes, and water comes into play on five of the last seven, including a par-3 island green replica of the 17th at the TPC at Sawgrass. The fourth hole, the second of back-to-back par 5s, measures 559 yards and usually plays into a wind uninhibited by the open farmlands that stretch to the horizon. Right behind it is a monster par-3 that can stretch to more than 230 yards.

"Very definitely, the course is unlike anything in this area," noted Achondo. "We knew we didn't have a prime piece of property, but we didn't want a hard-hat course. We made that clear when we were in the design stage -- very early, before we went too far."

On Dye's first designs, the mounds bordering most of the fairways were great, both in number and in scope. "We explained our clientele," Achondo said, "and also told them all the mounds had to be accessible by machine, not fly-mowed. They agreed to some of our suggestions to soften some of the mounds."

The parties also agreed to reduce the number of sand bunkers, finishing with but nine. "We removed 20-some-odd bunkers, pot bunkers and very large bunkers," Achondo explained. "It didn't take anything away from the course, and it's also going to speed play. When we satisfied the integrity of the design, he [Dye] agreed."

When Cavanaugh opens, it'll do so with plenty of customers. The least-played city-run courses turn out 70,000 rounds a year, and the popular ones near or surpass 100,000. "We're looking at 70,000 rounds, and that's very conservative," said Achondo. "If we get 80,000, that's money in the bank."

Originally, Cavanaugh was scheduled to collect its first green fees around the first of the year. But no one could have predicted California's incessant rainfall. "At this time last year we had about 14 inches of rain," Achondo noted, "and so far this year we've had about 30."

It took more than four months just to clear and pave the parking lot. "Our water table was at one foot," Achondo explained. "You can't do anything. You try to put equipment out there and it sinks. In our original budget we had six months of revenue coming out of here. But the fiscal year ends June 30, so if we open in mid-June we'll get 10 or 15 days."

Wildlife should also be plentiful at Cavanaugh. The course has been accepted by the New York Audubon Society as a member of its Cooperative Sanctuary Program, and additionally, Sacramento is located in the path of the Pacific Flyway.

Achondo has looked into the future. He can picture himself on the clubhouse balcony on a warm June morning, looking down on a course full of contented players. But Achondo will no sooner realize the rewards of his patience than he'll walk away from it all -- Cavanaugh and the city's other six courses he's tended the last 28 years.

Officially, he retired in January. But the city kept him on as a consultant until Cavanaugh opened and his replacement was hired. And then what?

"I've never felt the courses belonged to the city," he admitted. "I always thought they were mine, so it's going to be hard to walk away. . . . But maybe I'll do this again for someone else. It's been such a good learning experience."

Obviously he knows how easy it can be. And how difficult. And how rewarding.

BIG NAMES, SMALL PLOTS

The Bartley Cavanaugh Golf Course will be further proof that 18-hole courses can be built on plots of minimal acreage.

There are dozens of courses built on 100 acres, give or take a few, including some well-known ones, such as Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I., and the East Course at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., on which four U.S. Opens have been played.

All the facilities at Merion are located on 125 acres, but Wanamoisett is an even tighter fit. "Everything fits on less than 100 acres," explained a member of the golf shop, and that includes an 18-hole course, two tennis courts, a pool, clubhouse and limited practice area. The course plays to a par 69, but most observers agree it's the toughest par-69 course around.