What a Golf Rush
Back in California’s gold rush days, all it took was a prospector tapping a vein for a town to spring up around it ... literally overnight. These days, it’s a bit more complicated, but possible. Almost. In 1849, when there weren’t a thousand regulatory hoops standing between an army of bearded goldseekers’ dreams and the reality of a living, breathing, hastily built burg, they just staked their claims, scraped up the lumber and nails, took a swig of rotgut and started pounding. That’s how towns up and down the Sierra foothills, from, say, Auburn to Fresno sprang up out of the oak and pine — places like Placerville and Sonora and, right in the middle of it all, Angels Camp, which a young writer named Samuel Clemens put on the literary map by penning The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Where there was a sniff of gold, there were thousand of get-rich-quickers, maybe a handful of moguls in the making, but precious few people who’d ever think of making what was then the middle of nowhere their lifelong home. And, of course, there were no golfers. The sport wouldn’t come to the West for close to 50 years. But in 2007, more golfers than gold miners populate Northern California. Heck, they might even outnumber the frogs. And the only jumps in Calaveras County these days are for joy — at the prospect of living, shopping, wining and dining in a soon-to-be-booming town called Copperopolis; at the specter of spending one’s time in wide-open spaces that really haven’t changed that much since Mark Twain’s day; and of striking unending golf gold on a course named Saddle Creek. Just a couple of years ago, Fairways + Greens waxed enthusiastic about Saddle Creek, which opened in 1997 a couple miles off Highway 4, approximately 40 miles due east of Stockton and 17 miles west of Angels Camp, and operated pretty much under the public radar for five years or so. Lauded for its scenery, young architect Carter Morrish’s pitch-perfect routing and astounding variety from hole to hole, the course was home to the Northern California chapter of the PGA for a while, and from the start it has comported itself as a semi-private club. Not long from now, when the town of Copperopolis is more than a gas station and hardware store and people start moving out here in earnest, Saddle Creek will go private — except for people staying in one of its 17 two-bedroom bungalows. They’ll always be the lucky ones. So we’re back in quick order. We couldn’t stay away. We just had to get lucky again, too. Back to the “original wine country” assertion: It’s true, and if you don’t believe it, just ask a guy like General Manager Bill Troyanoski, who’s not only a seasoned vet in the hotel industry but a full-bodied oenophile as well. And, as it turns out, so are many Saddle Creek visitors, many of whom hail from the San Francisco Bay Area just a one- to two-hour jaunt away. “This is indeed the original wine country,” he says. “You look at the reasons why people come here, and it’s interesting that they’re looking for great accommodations, great golf and interesting wine. We’re adding a wine room downstairs on the way to our restaurant, and we’re continually looking at ways to join with the local wineries. We’ll have tasting rooms in the [Copperopolis] town square for people to learn more about our wineries, and we’ll display them here.” Not that you can’t order a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir, Napa Cabernet or Chateauneuf du Pape in these parts. Of course you can. Troyanoski will track down just the right bottle for you, just as Head Pro Chris Bitticks and his golf staff won’t rest until your on-course experience lingers on the palate like a fine Bordeaux. Saddle Creek might be in its own secluded valley beyond the big city lights, but it’s as far from a backwater in presentation and attitude as you can get. From the instant you pull up in the circular driveway and check in to the somewhat sad moment you jump back in your car and head home, it’s all about first-cabin service wrapped in a warm blanket of first-name-basis bonhomie. Whether you’re a weekending couple, a peripatetic golf-crazed foursome or a business group on retreat, Saddle Creek’s sweet first impression almost always leads to a repeat visit. “We get return business from the individuals who originally come as part of a group,” Troyanoki says. “When a group comes out, there’s always business involved, but they’re trying to get people away from their homes. Even Stockton — they’re close enough to get back if they need to, but far enough away that they’re not going to run home. What’s really cool about Saddle Creek is that when they’re here, they’re here. We’re self-contained; everything happens right here within walking distance of their bungalows.” Troyanoski has worked and stayed at many large resorts and appreciates what they have to offer; he counts the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay as a favorite getaway spot. But since taking the helm for Saddle Creek parent company Castle & Cooke in 2005, he’s come to appreciate the charm and efficiency of what he calls a “boutique” experience. “You can go to, say, the Ritz-Carlton or super high-end, five-star facility, and there’s a certain expectation you have, but I don’t think any of them can give that individual attention and quietness to your visit that Saddle Creek provides,” he says. “When our guests arrive, we know their names, and we become very familiar with them. That’s what we do; we just take an individual interest in how everybody is doing. We even have a concierge on site to help guests make their stay as enjoyable as possible. Our level of attention is what makes us special.” And there’s no drop-off as guests transition to the golf course from the indoor comforts of Saddle Creek’s modern-with-frontier-touches clubhouse. In our book, it even kicks up a notch, not because the place is crawling with player’s assistants or a cart girl on every hole, but because in pure golf terms, the course itself strikes a resonant chord of what we can only call “serious fun.” This is big boy and girl golf in all its incarnations, starting right in at No. 2, a bruising 433-yard 4-par cape hole that wraps around a pond and wetlands, its fairway just broad enough to invite a go-for-it drive and a green that’s three-putt deep with a mis-chosen or mis-hit the approach. Morrish, son of Arizona architect and erstwhile Tom Weiskopf co-designer Jay Morrish, then brilliantly backs off at No. 3, a reachable par 5, just as quickly putting the hammer down at No. 4, “Mine Shaft,” which is as pretty an amphitheater 3-par as you’ll find in Northern California (until you get to No. 11, that is). No. 6, 390 uphill yards from the blues that plays more like 450, should probably be rated tougher than No. 2. And the 8th hole, “Gambler,” is one of those 5-pars that rejuvenates the whole hackneyed risk-reward idea the instant you see it: Slightly downhill tee shot, bunkers encroaching on the greenlight zone, water guarding the green. Delicious ... and deadly. At this point, most players start to feel that familiar Saddle Creek tingle, no matter what numbers riddle the scorecard. Morrish pulled a winsome rhythm out of the hills and arroyos, a hole-by-hole beat that propels everyone to the next tee with giddy anticipation, even the 200 or so members who play it every chance they get. And he doesn’t lose it on the back nine; if anything the siren’s song strengthens as the course heads back into the hills for a second go-round. Classic design strategies abound — the par-gobbling bunkers on the short and narrow par-4 No. 12; the epic visual sweep and barely masked dangers at No. 13, a par 5 with true grit; the heroic Redan shape at No. 14, a 220-yard par 3 with a green that seems to invite a take-dead-aim strategy when, in reality, a push off the hillside could end up even closer to the stick; the straightforward muscle of No. 16; and the somewhat whimsical majesty of the finisher, another par 5 that’s just beyond reachable for most, though any well-hit drive from the elevated tee over wetlands will give a round the rousing denouement it deserves. From that tee is where you not only realize that yet another Saddle Creek soiree has wound down, but that, if you can pull yourself away from this outstanding track for a day, those thumb-like mountains set against the distant eastern horizon bring riches of their own — namely Yosemite, a 90-minute drive away. That creates a challenge of sorts for Saddle Creek, whose charming, well-planned insularity is somehow apart from the gold country environment, yet part of it. There’s always been ample avenues for non-golf recreation — hiking, horseback riding, boating on nearby Lake Tulloch — but when Copperopolis is up to full speed, guests will have even more reason to leave the gates. And Troyanoski is OK with that. “I think what we’ll see from our business culture is not going to be different. The way we suit their needs isn’t going to change. Will groups go into town for dinner one night? I think so. It will affect us more with social guests who come here, stay here and go to Yosemite or Murphys or skiing for the day, come back and play golf. They may come up more often. There will be more to do close by. They’ve got shopping down the road, more dining, what have you. That’s where we’ll see more impact.” Yet more will come in a couple of years when Tuscan Hills, a private Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, opens in a neighboring development to the south. Castle & Cooke will counter with a third Saddle Creek nine (Morrish has already finalized the routing plan). Still another development, Oak Creek Ranch, will add yet another course along with 3,500 homes. Again, Troyanoski seeks it all as a positive. “My strategy has always been that your competition is good for you. The stronger and better they are, the better it will be for us, because it will attract more people to the area. It will give our guests an opportunity to play more courses nearby.” Still Saddle Creek will remain at the center of it all, its high design, conditioning and service standards having long since been set. It’s hard to see anybody else beating them. Morrish and the Castle & Cooke team opened a vein of excellence that just keeps on producing, and we’re all the richer for it. FG Saddle Creek Resort THE GOLF THE LODGING THE FOOD THE REAL ESTATE reader comments
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