South Course at Corica Park

Makeover Of Corica Park South Course In Alameda A Triumph

Courtesy of Ron Kroichick
San Francisco Chronicle

Rees Jones stands for a portrait at the south course of Corica Park, Wednesday, June 20, 2018, in Alameda, Calif. Jones is the golf course architect of the Corica Park South Course. (Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle)

Stephen Curry might have found a new place to work on his “other” game — chasing birdies, not buckets.

Amid challenging times for the golf industry, with at least seven course closures in the Bay Area since late 2015, a notable event happens Friday. That’s when the Corica Park South Course in Alameda reopens after a striking, 3½-year transformation.

This comes less than a month after Baylands Golf Links, previously known as Palo Alto Municipal, opened May 26. The renovation of Baylands, much like Corica Park, essentially created a shiny, new public course with reasonable rates.

Fear not, local golfers: The landscape is not barren quite yet.

This is important to remember at a time when reports of the game’s struggles — accurate, disheartening reports — abound. The East Bay was especially hard hit over the past three years, with courses shutting down from Sunol and Livermore to Antioch and Brentwood.

So it was refreshing to see renowned architect Rees Jones, the so-called U.S. Open doctor himself, smacking Wednesday’s ceremonial first tee shot in Alameda. Jones and colleague Steve Weisser redesigned the South Course into an inviting, linksy layout.

“I think it’s encouraging,” Jones said, sitting in the restaurant at Corica Park (formerly known as Chuck Corica Golf Complex). “This is going to become a home for a lot of people. A lot of retired people will come here every day.”

Curry is nowhere near retired, but he christened the South Course by shooting 1-under-par 71 there on June 11, three days after the Warriors won their latest NBA championship. He and his dad, Dell, joined Greenway Golf CEO George Kelley.

Greenway has operated the 45-hole complex in Alameda since 2012. That’s a logical model for municipally owned courses, partnering with a private company willing to invest in the property.

Marc Logan, vice president of agronomy for Greenway, declined to reveal the exact cost of this Corica Park renovation, though he put it at $6 million to $9 million in a 2015 interview. The more relevant question: What’s different about this project, when so many courses are going out of business?

Logan pointed to Alameda’s not-so-distant history. At one point in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he said, it was the busiest golf facility in Northern California and second-busiest in the state, behind only Torrey Pines in San Diego.

“Secondly, the golf industry spends way too much money on construction,” Logan said. “That’s part of why golf is struggling, because the build costs are extremely high. We were our own contractor, and that way you can do it much more economically.”

Another reason golf is struggling: the high cost of water. Bay Area courses must find ways to reduce their water consumption, as detailed in a July 2015 Chronicle story.

Logan installed hybrid Bermuda fairways at Corica Park, because that kind of grass requires about 50 percent less water than do the fairways at most Bay Area courses. For now, the South Course needs watering only once per week.

The project also leaned heavily on recycled materials, in an effort to keep costs down.

“This is the future of golf,” Logan said. “It’s the only way golf will survive, building courses that blend into the environment and use less resources.”

Logan sought to turn the South Course into a Sandbelt-style course reminiscent of those in his native Australia. He and Jones created generous fairways, large greens and numerous bunkers bordered by tall fescue grass (way more playable than the fescue at Shinnecock Hills for the U.S. Open).

There’s a nice mix of holes — some long and some short, some wide and some narrow, some daunting and some vulnerable. The South Course includes far fewer trees than the North Course, which means wind off the bay is a significant factor.

Jones insisted Corica Park will be playable even during rainy winters, given elevated fairways and improved drainage.

“I think there was an avid golfing public here to begin with,” he said, “and it’s just going to increase.”

Alameda residents will pay $40 to play the South Course on weekdays and $50 on weekends. The fee for non-residents will vary (based on demand), ranging from $65 to $105.

And, yes, the North Course is on deck: Construction begins next week, with nine holes set to close.

Rees Jones at the south course of Corica Park, Wednesday, June 20, 2018, in Alameda, Calif. Jones is the golf course architect of the Corica Park South Course. (Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle)

The Corica Park South Course, Wednesday, June 20, 2018, in Alameda, Calif. (Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle)

Rees Jones hits a ceremonial first tee shot on the first hole on the South Course at Corica Park on Wednesday. Jones was the architect of the 3 1/2 year transformation. (Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle)