HARDING PARK GOLF COURSE

First Opened: 1925

Renovation Investment / Time: $16 million, two years

Sprinklers installed: 1730 G870 VIH (valve in head) sprinklers 515 G875 VIH sprinklers

Controllers installed: 39 VSX Field Controllers with two-way communications 1 CWS4 Weather Station

Software used: Vista Central Control System with maintenance radio remote technology

Wiring used: 957,500 linear feet, or 181.3 miles

Pipe used: 146,800 linear feet, or 27.8 miles

Putting on the Ritz:
Hunter Helps Bring San Francisco’s Signature Golf Course.

Revered for decades as one of the hidden jewels of the golfing world, the Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco recently completed a two-year, $16 million makeover that has put it back on par at the championship level.

After reopening its links to rave reviews, the historic municipal course takes center stage in October 2005, as the venue plays host to the 2005 American Express Championship – its first modern-day PGA event. That event represents a dream come true for Harding Park’s supporters, since a key goal of the course’s renovation was to make it eligible to host PGA tournaments on a regular basis.

Hunter Industries played an integral role at every hole. Keeping the greens green is a network of 39 VSX controllers operating no fewer than 2,245 G870/G875 VIH (valve-in-head) sprinklers. More than 181 miles of wire and almost 28 miles of pipe were required for the installation.

Hunter was part of a foursome responsible for the complete irrigation system at Harding Park, and will help keep the course in meticulous shape for years to come. In partnership with national distributor Ewing Irrigation, Golf & Industrial, Hunter supplied all the hardware and management/maintenance software. Russ Mitchell and Associates was responsible for the system design. Rounding out this foursome is Kubley Construction, which handled the actual system installation over the course of eight months. Kubley is known as Landscapes Unlimited outside of California.

Vista Provides Instant Control

Russ Mitchell and Associates used GPS (global positioning system) technology to digitally reproduce each angle and elevation of the reconfigured course and translate AutoCAD files of every square inch into Hunter’s innovative Vista Central Control System software. This enabled designers and engineers to develop a virtual “fly-through” of the Harding Park course.

Because Vista is fully interactive, the system enables grounds personnel to remotely operate every part of the system via a laptop or desktop computer with a mere click of a mouse. Operators can zoom in on each station and instantly view the precise sprinkler model, nozzle size, flow, pressure, and precipitation rate. Adjustments to water applications can be changed in run-time minutes, or levels within hundredths of an inch. Vista can even perform “dry runs” of new irrigation schedules to determine the most efficient watering plan before one drop hits the greens.

With the irrigation system installation complete, engineers from participating companies including Hunter have been training municipal grounds superintendents in the proper operation of this state-of-the-art system.

“Extreme Course Makeover”

The massive makeover of the entire Harding Park course was done under the guidance of Professional Golf Association (PGA) architects from the association’s Florida headquarters. After many years of untenable proposals and endless debate on how to return the course to its former glory, a new round of renovation plans began in earnest when former USGA President Frank “Sandy” Tatum, a San Francisco attorney, was determined to restore the course he had played countless times.

Working with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and Recreation & Park Department General Manager Elizabeth Goldstein, Tatum helped play through the lengthy process of obtaining city approvals needed to begin the multi-million dollar renovation.

After 77 years, Harding Park was closed in 2002 for what was expected at the time to be a one-year restoration program.

“A Diamond in the Rough”

Situated on a gently rolling peninsula surrounded by the shores of Lake Merced in San Francisco’s southwestern corner, Harding Park is less than one mile from the Pacific Ocean. Designed in the early 1920s by William Watson, the majestic, cypress-lined greens took maximum advantage of the course's location along the lakeshore, while emphasizing parkland features and its proximity to the Pacific.

In charge of the redesign was PGA architect Chris Gray, who at once recognized that decades of deterioration would mean a complete overhaul of the course. "I've done a lot of renovation work before but never on a facility that was so run down,” he recently told Golf Publisher Syndications. “But it really was a diamond in the rough.”

Gray gave the layout what he calls a “haircut,” clearing many trees and trimming others, while incorporating only subtle grading changes to ensure that long-time players would feel right at home. The judicious tree removal also enables players to enjoy a 360-degree panorama of the course from anywhere on the greens.

From Debonair to Disrepair

From 1925 to 2002, Harding Park hosted generations of golfers and played host to prestigious golf events such as The Lucky International Professional Golf Championship (1961-66 and 1968) and the annual San Francisco City Golf Championships, which recently celebrated its 89th consecutive year.

For much of the early part of its 80-year history, Harding Park was considered to be one of the finest courses in the country. But by the 1970s, due to deferred maintenance and constant budget cutbacks, the course had fallen into a state of neglect. With the renovation done, early reviews agree that the original feel and flavor of Harding Park has been preserved.

There have been some major changes, however. The course was expanded from 6,743 to 7,200 yards so Harding would be eligible to host a PGA championship event. The second and seventh holes have exchanged places, and the 13th green was moved to the left. The new greens are almost twice the size and with more challenges, and the drainage system has been substantially improved.

But it’s the 18th hole that defines the new Harding Park, according to Brian Murphy, who covers golf for the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s a magnificent finale to a golf course that takes you through your entire bag, challenges your short and long game and yet allows you scoring opportunities,” he wrote recently. “You can almost feel the old city ghosts from the '20s and the hovering presence of Harding legends such as Ken Venturi and Johnny Miller.”

Hunter is honored to have been selected to be part of the monumental effort to restore Harding Park to its former glory as one of the jewels of the golfing world.