Golf Remodel Ends at Lake Lindero Club

Ending a long, and at times arduous, redesign and remodeling of Lake Lindero Country Club, the club’s learning center and driving range are expected to open to the public today.

While much of the club remained open throughout reconstruction, today marks completion of the $1.5-million project, which included redesign of the golf courses and creation of a new 24-tee outdoor driving range.

“The entire facility had a massive face-lift,” said David Smith, president of Golf Projects International, which leases the club from Lake Lindero Homeowners Assn. Golf facilities now include two 18-hole courses as well as a learning center for novice golfers.

But the road to the redesigned course was not always a smooth one. Smith began planning for a course in Agoura Hills in 1993. In 1994, he signed a 35-year lease with the association, and set about improving a “run-down, unmaintained club,” as he described it.

One of the key obstacles was to incorporate into the design a flood channel running through the middle of the course, Smith said. With the renovations, the greens are now level.

In addition to physical obstacles, operators also met opposition from several of the 150 homeowner members. Residents voiced concerns before the Agoura Hills Planning Commission about noise, traffic, increased lighting and wild golf balls landing in their backyards.

But the commission approved the design, and an appeal by homeowners to the City Council in January ended in a deadlock, allowing the driving range project to proceed.

Smith said the golf courses are scheduled to reopen today. A formal grand-opening celebration is planned for next year.