Course at Ojai Valley Inn Going Back to the Future

Talk of rediscovering lost holes seems more the subject of space exploration than golf courses.

Yet, that’s precisely the buzz this summer at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, one of the legendary courses in Southern California. Golf historians are applauding the change.

After more than 50 years, the course will regain two all-but-forgotten holes as part of a reconfiguration expected to be completed by November.

The third and fourth holes from the original course, opened in 1923 and designed by famed architect George C. Thomas, were lost after World War II, when the U.S. Army and Navy occupied the course as a training facility and resort for officers.

After the war, government restoration of the course omitted the two holes and added the current second and fifth holes.

After a year of researching photographs and records, and exploring the terrain, officials are working to restore the course close to its original design.

Because the lost holes, located beyond the third green, are not part of the existing layout, the course will remain open during renovation with no hindrance from construction.

“I’ve always known of the existence of one hole,” said Mark Greenslit, director of golf at Ojai. “Once we discovered the existence of the the other hole, that’s when this whole thing got exciting and the project took on a life of its own.”

The reorganization will bring back the original third and fourth holes, a 200-yard par three resembling the famous No. 3 hole at famed Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey, and a 400-yard par four.

The front nine will then be renumbered, with the seventh hole becoming the first. The “lost holes” will return as Nos. 7 and 8.

Eventually, the nines will be reversed so the restored holes will be Nos. 16 and 17, with a 442-yardpar four that is the most difficult hole on the course winding up as No. 18.

There are plans for a new clubhouse near the driving range and what will become the first tee.

“We’ve had many construction projects here over the years and ownership chose to use the areas as a dump site,” Greenslit said. “I don’t think too many people knew about it. It’s one of those things that, if you’re a golf historian, you kind of knew about it.”

Change comes with the territory in the world of golf, and many courses across the country have deleted holes because of urban sprawl. Few “lost holes” ever are reinstituted, according to Geoff Shackelford, a golf historian who has written several books, including a biography of Thomas.

“Maybe 5% of the golf courses Thomas designed still exist,” Shackelford said. “So many courses have seen major changes because of freeway expansion, World War II. . . . It’s happened way too often, unfortunately. Ojai is unique because [the holes are] sitting right there and they’ve been sitting there for a long time. For years, people were just oblivious to it.”

Ben Crenshaw, two-time Masters champion and a golf-history buff, was among those aware of Ojai’s past. Several years ago, Crenshaw played the course, then went off in search of the missing holes.

“Last year, he was here for the EMC Skills Challenge and we told him what we were going to do,” Greenslit said. “His eyes lit up.”

The original third and fourth holes were located with the help of photographs and an ancient scorecard. The third hole was easy to discern. The fourth was discovered when Greenslit and his group walked past some trees near the par-three green and spotted an elevated area that appeared to have been the location of a tee.

Once restored, the tee shot will be made from an elevated area across a barranca to the fairway, which rises toward the green. The hole will provide a 360-degree view of the Ojai Valley.

Crenshaw has been invited to return in November to hit the first shot off the 200-yard, par-three tee, a hole featured in Thomas’ “Golf Architecture in America” and in “The Links” by Thomas Hunter.

Said Crenshaw: “This shot is going to be once again one of the great shots in golf.”