Today was pretty ideal weather in San Francisco, so my partner and I cycled to have lunch at Ocean Beach. On the way back, we stopped by GGPGC to see how
the work was coming along (Jay Blasi). It's really coming along! I was able to take some photos through the fence line, unfortunately there are only a few places to peek through so the angles are sub-optimal.
Here is the
former #2, now #7, green and tees:
On the plus side, the new green looks very exciting, and will leave some options open for different approach strategies. Sadly, this was my favorite par 3 in the area, and the forced fade into the prevailing wind aspect seems to be removed. It looks like they've removed all the non-native trees (which is almost all the trees), and the eucalyptus that forced players to move the ball to the right is gone.
The
redesigned #7, now #3, leaves much of the same strategy in place. Playing a draw to the left side gives a change for a friendly kick even if the shot misses left, but a high fade is also an effective shot. Interestingly, all the eucalypti along the right side remain.
Finally the
redesigned #8, now #4, remains mostly as it was, however the green is suppose to now be a double-green with the new #1 green (formerly #5):
Anyway, the bike ride went well, and if you're in the area, I would also recommend checking out the biergarten with live music the park has just for the summer. It's on the car-free section of JFK, just past the rose garden (easily accessible by foot when accessing the park by Fulton at Park Presidio).