larinconadacountryclub - Tumblr blog

[larinconadacountryclub]

Major Storm Hits the Club

In the early morning hours of January 10th, 2023 a major storm hit the La Rinconada Country Club. With wind gusts up to 50 miles per hours and heavy rains, flooded fairways and toppled trees and branches effected most of the golf course.

[larinconadacountryclub]

Mixed Two-Ball Foursome Championship, July 1954

Definition A mixed foursome refers to four people who play a round of golf broken up into two teams of one male and one female each. The exact type of match or shooting rules may vary, but the mixed teams aspect always must remain the same for the pairing to be a true mixed foursome.

Format Generally, with a mixed foursome, the players will select a match format and specific rules ahead of time. You can count every shot for each player and then add up the team scores after the round to determine a winner, but using a little creativity is usually more fun. Play a “best ball” format in which both team members shoot, but only the best ball is played each time. You can alternate shots all the way through the course just with the tee shots, or come up with a scoring system everyone in the foursome enjoys. Variations The concept of the foursome is not confined to mixed foursomes. You can play two against two in a stroke-play format or games such as a “Canadian foursome” or “Chapman foursome.” In a Canadian foursome, you and your partner hit a tee shot and determine which one is best. Remove the other ball from play so both of you can hit again from the chosen spot. A Chapman foursome is similar, only you and your partner both hit tee shots and second shots before determining which shot is most favorable. Alternate shots from the third shot into the hole. Start with the partner whose shot wasn't chosen after the second shot.

[larinconadacountryclub]

Bradford L. Benz, ASGCA, La Rinconada Golf Course Architect (1946 to 2017)

Brad was born to the late Dorothy and LaVerne Benz on September 13, 1946 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He graduated from Dubuque Senior High School in 1964, earned a BA in landscape architecture in 1969 and a Master of Landscape Architecture in 1970, both from ISU.  

Relocating to Colorado, Brad worked for an architectural firm before moving to San Jose in 1983 forming Bradford Benz/Golf Course Architects. Brad was a world-renowned golf course architect, who designed more than 140 courses in North America, Europe, and Asia - including the Rinconada Golf Course in Los Gatos, California.

Brad believed there was a difference between "playing" a golf course and "experiencing" the game of golf.  He was a skilled negotiator and collaborator, and described himself as a “classicist” with an affinity for the old golf courses built by hand that utilized the existing landscape to its greatest advantage.  He liked nothing more than leaving a tract of land healthier than it was before it was developed.

Reprinted from Brad Benz's March 16, 2017 obituary

[larinconadacountryclub]

Club Dues in 1946

On February 8th, 1946 the newly private La Rinconada Golf Course announced an increase in monthly dues starting March 1 as follows: * Single Membership: $9/month * Family Membership: $12.50/month * Single Ladies: $5/month * Students playing during the week: $2.50/month Besides gold members are entitled to all other facilities of the club which include: * Glassed-in dining room * Floor for dancing * Upstairs, outdoor deck * Potentially an outdoor pool, when completed

Reprinted from Los Gatos Times column dated February 8th, 1946, entitled: La Rinconada Golf Course to Become Private with Limited Membership

[larinconadacountryclub]

James Phelan, US State Senator, SF Mayor, La Rinconada Golf Course Founding Member

James Duval Phelan: April 20, 1861 - August 7, 1930 Born in San Francisco in 1861, he grew up Catholic, studied at St. Ignatius College (now the University of San Francisco), and traveled extensively in Europe as a child and young man. His Irish-born father left him a fortune, but Phelan took little interest in what he once called "the sordid messes of business and trade." He saw himself instead as a political leader and patron of the arts. Aloof, cultured, and aristocratic, he served as San Francisco mayor from 1897 to 1901, as one of California's United States senators from 1915 to 1921, and as the leader of the state's Democratic party from the late 1890s through the 1920s. As a senator he visited the League of Cross Cadets annual outing in Capitola, CA in July, 1915.

Phelan's vision derived in significant part from his readings in the classics and his travels abroad. Paris, Rome, and Athens, especially, figured prominently in his speeches—he loved to make speeches—by which he defined much of his vision. His vision was a complex one, including the built environment, city government, and social patterns.

Reprinted from the website Shaping San Francisco's Digital Archive @Found

[larinconadacountryclub]

Dr. Blake Franklin, La Rinconada Golf Course Visionary

On that opening day of June 1st, 1929 day the 123 charter members of the brand new club pumped hands and beamed at the fulfillment of a dream engendered several years before by West Valley physician, Dr. Blake Franklin, who often envisioned "a beautiful golf course someday in the gentle hills of Los Gatos."

Dr. Blake's vision started on the road to reality some two years before when W. B. Maxwell, big and amiable, breezed into Los Gatos, stirring up interest in building a golf course. Maxwell purchased the 108.5 acre present site and soon broke club ground for the links.

"When a man of the professional attainments of Dr. Blake Franklin can be persuaded to take up important quasi public work like that of the Chamber of Commerce, his community is under a deep debt of of obligation. It is a gratifying evidance of the intelligence of Los Gatos to note that his home city recognizes the high value of the services of Dr. Franklin during the last three years as the chief executive of the Chamber. Dr. Franklin has guided the activities of the Chamber in channels of great usefulness.

The publicity work and other functions of the organization have been carried on, on a plane of efficiency that cannot be rightly appraised by any one whose experience has been limited to one city or one district.

Today Dr. Franklin is simply a practicing physician. He probably carries with him pleasant memories of active association with others interested in community welfare. He also has the knowledge that he enjoys the respect of his fellow residents for his ability, his honesty, and last, but not least, his conspicous common sense, as demonstrated while president for three successíve terms of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce."

Quotation Reprinted from the Los Gatos Star, December 25, 1924

[larinconadacountryclub]

Reprinted from Los Gatos Times Observer, March 19, 1937, page 7

[larinconadacountryclub]

Vintage Souvenir Serving Plate

[larinconadacountryclub]

La Rinconada Golf Course Makes Headlines

Almost every month in 1928 and 1929 the La Rinconada Golf Course made headlines in the local Los Gatos Star newspaper.

[larinconadacountryclub]

Foreward

My name is Gordon van Zuiden.  My family lives on Eaton Lane in Monte Sereno, directly behind the La Rinconada 14th hole tee.  We’ve been neighbors with the golf course for over 30 years.   During that time our young children used to set up a fruit stand at the golf cart gate to sell apples, apricots, and plums from our orchard to golfers as they waited to tee off on 14.  My young son and I would grab a few fishing pools to catch small carp from the lake by the tee on hole 14. We owned 2 labs, Latte and Snickers, that were well fed by treats from golfers as they made the turn back to the club house on 14.  In 2020, during the heart of the Covid pandemic, my son and I built a treehouse in the redwood trees that line our property giving us a spectacular view of the entire 14th hole and the East Bay hills.  On summer nights my wife and I walk along the back 9 fairways in awe of the beautiful sunsets over the Santa Cruz mountains shining their last daylight through the majestic oak and redwood trees that line the back nine holes.

The La Rinconada Golf Course has been the greatest neighbor we could have ever wanted - and we’re not even golfers!   The spectacular beauty of the course and the friendliness of its members and maintenance crew have been the keys to this wonderful relationship.

When I discovered earlier this year that the club was founded in 1929 - almost 100 years ago - I was curious to know if the club had any plans to commemorate their century milestone at the end of this decade.  I reached out to Jim Rubnitz, former President of the club, and he directed me to talk with Andy Kimball, the club’s general manager.   I had a great meeting with Andy and we agreed to start collecting historical memories of the club to prepare for a centennial book launch in 2029.   This blog sets the stage for those efforts - I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.

[larinconadacountryclub]

A.P. Giannini, Founder of Bank of Italy

A. P. Giannini, founder of Bank of Italy (which later became Bank of America) dedicates the new La Rinconada Golf Course in this photo from the July 29th, 1929 issue of the Oakland Tribune.

"In the era of bobbed hair, raccoon coats and 23 skidoo, golf was getting big. Really, really big. With the increasing mechanization of America in the 1920s, the country’s upper and middle classes suddenly found themselves with more leisure time. A new enthusiasm for sports of all flavors—and golf in particular—drove the construction of athletic fields and country clubs by the score.

Against this backdrop late in the decade, a group of well-heeled San Francisco and Peninsula residents began looking for property they could convert into a golf enclave of their own. Senator Sanborn Young, Bank of America founder A. P. Giannini, B of A president James Baciagalupi and a former navy officer from Seattle, Washington, W. B. Maxwell, were among the team making the initial explorations.

On a gently rolling, 125-acre site in Los Gatos they found the perfect spot—and on June 1, 1929, members of the newly christened La Rinconada Country Club played their first round."

Article reprinted from San Jose Mercury News column entitled, "La Rinconada Country Club is going through a transition". August 13, 2016

[larinconadacountryclub]

La Rinconada Golf Course Promotional Ads

Just after the golf course opened in 1929 the local Los Gatos newspapers ran ads promoting the benefits of the new golf club for residents at the Hotel Lyndon in downtown Los Gatos and for local real estate ownership.

[larinconadacountryclub]

Golf Course To Be Called Rinconada

"Miss Barbara Burnham, 158 Tillman Avenue, San Jose, won a life membership in the Los Gatos-Saratoga golf course and country club being built near Vasona Junction, by submitting the name which was judged best for the new course. She suggested Rinconada Country Club, saying that the Los Gatos course is shaped like triangle, Rinconada in Spanish means a corner formed by two houses, streets or the like, and because of the historic background of Los Gatos and Santa Clara Valley the judges decided on this name for the first prize.

The contest judges received hundreds of letters from public school children in the county who were eligible in the name contest.

Miss Eleanor Hamsher, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. V. Hamsher of Los Gatos, won second prize of a 5 year membership in the club. Her name for the club was Monte Brezza. Bernard Stiendorf of the Cambrian school near Campbell won third prize with the suggestion, Bonnie Brae. He stated that golf originated in Scotland and because of the favorable location of this course it should be named Bonnie Brae."

Reprinted article from the Los Gatos Star, January 20th, 1927

This naming article also appeared at the end of the La Rinconada May 2022 newsletter, see below.

[larinconadacountryclub]

La Rinconada Country Club Timeline: 1970 to 2021

1970: The 1970s sees rising costs for the club and a call for more membership is putout to share the financial burden.Some members leave, but many new members join, and the club begins to feel less exclusive and like more of a member asset. By 1976, club membership grows to about 400.

1979: At the club’s 50-year mark, Clark serves as club president.

1981: For a time, the club and course are open to public and private use, and membership grows to about 600. However, this year brings controversy over whether a woman wishing to control her deceased husband’s membership should be granted permission to use the club as a member herself after she remarries.

1984:The Board of Directors discusses Peggy Harrington’s specific situation regarding assuming her husband’s membership after his death and they eventually ease the rules to allow women to assume their husbands’ full voting privileges. This represents an evolutionary time for women and private clubs.

1989: In 1989 it was decided that the board would put a $2M assessment up for a vote on a full course renovation. Architects Brad Benz, Robert Muir Graves, Bob Putmanall collaborated on the plan and the following was approved:

• All greens re-constructed and built to the USGA standards. • All bunkers re-built. • All greens seeded with bent grass, which was a tremendous surface, but because of the predominate poa annua grass, it wasn't too long before the poa began encroaching into the greens. • Because of expenses, green surrounds were in most cases left with the native soil. • The driving range was considered off limits. It was upgraded but not to today’s level. Consideration was given to moving the range to the current location of the 5th hole and 4th green. Most did not like the change and it was quickly abandoned. • All greens were required to have a “roll up” areas for women and higher, layout change was not allowed. • Re-grading of the 2nd, 6th and 8th fairways was included. • Concrete cart paths were included. A manifold based sprinkling system would be installed to include double sprinklers wraps at each green. • Improved drainage for the water coming off of 4, 8, 9 and 2 was included. • Drainage of spring water that came to the surface at the 9th tee and 8th green was included.

2004: At the club’s 75-year mark, Burns serves as club president.

2005: A full clubhouse remodel was completed. The golf shop was moved from a stand alone building above the parking lot to the main clubhouse. The only area left untouched was the kitchen.

2007: The irrigation system was converted from a block system to single head control through rewiring, and new central control.

2009: A record number of Members are looking to sell with little to no interest from buyers. The Club engages a marketing plan to stimulate buyers and sells nearly 90memberships by the end of the year.

2010: La Rinconada undergoes the process of renovation and reinvention aimed at democratizing the club. With the hope of turning the facility into a more family friendly environment, the club begins construction of a new fitness center and bocce ball courts, gives the pool a facelift, relaxes the dress code and offers financial incentives for new membership.

2012: The Club closes for 7 weeks in September to undergo a “turf conversion” project.All the existing turf, with the exception of the greens, was killed and a new pure rye grass stand was established. This conversion led to some of the best conditions the course had ever seen.

2013: The club replaces its irrigation control system to increase efficiency and dependability. A golf course master plan was voted on and approved by the Members that was developed by golf course architect Bill Love.

2014: An old wooden maintenance shed structure, dating back more than 50 years, is torn down to make way for a new structure. Construction on the new shade structure includes 3,000 square feet of roof to protect and prolong use of the club’s maintenance equipment.

2015: During a historic drought, the Santa Clara Valley Water District cuts off the main supply for irrigation water. As a result, the Club takes on a major renovation to the pond on hole #11 and the practice facility. Both areas were dramatically improved. In addition, an abandoned well on the back of the driving range was redeveloped and becomes the primary source for golf course irrigation.

2018: The Club is bustling with activity and membership is thriving. A wait list to become a member is holding steady at about 7 families. The clubhouse and kitchen undergo a significant renovation that totals approximately $6MM in upgrade work. 2020: The Club closes for all activity between March 14th and May5th due to a global pandemic. Capital improvement plans were frozen until the Club could figure out how to navigate through such uncertain times. As a result of the pandemic, the golf industry experiences the second largest boom on historical record. In October, the Club learned that the Leider family was entertaining offers from developers to buy the land. Club leadership under President Michael D’Addio, quickly assembled a group to respond with an offer from the Club to purchase the land.

2021: After several months of negotiation with Philip Leider, the Club successfully purchased the land and secured the future of the Club. The membership purchased the land on May 25th for a price of $18.9MM

[larinconadacountryclub]

La Rinconada Country Club Timeline: 1906 to 1968

La Rinconada Country Club is a private golf course located in the foothills of LosGatos. It was constructed in 1929 and has 446 Certificated Members. The 18-hole golf course plays 6,100 yards, to a par of 70. Many of the holes have been enhanced over the years but the original playing corridors have remained the same since the opening in 1929.

September 1906: Rancho Rinconada de Los Gatos was a rancho named for the corner (Rinconada) where Los Gatos Creek bends and for the number of wildcats (Los Gatos) that lived in the area due to a plentiful water supply. The Los Gatos Times suggested a country club be built in the area and the plans for building an 18-hole course began to unfold.

Spring 1926: W.B. Maxwell buys land near Vasona Junction to build a golf course. Using his own money, he works tirelessly for two years to design and build the course.

February 1928: A group headed by W.C. Sprague buys the land from Maxwell and takes over development of the course. The course, designed by WilliamJefferson and built by his brother Phil, La Rinconada's first pro, was representative of similar facilities of the time. Other key families included in the founding of the club include those of Kevin Leach, John Moore, John Freitas, James A. Bacigalupi, Philip Leider and A.P. Giannini.

March 1928: Sprague and his group confirm that the club will open with 103 inaugural members, each paying a $500 membership fee.

June 1, 1929: Members of the newly christened La Rinconada Country Club play their first round of golf. Membership is limited to an exclusive few, most of which move in the elite business and social circles of the club's founders. Opening day hosts 700 community members with refreshments served in the temporary clubhouse. Senator Sanborn Young, an original club member, dedicates the club and course. PhillipJefferson wins the opening day match against pros Arthur Brooks and Floyd Hudson, and is named golf pro, a position he holds until his death in 1946.

April 1938: La Rinconada holds the first annual Blossom Tournament, a tournament that was held well until the late 1990’s. The tournament receives its name from the blossoming fruit trees around the valley at the time, and includes 36 holes of play over two days.

August 1940: La Rinconada holds the first Fiesta Tournament. Later renamed the Trail Days Tournament, this tournament is also a 36-hole tournament played over the course of a weekend, and attracts golfers from all over the state, making it La Rinconada’s largest event of the year.

January 1940: Los Gatos High School holds their first tournament at the country club. For many years, the high school had wanted a golf team but had no place to practice. La Rinconada offers them the space and opportunity to compete with other local high schools.

1945: World War II dictates the economic rise and fall of the era and the club comes close to ruin. For a mere $80,000, Dr. Sol Leider buys the club with the intention of reviving membership and signs a 99-year lease. He purchases the property from the Capital Company who had purchased it in 1937.

November 1952: Dr. Leider is persuaded to lease the course property back to LaRinconada residents for the lease term. During his ownership, Leider improved three course holes and organized the installation of the swimming pool and the original clubhouse renovation.

1947-1952: Due to the war and absence of men while they are in service, women’s golf dominates the club’s newspaper during this time. Tournament play also wanes during wartime. The Blossom and Fiesta tournaments, put on hold while the men were away, are resurrected.

1953: Now member-owned, La Rinconada begins to promote an exclusive, members-only image. Visitors and prospective members are allowed to use the course provided a member accompanies them. The club is reborn into a private country club and becomes more restricted. Prospective members must complete an application, which is then reviewed extensively by a member review board. Movie stars Jane Russell, Olivia de Havilland, Bing Crosby and Jack Benny are members and make infrequent appearances; there is a question of perceived club exclusivity. The club converts to yearly elections with Bill Battaglia as the club’s first president under the new ownership.

1954: At the club’s 25-year mark, Andries serves as the club’s president.

1962: The roof caves in on the Spanish-style clubhouse during a rainstorm and obvious repairs need to occur quickly. A tarp is placed over the gaping hole to allow kitchens staff to continue working, a new clubhouse is designed and work begins.

1963: The new La Rinconada Country Club clubhouse opens 500 feet north of where the old one had been situated and contains a larger dining room, kitchen, men’s grill room, and men and women’s locker rooms. The club also adds a snack shack on the 11th hole, moves the pro shop from the old clubhouse west of the parking lot, and exchanges the 1st and 6th holes to allow golfers to tee off by the new pro shop.

1968: Periodically, the club had experienced difficulties in obtaining and distributing water to irrigate the course. An agreement is made with the Santa Clara County Conservation District to solve this problem. The Conservation District obtains water right of ways through the 3rd, 8th and 9th fairways and, in exchange, La Rinconada receives all of the untreated water needed to irrigate the course.

[larinconadacountryclub]

La Rinconada: Our Story

Located in the in the heart of Los Gatos, La Rinconada is one of the most beautiful properties in the the Santa Clara Valley. The club overlooks the valley from the western foothills to the Santa Cruz Mountains. Members enjoy a beautiful golf course amid natural plantings, wildlife and the scenery across the Silicon Valley.

The idea for building the course took shape in the late 1920s and, due to the dedicated efforts of a small group of men, culminated in the dedication of the golf course in 1929. The founding members described the setting as one of the finest locations that could be carved out for a golf course. The golf course has been kept true to its classic design. Fairways are tight and tree-lined. Greens are small and well-guarded by bunkers. The variety of holes and shots make the course one that Members enjoy playing day after day. The golf course is complemented by an extensive practice facility, one of the best in the Bay Area. The club is committed to water conservation, having recently reduced irrigation by 30%, accomplished by drilling wells and enlarging a storage pond. The club offers junior golf programs, swimming, fitness, bocce ball, yoga, dining and several social events. The Clubhouse plays host to a wide variety of community events, including many charitable activities, including the Dave’s Avenue School Auction, Los Gatos New Millennium Foundation, Los Gatos Community Foundation, Hope Services, and Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame Induction.

Mission Statement La Rinconada will be recognized as a premier local private club by providing exceptional golf, dining and social experiences in a multi-generational, family-centric environment.

Reprinted from the History of La Rinconada Golf Course web site page.

[larinconadacountryclub]

Momentous Occasion - Members Own the Golf Course

This photo records a historic moment in Santa Clara County golf circles. It's the official signing of the lease that transfers the operation of the La Rinconada Country Club into the hands of the membership. Signing the 99-year lease is Dr. S. J. Leider, owner of the Los Gatos course. He is flanked on his left by William L. Battaglia, club president, and on his right by Jean M. Blum, attorney. Seated also is Elmer Cooksey, who was instrumental in the lease negotiations. Witnessing the singing (standing left to right) are W.P. Zeiss, Ralph N. Burrell, John MacDonald, Vincent N. Tedesco, Roy L. Caston, Jim J. Andries, Fred J. Seymour and Ray Gray. The signing took place Thursday, August 21st, 1952.