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  • Journey at Pechanga's final green has been flattened out to...

    Journey at Pechanga's final green has been flattened out to eliminate the large dip in the middle of the putting surface.

  • The green before renovation had a big dip in the...

    The green before renovation had a big dip in the middle.

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Journey at Pechanga has softened the green – and its stance – regarding its 18th-hole Biarritz green.

“It was a big decision,” Journey at Pechanga director of golf Scott Mallory said about the green that prior to smoothing was shaped like a curved potato chip. “We thought, ‘Do we change what architect Arthur Hills intended?’ Ultimately, we knew we had to listen to our guests. Before we softened the green, golfers may have been lucky to get off the green with a 3- or 4-putt. Now that it’s not so unforgiving, we have a phenomenal finishing hole. With two good shots, you can make birdie.”

Journey at Pechanga opened in 2008, and with Biarritz greens being an occasional calling card of architect Arthur Hills, Journey’s finishing hole was intended as a challenge. Too much so for some, it turned out, as comments like this, on golflink.com, became frequent: “For reasons unknown this green has a huge valley cut through the middle. Only downside to the course.”

  Mallory said the renovation also allows Journey staff the option of up to eight pin placements as opposed to five before reconstruction. That adds variety and allows pin areas to recover better from foot traffic and ball marks.

“This changeup makes the hole so much more fun and playable,” Mallory said. “It’s a good decision all around.”