The Pellucid Perspective - December 2017 - 8

GOLF CLUB &
COURSE RENOVATION

owned by its members," said Bob Lemon, a Seattle resident who
joined Desert Horizons 12 years ago. "We wanted to make this
entire community more attractive to prospective homeowners
and golf members. We knew we needed new green complexes.
While we were at it, we thought about what else we could do
to improve and bring the club up to modern standards. We not
only needed to attract new members, but also keep the ones we
had."
Clark's experience as a golfer and a broadcaster allowed him
to see most of the world's very best golf courses, which has
played an important role in his design work. "My philosophy
is to let people have fun, to let them enjoy the golf course," said
Clark. "Give them some challenge, but don't overdo it. There
needs to be a balance."
Thrilled with what Clark showed them, the Desert Horizons
Board introduced their plan to the membership and took a vote
on an assessment. The vote passed, albeit by a narrow margin.
Some golf members downgraded their status and the club was
concerned that it would lose others, so the Board put the assessment on hold.
That was when Desert Horizons came up with a different
plan.
"At church, when we have a need, we reach out," said Club
President Ken MacKenzie. "We did not have a strong enough
majority, so we elected not to do the assessment."
Instead, the Board decided it would "pass the plate" and see
how much money it could raise through a voluntary contribution campaign. With an oversized thermometer display to track
progress in the clubhouse foyer, the donations were kept anony-

8 The Pellucid PersPecTive

mous and the club didn't accept pledges, only cash.
The campaign proved to be quite successful.
With a goal of raising $1.8 million, Desert Horizons received three quarters of what it needed in the first round of
fundraising. Knowing they couldn't renovate all 18 holes in one
summer given the overall project scope, the board decided to
work on the front nine first during the summer of 2016. The
club engaged Indio-based Earth Sculptures to perform the
renovation work, local landscape architect TKD Associates for
landscape design, and Indian Wells resident John Fitzpatrick of
Sunrise Golf, Inc. to manage the project.
"We knew the membership would be excited to see the work
being done," said Lemon. "We were confident we could raise
the remainder of what we needed and, thanks to the great work
of our project team, we actually raised more."
By the end of the contribution campaign, Desert Horizons
had raised nearly $2 million.
"More than 80 percent of the golfing members contributed,
but they weren't the only ones," said MacKenzie. "Some nongolfing social members and senior members also donated, which
I consider to be a strong descriptor of the quality of people at
our very inclusive club. It was very gratifying to see the loyalty."
"When I tell the story to my peers, they cannot believe it,"
said Director of Golf Rick Ruppert, who has been at Desert
Horizons since 1985. "I've had other pros tell me that because
of what we've done, their clubs have followed suit. The renovation is remarkable, but the story of how it was achieved is even
more so."
Under Clark's direction, Desert Horizons redesigned all
December 2017

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