OB SPORTS GOLF & LEISURE
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SUMMER 2016
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obsports.com
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DESTINATIONS
options, including its signature restaurant, Il Vigneto.
But while the entire property is designed to offer the
most modern of high-end pampering, everything about
CordeValle is also designed to augment the region's long,
rich history and natural surroundings.
Though Europeans didn't discover the region until the
late 18th Century, Native Americans had called it home
for about 8,000 years. Divided into ranchos following
Mexican independence in 1821, the prop-
erty CordeValle sits upon was used for
cattle grazing, fruit orchards and vine-
yards. Over the years, the property
changed owners several times, but it re-
mained agricultural, as fruit trees, barley,
corn, alfalfa and grapes were cultivated.
In the mid 1990s, talk of turning a part of
the parcel into the golf course turned seri-
ous, and the legendary Robert Trent Jones
Jr. was selected as the architect. The result
was a gem, which Jones, who has had a
major hand in designing more than 245
courses around the world, has called his
finest creation. It's a 7,360-yard course that
was sculpted to perfectly integrate into the
existing landscape, including utilizing flowing creeks, sycamore and oak trees,
canyons and expansive meadows. Caddies and forecaddies, who are managed
by the same company that oversees the caddy program at Augusta National,
are on hand to lend their eyes and, if asked, advice. Any local knowledge comes
in handy as the course can be a bear from the tips, which has a rating of 76.3.
A variety of other tees reduce the yardage and difficulty, however.
amenities at cordevalle include a full-service
spa, pool, tennis center, caddies, a winery
and vineyard, and three dining options.
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