Over the century La Rinconada Country Club has been a part of the community, it’s continued to evolve. Now, club officials say it’s time to bring it back to its original look while making improvements golfers can enjoy for years to come.
“The project will result in a modern, sustainable golf course that the members, neighbors and the Town will be proud of,” said Andy Kimball, general manager of the club, in an interview.
Kimball said club management proposed a large landscaping project after considering the possibilities available for the golf course land.
But it would mean removing and replacing upwards of 100 trees over the course of 12-14 months, something not everyone is happy about.
Kimball has been planning this project since 2021, when the club bought the land it had been leasing. The purchase opened a door to upgrades that would make the operation more environmentally sustainable.
In the 1950s and 1960s, non-native trees, such as eucalyptus, were planted as part of the trend that spread to various golf courses across the country. Over the years, these have become hazardous due to their inclination to fall during storms. The trees also use quite a lot of water, eventually depleting the quality of the soil.
While the proposed plan gets rid of many eucalyptus trees, there will be some left on the border of the club to provide a barrier for stray golf balls, Kimball said.
Invasive grasses have also taken over the course, creating hassles for golfers and consuming gallons upon gallons of water every year, he added.
This effort to modernize is not just restricted to La Rinconada.
Courses across the country have embarked on similar projects.
Sustainability-focused Florida company The Veransa Group, for example, notes on its website that, “Some course administrators have chosen to let non-playable areas ‘go native’ with drought-resistant plants, and others employ premium turf products that reduce the need for frequent watering and support drought resilience.”
La Rinconada believes changes to the local course will help cut down on water usage.
(Aradhita Singh / Los Gatan)
“Our concept involves replacing our current turf with a drought tolerant bermuda grass that requires 30% less water to survive. In water volume that is a volume savings of more than 30,000,000 gallons of irrigation water per year,” Kimball said.
The removal of trees would also open up more pockets of sunlight for the proposed bermuda grass to be able to thrive, he added.
From the project’s start in 2021, the club has kept members informed and held meetings to answer their questions and concerns regarding the project. As part of their effort to keep all members and neighbors included, Kimball told us that image renderings and construction schedules have been sent out, along with other information on the proposed project.
“The project was overwhelmingly approved by our membership in November and the equity members of the Club will be paying for the project,” Kimball said.
The club plans to start construction in March 2026, after acquiring permits and securing the necessary approvals from the Town of Los Gatos.
To speed up the growth of the new trees and grasses, the idea is to plant 60-inch box oak trees that are 10 years old—this is meant to preserve the club’s iconic look.
Course officials say they’ll work on one hole at a time, allowing a five- or six-month growing period for the grass.
The project itself has no real “construction,” save for the building of a 400 square foot restroom. Unlike many projects, there will be little noise—contained to short bursts of work in specific areas.
The project itself has been described as a “generational reset” that most golf courses go through at one point or another.
“Golf courses typically require major rehabilitation after a 30 year period because fairway grasses become compromised and irrigation and drainage, especially around greens and bunkers, begin to fail,” Kimball said in a letter to the Town.
The “reset” would connect holes in a new way, making the course more walkable and less disconnected, La Rinconada officials say, adding the new grass is a better choice for the hot weather that California is known for.
