Renovations coming to the South Course at La Costa Resort in Carlsbad

• By Mike Bailey
• Mar 18, 2013 1:09 PM ET

Two years ago, the Champions Course at the fabulous La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif., got a much-needed renovation. Now, the other course at the 36-hole resort is going to get a facelift and tummy tuck, too, and if it turns out as good as the first, golfers won't be disappointed.

It is, in fact, the same company that did the first renovation, Pascuzzo & Pate Golf Design, that will be in charge of restoring Dick Wilson's original design on the current South Course, which will be renamed the Legends Course. The plan is for the course to close May 1 and reopen late this year.

Said Paul McCormick, VP and general manager at La Costa Resort and Spa: "La Costa has been synonymous with the top echelon of golf for more than 40 years, having hosted 37 PGA Tour and LPGA events. It is important that our championship legacy be matched by our commitment to pure enjoyment of the game."

Indeed, among the tour events La Costa has hosted include the WGC-Accenture Match Play. But that event was moved to Tucson in 2007, largely because the golf course just didn't play well in February. Drainage problems combined with wet winters left the course soggy, but a renovation to the Champions Course (nine of holes of which were used for the Accenture), cured those woes and then some. Now with the renovation of the South into the Legends, the famous resort with have 36 holes that drain better, play better and are more tour worthy. And all of this coincides with an overall $50 million renovation to the resort.

Though the original Dick Wilson design will remain, the course will get all new bunkers (with some moved or removed and the new ones made shallower), rebuilt tees, larger greens and be lengthened to slightly more than 7,000 yards. It will have a more open look than the Champions Course. And the fairways will be converted to salt-water resistant paspalum, while the greens remain bentgrass.

"We have a lot of respect for La Costa’s original routing and intend to maintain its integrity," said golf course architect Damian Pascuzzo, who partnered with PGA Tour veteran Steve Pate, who won the PGA Tour's Tournament of Champions at La Costa in 1988. "Our goal with the Legends Course is to give golfers a completely different type of golf course to play at La Costa. We want to keep it fun and interesting, with different visuals and some subtle nuances around the greens."