VALENCIA, CA. -



Towering trees rise beneath an unbelievably blue sky, shading golfers and the greens where they hone their skills. More than beautiful, the trees also create a sound barrier that contributes to a sense of peace and privacy that again pervades the golf course. After a six-month renovation, Valencia Country Club once more is a place to escape day-to-day worries and enjoy the game.

Valencia Country Club is a world class golf course with a history that goes back nearly forty years. In 1964, legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed a course for the soon-to-be built town of Valencia. Interstate 5 was not yet a neighbor. Travelers and truckers heading north to Bakersfield or south to Los Angeles took four-lane Highway 99.

The once remote area began to grow as the 60s progressed. The Newhall family, who owned the property, turned to renowned urban planner Victor Gruen to design a master-planned community that today is home to 45,000 people. Gruen designed Valencia, named for the oranges the Newhalls grew. The design considered every aspect of the new city including schools, shopping areas, recreation, a hospital, a community college, and a golf course.

Valencia grew, and for many years the Jones-designed golf course served the public. In the 1980s, the course passed into private hands and became a private membership club known as the Valencia Country Club. In 2002, the Heritage Golf Group of San Diego purchased the course. “It is a fabulous property,” says Norm Goodmanson, Vice President for Development for Heritage Golf Group. “Literally, it is one of the best golf courses in California if not the country.” But with the encroaching metropolis, the course had suffered.

Heritage Golf Group brought in Robert Hertzing as golf course superintendent and charged him with renovating the grounds. Hertzing quickly sized up the situation. “Over the past years, houses and commerce have surrounded the golf course,” explains Hertzing. “Traffic has increased; there is more noise; people driving by on freeway detract from the overall golf experience.” Hertzing’s first charge as superintendent was to create a sense of privacy and visual separation from the urban bustle so that players could enjoy a relaxing round of golf.

The bulk of Hertzing’s 150-acre effort went into creating a landscape screen on three sides of the property, about 9000 linear feet. In addition, he replaced outdated plant materials close to the remodeled clubhouse with the year-round color and greenery of flowering trees, shrubs, and perennials. For plant material, Hertzing turned to Miramar Wholesale Nurseries.

“This is our second project for the Heritage Golf Group,” said Mike Davis, the MWN liaison who coordinated the project. “Our first project was the Talega golf course in San Clemente. It’s been a good relationship.” MWN supplied literally hundreds of plants for Valencia, including 72” boxed Brazilian peppers and 60” and 48” boxed pines, California peppers, Carolina laurels, and giant timber bamboos.

Davis and the scheduling and shipping teams at two MWN locations consulted with the group on plant selection and creating a plant palette. Shipping managers Hugo Jorge at the Lake Forest location and Ken Danzer at San Diego ensured the product was ready for delivery.

Clients often consult with MWN on plant selection and creating a plant palette. Architects and designers frequently tour the nursery locations, ask questions of the staff and revise plant lists based on what they learn. Once the palette is set, nursery staff procures the plants and when necessary, contract grows them.

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