Nine-hole par-three course in Sacramento has seen rounds double since reopening in May 2025
By Kasturi Datta |
05 May 2026
Campus Commons Golf Course in Sacramento, California, has doubled the number of rounds played on its nine-hole par-three layout following a redesign by architects Damian Pascuzzo and Steve Pate.
The public course, located along the American River near Sacramento State University, had been closed since 2021 due to major infrastructure work. That work was necessary to accommodate erosion protection and levee expansion, which encroached onto the property and rendered the layout unplayable.
“The original course, which was lightly trafficked, occupied an enviable location near downtown, but its future was ultimately decided by water, not golf,” said Pascuzzo, a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. “When the US Army Corps of Engineers advanced the major riverbank stabilisation and flood-control effort, the property became part of the work zone. A 70-foot-wide strip of the course along the river edge was acquired, and much of what remained served as access and staging during construction. By the time the heavy equipment moved on, the old course routing had effectively been erased – creating an uncommon opportunity and a demanding mandate: rebuild golf in a floodplain, and make it work.”
Pascuzzo and Pate, a former PGA Tour golfer, were appointed in 2023 to develop a plan that would reimagine the course. “The design brief was operational as well as experiential,” said Pascuzzo. “Campus Commons needed to reach break-even without relying on the county’s support from its three other 18-hole facilities. That meant design choices that would reduce labour, simplify agronomy and recover quickly after inevitable high water.
“Several holes use the river as a visual anchor, pairing play with long views to the water and the American River Parkway beyond. The routing was also refined to reduce conflict points with the adjacent multi-use trail system – an everyday reality for riverfront sites – by managing lines of play, crossings and separations so everyone can share the corridor comfortably.”
An aerial of the course growing-in following the renovation (Photo: Kurtis Wolford)
Low maintenance expenses were an integral part of the design strategy. The reimagined layout uses two types of turf – Pure Distinction bentgrass on greens and Santa Ana bermuda for all other playing surfaces – with superintendent Kurtis Wolford, a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, involved in grass selection. “Examining maintenance expenses was critical,” said Pascuzzo. “Equipment capital, labour, water and chemical costs were evaluated and influenced the overall design and agronomic standards.”
The amount of equipment was kept deliberately lean to keep costs down with the facility only operating a greens mower, a combined collar-and-tee mower and a rotary rough mower.
“Flooding was also a primary form-giver in preliminary design,” said Pascuzzo. “The grading strategy elevates greens above most flood flows while keeping modelled water surface elevations within the limits established by the US Army Corps of Engineers. It’s a careful balance: protect critical playing surfaces and maintain playability, without displacing water or creating new impacts elsewhere along the river corridor.”
One of the design firm’s big decisions regarded the bunker scheme. “In a flood-prone setting, sand is a recurring reset button after high water,” said Pascuzzo. “We built strategy with mounds that influence bounces and stances, swales that gather or kick shots away and hollows that turn misses into meaningful recoveries. The green complexes also have contours and shortgrass surrounds to create options rather than penalties.”
The nine-hole par-three course reopened in May 2025 (Photo: Kurtis Wolford)
The Campus Commons site sits within an environmentally sensitive corridor that includes a major fishery and the 5,000-acre American River Parkway. “Non-native trees were removed to support the broader ecology,” said Pascuzzo. “The course’s swales create strategy and texture in lieu of bunkers and also provide pathways that help juvenile fish follow receding floodwaters back towards the river after high water.
“Areas acquired and reshaped by the US Army Corps of Engineers were revegetated for erosion control, and downed trees were anchored in shallow water to create additional fish habitat. Strict state regulations prohibit fertiliser from entering the river basin, so agronomy had to be as carefully designed as the routing.”
Superintendent Wolford developed a ‘best management practices’ plan to guide inputs, protect water quality and keep operations compliant over the long term. “The result is a reminder that in the floodplain, ‘golf design’ is never only shaping and greens – it’s the choreography of land, water and maintenance working as one,” said Pascuzzo.
Since opening in May 2025, monthly rounds at the course have doubled from 2,000 to around 4,000 and the reimagined nine is playable in 90 minutes. The top weekend rate is $25, weekdays are $19 and juniors can play for $10.