A $2.4 million California renovation is getting a high-tech USGA boost

INDIO, California — Every golfer has had this thought at one time or another. Playing a course, either familiar or new, a golfer will look at some feature on the course, a bunker, a lake or a piece of grass that seems completely unreachable and said, “Who in the world would hit the ball over there? I couldn’t hit the ball there if I tried.

” It’s fair to say that almost every golf course has some area that is maintained but receives minimal, if any, traffic during a typical day’s play. When a golf course like the South Course at Shadow Hills Golf Club near Palm Springs, decides it needs some renovation on its layout, where traffic flows on the course is the kind of information that can be vital. That’s where a GPS tracking system comes in, like the one the United States Golf Association offers.

For a fee, the USGA can set a golf course up with a transponder system to track where there is and isn’t traffic on the course. “How far right are golfers hitting it in the rough on the sixth hole so we can introduce a low-maintenance rough area to save costs without slowing pace of play? ” the USGA website says about the system.

“How far can we move up the start of the fairway on the 12th hole without creating a carry that is too long from the forward tee? ” Shadow Hills opened in 2004 as a course for the residents at the 55-and-over Sun City development in north Indio, but is also open to public play. It is one of the latest clubs to use the USGA transponder service.