Originally designed by Willie Lock, Alister MacKenzie improved the bunkers and areas around the greens in 1929, and Rees Jones handled the course update in 1996.

[3] The course lost land on its eastern boundary to eminent domain in the 1960s for the construction of Interstate 280, and several holes were altered, redesigned by Robert Muir Graves.

In all, Gil and his contractors rebuilt all 18 greens, created a 36,000 square foot Himalaya-style putting course, built new short-game practice areas, added a turf research nursery, refurbished 150,000 square feet of bunkering, restored and expanded all 18 tee complexes, moved the practice facility from one end of the property to the other, and installed a two-wire irrigation system using flexible, no-leak HDPE piping.

The team mimicked MacKenzie's bunker design with classic cloud formations, sitting down into the green or floating above the grade, and restored the original dramatic gradation.

Utilizing the club's massive collection of historical photos, aerials and maps, he was able to restore bunkers and greens to near-perfection, taking very little personal liberties to “improve" what he thought was an incredible golf course.