Rees Jones, the US Open Doctor, to operate on Rio Secco

The U.S. Open Doctor, Rees Jones, right, discusses renovations to greens and bunkers at Rio Secco Golf Club with vice president of golf operations Eric Dutt. (Brian Hurlburt/Special to the Review-Journal)

Strolling the tee boxes, greens and fairways of Rio Secco Golf Club with legendary golf course architect Rees Jones is a pretty good way to spend a Sunday morning.

Such was the case last weekend when I tagged along as Jones and his lead architect, Steve Weisser, toured Rio Secco to develop a plan to renovate the greens and several bunker complexes.

Jones designed Rio Secco, which opened in 1997. The course is scheduled to close May 23 and reopen in October.

Jones is known as the U.S. Open Doctor because of his renovation work on Bethpage Black, Torrey Pines South and five other U.S. Open courses. Courses he has worked on have hosted a total of 33 U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, Walker Cup and President Cup events.

The original U.S. Open Doctor was Rees’ father, Robert Trent Jones, but the nickname took hold for the younger Jones about three decades ago when former Golf magazine editor George Peper dressed him in doctor’s garb for an article.

Jones, 75, has fond memories about the creation of Rio Secco. He said the original plan called for two courses to be designed in the area, one by him and one by Jack Nicklaus. The original owners had financial problems, so the plans for the second course were scrapped but not before Jones had selected the land he wanted.

“This is an amazing topographical site, and I thought it was best piece of land in Las Vegas at the time,” Jones said. “The course reflects golf in this area very well and the beauty of Rio Secco, and why it continues to be regarded as one of the best layouts in the west is the original owner wanted to make sure the homes didn’t encroach on the course. As golfers play it now, they are playing a pure golf course and not a real estate golf course.

“This is a big, bold site, and it has matured substantially in 20 years. Now we’re going back to the future, and we will be eliminating some bunkers to make it more playable for the average player but also refurbishing bunkers near the greens to make it more playable for the better players. We are also doing a lot of work on the greens to enhance them and also make changes to create a different character on some.”

Eric Dutt, Rio Secco vice president of golf operations, appreciates having Jones involved.

“For him to return two decades later and share his expertise is very meaningful,” Dutt said. “Not a lot of other courses are investing in projects like this during these challenging times for the golf industry. Rees and his team are committed to helping us restore Rio Secco back to its rightful place as a top 100 golf course in America, and that’s our goal. Jones is a legend, and we believe Rio Secco is also a legend. The new changes are necessary to deliver the best experience to our guests.”

MASTERS SERIES OF PUTTING

Pre-qualifiers are underway through March 5 for the inaugural Masters Series of Putting championship in Las Vegas in October. Revere has a $10 pre-qualifier Friday and Sunday, and Red Rock has one Saturday. The complete schedule is available at MSOP.com. The top pre-qualifiers move to a Las Vegas regional qualifier, the last stop before the finals.

DEAL OF THE WEEK

Locals can play Chimera for as low as $25, plus try the new Golfboard for $1 per hole.

STARS ON, OFF COURSE

Former Notre Dame football players Golden Tate and Jimmy Clausen at Topgolf Las Vegas, celebrating Tate’s joint bachelor/bachelorette party.

The golf notebook appears Thursdays. Freelance writer Brian Hurlburt is a two-time author who has covered golf in Las Vegas for more than two decades. He can be reached at bhurlburt5@gmail.com or @LVGolfInsider.