Debell Golf Club – Methane Mitigation Design in a golf course

Debell Golf Club is an 18-hole par 71 golf course hidden in the hills of Burbank.   The City of Burbank is infamous for its industrial and commercial real estate.  Burbank is home to business like Tesla, Ikea, Walt Disney Studios, and the Warner Brother Studios.  Historically, industrial businesses have led to Vapor Mitigation System or Methane Testing requirements in new real-estate developments.  

Driving towards Debell Golf course you will be sure to see all the industrial, commercial, and retail businesses thriving in the city.  As you get closer, you will find the course tucked up in the mountains surrounded by Single-Family Dwellings. Debell Golf Course will challenge every part your golf game, be sure to bring a dozen balls, you’re guaranteed to lose a few on the course. Debell Golf Course Driving Range The driving range has 21 mats spanning over 77 yards with a maximum length of 230 yards. The newly renovated driving range has freshly poured asphalt and along with new mats.  This short driving range is sloped slightly uphill, so don’t get discouraged when you lose 10 yards on all your clubs. The course has a club membership with huge perks; free bucket of balls every day, discounted green fees, free round of golf once a month, and a free drink once a month. The pro shop consists of a variety of different clubs, clothes, balls, and accessories for golf.  The pro shop is above par compared to local golf courses. Tee Times are extremely difficult to reserve unless you are a member, all Tee Times before 5:00 pm are booked 2 weeks in advance. Although getting a reservation is a struggle at Debell Golf Course, you’ll notice that occasionally there aren’t any groups in front or behind you.  The obvious issues related to Tee Time reservations is a consequence of the pro shop rarely penalizing golfers for not showing up to Tee Times. The course seems to have several golf pros, you can see advertisements for their services at the driving range.  Oddly, their numbers are listed everywhere, but they infrequently respond to phone calls or answer any golf lesson inquiries. Any golfer can identity that the management of the Golf course is truly under Par, it’s unfortunate because this hidden gem really could offer more if the staff stepped it up. Restaurant at Debell serves decent golf course food, the notable favorite is the turkey avocado wrap with the tater tots. These tater tots tend to melt in your mouth and are definitely recommended, but chow down fast you don’t want to slow down the play and have people wait for you while you’re teeing off on the 10th hole. Paying Golf at Debell The rough on this course is as strenuous as it gets, clean up your wedges, if you get stuck in the rough, the greenskeeper’s evil ways of minimum maintenance will add a few strokes to your score card. The bunkers are trash, they might as well be called concrete pits rather than sand pits.  Interestingly, the greenside bunkers on hole two are the only bunkers on the course that have PGA grade sand. Debell Golf Course is a unique experience compared to the other local courses; you will be sure to use every club in your bag.  If you don’t land in the fairway, you’re in for a challenge to recover and keep your scores low.  Between dodging all the low hanging trees and escaping some of the thickest rough, you’ll need to bring your best game on this course. Debell has a medley of short and long Par 3s, 4s and 5s, unlike other Locals courses like Scholl Canyon, which is and extremely short executive courses, or like Griffith Park, a mostly long and flat course. The course starts off with heartwarming par five, if you hit a solid drive, followed by a fairway wood, you’ll be on the green in two. For most golfers, this is the wrong move, your drive will most likely slice and end up hitting a fellow golfer trying to  drive up to the course. The right play off the tee is to club down to get a nice five iron on the fairway, two solid mid irons will get you on the green from there.  The greens at Debell are notorious for being the most difficult greens locally.  Almost every green has extreme slopes that deceivingly brake in the opposite direction that is expected. Just a local tip, “where’s Burbank?” should be a question for every putt, 90% of the greens brake towards the City of Burbank. Locals often discuss how pros would play on the greens at Debell, the consensus is that the average put per hole would be above the standard. Hole seven is the longest par five with the smallest green on the course.  Ideally, pull out your driver, three wood, and pitch on the green.  Realistically; slice your tee shot into the hills, and watch your lucky bounce end up on the fairway, underestimate the distance of the course as it dog legs right, and overhit your three wood out of bounds, miss the green on your approach, chip, and 4 putt. Hole 13 – “Debell Hole” Hole 13 is the notable hole at Debell, this blind par 3 plays downhill about 160 yards from the blues. This blind hole has a bell located greenside to notify players on the tee box when the green is clear, so listen closely and wait for “Debell” before you hit your tee shot.   A Yucca tree stands up straight in the middle of the hillside, this is the perfect monument to identify the line that you’ll want to hit. Once on the green, ask yourself “where’s Burbank”, and finish off with a solid 3 putt, just like the rest of us.   Debell Golf Course is a hidden gem the hills of the Burbank, it is an excellent course to get thorough practice with all your clubs in varying situations.  The course will also help build the mental stability that is required to play good quality golf. History of Debell Golf Course Debell golf course was originally owned by a So Cal developer named Joseph A Debell.  Joseph donated a large portion of the Debell Golf Course land to the City of Burbank.  As of 1956, the Debell Course amount to over 1,000 acres of land combined from gifts, acquisitions, and eminent domain. The Original club house was built in 1970, but in 2009 it was replaced with the currently club house which include the Debell Restaurant. replaces with eh new club house The City of Burbank has flourished in success since the Southern Pacific Railroad gained access to reach the area in 1874.  The Industrial buildings were mostly built in the mid 1900’s, considering the time, a majority of these structures do not contain a Methane Vapor Barrier, but it is anticipated that as the City continues to build, all structure will contain Vapor Mitigation Systems. According to Well Finder CalGEM GIS, the City of Burbank contains an Idling Oil Well located near S Victory Blvd and W Alameda Ave. Methane Testing can be completed in accordance with LADBS standards to find what type of Vapor Gas Mitigation System will be required. Burbank has their own building department with a limited Methane Mitigation code which does not address the Methane Mitigation Design requirements. In these cases, the local building jurisdiction may defer to DTSC Methane Testing requirements, or possibly LA County Methane Testing requirements. Ultimately, the Methane Mitigation Design will need to be prepared to prevent Methane Vapor Gas Migration into surrounding buildings. This Methane Mitigation Design will need to be prepared and stamped by a California Licensed Professional Engineer, and will need to abide by the local building authorities’ Methane Mitigation Design requirements.