CHICO, Calif. -- After years of missed shots, the Tuscan Ridge Club is set to tee off its back nine holes next week.

Course designer Algie Pulley, also the club's managing director, used a golf cart to survey the new area of greens set amid the sun-burnt ridge along the Skyway Friday morning.

"Two months ago, this was soil — no grass," Pulley said, as he gestured to the Bermuda grass stretching into the distance. "It's hard to believe."

A team of golfers will break in the nine new holes — completed at a cost of about $1.8 million — this morning. The full, 18-hole course will be officially open to the public on Wednesday. The completion meets Pulley's end-of-August goal set when the first half re-opened on June 30.

Pulley said he wanted to complete the course earlier this summer, but the late-season rains kept crews from working.

While most of the new area is completed, crews work to finish some elements. Along the 16th hole, a five-man crew was working Friday to transform a planned water hazard next to the green into a sand bunker. Dragonflies flitted around the workers and hovered low on the nearby greens.

The course will be realigned with the new holes, with some of the front nine holes becoming part of the back of the course.

Dennis Gard of Magalia teed off of the ninth hole, which will become the new 18th hole in the finished course. He said he intends to come back to play the full course.

Gard said the grounds are in gorgeous shape, especially compared to the "sketchy" conditions when he played the course two years ago.

"This place is fantastic now, it really is," he said.

Tuscan Ridge opened with nine holes in 2001. Various owners and managers developed plans to finish the course, including selling lifetime memberships for $16,500 to raise funds. None of the previous efforts succeeded. The then-beleaguered course was closed last summer and put up for sale.

Currently the course is owned by a private investment group named CRC and managed by Tuscany Village Limited Partnership and Mo West of Paradise, according to a club press release.

Although the course has changed hands several times, the course design hews close to Pulley's original plans. Pulley said it was a shame that it took so long to complete the course. Although the golf course business can be trying, he said he feels great.

"It can be the most rewarding when it comes together," Pulley said.

Grounds Superintendent Ramon Magana said it was a challenge to balance the crews to maintain the current holes while working to complete the course. There are also problems poised to keep the thirsty greens healthy atop the hard lava cap. The grounds are typically watered overnight and when necessary during the day.

"You really have to use your judgment," Magana said.

The completed course will be 6,700 yards from the back tees and 5,000 yards from the front. The club includes a turf-grass driving range.

Keith Thomas, coach of the men's and women's golf teams at Chico State University, will bring the teams up to use the grass driving range. Thomas is also offering personal lessons and group clinics at the course.

"Hitting on grass is so much more realistic than hitting on turf," he said.

Thomas said the teams will likely practice on the course along with other area courses. He's hopeful the course will be a good addition to the area, which he said needs another public course. He said many golfers will probably enjoy the course more because the last nine holes are softer than the first nine.

"The overall feeling of the facility is going to be easier and a little more embraced by the community, I think," Thomas said.

He called the green fees a bargain — a full game costs $20 during the week and $25 on weekends and holidays. There are lower prices for nine-hole rounds and games starting after 4 p.m. Cart rentals range from $6 to $12.

While the first nine holes have a reputation for being tough, Pulley said the back nine will provide a "softer," more open experience for golfers.

"The greens are challenging; they were intended that way," he said.

A couple of the front holes will be revamped over the winter to address some golfers' concerns.

Business has gotten off to a slow start since the course reopened on June 30, but Pulley said the feedback has been mostly positive. He said some have compared the course to his design of the Chardonnay Club in the Napa Valley.

As part of the effort to attract customers, Pulley said the course's staff is reaching out to local hotels and businesses. He said the course is also working with the members who paid the lifetime fees, many of whom are helping out.

"We know it's a work in progress still, but we hope people will enjoy it," Pulley said.