SAN MARTIN — CordeValle golf course and resort executives are taking aim at success in the coronavirus era with strategies to fine-tune their target markets and use the spacious grounds of the San Marin complex as ready-made venues for social distancing.

The South Bay resort is attempting to chart its best course to navigate past the economic whirlpools unleashed by the deadly bug.

The main entrance of CordeValle resort, which includes a golf course, hotel, and winery at 1 Cordevalle Club Drive, San Martin. CordeValle

Nestled into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, CordeValle has enjoyed multiple pinnacles of success in the golfing world.

In 2016, CordeValle hosted the U.S. Women’s Open, the premier event on the women’s golf tour. The course also has been the venue of a PGA men’s golf tour stop on multiple occasions.

But on the heels of those successes, the coronavirus arrived and eroded Cordevalle’s business.

CordeValle was forced to lay off, at least temporarily, 345 workers. The cutbacks included layoffs of 263 workers in March 2020 and 82 in August 2020.

“We have all been tested by COVID,” said Luca Rutigliano, managing director with CordeValle. “COVID is a real challenge. But we took the challenges very seriously.”

Holes on the golf course at CordeValle resort in San Martin. CordeValle

During months of shutdowns, executives at CordeValle used the opportunity to tweak its strategies for a coronavirus world.

“COVID 19 has been extremely bad, but taking a break gives us the opportunity to step back and see what we are good at, what we are not good at, and what do we want to be,” Rutigliano said. “We have the opportunity to push the reset button.”

One of the natural advantages that CordeValle can wield is the size of the facility.

Roughly 1,200 acres in size, CordeValle can offer plenty of elbow room even for visitors who might be nervous about the coronavirus.

“We have a golf business and a high-end resort,” Rutigliano said. “We have a proven product.”

Room patios at CordeValle resort, which includes a golf course, hotel, and winery at 1 Cordevalle Club Drive, San Martin. CordeValle

People can golf, play tennis, wander through the winery and vineyards on-site, visit the dining halls, use the pool, trek on the mountain, or lounge on public or private patios.

“We have tons of space for individuals to choose where they want to be,” Rutigliano said. “We have plenty of space to allow for social distancing. You can be indoors, outdoors, and still have a lot of space to do what you want.”

San Martin-based CordeValle also is attempting to cope with the reality of the type of traveler the resort is likely to attract for the foreseeable future.

For years, CordeValle did well with attracting international and business travelers. But due to the coronavirus and work-from-home protocols, international trips and corporate journeys have waned.

“We are changing to a locally oriented California market with a heavy emphasis on a five-star resort experience,” Rutigliano said. “We are going to bring that resort experience to the local market.”

CordeValle has instituted changes related to the new concerns of the COVID era.

Among the changes:

— The hotel offers luggage carts that guests can take up to the rooms themselves, in contrast to the pre-coronavirus approach of hotel staff taking the carts to the room.

— Room service is now a drop-off and takeout service designed to minimize contacts with guests in the rooms.

Lobby at CordeValle resort, 1 Cordevalle Club Drive, San Martin. CordeValle

“It will give our guests the peace of mind that they can stay safely on the property with limited contact with the staff but still have a memorable experience,” CordeValle executives said. “This process will be evolving.”

CordeValle also has upgraded the golf course and will renovate all of the rooms.

“People will have all of the space they want, but also all the attention they want,” Rutigliano said.