Everyone seems to be worried about the assaults on Par at Congressional ...
2012 O
2012 is to be at Olympic Club - a droll course capable of producing interesting winners. As a former member of the California Golf Club of San Francisco, whenever we had some silly little tournament, my roommate Mark and I used to go over and Play O Lake. It had the history but absolutely nothing on the Cal Club. Heck, we even had fairway bunkers that dictated play at Cal.
There was speculation already starting about "Winning Scores" at Olympic - maybe first from Johnny Miller - bragging on the broadcast that it doesn't rain in NorCal in June so the Greens will be "rock hard". Golf Channel Talkers this a.m. were discussing it, too (I didn't listen in) and on-line it's already starting because this was somehow not a proper USGA Open at CCC. Well, I for one don't worry about the set-up at the O nor the score as it will probably again produce a fluke or yet another unintended bystander winner at around a few over to a few under par. But ...
2013 Merion
It's 2013 at Merion's Historic (and historically over-rated) East Course. It is being Frankensteinized with absurd Orphan tees [Fazio warmed up at Saucon Valley, I can tell you] disturbing the "famous routing". There is one going in on the Par 5 Fourth that will be excised after the Open, it is reported to lengthen the hole to 745 yards (Who knows or cares?).
Look for absurdly narrowed fairways, silly rough (necessitating waves of middle-schoolers to search for tee shots and place little red plastic flags), the first Astro-Turf Greens in the USGA Open and complete irrelevance to the game of golf before the Modern courses get into the rota.
2014 Pinehurst #2
Those silly greens will take care of themselves
2015 Chambers Bay
Will it be a chamber of Horrors? The Open in Seattle?
2016 Oakmont
There, that's better ... [sarcasm intended]
Monday, June 20, 2011
Rory as USGA Open Champ
People are whining on about Congressional not hosting a REAL USGA Open (That's the way it goes) but it was the same for everyone. It was dominant for Rory.
What's nice about Rory is
-Simultaneous presence of self-assurance and humility
-Tons of skills
-No apparent weaknesses
-A really solid human being - mature yet still a kid
-He appears to be enjoying himself whilst he plays and wins
And perhaps he can pass on to the Masses
He Plays Quickly.
May his reign be long and benevolent, it's too early to crown him the new Special One, but he is very easy to embrace with all his positive qualities.
What's nice about Rory is
-Simultaneous presence of self-assurance and humility
-Tons of skills
-No apparent weaknesses
-A really solid human being - mature yet still a kid
-He appears to be enjoying himself whilst he plays and wins
And perhaps he can pass on to the Masses
He Plays Quickly.
May his reign be long and benevolent, it's too early to crown him the new Special One, but he is very easy to embrace with all his positive qualities.
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Kohler
Kohler, WI
PartI - General Details, Irish and Meadow Valley Courses
After years and years of wondering whether or not Kohler really has a top 5 Modern Course and three courses in the top 200 Modern according to GolfWeek magazine, the Mrs. And I finally took a trip to the lovely “America’s Dairyland” known as Wisconsin to see for ourselves. I can say that one of those two statements is true, one is not. Kohler the man evolved into an hotelier and entertainment magnate as well as a manufacturer of plumbing and power generators – kudos to a man who inherited a massive fortune and family business to make it expand and enter new territory rather than sell out and squander it. The man is to be admired. We were also given the pleasure of having him speak to our group as a bonus; rarely does one have the opportunity to rub shoulders with a real Tycoon in the most positive sense of the word and listen to his thoughts on a number of topics. Politics, I maintain a fair distance by necessity, so that’s that.
American Club/Amenities
Started as a quintessential American getaway luxury hotel has evolved into the **** Hotel for the Kohler Golf empire. Shuttle Busses efficiently take you to the golf properties and 5 minutes to the local “Sports Core” (Ye Olde Towne Rec Centre by another name) for the Jacuzzi. That is my only real gripe – otherwise it’s $35 for entry per day to the Kohler Waters Spa – a mere shadow of the Old Course Hotel’s Kohler GREAT Waters Spa – use of which is gratis for OCH guests and is surely the Disney World Park of Jacuzzi spas. Dinner at the Immigrant Restaurant in the basement of the American Club had an army of fresh-faced eager young staff cheerfully over-serving us in a most pleasant way superior quality food and a fairly priced (for locale) wine list with excellent selections. Breakfast at the Blackwolf Run Clubhouse is far superior to its sister one at the Whistling Straits clubhouse (a real head-scratcher) so eat their buffet if you want the Big Breakfast as I do when “I resort it”. Loads of range balls are available for the practice (I hit 20 total for 4 rounds) rats of you with high quality facilities and instruction available. Top quality club rentals for $50/round are available if you don’t want to bring your own.
Hotel rooms, well, honestly folks just rave about them; we got the runt of the litter Room 213 (literally according to the evacuation map), but it was well located and if I weren’t such a big lug really a very nice room. Recent refurbishment rather darkened the wood so it’s a cozy or cramped (John Wayne types) feeling depending on how you look at it. We got the dud of the showers with the jets in the wall hitting you in the belly and netherlands if you are 5’17” as am I and the pie pan ceiling mounted shower is only 2.5 GPM (I had them check) as intended to lightly water you (if you don’t have to duck). I frankly waited too long to inquire about another room, so be aware of options as it is a lovely older building featuring many different room and bath arrangements. Other than in the non-renovated back 40 (aka West Wing) with pink fixtures we had no options so cramped and very convenient was just fine. For me, it fell pretty short of expectations based upon others informations prior but with planning and redanman’s forewarning you should be in the lap of luxury.
The Goff
Four “way better than average” courses did NOT fall short of expectations. Up front Whistling Straits (will henceforth be listed WS) did not live up to its extraordinary hype, but was very, very good. Your favourite will depend on what you like. In fact there are FIVE courses at Kohler Resort: Whistling Straits, Irish, River, Meadow Valley and the Original that started it all and will be played by the LPGA in 2012 – The Blackwolf Run Tournament course, not normally open for guest play. On a slow day, maybe, just maybe they’d let you play it. I’ll do Whistling Straits last just to make sure that you read the whole enchilada here, folks. Conditioning was uniformly excellent and trees in play are limited to a famous few which I’ll address. They are all walkable but you need a cart ride through a tunnel twice for the River Course and a lift to the first tee of the Meadow Valley Course. Interestingly angles are least in play at WS and perhaps most in play at River, most notably the sublime 2nd and 3rd par 4 holes. The PGA of America’s narrow-minded narrowed fairway approach to “Championship Golf” at WS robs several holes, most notably #7 – disturbingly so - of the strategy by width dictum. More later ….
The history of golf at Kohler (short version) is as follows – paraphrasing Herb Kohler himself.
Having built the American Club, demand for golf required that the club take guests to a local public and private course. When demand reached the tipping point, Kohler contacted half a dozen architects and built 6 holes with an unnamed architect that did not suit the bill. Another six were called in and Mr. Dye won (I think the two have quite a bit in common including a very healthy respect). Dye then created the 18-hole Blackwolf Run course. This is the tournament course you’ll see in July, 2012, the USGA Women’s Open. Then a third nine (middle of River from 5-13 as you play them) was created as an isolate nine with a fourth nine following quickly as demand was two months into the future almost immediately. With a slight modification/accommodation one has two distinct 18-hole entities out of the Blackwolf run Clubhouse. Even more golf was needed and Mr. Kohler wheeled and dealt with a Power company to get the land that became the Whistling Straits (Straits & Irish) complex. In the negotiation process the permitting to allow creation of the moonscape that became Whistling/Whistling was taken care of post haste.
Something in the realm of 800,000-900,000 cubic yards of fill were brought in to raise up the beach creating the dramatic Cliffside setting of the WS course. If you have visited Kingsbarns in Scotland, you can sort of get the picture (especially the shelving of much of KB’s first nine holes). The Irish was built on the west side of the more famous Whistling Straits (Straits) as it is known and for now that’s it about WS. Although Mr. Kohler wavered a bit on his potential Bandon Area project it seems someday it will happen. He was asked by one of the GolfWeek group that was present for dinner with Herb and certainly did not deny the potential project, but rather was clear that nothing was going to go forward at this time. He was also rather complementary of Bandon Dunes’s Mike Keiser and one sensed a bit of competitive nature between the two astute scions of American Business who have ventured successfully into the golf arena.
Irish
Being hard to the WS course, wind plays a major part of strategic planning on Irish. It is a course not to be missed under any circumstances other than “I can only play one round and I must play WS!” Despite the 18th being a clunker, this course was the biggest surprise by far. It is seldom discussed among architecture buffs, probably because there are 3 different styles used in creating the course and WS adjacent and calling. A small portion uses the style and resembles Whistling Straits, a bit is relatively Parkland in character and some is the faux links that Dye has built examples almost everywhere from Riverdale Dunes in Northeast Denver to the absolutely superb Colleton River Course (which I will profile some day – in my opinion Hilton Head’s best golf course). Irish has large ponds in play on four holes and although the irrigation pond is necessary, coming in on 17-18 really can make one forget just how good a course Irish really is.
Getting it out of the way – 18 is an astonishingly awkward Par 5 closer with a pond left and bunkers right off the tee, it is without question the worst of the 72(3) holes at the resort. A well-placed drive in the proper wind allows one to attack the green in two, but with a crossing stream at 100 or so yards from the green, there is essentially no layup area short, it is a swathe of fairway less than 20 yards deep. The land on the other side looms like half-dome in the distance threatening to repel all attacks on the very large mesa green complex. There is just no place to play one’s second shot into the wind. After a slightly weak drive I carefully calculated to lay up to 100 from centre of green into 3” bluegrass and pulled it off to follow up with a very hard hit 7-iron to a back pin for a 2-putt par. Honestly it was a par I was proud of but not one you want to (nor CAN!) call up every time. A few photos help, but for more I proudly refer you to Professor Joseph Bausch’s The Bausch Collection at Joe Logan’s www.myphillygolf.com – a wonderful collection on a great resource and information site. Joe Logan was the golf writer for Philly’s Inquirer Newspaper for years and is a very polished writer
Hole #1 is very reminiscent of WS #1 then #2 is recalled at #17. Several good par 3’s and 4’s abound throughout the first nine with number nine utilizing a stream to perfection. As a bit of a weakness the two par 5’s on the front are aligned and designed a bit too similarly for greatness, but are great fun. The run from 10-13 play right along WS and evoke it as well. The thirteenth is a Dell style par 3 that is worthy of play over and over. One wishes that there were multiple flags to play to. Starting the Parkland run - Fourteen has a dual fairway requiring a precise lay up on the right of the stream or a bold carry over the diagonal to attack this par 5 in two with a better run-up angle to the green via the left. Two rather good shots are required to have a chance for birdie on this very well-designed par 5. Two superb long par 4 holes follow in alternate winds on this very windy site a great Links concept executed in a more Parkland style. Personally #13 as the last par 3 location was rather odd from Mr. Dye as well, he usually places one in the last 2-4 holes.
Routing: Decent, rather walkable, a bit of an adventure from one milieu to next
Holes: Threes highlighted by the 13th were solid but as a playing companion at #3 said “17 Harbourtowne” were solid. Fours were varied although for a purported Links, two water holes with basically the same hole detracted but 14-15 excellent. Fives: Despite the idiotic 18th and repeating holes on the front were better than most
To avoid duplication, some comments under Whistling Straits.
Meadow Valley
The more walkable of the two Blackwolf Run Clubhouse courses requires a lift to the first tee. The first nine is literally in a meadow but with a few well-used glacial contours. Starting slowly with two shortish straightforward fours and a routine three get you off and going and feeling one with your game. These are soon to be followed by several stellar holes. The run from four to six is just top shelf and is to be savoured. A reachable par 5, the fourth hole uses natural landforms to create a wonderful hole. A blind green is present for any two-shot approach but can be clearly seen if using a proper second to set up the third. The fifth uses trees in a very clever way in the meadow, requiring a precisely-placed drive to approach the green head-on with a straight shot. As seen from the accompanying photo, fully flushed-out trees will magnify the importance of a correctly placed drive. A clever concept, perhaps the reverse dog-legged hole – a much more versatile concept offering a multitude of solutions; one wonders why more holes using this concept aren’t built. Landforms again figure prominently in the long par four sixth requiring the player to play a shot right as close as one dares to the left to get a preferred approach. Seven to nine are good design and challenge but 4-6 are very special and remarkably clever – perhaps my favorite 3-hole stretch at all of Kohler.
The second nine uses the green complex of the original first hole of the original Blackwolf Run course’s first hole to create the tenth. It is a bit awkward but a good solution to getting to the rest of the holes. Much more similar in character to the entire River Course, holes 11-18 comprise 2-9 of the Blackwolf Run course familiar to those following Women’s Golf. The par 5 11th and 16th holes will strike one as Typical Dye” and that’s a compliment. Shortening both fairway bends on each by taking on risk one can try to reach in two, but a safe 3-shot method works very well. The two par 3’s have a bit of awkwardness to them and the fours are not as well-done as those on the other nine of Meadow valley, River or the other courses. Despite this generalization, the long-playing 12th is easily the most distinctively good par 4 on the nine. The final hole is an awkward mess with a separate green for the Red tee players to negate the mandatory (overly demanding for the shorter player) crossing of the Sheboygan River for the final shot. So much of the second nine Meadow Valley comprises the first nine of the Blackwolf Run Tournament course, the fifth Kohler Course. I did not get the opportunity to play the actual tournament course since I did not play the original hole which is preserved and maintained, but rarely used save the green. My next installment will address that course as an entity after I review the entire River Course. I would rank it 3 out of five of the courses overall as I might prefer River to Straits and I am currently fence-sitting as to my overall preference list.
PartI - General Details, Irish and Meadow Valley Courses
After years and years of wondering whether or not Kohler really has a top 5 Modern Course and three courses in the top 200 Modern according to GolfWeek magazine, the Mrs. And I finally took a trip to the lovely “America’s Dairyland” known as Wisconsin to see for ourselves. I can say that one of those two statements is true, one is not. Kohler the man evolved into an hotelier and entertainment magnate as well as a manufacturer of plumbing and power generators – kudos to a man who inherited a massive fortune and family business to make it expand and enter new territory rather than sell out and squander it. The man is to be admired. We were also given the pleasure of having him speak to our group as a bonus; rarely does one have the opportunity to rub shoulders with a real Tycoon in the most positive sense of the word and listen to his thoughts on a number of topics. Politics, I maintain a fair distance by necessity, so that’s that.
American Club/Amenities
Started as a quintessential American getaway luxury hotel has evolved into the **** Hotel for the Kohler Golf empire. Shuttle Busses efficiently take you to the golf properties and 5 minutes to the local “Sports Core” (Ye Olde Towne Rec Centre by another name) for the Jacuzzi. That is my only real gripe – otherwise it’s $35 for entry per day to the Kohler Waters Spa – a mere shadow of the Old Course Hotel’s Kohler GREAT Waters Spa – use of which is gratis for OCH guests and is surely the Disney World Park of Jacuzzi spas. Dinner at the Immigrant Restaurant in the basement of the American Club had an army of fresh-faced eager young staff cheerfully over-serving us in a most pleasant way superior quality food and a fairly priced (for locale) wine list with excellent selections. Breakfast at the Blackwolf Run Clubhouse is far superior to its sister one at the Whistling Straits clubhouse (a real head-scratcher) so eat their buffet if you want the Big Breakfast as I do when “I resort it”. Loads of range balls are available for the practice (I hit 20 total for 4 rounds) rats of you with high quality facilities and instruction available. Top quality club rentals for $50/round are available if you don’t want to bring your own.
Hotel rooms, well, honestly folks just rave about them; we got the runt of the litter Room 213 (literally according to the evacuation map), but it was well located and if I weren’t such a big lug really a very nice room. Recent refurbishment rather darkened the wood so it’s a cozy or cramped (John Wayne types) feeling depending on how you look at it. We got the dud of the showers with the jets in the wall hitting you in the belly and netherlands if you are 5’17” as am I and the pie pan ceiling mounted shower is only 2.5 GPM (I had them check) as intended to lightly water you (if you don’t have to duck). I frankly waited too long to inquire about another room, so be aware of options as it is a lovely older building featuring many different room and bath arrangements. Other than in the non-renovated back 40 (aka West Wing) with pink fixtures we had no options so cramped and very convenient was just fine. For me, it fell pretty short of expectations based upon others informations prior but with planning and redanman’s forewarning you should be in the lap of luxury.
The Goff
Four “way better than average” courses did NOT fall short of expectations. Up front Whistling Straits (will henceforth be listed WS) did not live up to its extraordinary hype, but was very, very good. Your favourite will depend on what you like. In fact there are FIVE courses at Kohler Resort: Whistling Straits, Irish, River, Meadow Valley and the Original that started it all and will be played by the LPGA in 2012 – The Blackwolf Run Tournament course, not normally open for guest play. On a slow day, maybe, just maybe they’d let you play it. I’ll do Whistling Straits last just to make sure that you read the whole enchilada here, folks. Conditioning was uniformly excellent and trees in play are limited to a famous few which I’ll address. They are all walkable but you need a cart ride through a tunnel twice for the River Course and a lift to the first tee of the Meadow Valley Course. Interestingly angles are least in play at WS and perhaps most in play at River, most notably the sublime 2nd and 3rd par 4 holes. The PGA of America’s narrow-minded narrowed fairway approach to “Championship Golf” at WS robs several holes, most notably #7 – disturbingly so - of the strategy by width dictum. More later ….
The history of golf at Kohler (short version) is as follows – paraphrasing Herb Kohler himself.
Having built the American Club, demand for golf required that the club take guests to a local public and private course. When demand reached the tipping point, Kohler contacted half a dozen architects and built 6 holes with an unnamed architect that did not suit the bill. Another six were called in and Mr. Dye won (I think the two have quite a bit in common including a very healthy respect). Dye then created the 18-hole Blackwolf Run course. This is the tournament course you’ll see in July, 2012, the USGA Women’s Open. Then a third nine (middle of River from 5-13 as you play them) was created as an isolate nine with a fourth nine following quickly as demand was two months into the future almost immediately. With a slight modification/accommodation one has two distinct 18-hole entities out of the Blackwolf run Clubhouse. Even more golf was needed and Mr. Kohler wheeled and dealt with a Power company to get the land that became the Whistling Straits (Straits & Irish) complex. In the negotiation process the permitting to allow creation of the moonscape that became Whistling/Whistling was taken care of post haste.
Something in the realm of 800,000-900,000 cubic yards of fill were brought in to raise up the beach creating the dramatic Cliffside setting of the WS course. If you have visited Kingsbarns in Scotland, you can sort of get the picture (especially the shelving of much of KB’s first nine holes). The Irish was built on the west side of the more famous Whistling Straits (Straits) as it is known and for now that’s it about WS. Although Mr. Kohler wavered a bit on his potential Bandon Area project it seems someday it will happen. He was asked by one of the GolfWeek group that was present for dinner with Herb and certainly did not deny the potential project, but rather was clear that nothing was going to go forward at this time. He was also rather complementary of Bandon Dunes’s Mike Keiser and one sensed a bit of competitive nature between the two astute scions of American Business who have ventured successfully into the golf arena.
Irish
Being hard to the WS course, wind plays a major part of strategic planning on Irish. It is a course not to be missed under any circumstances other than “I can only play one round and I must play WS!” Despite the 18th being a clunker, this course was the biggest surprise by far. It is seldom discussed among architecture buffs, probably because there are 3 different styles used in creating the course and WS adjacent and calling. A small portion uses the style and resembles Whistling Straits, a bit is relatively Parkland in character and some is the faux links that Dye has built examples almost everywhere from Riverdale Dunes in Northeast Denver to the absolutely superb Colleton River Course (which I will profile some day – in my opinion Hilton Head’s best golf course). Irish has large ponds in play on four holes and although the irrigation pond is necessary, coming in on 17-18 really can make one forget just how good a course Irish really is.
Getting it out of the way – 18 is an astonishingly awkward Par 5 closer with a pond left and bunkers right off the tee, it is without question the worst of the 72(3) holes at the resort. A well-placed drive in the proper wind allows one to attack the green in two, but with a crossing stream at 100 or so yards from the green, there is essentially no layup area short, it is a swathe of fairway less than 20 yards deep. The land on the other side looms like half-dome in the distance threatening to repel all attacks on the very large mesa green complex. There is just no place to play one’s second shot into the wind. After a slightly weak drive I carefully calculated to lay up to 100 from centre of green into 3” bluegrass and pulled it off to follow up with a very hard hit 7-iron to a back pin for a 2-putt par. Honestly it was a par I was proud of but not one you want to (nor CAN!) call up every time. A few photos help, but for more I proudly refer you to Professor Joseph Bausch’s The Bausch Collection at Joe Logan’s www.myphillygolf.com – a wonderful collection on a great resource and information site. Joe Logan was the golf writer for Philly’s Inquirer Newspaper for years and is a very polished writer
Hole #1 is very reminiscent of WS #1 then #2 is recalled at #17. Several good par 3’s and 4’s abound throughout the first nine with number nine utilizing a stream to perfection. As a bit of a weakness the two par 5’s on the front are aligned and designed a bit too similarly for greatness, but are great fun. The run from 10-13 play right along WS and evoke it as well. The thirteenth is a Dell style par 3 that is worthy of play over and over. One wishes that there were multiple flags to play to. Starting the Parkland run - Fourteen has a dual fairway requiring a precise lay up on the right of the stream or a bold carry over the diagonal to attack this par 5 in two with a better run-up angle to the green via the left. Two rather good shots are required to have a chance for birdie on this very well-designed par 5. Two superb long par 4 holes follow in alternate winds on this very windy site a great Links concept executed in a more Parkland style. Personally #13 as the last par 3 location was rather odd from Mr. Dye as well, he usually places one in the last 2-4 holes.
Routing: Decent, rather walkable, a bit of an adventure from one milieu to next
Holes: Threes highlighted by the 13th were solid but as a playing companion at #3 said “17 Harbourtowne” were solid. Fours were varied although for a purported Links, two water holes with basically the same hole detracted but 14-15 excellent. Fives: Despite the idiotic 18th and repeating holes on the front were better than most
To avoid duplication, some comments under Whistling Straits.
Meadow Valley
The more walkable of the two Blackwolf Run Clubhouse courses requires a lift to the first tee. The first nine is literally in a meadow but with a few well-used glacial contours. Starting slowly with two shortish straightforward fours and a routine three get you off and going and feeling one with your game. These are soon to be followed by several stellar holes. The run from four to six is just top shelf and is to be savoured. A reachable par 5, the fourth hole uses natural landforms to create a wonderful hole. A blind green is present for any two-shot approach but can be clearly seen if using a proper second to set up the third. The fifth uses trees in a very clever way in the meadow, requiring a precisely-placed drive to approach the green head-on with a straight shot. As seen from the accompanying photo, fully flushed-out trees will magnify the importance of a correctly placed drive. A clever concept, perhaps the reverse dog-legged hole – a much more versatile concept offering a multitude of solutions; one wonders why more holes using this concept aren’t built. Landforms again figure prominently in the long par four sixth requiring the player to play a shot right as close as one dares to the left to get a preferred approach. Seven to nine are good design and challenge but 4-6 are very special and remarkably clever – perhaps my favorite 3-hole stretch at all of Kohler.
The second nine uses the green complex of the original first hole of the original Blackwolf Run course’s first hole to create the tenth. It is a bit awkward but a good solution to getting to the rest of the holes. Much more similar in character to the entire River Course, holes 11-18 comprise 2-9 of the Blackwolf Run course familiar to those following Women’s Golf. The par 5 11th and 16th holes will strike one as Typical Dye” and that’s a compliment. Shortening both fairway bends on each by taking on risk one can try to reach in two, but a safe 3-shot method works very well. The two par 3’s have a bit of awkwardness to them and the fours are not as well-done as those on the other nine of Meadow valley, River or the other courses. Despite this generalization, the long-playing 12th is easily the most distinctively good par 4 on the nine. The final hole is an awkward mess with a separate green for the Red tee players to negate the mandatory (overly demanding for the shorter player) crossing of the Sheboygan River for the final shot. So much of the second nine Meadow Valley comprises the first nine of the Blackwolf Run Tournament course, the fifth Kohler Course. I did not get the opportunity to play the actual tournament course since I did not play the original hole which is preserved and maintained, but rarely used save the green. My next installment will address that course as an entity after I review the entire River Course. I would rank it 3 out of five of the courses overall as I might prefer River to Straits and I am currently fence-sitting as to my overall preference list.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Easy Golf?
John Paul Newport, one of Golf's weakest writers in the Weekend Edition of Wall Street Journal opined that we should find an easier game to play and gave several silly ideas listed in the linked article. There is one and one alone good way in there and it was not given its due.
Important facts in
A) Growing the game
B) Keeping players
1) Play a golf course you can enjoy.
a)You are not good enough to putt on Stimp 12 greens. Stop demanding it, you can't handle it. Public CCFAD's please stop delivering it. It will cut your costs, too.
b) The Clint Eastwood approach to golf* - "A Man's got to know his limitations" play the correct set of tees for your ability. If you want to get better pay attention.
c) De-label the "Ladies Tees" to Forward Tees". Put in an even shorter set for little kids, beginners, really old and disable people. Do not dumb them down but make them fun, they are NOT an after thought.
d) (OK, an expansion or another version of b)) Play up a set of tees, hit greens in regulation, make birdies - THEN move back and do it a tee or two at a time. Play Par 5's you CAN reach occasionally in two. Par 4's you can drive. Par 3's you can hit wedge or 9iron.
e) Course operators - give beginners a break, charge them less. Maybe the USGA can get involved and issue beginners Handicap Cards and courses can respect these if the holders play fast.
f) Good God! We can ALL play faster. No, not a track meet, but faster through courtesy of being ready and respectful.
No need to change the game that has endured at least 700 years more or less as it is just because young healthy specimens are getting super-fit (and more) and taking the most advantage of "Game Improvement Clubs". Unfortunately, the USGA Handicap system (GHIN) is flawed, that's for another time.
2) Forget Professional Golf - especially the Men's - when you play it is irrelevant to you.
3) Play as if you had to follow yourself (see 1-f)
E-N-J-O-Y yourself and play the real game of golf.
Important facts in
A) Growing the game
B) Keeping players
1) Play a golf course you can enjoy.
a)You are not good enough to putt on Stimp 12 greens. Stop demanding it, you can't handle it. Public CCFAD's please stop delivering it. It will cut your costs, too.
b) The Clint Eastwood approach to golf* - "A Man's got to know his limitations" play the correct set of tees for your ability. If you want to get better pay attention.
c) De-label the "Ladies Tees" to Forward Tees". Put in an even shorter set for little kids, beginners, really old and disable people. Do not dumb them down but make them fun, they are NOT an after thought.
d) (OK, an expansion or another version of b)) Play up a set of tees, hit greens in regulation, make birdies - THEN move back and do it a tee or two at a time. Play Par 5's you CAN reach occasionally in two. Par 4's you can drive. Par 3's you can hit wedge or 9iron.
e) Course operators - give beginners a break, charge them less. Maybe the USGA can get involved and issue beginners Handicap Cards and courses can respect these if the holders play fast.
f) Good God! We can ALL play faster. No, not a track meet, but faster through courtesy of being ready and respectful.
No need to change the game that has endured at least 700 years more or less as it is just because young healthy specimens are getting super-fit (and more) and taking the most advantage of "Game Improvement Clubs". Unfortunately, the USGA Handicap system (GHIN) is flawed, that's for another time.
2) Forget Professional Golf - especially the Men's - when you play it is irrelevant to you.
3) Play as if you had to follow yourself (see 1-f)
E-N-J-O-Y yourself and play the real game of golf.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Virginia - Richmond Area
Royal New Kent **
Designed by the late Mike Strantz who cut his teeth in the Fazio organization. Known for his artistic eye, painting holes before he built them built a Tour de Force in the Eastern suburbs of Richmond, VA. I've had my experiences with Strantz's courses and never thought I'd give one **, but I did, far and away my favourite Strantz. I'm going on architectural grounds here. The entire front nine at this time is devoid of any building and is superb with astonishingly beautiful holes full of challenge and kept in perfect shape by the grounds crew. The turf conditions for my preference were the best outside of Links that I can remember playing. Firm and tight one could go at irons with reckless abandon. The visuals of the course are at times overwhelming. However, more than a pretty face resides here. The second nine suffers from a disjointed routing made even more noticeable by housing and a racetrack nearby but the entire course is just astonishingly good architecturally. A few favorite holes are shown. I was at the course before a thunderstorm in the afternoon and had the course to myself. I do wonder about pace of play at this being a public access course, but I thought the design was stellar. The second hole is a nearly horseshoe-shaped (more than 90* dog-leg) that almost works but clearly stands out as the odd duck.
The overall quality more than makes up for this one odd hole, picture perfect, it is as Strantz must have envisioned it.
One Par 4
Three Par 3
Four Par 4
Five Par 5
Six Par 4
Seven Par 3
Nine Par 4
Eleven Par 4
Twelve Par 3
Fourteen Par 4
Fifteen Par 3
Seventeen Par 5
Eighteen Par 4
Criteria
Routing - A weak point with several long cart rides and a severe break in the second nine. Housing detracts visually for about four holes. Front nine other than a long ride twice is wonderful.
Quality of Hole Types - Threes are of great variety and are thrilling with multi-target greens and a range of clubs from 9-iron to near Driver depending on wind. Fours are quite varied from vexing, confusing to hard as nails and all in between. Fives are top notch despite the #2 quacker.
Cohesion - Generally quite good, design style is tight. It is very quirky, not for the Pasture Pool Lover.
Green complexes - Beautiful to look at, well-bunkered and quite challenging.
Bunkering Schema - visually dramatic and very strategic and then there's the 17th Par 5 with hardly a bunker in sight.
Conditioning - as good as I've seen off a links for my tastes
Appropriate Vegetation - Dramatic but reasonable. Felt like Coastal Oregon in places in a very good way. I wish Bandon trails design was up to this level.
Ideality - Not here. Definitely for the better player.
Club - Very well done for a public joint.
Milieu - Other than the intrusive housing on a few holes is tops. Front nine as it exists is definitely a "Place Away".
Hermitage
A lovely nouveau Country Club lost a bit in the shadows of Kinloch (literally across the street) but with 36 perfectly conditioned holes is the nutshell. It is perfect if you only want 36 well-conditioned holes to choose from.
I found the bunker surrounds a bit too puffy for my taste and a bit jarring to the eye but solid holes abound. Both Manakin and Sabot Courses recommended, but no time to get into details. No Top 100 stuff, but very good and extremely well-conditioned. If every town in America had one of these, everyone but the Kinlochs would go out of business.
Cannon Ridge
Same for the Bobby Weed design Cannon Ridge closer to Fredricksburg, just off I-95 on the Celebrate Virginia Parkway. Thought of as Links style by most retail golfers, it is not treed and has more of the excellent turf that I think is standard in Virginia. (I only played in VA last fall for the first time). Very good value, Bobby weed is very talented.
Kinloch *
The jewel everyone travels across country to see in the Richmond area is the famous Kinloch. Featuring the country's best conditioning according to Golf world readers it is an Augusta National Clone as the labels go, but very welcoming. The lush conditioning, service, practice area, coziness is All-American. The course is visually spectacular with greens that come alive with speed. One must watch the slopes past the hole whilst putting. Many double, split and option fairways define this course. The fans necessary to keep the bent grass alive were not yet out in mid-May. The playing corridors at Kinloch are extremely wide to allow air flow. The bunkers are big and bold and there is plenty of water in play especially the second nine.
Two Par 4
Three Par 5
Four Par 4
Five Par 3
Six Par 4
Seven Par 3
Eight
par 4
Ten Par 4
Eleven par 5
Fifteen Par 4
Eighteen Par 4
Criteria
Routing - Two separate nines which wind through woods and then around an arm of the lake. With a cart ride in between very walkable.
Quality of Hole Types - Threes are defined by their greens although there is a general right to left tilt to them. The 14th is the shortest and hard to the water, the seventh is the longest and downhill. Slopes carry you away from missed greens. Fours are generally on the longish side with a few shorter ones featuring the split fairways at two and four. The ninth par 5 is unique with its island fairways and seemingly 100 of its own acres (13.32 by Google Planimeter). 11 and 13 are both reachable and three is guarded by water. Playing all three with a wedge third does not guarantee a single birdie.
Criteria
Cohesion - Generally high
Green complexes - Built for speed with falls-off defining the short game needed
Bunkering Schema - BIG and boldly flashed
Conditioning - Unparalleled
Appropriate Vegetation - Parkland supreme
Ideality - 5 sets of tees, but those greens make life tough for the weaker player
Club - Southern Hospitality at its finest. Not a hair out of place.
Milieu - A truly defined sense of place. A trip of a lifetime kind of invite!
Designed by the late Mike Strantz who cut his teeth in the Fazio organization. Known for his artistic eye, painting holes before he built them built a Tour de Force in the Eastern suburbs of Richmond, VA. I've had my experiences with Strantz's courses and never thought I'd give one **, but I did, far and away my favourite Strantz. I'm going on architectural grounds here. The entire front nine at this time is devoid of any building and is superb with astonishingly beautiful holes full of challenge and kept in perfect shape by the grounds crew. The turf conditions for my preference were the best outside of Links that I can remember playing. Firm and tight one could go at irons with reckless abandon. The visuals of the course are at times overwhelming. However, more than a pretty face resides here. The second nine suffers from a disjointed routing made even more noticeable by housing and a racetrack nearby but the entire course is just astonishingly good architecturally. A few favorite holes are shown. I was at the course before a thunderstorm in the afternoon and had the course to myself. I do wonder about pace of play at this being a public access course, but I thought the design was stellar. The second hole is a nearly horseshoe-shaped (more than 90* dog-leg) that almost works but clearly stands out as the odd duck.
The overall quality more than makes up for this one odd hole, picture perfect, it is as Strantz must have envisioned it.
One Par 4
Three Par 3
Four Par 4
Five Par 5
Six Par 4
Seven Par 3
Nine Par 4
Eleven Par 4
Twelve Par 3
Fourteen Par 4
Fifteen Par 3
Seventeen Par 5
Eighteen Par 4
Criteria
Routing - A weak point with several long cart rides and a severe break in the second nine. Housing detracts visually for about four holes. Front nine other than a long ride twice is wonderful.
Quality of Hole Types - Threes are of great variety and are thrilling with multi-target greens and a range of clubs from 9-iron to near Driver depending on wind. Fours are quite varied from vexing, confusing to hard as nails and all in between. Fives are top notch despite the #2 quacker.
Cohesion - Generally quite good, design style is tight. It is very quirky, not for the Pasture Pool Lover.
Green complexes - Beautiful to look at, well-bunkered and quite challenging.
Bunkering Schema - visually dramatic and very strategic and then there's the 17th Par 5 with hardly a bunker in sight.
Conditioning - as good as I've seen off a links for my tastes
Appropriate Vegetation - Dramatic but reasonable. Felt like Coastal Oregon in places in a very good way. I wish Bandon trails design was up to this level.
Ideality - Not here. Definitely for the better player.
Club - Very well done for a public joint.
Milieu - Other than the intrusive housing on a few holes is tops. Front nine as it exists is definitely a "Place Away".
Hermitage
A lovely nouveau Country Club lost a bit in the shadows of Kinloch (literally across the street) but with 36 perfectly conditioned holes is the nutshell. It is perfect if you only want 36 well-conditioned holes to choose from.
I found the bunker surrounds a bit too puffy for my taste and a bit jarring to the eye but solid holes abound. Both Manakin and Sabot Courses recommended, but no time to get into details. No Top 100 stuff, but very good and extremely well-conditioned. If every town in America had one of these, everyone but the Kinlochs would go out of business.
Cannon Ridge
Same for the Bobby Weed design Cannon Ridge closer to Fredricksburg, just off I-95 on the Celebrate Virginia Parkway. Thought of as Links style by most retail golfers, it is not treed and has more of the excellent turf that I think is standard in Virginia. (I only played in VA last fall for the first time). Very good value, Bobby weed is very talented.
Kinloch *
The jewel everyone travels across country to see in the Richmond area is the famous Kinloch. Featuring the country's best conditioning according to Golf world readers it is an Augusta National Clone as the labels go, but very welcoming. The lush conditioning, service, practice area, coziness is All-American. The course is visually spectacular with greens that come alive with speed. One must watch the slopes past the hole whilst putting. Many double, split and option fairways define this course. The fans necessary to keep the bent grass alive were not yet out in mid-May. The playing corridors at Kinloch are extremely wide to allow air flow. The bunkers are big and bold and there is plenty of water in play especially the second nine.
Two Par 4
Three Par 5
Four Par 4
Five Par 3
Six Par 4
Seven Par 3
Eight par 4
Ten Par 4
Eleven par 5
Fifteen Par 4
Eighteen Par 4
Criteria
Routing - Two separate nines which wind through woods and then around an arm of the lake. With a cart ride in between very walkable.
Quality of Hole Types - Threes are defined by their greens although there is a general right to left tilt to them. The 14th is the shortest and hard to the water, the seventh is the longest and downhill. Slopes carry you away from missed greens. Fours are generally on the longish side with a few shorter ones featuring the split fairways at two and four. The ninth par 5 is unique with its island fairways and seemingly 100 of its own acres (13.32 by Google Planimeter). 11 and 13 are both reachable and three is guarded by water. Playing all three with a wedge third does not guarantee a single birdie.
Criteria
Cohesion - Generally high
Green complexes - Built for speed with falls-off defining the short game needed
Bunkering Schema - BIG and boldly flashed
Conditioning - Unparalleled
Appropriate Vegetation - Parkland supreme
Ideality - 5 sets of tees, but those greens make life tough for the weaker player
Club - Southern Hospitality at its finest. Not a hair out of place.
Milieu - A truly defined sense of place. A trip of a lifetime kind of invite!
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