Sunday, July 17, 2016

53. The Big Finale—Cabot Cliffs

The Big Finale—Cabot Cliffs

Starting around July 3rd, I went online to check out the weather forecast for July 8-10 in Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada.  I have been very fortunate in terms of weather throughout these travels…if my memory is correct, the only round that was washed out was when Pat and I were rained out of playing Royal Porthcawl in Wales in June 2015 (and since I had played it 1981, it was not essential to play…but looking at that wonderful course that day made me want to play it again and have Pat play it with me).  Yes, I have played in some pretty tough weather…Ireland in late May 2015, a couple of days in England this past June, and of course, County Louth in April of this year…but no complaints here, been very lucky.  That said, the forecast for July 8-10 was looking very ominous.

Problem #2 was my right foot.  Back in the 1970’s I developed tendonitis in the small toes of my right foot from running shoes that were too small.  For some 30-40 years I was free from symptoms, but during two straight rounds last week (7/4 and 7/6) it reared it head again.  New shoes, yes, but I had worn them for a few rounds already and they were the same model and size as previous pairs.  Just in case, I brought along a pair of comfortable running shoes on the trip in case the problem persisted. 

Pat had an interclub match the morning of July 7 and then rushed home so that we could head to the airport.  Our flight from Logan Airport in Boston to Halifax, NS, Canada was about 30 minutes late and we were on the ground driving northeast to Inverness by about 8:20PM local time (one hour ahead of Eastern).  It was raining hard.  We stopped in Truro at Frank & Gino’s Grill (the same place we stopped in September 2013 on our previous trip to Cabot), had a quick good dinner, and hit the road again.  The drive from the Halifax airport to Cabot is 197 miles and takes at least 3:20.  We arrived safely at Cabot around 12:20am, quickly got to our very nice room and got to sleep.

Arose Friday morning around 5:30am (our tee time was 7:36) and the rain had stopped and the forecast showed no rain until late Sunday.  Who knows…but we’ll take it!!

Building the courses:  Inverness, NS is an old coal-mining town abutting the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Cape Briton Island (Cape Briton Island is the northeastern most part of Nova Scotia).  A rich coal seam was discovered in 1863 and mines were active well after WW II, with the last mine closing some 25 years ago after a fire.  The entries for the mines were close to the present beach and a good portion of the mines were physically under land now occupied by the Cabot Links course and the water of the Gulf.  The town did not “die” but clearly lost most of its life after the mines closed; its residents saw little future economic viability.  

In the late 20th century, several golf architects looked at Inverness and the potential of the abandoned mines, including Jack Nicklaus…but nothing moved forward.  Then finally at the start of this century, Ben Cowan-Dewar became aware of the potential and started to examine the prospects.  In 2005 Ben reached an agreement with the town of Inverness to develop a golf course on the property.  Ben also looked very hard at property lying a couple of miles to the northeast of the old mines, as this second parcel seemed to be even more promising land for golf course. 

By the mid-late 2000’s Ben had also secured options on much of the land lying 2 miles up the Gulf, and he was able to convince Mike Keiser (think Bandon Dunes and many other great golf projects of the last 20 years) to provide financial support.   Construction on Cabot Links commenced (and Ben moved with his wife and family to the town to oversee the process).  Cabot Links opened in 2012 to rave reviews, as Canada’s first and only true links course.  Construction had started on the second site 2 miles to the north on what was to become Cabot Cliffs.  Cliffs had a soft opening almost a year ago and a full opening in June 2016.  Simply put, the reviews have been unprecedented. 

Let’s sidestep for a minute or two...what is a true links course?  About 35 years ago, I learned that links land was land that linked the sea with land.  It was land that had been covered by the sea during the last ice period that ended about 10,000 years ago.  This must have been when the automobile and electrical power plants started spewing forth CO2 in large quantities (and cows started farting)…we know this from the eye witness accounts of Al Gore, whose brain unfortunately permanently froze about 12,000 years ago).  In any case, as the glaciers receded, they exposed large tracts of land that previously had been covered by the sea.  Hence, courses such as Pebble Beach and Bandon Dunes, which sit on cliffs high above the sea are not true links courses…and courses such as The Old Course, North Berwick, and Prestwick in Scotland are true links courses (as are many others).  I grew up in Jamaica, Queens, NY, and our house sat at the top of a hill that stretched across a good portion of Long Island from west to east…the hill is where the glacier stopped, and property along the northern portions of LI (and further north in New England) is hilly and filled with rock outcroppings dragged south as the glacier moved south, while property on the southern portion of LI tends to be flat and rock outcroppings are generally absent.  One final note here…land that is not links land can be used to create golf courses that play very much like true links land and examples abound (e.g. Bandon Dunes).  Much of the land now encompassing Cabot Links is considered to be true links land.


Cabot Cliffs, July 8 and 9, 2016:  Pat and I saw Ben at the breakfast room.  He was having breakfast with a group of golfers from Gulph Mills GC in Philadelphia and we traded stories about our mutual friends Margo and Bill W. of Gulph Mills.  After breakfast we drove over to Cliffs and after some brief introductions, we teed off on #1…playing as a threesome, Pat, Ben and me.  For this, my 295th of 295, I wore a golf hat from Kissena Golf Course, the NYC Muni I played as a kid in Queens (stretched to 4600+ yards) and the 2nd course I ever played on the front nine...and for the back nine, I wore a hat from Honesdale Country Club, a nine holer in northeastern PA and the first course I ever played (August 1955).  BTW…Honesdale was where Art Wall, Jr., 1959 Maters champion, learned the game.

Cliffs is a very very interesting golf course.  Designed by Coore and Crenshaw, it is only 6764 (par 72) yards long from the tips…but as it is very exposed to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the wind makes it play longer.  It consists of 6 par 3’s, 6 par 4’s and 6 par 5’s…a highly unusual mix of holes.  The par 4’s range from 330 to 404 yards…so there are no holes between 404 yards and 532 yards (the shortest par 5).  However, once again the wind is the great equalizer, as 404 into a strong wind plays more like 460-480.  The holes run in about every direction of the compass, so one is forced to play the wind from every direction.  And you play in at least three different topological environments…sand dunes, pine forests, and a river valley.  Most importantly, there are no two holes that feel like twins, yet all 18 are clearly at least first or second cousins of all the others.   The winds were about 10-15mph with some stronger gusts as the morning went on.  Just about the right amount of wind to make the game interesting. 

The greens were very slow.  Fescue grass in its early years (remember, this course first opened for play about a year ago) is thick stemmed. The thick stems also absorb water and become thicker…so it the morning, the stems are very wide and the greens very slow.  As the sun dries out the ground, the stems shrink somewhat and the green speeds quicken.  The first third of the round, I would guess the greens were at about 7’ on the stimp and by the end of the round more like 8.5”.   You should note that as the grass ages through the years, the stem width shrinks (OK…no comments about men’s stems here please) and the water absorption factor is also reduced.  But because of the slopes and winds at Cabot, the greens probably become unplayable at slightly above 10’.

There are so many great holes here that it is tough to name the best, but I will try.  Best golf holes are #2, 3-6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 15.  The most dramatic are 5, 9, and 15-18.  I took lots of pictures that are shown below.  I got up and down from over 16, the par 3 similar to a combination of 15 and 16 at Cypress, and birdied 17, the drivable par 4 where I hit my drive in a front bunker and got up an down.  Had an 84 (btw, all the scores posted on this blog are under Equitable Stroke Control…meaning, in part, that I can’t take more and a double bogey).  

#1 par 5 turns slightly left, and generally benign...
until you get around the green...this from the back left.

#2 par 4...great hole and tough tee shot to right side of fairway...note Principal's Nose in front of green

Closer look at Principal's nostrils on #2!!


#3 par 4, raised fairway on left desired line off tee but tougher shot...
#5 par 4...great Cape Hole off tee...in dunes section of course...this shows 2nd shot

Green on par 3 #6 falls off in back (pic from back of green)



#7 par 5 requires you to pick the right line off tee...

and then deal with a VERY deep front bunker on your 3rd...this bunker invites you to fly over it
Par 3 9th...126 yards from back and sheer terror...see what awaits over green in pic of Pat in bunker way below

Par 5 10th runs along Gulf and seems ordinary till one sees where the green is perched

Loved tee shot on par 4 #11..big bunker right is beautiful...uphill to tough green to hit

par 3 12th plays 245 yds from back...and green slopes sharply R-->L

Par 4 #13 moves away from Gulf and large mound in front of green reminded me of #16 at Ellerston

The look from behind 13th green

Par 3 #14...taken with a crooked camera...note mound in front of green...like par 5 at Streamsong Red
Don't be long on par 3 #14...here is what awaits if you run thru center of green

Tee shot on par 5 #15...split fairway...left side gives view of green (see below), 2nd blind from right

View from tee shot on left side of 15...down to green


Tee shot on much talked about #16, 176 yards to tiny green


View from 15 yards left of left side of 16th green
#17 par 4 331 yards from back...dramatic drivable Cape Hole

Another view from 17th tee

Looking down to green from top of hill on 17

#17 from about 60 yards short of green

#18 par 5 along Gulf..note chasm about 100 yards short of green


The round was so much fun.  Playing my last of 295 courses with Pat was so extraordinary.  She has been so so great through all this (not that she didn’t speak her mind a few times).  And playing Cliffs with Ben…the creator of this place.  As the saying goes: “it can’t get any better”.

After the round concluded Ben presented me with a Cabot Cliffs hole flag signed with a special note.  To be framed with some photos commemorating this special day.

After lunch, I went back to Cliffs to get the photos shown above…then it was time for a nap. But first some "action shots":

Getting ready to start playing #295

Fairly good tee shot, especially given the PRESSURE!!

Pat from bunker behind #9...short tough par 3


Ben, Pat and Paul on 16th tee

 
Paul hitting into #18...as the 295th is finished
The next day (Saturday July 9) we played Cliffs around 11:30.  Greens were of course much faster (about 8.5-9) and, the course was every bit as good as it was the day before.  Had an 83 with a 40 on the back nine.  Wind was similar to Friday in both direction and velocity.  Once again weather was very good…a little cloud cover but no rain.  The luck continued.

Just to summarize…Cliffs opened last summer, and the only World Top 100 published late enough to allow sufficient time for enough rating to come in was Golf Digest’s list published in January 2016.  Cabot Cliffs was at #19 on that list.  

Cabot Links, July 10, 2016:  Pat and I had played Links twice in September 2013, and loved it then.  We wanted to play it again to see if it was still as good as we remembered.  With a 4:45pm flight out of Halifax we needed to play early and were able to secure the 7:12am tee time. 

Links was designed by Rod Whitman a Canadian architect and opened for play in 2012.  It zoomed onto most World Top 100 listings (#82 and #75 on Golf Magazine in 2013 and 2015 respectively, #42 and #93 on Golf Digest in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and #62 on Top100golfcourses.co.uk in 2016).  My sense is that #60-70 is about right.  It is Canada’s only true links course (see earlier definition).  Links sits hard by the Gulf of St Lawrence, on top of a bluff that is about 20’ above sea level.  The entire property slopes toward the sea and that must be kept in mind on almost every shot.  It plays very firm and fast just as a links course should.  The bunkers are deep and to be avoided (same true at Cliffs). At 6854 yards par 70 (compared to par 72 for Cliffs), and more exposed to the wind, it probably plays a good 400 yards longer than Cliffs.

The hole sequence at Links was altered since 2013 and I like the new sequence.  The best holes are also numerous here and certainly include #2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 15-18.  Unfortunately, I was too engrossed in the round to take any pictures…but the round was great fun.  I doubled #2 (thinned a flop shot) and #10 (drove into a very deep crater/bunker and took 2 to get out) and ended up shooting a five over 75.  Yes, the wind was down but I really played well with all aspects of my game.  Great way to finish up the trip.  Sorry, didn't take any pics of Links

************************************************
SO NOW WHAT??

OK, my three bucket lists are done, finished.  Oh, BTW I did get a brief scare last week regarding the MacWood spoof list.  My nephew Noah was recently in Cuba, comes back and says that Havana Country Club still exists and he has photos of it…nine holes with tree branches stuck in holes to serve as “flagsticks”.   Remember…it is on the MacWood spoof list but has generally been considered to be goneso (just like freedom…no longer exists in Cuba).  So if it does exist, do I have to visit Cuba?  There I was preparing my emotional response to this critical question, when I did some more searching on Google, and discovered that Noah’s club was Havana Golf Club, which was formerly Rover’s Athletic Club, and is located about 5 miles south of the site of Havana Country Club (which became a Art and Theater School…since closed).  Soooo…crisis averted!!

Seriously though, the last few years have been great fun and exhausting.  I have met hundreds of wonderful people and seen so many sights.  Frankly, my rush to get these lists done was in part because, at the age of 71, who knows how long the legs will keep going?  I have learned that completing these lists is a little like being a racing greyhound chasing that mechanical rabbit.  As soon as you get close, a new list comes out and there are more courses to play.  I distinctly remember early January 2016 when Golf Digest introduced their 2016 list and all of a sudden I had 11 new courses to play (a bunch of which I had never heard of!).  I wanted to get these done before a new bunch of lists were published.  Who knows what will be added when new lists start coming out in 2017 and beyond.

Also, there are a good number of fabulous courses on the list of 295 that I have only played once and/or have not played in over 10 years.  I want to go back and enjoy these and for the past few years I have not had the time.  There will also be two benefits to taking more relaxing trips…one is obvious, less wear and tear on the body.  The other is more important…my dear bride Pat will go on those trips...she hated the thought of flying from city to city (or country to country or continent to continent) every day…and she was right!

So, I am hereby announcing my “retirement” from chasing World Top 100 lists.  I still plan to play great courses around the world…but will focus more the one I have played only once and /or have not played in the last 10 years.  If it makes sense, I will play some new courses…but only if it makes sense.

I will also maintain my spreadsheet…so that others can try to climb this mountain!

I will also travel domestically playing great courses…and keep this blog going.  I have not forgotten that I still owe you a post about dealing with DHL.  And I played Piping Rock Club and Friar’s Head this past week and need to write them up.  Lastly, I want to go through my travels and create a list of Hidden Gems played, plus some statistics on my travels.  So, plenty to bore you with in the future!!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

52. Had Six to Go for Three Bucket Lists...now have only one

Had Six to Go for Three Bucket Lists...now have only one

We were both pretty tired after getting home the evening of May 28.  Pat had a wonderful time touring gardens with Sharon, and I was relieved to be done with courses outside of North America.  Don’t misinterpret that last statement…I still hope and plan to travel overseas, but mainly to return to the great ones I have already played.  For example, Pat and I will be going to Ireland in early September for Fergal O’Leary’s and Karen Lynch’s wedding, and while there will play The European Club, Royal County Down, Portmarnock, etc., but with some days of rest and no 36 hole days.  No more wandering around the countryside to play the likes of The K Club, Celtic Manor, Killeen Castle, or Gleneagles Centennial, just because they are on a list.  And no more of six straight nights in six different hotels.

However, I did need to clean up the six courses I had left to finish my three Bucket Lists.  Prior to leaving for England on May 16, I had planned and booked trips to Barbados and Canada to cover three of them, and a few days after my return I was able to book a trip to Nova Scotia and a round at Brae Burn (in the Boston area).  By mid June I had booked Skokie in Chicago for June 28…so everything looked to be in place.

The first weekend in June Pat and I were busy with my 50th Reunion at MIT…which was almost as exhausting as the journey throughout Europe.  But those few days were very special and it was great catching up with old buddies.  With that behind me it was time to knock off the last six.

Sandy Lane Resort—Green Monkey Course, June 9, 2016 : Sandy Lane, located in Barbados, is about the ultimate in over the top Caribbean resorts.  It is where Tiger married Elin (strangely this piece of history is not mentioned prominently on Sandy Lane’s website).  In May I started trying to figure out the cheapest time to make the trip and given my calendar (Pat said no to this 40 hour venture) June 8-9 worked best.  I flew at 9:30am on 6/8 from Boston to Miami, and after a longish layover, flew on to Barbados, arriving around 9:30pm.  Sandy Lane met me before customs and immigration so that went smoothly, and I was in my room before 11pm.  It was quite the room…but this was to be a very short stay. 

I was downstairs for breakfast before 7am on 6/9, as my tee time was at 8:30am (first off).  For sure, I was the first person staying at Sandy Lane to bring their own cereal…which should make my endorsement deal with Fiber One/General Mills far more lucrative when I am finished. 

The golf course has beautiful views and a couple of interesting holes through an old rock quarry, but Rolex should be ashamed of themselves for publishing two World Top 100 lists with this track among the alleged Top 87 or 88 courses in the World (of course they also have placed Torrey Pines South among the Top 15 in the World!!).  In any case, the course stretches to 7389 yards and was in very good shape…not great but very good.  The first tee is only open from 8:30-9:30 each day (and that rule applies to people staying at the hotel, members, etc…although is might have been waived during Tiger’s wedding here or Rory’s recent stay).  And if you are a rater seeking a discount, good luck.

I only took one pic…see below…of the 2nd shot on the 423 yard 3rd holes over part of the quarry. 
Third hole..second shot over mini Quarry

The 16th hole is a 198 yard par 3 that has a large bunker front and right of the green with a grass island in the bunker shaped like a monkey (“Green Monkey”).  Not sure which hole at The Old Course in St. Andrews this is a copy of…

Anyhow, I got the round done, paid my hotel bill, and got in their car to go to the airport.  That went smoothly, but when we landed at Miami, it was pouring as hard as can be, and the airplane gate traffic was all messed up.  We sat on the tarmac for over an hour and I missed my connection to my flight from MIA to Boston.  Amazingly and luckily, there was a later flight, which ended up getting delayed and we landed at BOS around 1:15am.  By the time I got my luggage and arrived home it was about 2:15am.  So so glad this quest is almost done.  One more crossed of the to do list (and trust me, this one was not a hidden gem)!!

Memphremagog Golf Club, Quebec, Canada, June 14, 2016:  When Golf Digest published its second World 100 in January 2016, many affectionato’s were surprised (to put it mildly and as nicely as I know how) at some of the included courses.  In my (always humble) opinion some are quite good choices for example:

Spring City-Lake, China (#75 of 100)
Anyang, S Korea (#40)
Sentosa, Singapore (#58)
Bluffs Ho Tram, Vietnam (#74)
YAS Links, Abu Dhabi (#46)
Gozzer Ranch, ID, USA (#68)

But here are some examples of courses that I do not think come close to belonging on a World 100:

            Sheshan International, China (#82)
            Els Club Teluk Datai, Malaysia (#83)
            Haelsley Nine Bridges, S Korea (#71)
            National-Old, Australia (#87)
            Oligata-West, Italy (#100)
            Emirates-Majlis, Dubai (#95)
            Punta Espada, Dom Republic (#76)
            Querencia, Mexico (#98)

Memphremagog GC, located in Quebec about 10-15 miles north of the Vermont border generally was considered a surprise pick (at #78).  It is an extremely exclusive club (50 members) and has kept a very low profile.  A good friend from Toronto (Steve S., who was able to arrange a game for me at Les Bordes in France) knows a member, but the member’s calendar was very very busy and unaccompanied play is not allowed.  Then a few months ago, a fellow Golf Magazine rater advised that Memphremagog had a program to allow raters to play it.  I contacted the course and the rest went smoothly.

Pat and I left Boston the morning of Monday June 13 and drove north through NH and VT.  The drive to the area was about 250 miles and went smoothly.  We stayed at a hotel located on Lake Massawippi and about 15 miles from the course.  Hotel was nice as was the dinner there Monday night.  I was playing at 9am on Tuesday.  Pat was not able to play (because we were not accompanied by a member), so she enjoyed a massage at the hotel’s spa.  I played with the general manager of the club (and former head pro) David Boucher.  David started working at the club about 9 years ago, when it first opened…and served as a caddy then.  He is a wonderful guy, and may have set a world record going for caddy to GM in less than 10 years!

The course sits high above Lake Memphremagog and about one mile from the lake at its closest point.  The course is cut through a large thick forest.  The fairways are separated by thick stands of trees and are isolated from each other.  Over the past few years, the club has removed well over 1000 trees…but they need to remove thousands more to allow the land to “breathe”.  The course was very wet due to heavy rain over the previous few days... for sure the trees slow the drying process.   Plus there are gorgeous views of foothills and the lake that are obscured by the trees. 

The course stretches to a big 7498 yards (par 72) from the tips, for reasons that are not clear (no tour level events are planned and only one member is really capable of playing from the Black Tees).  With five sets of tees, it can be played from 5300 yards and up to the 7500 yards from the tips.  A number of the holes are very good and I thought the best is #6, a 525 yard par 4 rolling gently downhill and turning slightly left with glorious views of foothills and a high church steeple in the distance. 

The elevation changes are quite dramatic; for example, #9 a strongly uphill par 5 of 545 yards, turning left and is followed by #10, a 465 yard very downhill par 5 (turning right at the bottom of the hill) with a large lake on the left side of the fairway starting about 110 yards from the center of the green.

Tom McBroom designed the course and most of McBroom’s work has been in Canada (he has also designed courses in Finland and St. Kitts).  Until Memphremagog, I had not played any of his tracks. 

The club is certainly magnificent, and I believe the location, terrain and basic design have the potential to be a World 100, but to date the verdict must be “not yet”.  Keep clearing out the trees, open up the views, create more potential for heroic recoveries, perhaps modify a few holes over time, and the possibility is there.  It will be interesting to see how this club/course evolves. 

Everything about the club was first class…even to the point of securing a name label for my caddy:


(other than the above photo, no photos were allowed on the property)

And one of these days, I will figure out how to pronounce its name :-)

After the round, it was back to the hotel to pick up Pat and drive another 250 miles to a Fairmont resort (Manoir Richelieu) located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, about 95 miles east of Quebec City.

Manoir Richelieu-Richelieu and Tadoussac Nines, June 15, 2016: Manoir Richelieu today consists of 27 holes.  The original 18 (Richelieu and Tadoussac Nines) opened in 1925 and the third nine (St. Laurent) was added under the guidance of architect Darrell Huxham in the late 1990’s.  At the same time, Huxham renovated the original 18 designed by Herbert Strong (think Engineers on Long Island, NY and Canterbury near Cleveland, OH).  As we were here for me to finish the MacWood Spoof list, we played the original 18 (listed at #67).

The Fairmont Hotel sits high above the St. Lawrence River and the golf courses are up even higher, at the conclusion of a one mile sharply uphill cart ride.  The views are simply spectacular (see pic below).  The hotel has very similar architecture as the Fairmont Hotel at Banff…and would guess that it was also owned by the Canadian Railway originally.
View eastward toward St. Lawrence River


The original course plays at 6066 from the tips, which is where I played from.  The course was in average shape (and seemed to be over watered)…in part probably due to it being fairly early in the season in Quebec…but also perhaps because of generally questionable conditions year round. 

We played the Richelieu Nine very quickly but when we made the turn onto the Tadoussac Nine, things slowed down considerably.  The golf itself was not pretty but by 1:15pm, the MacWood Spoof List had been completed!

We headed back to the hotel, picked up a take out lunch, packed our car, and headed west hoping to get through Quebec City before the rush hour.  No such luck!  The drive was a long one, at just over 500 miles.  Splitting the driving between us helped but the drive still took over 10 hours including stops.  We rolled into our driveway around 12:15am and were both very tired. 

Sooo, where were we at that point?

Top 100 Ever—ONE to go…Cabot Cliffs scheduled for July 8
MacWood Spoof List--DONE
US Open Venues—TWO to go…Brae Burn CC (MA) and Skokie CC (IL) scheduled (and already played) June 27 and 28 respectively.

Brae Burn CC, West Newton, MA, June 27, 2016:  Founded in 1897 the club started with a nine hole course.  Shortly thereafter, the club was playing on an 18 hole course and had hired young Alex Ross (who then became the 1907 US Open Champion) as its head professional.  Alex’s brother, Donald, fresh from his work at Pinehurst, returned to Boston (where he had designed his first course…Oakley CC, where MIT played its varsity matches in the early 1960’s, and where he had been head pro at Essex County Club) to redesign Brae Burn first in 1912 and again in 1928.  Brae Burn hosted the 1919 US open won by Walter Hagen, the 1928 US Amateur, won by Bobby Jones, three Woman’s Amateurs (1906, 1975, and 1997) and two Curtis Cup Matches (1958 and 1970).  Not many clubs have hosted seven USGA events.  Historically somewhat short in length (6672 yard par 72 from the back today), Brae Burn has never been included on any World or USA Top 100.

I had the opportunity to play Brae Burn thanks to a member, Jerry M., at a member guest June 27.  It was a superbly run event followed by a very fine dinner.  

The primary defense of Brae Burn is its greens, which are a wonderful set of true Donald Ross creations.  Primary rule here is do not get above the cup.  I thought the greens were great, but in a couple of cases, wondered if things had gotten a little out of hand with Ross’ original green slopes featured on greens rolled, cut and manicured to speeds to up to 12+ feet.  Frankly, these greens were never designed to run at these speeds and on the 18th in particular (and to a lesser extent on #9), it is pretty much impossible to stop a ball putted downhill.  This situation reminded me of some of the greens at Brookside in Ohio.

The terrain at Brae Burn is very hilly and it was interesting to see how Ross dealt with such a difficult property.  He did a brilliant job of making good use of this land…except perhaps for #16…a par 4 totaling 405 yards, uphill off the tee and with the fairway also sloping sharply right to left until the crest of the hill.  With the crest sitting at least 230 yards from the back tee on the right side of the fairway (with a tree line encroaching on the right, and more like 250-260 yards in the center of the fairway) most drives end up rolling left and backwards ending up in a small area on the left side of the fairway and 175 to 200 yards to the green…with a blind second shot.  Not a wonderful hole…but to be honest, this is one of those transition areas found on many courses where the architect must take a player from “Zone A” to “Zone B” and in this case, a big hill was in the way.  In 1912 and 1928 it was not practical to remove the hill…and even after looking for a while, I could not think of another way around this situation.  In any case, #16 is followed by a brilliant par 3 #17 of 255 yards…downhill to a deep but narrow green guarded by bunkers left and right, but appropriately with good opportunities to run a shot into the green.  #17 is the best hole on the course, closely followed by #4 and #14.

For quite some time I have wondered why older courses were often built on less than good land many decades ago when with lower population density, more land was typically available.  While playing Brae Burn I realized that flatter land parcels were surely required for farming and therefore golf courses, even those constructed for clubs started by very wealthy members, were often relegated to secondary parcels.

Shortly after Brae Burn built its eighteen hole course, it built a magnificent clubhouse that had nothing “secondary” about it.  The clubhouse has of course been renovated since and is now filled with wonderful photos and memorabilia from the pre-Depression era, including a pre-1910 photo of the clubhouse…which appears to have been about the same size as the current clubhouse.

Got home at a reasonable hour...had to fly top Chicago the next day to finish my US Open quest.

Skokie Country Club, Glencoe, IL, June 28, 2016:  In July 2015 I contacted a friend in Chicago to try to arrange a game at Skokie to help me on my way towards playing all of the US open Venues ever.  I had a few Venues to play (including Skokie and Brae Burn) and was hoping to complete this bucket list in the summer of 2015.  Then I learned that Skokie was planning a major restoration including a complete re-grassing of the entire course commencing July 27, 2015.  With no time available before that date, my US Open goal was moved back to 2016.

In early June 2016 I scheduled a game for June 28.  While I would have preferred a trip of a couple of days, I wanted to get this done.  So early last Tuesday I flew to Chicago with a return flight scheduled for 5:30pm.  Skokie’s head pro, Paul Bumbaco, had said that there was a woman’s shotgun going off early in the morning, and that he expected to get me out (with no one in front of me) by 11:30 latest.

Skokie was founded in 1897 and constructed a nine holer at that time.  In 1904 Thomas Bendelow (Medinah #3, Olympia Fields #1 and #2) designed an 18 holer on the property.  Then in 1914 Donald Ross made major alterations to the course and it retains its “Ross feel” today.  Since then there have been four restorations.  First, after the purchase of some additional land, in 1938 by Wialliam Langford and Theodore Moreau (think Lawsonia Links in WI).  Second, some alterations by Rees Jones in 1981.  Third, major work by Ron Prichard in 1999 to bring the greens and bunkers back to Ross’original intent and remove unnecessary tees.  Finally, last year’s bunker and regrassing work. 

In terms of Top 100’s Skokie appeared once on the Golf Digest list at #97 in 1993.  It has consistently been in GolfWeek’s Classic Top 100 since 2005, but not high enough to make the “merged’ GW USA Top 100.

I arrived at the club about 10:35am and met Paul who said I could go off at 11am.  By the time I reached the first green, it was clear that this was no ordinary restoration.  The fairways were in fabulous condition with a deep deep root structure and strong grass that gave great support to any resting ball.  Paul later said they already had root structures a full 8” below ground surface and had achieved a 99% germination rate.  I am not sure how that is measured, but the results were impressive.

But as good as the fairways were...they paled in comparison with the greens.  The greens were rolling at about 11-11.5’ and were literally perfect.  I cannot remember ever playing better greens.  They were perfectly firm and fast…a well struck shot took one or two hops and then stopped; a less than well struck shot from the fairway would generally run out 30-40’; and a shot out of the rough seems to bound along forever.  There was no discernable grain on the greens, and as such, old cup outlines were invisible.  Additionally, there were almost no visible ball marks on the greens, and my putts rolled perfectly (even the many that were misread or miss struck by your truly).  The greens were smoother than about any carpet I have seen, and this made lining up putts very difficult…with no marks or bumps or other imperfections, finding a spot to aim for proved very difficult.  In one simple easy to understand word…the greens were perfect. 

The new bunkers were very fair and consistent is both looks and the way they played (flat sand surfaces and grass walls).  And the fairway/rough differentiation was beautiful and consistent throughout the property.

I found the course itself to be excellent.  The bunkering was well placed, the fairways wide enough to offer options, and the use of angles, trees and other features well done.  While the course is short by any standard (6593 yard par 72) it is simply fun to play, and of course Ross greens certainly offer a good defense.  Best holes to my mind were par 5 #3 and par 3 #12. 

In 1922 the club hosted the US Open, won by Gene Sarazen.  At the clubs’ centennial celebration 75 years later, a 95 year old Sarazen stood on the green addressing the membership gathered to honor the man.  To start his address, Sarazen stated “My grandfather won the US Open here in 1922.”

Time will tell if conditions remain as pristine as they were last week.  In the meantime, I highly recommend this course.  To my mind, the course I played last week is either the 2nd or 3rd best course in IL (with Chicago GC the clear #1).


Status:  I am DONE with both the US Open Venue Bucket List and the MacWood Spoof Bucket List.  My World Top 100 Ever (9 sources) has only one unplayed course on it…Cabot Cliffs which Pat and I are scheduled to play with Ben Cowan-Dewer this Friday July 8.  Assuming that goes well, plan to provide you with a full listing of all of the courses on all three lists…thereby allowing you to go out and try the same thing.

Speaking of that, while I am sure others have completed the US Open Venues before, I have a strong sense that no one else has completed the other two lists.  The one person who I thought might have, Golf Magazine panelist Tom Clasby has not.  He had completed the Golf Magazine EVER list 1979-2013 (190 courses) but is still missing one new course from the GM 2015 list (Ayodhya Links in Thailand)…and he has not even thought about the other sources (although my guess is that he has played most of the 101 courses that these other sources add to the list).  As I progressed on my objective, his continuing accomplishments were a source of inspiration to me.

Hopefully, more within about 3-4 days.