152. Boston Summer Part I
Having arrived home in Milton MA on May 23, I needed a day or so to get organized and somewhat rested. I was playing in Curtis Shield event at The Country Club (Brookline) for Seniors with good friend Michael F. (from Quaker). The Curtis Shield would take place May 25 (practice round), 26, and 27. Michael and I played decently and tied for our flight but lost based on match of cards...so no cigars.
About two years earlier, Brookline's long time Director of Grounds Bill Spence retired and the club hired Dave Johnson who previously held similar positions at Whitinsville Golf Club and The Wianno Club, located in central MA and on Cape Cod respectively. Dave is part of the "new breed" of golf course superintendents who really understand the agronomy of new grasses and chemicals available today. It took a couple of years for his methods and program to really take effect but there was a huge improvement in the course's conditioning that was instantly noticeable this year, simple by walking the fairways and greens. I had never seen the course in this type of condition. It was fast and firm and showed a wonderful palette of greens and browns. With the 2022 US Open less than 13 months away, this was none too soon and fabulous to behold. The anticipation regarding next years event was starting to build and I would expect that to continue until next June.
Boston, MA...June 5--Trip #8 Certainly not one of my most extensive "trips"...one of the Senior Staff Writers at GOLF Magazine contacted me to ask if I could play George Wright Golf Course in Boston with him early on June 5. I jumped at the opportunity. I had worked with Josh on some features and he is a very good guy and very knowledgeable about our silly game. I had played George Wright once before in September 2012 (prior to my posting to this blog). Designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1938. It was conceived as a private club but those plans were dropped when the Depression hit...and were revived by the WPA in 1932. The project was massive and it is one of Ross' great designs (although in need of better and more extensive care). GOLF Magazine's Top 100 panel named it #3 municipal course in the USA earlier this year (behind Bethpage Black and Chambers Bay). Tons of dirt were moved and rocks blasted to get this one built. No question this course is worth playing if you have not done so...and while there look through the massive clubhouse.
Buffalo, NY...June 8--Trip #9 This would also be a short trip in terms of time expended, but not miles driven. Careful readers of this blog will recall that when I travelled to Buffalo in 2020 (Post #146) I was not able to play Brookfield Country Club in Clarence NY (about 7 miles as the crow flies NE of downtown Buffalo). Brookfield was originally designed (as the Meadowbrook Club) in 1927 by William Harries. Meadowbrook was acquired and renamed in 1943. In 1985 the club hosted the US Boy's Junior Championship (won by Charlie Rymer who went on to win fame on the PGA Tour as well as The Golf Channel). Additionally it hosted the Western Open in 1948 which was won by Ben Hogan. A good friend in Boston, Fergal O., had been to Buffalo late last summer and people he played with knew members of Brookfield and that led to my being able to play it this year. With no other courses near it left on my "to do" list, I decided to depart Boston around 2am and drive to Brookfield (450 miles and about 6 hours 45 minutes each way!) returning that same day after my round. I pulled into my driveway around 10:00pm. No problem sleeping that night!
Course was good and in good condition. I had a 42 - 40 = 82.
Cape Cod, MA...June 12--Trip #10 Another Mini-trip, this time to Cape Code to play one of Massachusetts' great old tracks, Oyster Harbors Club. Early on, a playground for the likes of duPonts and Mellons, the Club remains a "bastion" of "old money". Was designed by Donald Ross and the entire grounds were created by Fredrick Olmstead, which represent a pretty good start to say the least. Some 12 years ago Tom Doak's Renaissance Group restored the bunkers and greens under the hands-on direction of Bruce Hepner. Course is very subtle and simply wonderful.
I had played it once before in 2014 (Post #5) and again played with Kevin P. and Alex D. the time joined by Marty H. Not much to add to my prior post but scary to think I had a 75 seven years ago and an 83 this time out (probably playing from about 700 less yards). Time does tend to do its thing!
Bridgehampton, NY...June 15-16--Trip #11 This was planned as a two-day trip via ferry to the Hamptons on Long Island. I had played Atlantic Golf Club once back in 1993 and The Bridge once in September 2015 (Post #19). The Atlantic had undergone a major renovation and The Bridge was in the middle of a renovation in 2015, so I wanted to get back to both to see how they currently play.
The morning of June 15 I caught an early ferry to Orient Point and then drove to Bridgehampton to the home of Ken and Doreen W. Ken is a good friend whom I met about 20 years ago while active with MIT's Alumni Association. He also loves the game of golf (and owns Pound Ridge GC in Westchester County NY) although professes to have totally lost his game. Ken has been a member of Atlantic GC for years and has wanted me to come back out to play it (we did not know each other when I first played it in 1993).
Atlantic Golf Club was designed by Rees Jones and opened for play in 1992. Before Atlantic, golf on the eastern part of Long Island was dominated by three great old clubs...Maidstone Golf Club (see Post #138), National Gold Links of America (Posts #19 &138), and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (Post #138). By the mid 1980's the greatness of all three had become well known and they had become almost impossible to join as a member. And in those days, outstanding clubs in the New York area (as well as the rest to the USA) were almost all "classifiable" into one of three categories: predominantly WASP, predominantly Christian, or predominantly Jewish. And there were no great clubs/courses on Eastern Long Island in the latter category. Atlantic was founded by Lowell Shuman, a Jewish real estate developer in Westchester County. Since it opened, Atlantic has welcomed golfers of all faiths (and probably atheists as well)...but you still need good golfing connections and background as well as a fair amount of $$. Its membership book filled almost immediately as it satisfied a pent-up demand for great golf on Eastern Long Island.
My recollections from my round there in 1993 is dominated by what was a questionable routing of the 18 holes. I recall having to walk around part of another hole to walk from green to the next tee. Several years ago Rees Jones came back and rerouted the 18 and those issues, for the most part, are gone.
The land here, while not pure links land, provides a wonderfully sandy base and flowing land with few "flat" lies. Place it almost anywhere else in the USA and it would dominate the golfing landscape...but with the above mentioned "Big Three" and the more recent addition of Friar's Head, Eastern Long Island is a tough golfing neighborhood to make a dent in. And somehow, Rees Jones' skills, while considerable, are in a very different class than those of C.B. MacDonald/Seth Raynor, William Flynn, Willie Park Jr., and Bill Coore/BenCrenshaw. So while Shinnecock and NGLA are almost alway included in Top 10 World and USA lists these days, and Maidstone Top 40 USA/Top 70 World, Atlantic has never appeared on World 100 and has not been on a USA 100 since 2005. As I said...tough neighborhood!
It was in perfect condition, and if located elsewhere might get more love. Well worth the visit if you secure an invite...unless of course you have an invite to the now "Big Four" (nope...Sebonack is not in the "Big 4" IMO).
After a wonderful evening with Ken and Doreen, I was off to The Bridge on 6/16. I will not repeat many of the things I said about The Bridge in Post #19, but will say this is a fascinating place. Different is not quite the right word but it come close. Love its sense of irreverence, as well of its "sense of history." This was the site of a auto racing course and I distinctly recall being in the Hamptons a few decades ago and hearing the sounds of the cars racing from many miles away. Paul Newmann was a serious racer at Bridgehampton and I would guess that was a key drawing card. The course sits atop the highest land on Long Island and the views of Peconic Bay, Long Island Sound, and the Atlantic Ocean are simply something to behold. The golf course is very very good...but like Atlantic has less than great routing...and like Atlantic , it resides in a tough neighborhood!
After the round it was back to the ferry and Massachusetts. Having completed these "warm-up" trips, I was ready to do semi-serious traveling.
At this point...here is where I stood on major milestones and courses played in 2021:
Courses Played (lifetime): 1,294
Courses Played 2021: Total of 45 of which 33 "new" (for the first time in 2021) and 12 "repeat" (played prior to 2021).
Return to Nebraska and Sand Hills GC...June 19-24--Trip #12 Prior to this year, I had been to Sand Hills Golf Club three times (2010, 2014, and 2016) for a total of 6 rounds...and after this June 2021 trip I have 9 glorious rounds under my belt. Just further proof of how lucky I have been. My first trip was in 2010 and that was also my first time in the State of Nebraska. I had never even heard of the region known as the Nebraska Sandhills. As of today, I have played a total of 14 courses in Nebraska (obviously all played in the last 12 years) and IMHO the only thing better than the golf courses in NE are the people of that great state. Readers should go back to Posts #2, 3, and 56 for more background information on the course and its origins. I my own mind, the best 11 golf courses in the world are all at least 90 years old, with the exception of SHCC which is now about 26 years of age.
I had some 6 courses in NE on my various bucket lists that I needed to play...and then in May I was invited to go back to SHGC and I was able to play five of these six (played the sixth in July). Plans for this trip were relatively easy to organize as the SHGC days were set in stone, and of the five other courses, two are municipals with access to all and the other three courses are part of country clubs that are relatively unknown and do not receive lots of requests for outside play from golfers who reside more than 1000 miles away. I should point out that none of the other five courses on this trip is located within the Sandhills region of NE.
I landed at Omaha's airport early afternoon on Saturday June 19, and immediately proceeded to Holmes Golf Course located in Lincoln, NE (also home of the Big Red Machine for you college football fans) some 62 miles (1 hour and 5 minutes) from Omaha's Eppley Field airport (and on the route to SHGC). I teed off immediately at 2:45pm and played fairly quickly (2 hours and 55 minutes); literally every group ahead of me immediately asked if I wanted to play through when I came up behind them. While the course was in fairly good condition for a muni, it certainly was not "tough"...for example its bunkers are very shallow and hardly could be considered "hazards". After parring the first hole with a 5, I proceeded to bogey holes 2-4, including a three putt on #3, and began to wonder when I might get some of my old game back.
I then put together a string of three pars and birdied the par 5 eighth and parred #9, making me feel much better about the state of my game. Interestingly, after hole #9 I did not add up my score for the front nine (which was 38) and sort of thought it was probably a 40. So my mind was not focused on my position versus par throughout the back nine...where I had a bogey on the par 3 14th and pars on the other eight holes. After a two putt par on 18, I added my score...38 -37 = 75 and quickly realized I had finally done it and in fact had beaten my age. Definitely not a sign of how good my game is...more proof of how old I have become! And despite its inclusion on Golf Digest's 1967 list of the USA's 200 Toughest Golf Courses, Holmes Park Golf Course (designed by Floyd Farley and opened in 1964) may not be one of the great tests of golf. My play was from the Red tees which measure a total of 5077 yards...but all I know is that I beat my age on a course that has earned its rightful spot on my "Top XXX" spreadsheet. For the record I hit 11 of 14 fairways, 12 of 18 fairways and had 33 putts.
After thanking the staff at Holmes (and of course signing thousands of autographs) I got back in my car and drove the 293 miles to Sand Hills Golf Club (prior posts # 2, 3 and 56) in Mullen, NE. I have already described the sheer brilliance of this course in these prior posts and will not repeat these points. Suffice it to say that the golf course changes only as a result of the effects of nature over time, and the wonderful "sense" of the place is remarkably constant and wonderful. I was a guest of my good friend Dr. Dennis K. who makes wonderful use of this incredible place and also manages to save lots of lives as a brilliant oncologist.
I arrived in time for dinner and accolades after I described my round at Holmes. The next morning we were off early and after an awful double bogey on the par 5 first (due totally to hacking it around and on the green), I played out of my skull for the next eight holes to end the front nine with a three over 38! However, visions of another beating age round quickly dissipated starting with a double on #10...and I ended up with a respectable (but should have been better) 82. Played in two more times and had 38 - 41 = 80 followed by a 41 - 43 = 84. All in all was very pleased with my game.
Very early in the morning on Wednesday June 23 I was off for Eastern NE and my other four courses on my bucket lists. First stop was in Hastings NE, just south of Grand Island, NE to play Lochland Country Club, which had been on the Digest's 1967 l200 Toughest list. Lochland was in good condition but built on very flat land. I had a good 41 - 38 = 79.
During my second year at Ford Motor Company (June 1969-May1970) I lived in Detroit and roomed with Steve Lockwood, who I worked with at Ford. I had called Steve before this trip to catch up with him and his bride Bonnie. Very glad I did...we talked about health issues...both of us having had heart episodes, and sadly, in late June, Steve passed away.
After finishing my play at Lochland, I was headed back to Lincoln, NE to play HillCrest Country Club. HillCrest was on the Digest's 1966 200 Toughest list. It opened in 1928 and is located on very hilly terrain. I had a respectable 41 - 42 = 83 and then drove northeast to Omaha for the night.
Thursday June 24 I was scheduled to play two courses in Omaha and then fly back to Boston on Friday. The weather forecast over those two days was iffy. My first focus was trying to get in the 36 holes on Thursday. I was off the first tee of Happy Hollow Club early on Thursday and finished the round early...shooting a 42 - 42 = 84. Course opened in 1925 was was designed by the great team of William Langford and Theodore Moreau. Clubhouse sits high above most of the course. While not as great as Lawsonia Links (WI) or Culver Academies (IN) (see Post #119...played Lawsonia before I started the Blog), there are very clear signs of Langford and Moreau's boldness in the greens and bunkers...despite two rounds of renovations. Happy Hollow was on the Digest's 1966 USA 200 Toughest Courses list.
In the afternoon, I rushed my way around Benson Park...finishing on time playing all 18, but certainly not in their planned order. Ended with the same score at Benson...42 - 42 = 84. Benson Park was on the Digest's 1966 USA 200 Toughest Courses list.
After all that...my flight was cancelled and I was rescheduled to fly back to Boston the next afternoon. Made arrangements to play the next morning at Arbor Links, a member of the Dormie Network (and actually the only course in the Dormie Network I have not played). Arbor Links is located in Nebraska City, about 50 miles south of Omaha's airport. I drove down to Nebraska City and checked into my hotel when the tornado warning siren went off and we were shepherded to the basement for about 30 minutes before hearing the "all clear". When I got back up to the first floor it was raining as hard as I have ever seen it rain.
For obvious reasons the course was walking only the next morning and while I could have walked it, I would have missed my flight so I cancelled golf and flew back to Boston. All in all a great trip. Three more rounds at Sandhills and five courses removed from to-do list. Oh, yes, almost forgot to mention that I also finally beat my age! At close to mid-year 2021, I stood at 1299 courses played in my lifetime and 38 new courses played since March 28, 2021...and a total of 51 different courses played so far this calendar year.
Minnesota...June 29-July 1--Trip #13 The following week I had a couple of days open and I realized I could do a quick two day trip to Minneapolis-St. Paul, so I flew to MSP the evening of June 29. The next morning I had a tee time at 6:25am (first one off!) at U of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Golf Course. Bolstad had hosted the 1958 US Junior Amateur which was won by Buddy Baker of Florence, SC. Buddy is a long time member of CCNC where we live and play in Pinehurst and I have probably played CCNC with him a good 30-40 times...trust me he still has "game". Buddy learned to play at Florence CC (Post #140) and my 18 holes there in November 2019 showed me why he has such a fine game.
In 1958 the U of Minnesota had one course...which was later named for Les Bolstad, the long time and beloved coach of the golf team, and a new facility was built for the varsity teams. Today the Les Bolstad course is utilized primarily by students, faculty and staff of the U of MN. The course first opened in 1929 and was designed by Tom Vardon, Harry Vardon's brother. I played well and had a 39 - 39 = 78. I called Buddy Baker later that day and we talked about the course...he had a good chuckle over the chance to reminice.
After finishing the quick round at Les Bolstad, I headed west to Wayzata CC, where I was scheduled to play at 10:15am as the guest of Pinehurst friend Gail K. Wayzata opened in 1956 and was designed by Robert Bruce Harris (it was subsequently renovated by John Fought in 2008). In 1984 the club hosted the US Boy's Junior Championship and the Men's Mid-Amateur in 1994. After a sloppy 42 on the front (double bogies on #3 and #6) I had a very good 39 on the back for a solid 81. The course was in excellent condition and I had clear sailing for my round.
Given this was the end of June, the days here last over 15 1/2 hours, so playing 54 was easy to do (so long as this old body held up). I went over to Golden Valley CC which had hosted the 1988 US Girl's Junior Championship and was teed off for my third round of the day at 4:54pm. Golden Valley CC was formed in 1914 and started as a 9-hole course. A. W. Tillinghast created today's Golden Valley design in 1926...and his involvement was probably a result of his work at Rochester Golf & Country Club about 60 miles south of Minneapolis (more on this shortly). Course was very good. While I was tired on the front nine (shot a 45) I got a second breadth on the back and had a good 41, including sinking a fast breaking 8 footer for par on #18.
After grabbing a bite to eat I drove south about 50 miles to Rochester, MN. I teed off at Rochester Golf & Country Club early the morning of July 1. This club has some interesting history. Tillinghast was visiting his daughter and son-in-law in Rochester where his son-in-law was a physician at the Mayo Clinic. The club asked Tillinghast if he would be interested in overseeing the club's expansion from 9 to 18 holes. Legend has it that Tillie agreed to do so for no fee...so long as the club agreed to admit his daughter's family as members with no initiation fee or dues as long as his daughter and son-in-law were alive. Good deal all around although who knows that the IRS thought about it!
Oregon & Washington...July 18-24--Trip #14 At this point my USA bucket list to-do's were heavily weighted toward the Northwest. In the states of Oregon and Washington there were 23 courses I needed to play, plus two more that looked like they would join some of these bucket lists in the very near future. I figured I needed to do two "crash" visits to get these done. The first started by flying to Eugene OR on Sunday July 18. The flight itself proved to be very productive as the day before I left I learned that Alex D. (who had hosted me at Oyster Harbors on June 12) would be on the same flights and we were able to sit together and get some work done regarding my spreadsheet. My first stop would be at Bandon Dunes to play its latest addition, Sheep Ranch designed by Coore and Crenshaw. Alex was also headed to Bandon but was meeting up with others who were arriving at Eugene later. I was soon off to the west and then south for a 2:45 drive to the greatest golf resort in this world.
Sheep Ranch had opened about a year earlier and quickly became part of my Worldwide and USA Top 100 spreadsheets when Darius Oliver listed it as #52 on Planet Golf's World 100 and it hit #35 on my Merged GolfWeek USA Top 100. So it was high on my hit list and made sense to start the journey here for that reason...and it made sense geographically as well. My old friend Steve K. whom I met in my trouser manufacturing days (Steve was then a menswear buyer at Nordstrom) now lives in Florence along the OR coastline about 70-75 miles north of Bandon, and Steve drove down to Bandon to accompany me as I walked Sheep Ranch.
The course is built on an amazing piece of land jutting out into the Pacific. I certainly regret never having played Sheep Ranch when it was Tom Doak's free form creation, but it was always closed during the summer (due to fear that a forest fire would destroy it) and all of my trips (five previous trips if I recall correctly) to Bandon were made during summer months. The land had one problem...it was just a bit too small for 18 holes...but an ingenious routing by Bill Coore enabled C-C to shoe-horn in a full regulation 18 holes. Because the site is so exposed to the wind, sand bunkers were not part of the design...with grass bunker used in their place. While some find that to be a questionable decision, I did not particularly "miss" sand bunkers here and I thought the grass bunkers worked fine. IMO the best hole is #6, a long (460 yard) par 4 with a steep cliff down to the Pacific dominating its right side; and the other best holes are #3, 8, 9, 11, 16, and 17 (note that #3 and 16 share an amazing double green). I had a very good front (41) followed by a fairly poor back (45)...totaling 86. Looking back I would have to place Sheep Ranch as #5 of the 5 18 hole Bandon courses. Given how tough this neighborhood is, being #5 is certainly not an insult! If I was doing a USA Top 100 it would be in it, but not a World 100.
After the round we drove up tp Florence...I would be staying at Steve and Linda's place this night (wonderful house right against the coast line and beach!) and Steve and I would play early Monday in Florence. The drive north of 75 miles was uneventful except for a member of the Oregon State Police pulling me over for briefly crossing the center line. He asked if I had had any recent drinks...and my reply of "not for 26 years" seemed to take care of the issue.
At 7:30 the next morning we were at Florence Golf Links (previously known as Sandpines Golf Links) ready to tee off. This Rees Jones design essentially wasted a potentially wonderful site. The dunes land between the holes is full of rumpled land that bobs and weaves it way through the dunes...and Rees must have bulldozed all of nature's beautiful humps and bumps away in building this track in 1992. Such a shame and frankly no big surprise! I has a 42-40 = 82 and left thinking what could have been.
In any case it was great catching up with Steve and Linda...and now I needed to drive northeast about 115 miles to Salem, the capitol of OR, where I was scheduled to play Illahe Hills CC, which in 1981 had hosted the US Girl's Junior Championship...and was open for play Monday afternoon. The club and course were relatively deserted and I was able to play it fairly quickly. Illahe Hills opened for play in 1961 and was designed by William F. Bell (son of William P. Bell who assisted George Thomas in the design of Riviera) and was renovated under the direction of John Harbottle. The clubhouse sits atop a hilltop looking over the course below. Hole #1 is sharply downhill and holes #17 and 18 play back up that hill. The course was in good condition and was a good but not great track. I had a 40 - 40 = 80. Had quick dinner at the club's pool and then was off on a 140 mile almost 3 hour drive to Bend, OR. This was a tiring day with two courses played and 260 miles of driving.
Bend is a beautiful town in Oregon's high desert and offers great skiing in the winter and great golf during the summer. I had been to Bend once before for golf, in October 2015. On this trip I has four more courses to play and because three courses I had hoped to play were unavailable (due to events at the clubs on the days I could play them), I added two courses well east of Bend to my plans.
In October 2015 I had played the Fazio course at Pronghorn (Post #22) and the morning of Tuesday 7/20, I was on the first tee of the Nicklaus course at Pronghorn Resort. The course, now almost 20 years old, can be stretched to 7380 yards (but would play considerably shorter at Pronghorn's altitude of 3200') but I was playing from the Silver tees or about 5250 yards. Best holes IMO were #12, 15 and 16 and I ended the round with a 43 - 41 = 84. In terms of USA Top 200's, the JWN tracks #130 on Golf Digest in 2013 (the first time GD published a #101-200 list) and has since fallen to #190. On GolfWeek, it started as #142 on my Merged GW list in 2006, fell to #188 by 2008 and then disappeared from the list.
As soon as my round was completed, I was back in my car headed about 170 miles east to Silvies Ranch, which is located about 15 miles past nowhere! While Silvies has not hosted a big event and has yet to be included on a "Top XXX" list, it seems to be creeping closer to a Top XX listing so I thought I should give it a look. There are two 18 hole courses at Silvies, which is part of a 140,000 acre (that is 218 sq miles...or almost 15 miles by 15 miles square) private ranch. The courses are "reversible" (really semi-reversible as there are 27 different greens between the 36 holes)...9 of the greens are used on both courses. On even numbered days it is set up as the Craddock course and on odd number days as the Hankins course. The afternoon of 7/20 after checking into my room I was on the first tee of Craddock...and the fairway was a bright tan. I hit a good drive on this short par 5 and started walking. Silvies is so far from "civilization" it is one of those courses where the silence is almost total...one can hear the blood rushing through your ears and the rest of your body. But there was another sound as I walked, and I quickly realized it was the sound of the fescue grass on the fairways "cracking" as I took steps...perhaps the coolest sound I have ever heard on a golf course! And yes, this place was the definition of firm and fast! I loved it. The courses were designed by Dan Hixson and opened in 2017. Other courses by Hixson are Bandon Crossings (near but not part of Bandon Dunes) and Wine Valley in eastern WA. Pat and I played Wine Valley a few years ago and liked it. But Silvies is love at first sight (or sound). The ball rolled forever and I could handle the distances. My tees on Craddock totaled 5533 yards, which is "long" for me (stop laughing please), but I was hitting much less club on almost all of my approach shots. And the fairways are so wide here that with my current very straight game missing any fairway was difficult. I had a 40 - 39 = 79 and felt great about my game. Played the last 3 holes in with a fivesome of Oregon greens superintendents who were there on a golf trip...parred my way in and they were wondering "who is that old man". 😁. Joined them for dinner that evening and told them my golfing background...was playing three of their courses on this trip. Finally got to bed and asleep (rooms here are in log cabins and are very comfortable).
Early on 7/21 I was first off on Hankins. Another real fun course and a little easier than Craddock. It had rained for about 30 minutes overnight and parts of the fairways has greened up a bit...still firm and fast just not firm and lightning! Played even better this morning. Had a two over 38 on the front and on the back had three bogies and birds 2's on both par 3's for a 37 and another 75!! Second time beating me age!! Bought some stuff in the pro shop, checked out and got in the car to drive 170 miles back to Bend...had another game there at Broken Top GC.
One aside here...Silvies Ranch is VERY remote but it is a really neat place. The golf is great (there are also two "short" courses of 9 and 7 holes) as are the food and accommodations. And there is a lot of opportunities for hiking, fishing etc...lots to do for non or part time golfers. Highly recommended!
Drive back to Bend went well...and was able to get right off at Broken Top. Daughter of head pro works in accounting at TCC so getting a tee time here was a piece of cake! I was able to get off right away and played fairly quickly as 2 or 3 groups immediately waved me through. Still hitting the ball real well and fired a 39 - 37 = 76...this one equaling my age...not a bad day for golf on this July 21st! Course was much greener than Silvies but still very fast and firm. I played from 5281 yards and for my second shots on par 4's I hit 9-irons three times, 8-irons 2x, and a 7-iron once. Was really hitting my driver well. Course was designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and opening in 1993. Broken Top was on the GolfWeek USA Top 100 Modern in 1997, '98 and 2000 ranking # 61, 85, and 91 respectively (which yielded rankings those three years on my Merged GolfWeek USA 200 of 122, 170, and 182)...but has not appeared on a Top XXX list since.
After a good dinner it was back to bed...trip was working great but starting to wear me down. But I was more than half way done and had three days left...and six courses as you might have guessed. During the trip I was also having to juggle tee times at a. few courses...took a lot of calls and text messages but it did work out.
Thursday 7/22 would be my last day in Bend. Was second off the first tee of the Meadows course at Sun River at 7:09am, playing behind a threesome who were sure they would keep ahead of me. By the second tee they had waved me thru and I didn't see them in my rear view mirror again. I played. a mixture of the Gold and Red tees totaling about 5400 yards. The course is very very flat...especially after two rounds at Silvies (also Broken Top has good elevation changes). There were two holes that played mildly uphill (both par 3's to raised greens) and 16 holes that were essentially flat! While the course was in good condition, it was architecturally fairly uninteresting IMO...and water comes into play on at least six holes. Course opened in 1969 and was redesigned by John Fought (date unknown). Hosted US Women's Senior Amateur in 2007. Never on any Top XXX listing...so someone must agree with my opinion! In any case, had a 41 - 42 = 83.
After the round I headed over to Tetherow, designed by David McLay Kidd...who designed Bandon Dunes. Was very much looking forward to playing it...until I played it. I had forgotten that Tetherow was the reason that McLay Kidd was shunned by Mike Keiser for a number of years. If you believe (as I do) that great golf courses are supposed to be fun to play, stay away from Tetherow. The word punishing is the best one I can think of to describe it. If you decide to play it, make sure you have a good supply of golf balls as the long fescue really gobbles them up. And on top of that, the greens are impossible to hit into and harder to putt. The good news is that McLay Kidd learned his lesson and designed the brilliant and fun Gamble Sands in central Washington. Keiser saw this and again reached out to McLay Kidd for Mammoth Dunes in Wisconsin. All is well that ends well.
I had a 43 - 42 = 85. Tetherow made a brief visit to Golf Digest's 101-200 list in 2013...landing at #192...and after being on the Merged Golf Week list at #284 in 2011, slid to #394 by 2015 and has not been seen since.
Then it was back to the car for the 180 mile drive to Portland! Two days to go but making great progress!.
Around noon on Friday 7/23 I was at Oregon Golf Club...which has one of the most stunning entrance drives of any club I have ever visited. The driveway points right at the majestic Mt. Hood to the east. The club is located on a former large estate and has (IMO) too much land movement. It was designed by former tour player Peter Jacobsen, opened in 1992, and has a good number of superb holes but some of the hills (starting with the uphill #1) are like climbing Mt Hood...and some of the distances from green to tee are way too long. Routing could have been much better on this land.
I started with double bogeys on #1 and 2 and then settled down for a 44 - 40 = 84 hitting the ball really well. Course is in wonderful condition and this is a very high end club...but really really tough on day to day basis I would guess. Course rating and slope from the back tees are 75.8 and 153! When Golf Week published their very first set of Modern and Classic lists in 1997, Oregon GC was number 73 on the Modern list...yielding it spot #146 on my Merged list...but that was its sole listing anywhere!
Somehow managed to finish and then get over to Reserve Vineyards early and ahead of my 6:00pm start on its South course, which from 2003-2006 hosted the Tradition Championship, one of the Senior Tour's major championships. It opened in 1997 and was designed by John Fought. With the sun setting at almost 9pm that time of year I had plenty off time to finish my round...especially since many of those playing the front nine stopped play after 9 holes. I would describe it as a good but not great golf course and has never been on any Top XXX list. I started well but was tired for about the last dozen holes and ended with a 40 - 43 = 83.
Finally, it was July 24, the last day of this trip. I was playing Meriweather National Golf Course, a public course that has seen better days and was first off at 6:20am. Meriweather was included in Golf Digest's "200 Toughest" list in 1966. I played alone and quickly...not bothering to keep score or make any notes. After the round I had to drive north 150 miles to Tacoma, Washington where I was scheduled to play Fircrest Golf Club. Fircrest was also on the GD 1966 200 Toughest list but also appeared on GolfWeeks's Top 200 Classic courses in 2012 and 2013 and thereby on my Merged Top 400 those years as #357 and 387 respectively. I arrived and got off quickly...wanting to get the round over with as I still had to drive back down to Portland to catch a flight at 9:55pm to Atlanta and then connect to a flight to Boston arriving Sunday 7/25 at 9:45am. But almost right away I really began to enjoy Fircrest, which was designed by Arthur Macon and opened in 1924. While Fircrest is built on very hilly land, its use of the land is brilliant and makes the course fun to play. Still I was tired and scrapped out a 42 - 43 = 85. Trip done...13 courses and 1249 miles driven on the rental car in about than 6.25 days!
At this point, I had played 55 new courses this year...all in a. period of less than 4 months...March 29-July 24. When I arrived home, I think I slept for two days straight! But this trip made a serious dent in my lists...and for the first time I felt I could see light at the other end of the tunnel. Just hoped it was not an oncoming train.
OK...so 55 new course so far in 2021 plus 13 "repeaters" for a total of 68 courses played in 2021 as of July 24. That brought my lifetime played total to 1316. More work to be done!
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As I write this, it is November 14, 2021. As of now...my year to date total is 119 new courses...more new courses than I have ever played in a single year...and remember, I played zero new courses for the first 87 days of this year and the year still has 47 days to go!
Still have some Blog Posts to catch up (64 more courses to be precise...plus some replays that have never graced the Blog. Thanks for your patience!
