155.  Boston Summer Part 4...October 29 to December 17, 2021

Five Day Trip to Texas...Trip #22...Oct 29-Nov 3

Well it was almost a full week after the monster trip and my car still was not ready (but all the parts were received at the body shop, so progress was being made).  It was clear that the car would not be ready for at least 10 days so I was off on another trip, this time to try to clean up what I still had to play in Texas.  

But first in the morning of Friday October 29, I had a fun game at Brookline with two other members and a guest.  Hit the ball really well and pocketed a few bucks in the process...then headed to Logan Airport for a flight to DFW.  Flight was delayed about an hour and ended up at Ft Worth hotel around 11:45pm.

Saturday morning 10/30 I was a up at 6:00am and had two rounds scheduled at two Ft Worth tracks that had hosted USGA Championships.  First game was at Mira Vista CC which had hosted the 2004 US Girls Junior Championship.  The HP had set me up to play with three members including the Chair of the club's Board of Governors, Joe M.  Course and club opened in 1987 and were originally built as part of a real estate development.  Designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and renovated by D. A. Weibring in 2014.  Course is built over a variety of terrains...front nine is very flat except for holes 1, 6, and 9, and back nine is very hilly with the exception of hole 16.  I played poorly on the front and very well on the back shooting a 45 - 38 = 83.   Best holes IMO are Par 5 #6 and #11, and par 4 #13 and #18.

Turned out that Joe M. had grown up in Queens, about 3 miles from where I was raised.  We were in the same years in high school, but at schools that were strong rivals (he went to Van Buren HS), especially in basketball.  Talked about a couple of key games from those long ago days.

After the round, thanked the HP and headed over to Ridgelea CC's North Course, also in Ft Worth, and the host of the 1969 Women's Senior Amateur.  Ridgelea has 36 holes today (North and South courses) with North was built first (in 1928), designed by John Bredumus.  Ridgelea became a private club in 1954 and was purchased by its members in 1974.  North was renovated by Ralph Plummer in 1954 and Jay Morrish in 1987.  I shot a 43 - 40 = 83

The South Course was designed by Ralph Plummer, opened in 1968 .  South is open only to male golfers and is longer and considered tougher than North.

I would call North a good but not special golf course and if I had to pick between Mira Vista and Ridgelea-North, I would pick Mira Vista.  But of course, Shady Oaks CC and Colonial CC are by miles the best two courses in Ft Worth...and between those two I'd pick Shady Oaks.

The next day Sunday 10/31 would be spent at one club, trying to play two of its courses.  Brookhaven Country Club has 54 holes.  The Masters Course is their toughest and hosted the US Junior Championship in 1972.  The Championship Course hosted the US Girl's Junior Championship in 1969.  The third course is The Presidents Course, which is much shorter than the other two, has never hosted a USGA event and was not included in my plans.

Playing any private club without being the guest of a member on a Sunday (especially since COVID struck) is very very tough.  Here I was trying to play two different courses and I did not know any members.  But it turned out that my long time golf coach, Tim Cusick (who lives and works in Dallas) had another student who belonged to Brookhaven.  

I met my host Hardy T. and his wife Mary Jane on the practice tee and shortly thereafter we teed off on the Championship Course at 11:10am.  We played it in a little over 4 hours.  It is fairly tight off the tee and a good course ...I shot a 42 - 41 = 83.  Hardy seems to be about my age (but would not reveal his age...smart man).  We talked about golf course architecture, golf swings, teachers Tim Cusick and Hank Haney etc. etc.  After we finished Championship, the starter at Masters let us off immediately (it was going to be tight to finish before sunset at 6:38 and darkness probably around 7pm).  Masters was more open and wider and therefore IMO more fun and interesting than Championship...and at the same time a little harder.  Both were in good condition and played firm/fast.  I played about like I had played at Championship for 13 holes shooting a 42 on the front and then 4 straight bogies to start the back...then played even par the rest of the way in...including holing it from front bunker on 18 for a birdie...as it was getting dark out.   

All in all a real fun day...amazing that we got in 36 on a Sunday afternoon in less than 8 hours...bounced around the last nine of Masters to find open holes but it worked and got in all 18.

Monday I played Golf Club of Dallas on the south side of downtown (wrong side these days)...used to be Oak Cliffs CC and was one of the premier clubs in town...designed by Perry Maxwell...but fell apart as the neighborhood deteriorated over time.  Was included on the Golf Digest USA 200 Toughest in both 1966 and 1967.  Now a daily fee course, in pretty bad condition...but glad I played it...great bones very obvious especially on back 9.  Had a 44 - 39 = 83...see what great bones can do for my game?

Did not have a place to play Monday afternoon so drove 110 miles east to Frankston, TX to play Pine Dunes Resort & Golf Club.  I had read a very positive review of it and figured why not take a shot (even though my game the next morning was in Austin...to the south of Dallas).  Well, my hunch proved to be pretty damn good.  Don't tell Pat this but fell in love with the course!  It is built on a patch of sand and the land is covered with tall pine trees.  Wonderful feeling about the place and reminded me of Pinehurst.  Opened around 2002 and designed by Jay Morrish...just the right amount of land movement, wonderful conditioning (firm and fast), challenging yet great fun, and player must think their way around the course.  Outstanding set of par 3's.  Had a 40 - 41 = 81 and wished I had time to do it again!  Absolute Hidden Gem!!

After the round it was back in the car...price had to be paid in the form of a 195 mile (3:30) drive to Austin.  

Early the next morning I had breakfast with Bruce C., a fellow member of Global Golf Centurions Club who lives in Austin.  We had never met before but three years ago I was playing Austin Golf Club (Post #129) and one of the Assistant Pros mentioned that a member there had just completed playing a GOLF magazine World Top 100 list.  We contacted Bruce and he was welcomed into the club about a month later.

After breakfast, drove over to Austin Country Club to finish a round I had started over 29 months before.  In late May 2019, I had played Austin GC early, then went to Austin CC hoping to play 18, and then make it to Barton Creek-Fazio Canyons for a 54 hole day.  But it did not work...play was very slow at Austin CC  and we quit after 11 holes.  I went on to Baron Creek...knowing I needed to come back some day to play the last 7 holes at Austin CC.  Finally got my chance playing with Luke S whom I had hosted at Brookline in June of their year, and two friends of his...both MD's...Phil and Andy.  We played all 18 and I had a much more positive feel for the course and it helped my appreciate the deep deep genius of Pete Dye...who build courses where other could have never imagined creating anything good...much less great!

Course was in perfect condition, and most of all I loved the par 5 7th hole which was totally created by Dye!  Had a 42 - 40 = 82 and was pleased to get this one (which has hosted the WCG Match Play Championship for the last 5 years) fully behind me.

Said goodbye and thanks to staff in proshop and my hosts and then hit the road for Houston (165 miles or 2:45).  Was staying overnight at the home of Linda & Saul P.   I used to negotiate pennies per pound for millions of pounds of polyethylene with Saul when he was with Exxon Chemical and I was with Atlantis Plastics.  Over 20 years later we have remained very good friends.  

The next morning I had to get up to The Woodlands Country Club--Tournament Course, just north of IAH airport for my final round of the trip...and then my flight back to Boston.  Rain was forecast to start around noon and I wanted to finish before it started.  Went off back 9 and play 10-18 in about 1:05.

Had to wait 45 minutes to tee off on #1...but this was still faster than if I had teed off on #1 early in the day.  Ended with a 41 - 41 = 82.  Did not like course at all...to me it was flat and uninteresting.  I was here because it had hosted the US Women's Senior Amateur in 1989.  The course opened in 1978 and was designed by Bruce Devlin and Robert von Hagge.  In its early days it hosted the Houston Open from 1975 to 2002.

Headed to the airport with lots of time for my flight and arrived home at 1pm.  Left one course behind in TX...Hills at Lakeway near Austin had just completed a renovation and had restricted guest play for a few weeks to give the members a chance to play they course...totally understandable.  Will catch it on trip to the west coast by stopping off in Houston for a day.

This was a good trip...eight courses in five days...played 7 of the 8 I wanted to play and also a new Hidden Gem.  Total driving mileage was 736 miles.  No complaints here.

Two Day Trip to St Louis...Trip #23...Nov 9-10

With my car closer to being done but clearly not expected to be finished in the next few days, I squeezed in a two day trip.  St. Louis, MO appeared to be the best candidate as I had two courses in that geographic area to play for the first time, plus St Louis CC, which I had played once back in 1979, and heard had a super restoration since then.  

My flight left BOS very early on Tuesday 11/9 and I was at St Louis CC well before my 10:30 tee time.  This is the old $$ club in St Louis and like many old $$ clubs, the course was designed by C. B. MacDonald and constructed by his partner Seth Raynor in 1914.  In 2000, the course was restored superbly by Brian Silva.  

And there was one other change that I was sure had happened at SLCC...grass characteristics.  Back in 1979 golf courses in places with climates like St Louis (very hot and humid in the summer, and prone to cold and even ice storms in the winter) simply had no good choices in terms of grass types.  Bent grass greens and fairways would wilt in the summer heat and require frequent watering to keep from dying, and Bermuda grass greens and/or fairways would die in the cold of the winters.  The creation of todays' new hybrid grass alternatives literally saved the game in places like St Louis, Washington/Baltimore, Atlanta, and even Philadelphia.

I simply loved St Louis CC.  First and foremost, it is built on a wonderful piece of land.  Close to a tough walk (I did walk this 18) as the hills here are frequent and meaningful and really make the course.  The greens all have strong slopes (in every which direction) that can often be hard to detect given the even sharper slopes of the areas surrounding the greens.  While the course is relatively short given today's equipment (from the tips 6651 yards par 71), it has more than enough heft for all but the touring pro's and premier amateurs.  And this track had as good a set of template holes as perhaps any course with the exception of NGLA.  One finds the following here:  Biarritz, Eden, Road Hole, Punchbowl, Short; Cape, Hilltop, Redan, and Alps.  I thought the best renditions here were Short, Eden, Cape, and Punchbowl.

About the only thing outshining the course is the club, which is simple, clean, not even close "to the top"...just simply perfectly "there" in every respect.  This place belongs for sure in any USA Top 100, and is very very close to belonging in a World Top 100.  Sorry Bellerive, but me thinks "it is not a fair fight."

After thanking HP Grant Masson I was back to my hotel for a needed nap (remember my comment about the hills?).  Had to wake early Wednesday and had 36 hole to play.  Good dinner and then to bed early.

Wednesday morning I was scheduled to play Boone Valley Golf Club (named after the Boone Valley area which actually is named after Daniel Boone) at 8:15am.  Drive from my hotel was some 33 miles and took about 45 minutes; I arrived at Boone Valley at just before 8:00.  The golf course looked exceptionally good from the entrance drive and relatively modest (meant as a compliment) clubhouse.  The overall setting is wonderfully secluded.

The club opened in 1992 and the course was designed by P. B. Dye.  It hosted the US Junior Amateur in 2007 and 10 years later the US Girl's Junior Amateur.  Without exception, the staff is as welcoming and helpful as can be.

I had a perfect day to play it in terms of conditioning and weather...it had not rained in St Louis for a few days ago.  Overall this is a very very good course and an even better club, but I believe there are two things that keep the course from being great.  First and foremost, the fairways and greens were way too wet, soft and slow, especially given the recent weather.  Secondly, I think the design makes too much use of water as a hazard...I counted 9 of 18 holes where it must be considered in planning a shot.  IMO water can be a wonderful hazard, but as it does not allow for heroic recoveries, too much of it can be, well, too much of it.

For the record, I had a 44 - 41 = 85.

Next stop was Fox Run Golf Club, which lies SW of St Louis and SE of Boone Valley.  The drive was a about 37 miles and took just under an hour.

The course sits within housing development but the houses do not line the fairways.  It was designed by Gary & Ron Kern and opened in 1992.  I was here because it hosted the US Women's Mid Amateur in 2001.  From its regular tees the course is reasonable (6050-6492 yards) but can be stretched to a mind boggling 8454 yards (par 71 if you can believe it).  I choose to play from the Red tees at 5578 yards.

The most interesting thing about this round was running into Ellen Port, who is a long time member.  Ellen is from St Louis and in the 1990's also was a regular at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch...and marginally more successful than moi...having won to date seven USGA Championships (4 Women's Mid-Ams and 3 Women's Senior Ams).  Her Championships total is exceeded only by some golfers names Jones, Nicklaus, Carner, and Woods.  And also consider that earlier in 2021 she won the St Louis Metro Senior Amateur Championship in a playoff...there is not typo in this sentence...the word "Women's" is not missing!!

Her swing looked great and is very much "ON PLANE".  Was great to catch up...but other than that not much to say about the course.  Some good holes but too many ordinary ones and certainly did not "stir the soul" at least of this golfer.  Had a 42 - 41 = 83.

Was able to shower at the club, followed by a drive of some 36 miles (0:40).  Flight home was on time and was home by 11:15pm.

Mission accomplished.  In the area cornered by Delaware, Maine, North Dakota, and Kansas, there are 26 states...of which there are nine states (listed below) with courses I need to play to complete my bucket lists (the other 17 states are "done"):

Delaware-1; Kentucky-1; Ohio-1; Michigan-0.5 (9 holes); Indiana-8; Illinois-10 ; Wisconsin-7; Minnesota-3; Iowa-3

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Well, miracles never cease, on the morning of Monday November 15 I picked up my car and brought it home.  The next morning I was on my way south to North Carolina, making it to Fredericksberg, VA on Tuesday and then arriving home in Pinehurst Wednesday around 2pm.  Never stopped to play as the courses I wanted to play were not open.  Was soooo good to be back and with Pat.  Didn't set foot on a golf course for two weeks (went to practice range twice), rested the old body, and caught up with delayed doctor appointments (thankfully no surprises).  Then before Thanksgiving started thinking about playing some courses in the South.

Warm weather at this point was keeping most courses fairly busy, but was able to piece together a two day 4 course trip to the middle and northern part of Alabama...and laid out an itinerary for November 29-December 1 that just might work.  At first I had hoped to knock off two courses in Charlotte and 2 in or around Atlanta, but that proved impossible as 3 of the 4 were too busy to accommodate me.  The trip I ended up taking would knock off four semi isolated courses, which would prove to be very helpful going forward.

Two Day Trip To Alabama...Trip #24...Nov 29-Dec 1

Late afternoon on Monday November 29 I drove from Pinehurst to the Charlotte, NC airport and caught an 8:21pm flight to Birmingham, AL.  Although the drive to Charlotte was about 2:10 versus 1:10 to Raleigh-Durham, this meant avoiding two flights, waits between flights, etc etc.  Picked up my car and drove some 55 miles SE (1:10) to the town of Sylacauga.  I arrived at my hotel very tired...only to learn that I had made my reservation for the NEXT night...and they were full this night!  I had been working with two different itineraries, and my reservation was designed to satisfy the wrong one 😫.  I was able to say at a Motel 6 some 4-5 miles away...and pleased it was just for a short one night stay (I'll leave it at that!).  

Arrived at FarmLinks at Purcell Farms around 8:15 with a tee time of 8:30...but faced a frost delay first announced as being until 9:30 (which would have killed any chance of 36 holes this day).  A few minutes later they announced the course would open at 8:45.  This place is in an awesome setting.  Wonderful vista's, gorgeous "textures", and a good amount of land movement decorated almost every view.  Designed by Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, and opened in 2003, the course has outstanding fairway bunkering with superb use of "center-line" bunkers.  In that regard it reminded my of Shelter Harbor CC in RI (Posts #5 and #142) which also was designed by Hurdzan-Fry.  Overall a superb course, but would offer the following issues: (1) too much land used to site the course resulting in some long distances from green to following tee, and (2) three of the four par 3's are very downhill.

I played very well and hit the ball solidly.  Despite the very good bunkering cited above, I avoided them all!  Had a solid 40 - 39 = 79.

After the round, it was time to drive north to Chattanooga, TN (3:00 or 170 miles), a city that has become a golfing hotspot over time with some outstanding courses and clubs, including Lookout Mountain Club (Seth Raynor, 1925, Post #103), The Honors Course (Pete Dye, 1983, played first in 2011, pre Blog), and Sweetens Cove (Rob Collins, 2017, Post #103).  But this day was for the original grand daddy of Chattanooga, The Chattanooga Golf & CC, founded in 1896.  Its first golf course was replaced with a course designed by Donald Ross in the 1920's, and Bill Begin oversaw a substantial renovation around 2000.  Ross' genius is very evident around these greens and the wonderful use of the shoreline alongside the Chattanooga River.  For the last few months, holes #5 and #6 have been closed as the City of Chattanooga repairs and replaces a major water disposal line that runs under these holes.  The club was expecting to have both holes opened by the end of 2021.  The 16 greens I played had an awesome collection of false fronts, closely cropped run off areas, and difficult to read slopes.  With a maximum yardage of 6694 yards for the full 18, this will never be a great championship track...but is a beautiful, challenging and fun golf course.  For the last three years it has been included in GolfWeek's USA Top 200 Classic courses and therefore in my Merged GolfWeek USA Top 400.

After an interesting talk with HP Bruce Etter, it was time to head west back into northern Alabama as my next day called for 18 holes at Turtle Point Yacht & Country Club which lies some 3:30 (175 miles) west of Chattanooga and about 55 miles west of Huntsville, AL (where I stayed overnight).  I was scheduled off of the first tee at Turtle Point at 8:00am on Wednesday 12/1 and arrived around 7:45.  The southern edge of the golf course sits on the Tennessee River and Wilson Lake and rises as one heads further north reaching a plateau about 400-500 yards from the coast.  The holes are lined by tall pine trees and the entire course has the "feel" of a course built in the 1950's or 1960's.  In fact, Turtle Point was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and opened in 1961.  In 1967 it was included on Golf Digest's 200 Toughest Golf Courses list but has not appeared on any other "Top XXX" listing since then.  I had a 43 - 42 = 85, said thanks to HP Lee Holcolmbe, and headed south towards Indian Hills CC in Tuscaloosa, AL...a drive of 130 miles (2:40) and I scheduled to go off the first tee at around 1:00pm, then drive about 60 miles (1:00) to Birmingham's airport and catch a 7:21pm flight to Charlotte.

As I started the drive to Indian Hills I checked my emails (the cell phone service at Turtle Point was not strong enough to do so in the morning) and saw an email from Indian's Hills' HP  that arrived around 9:00am saying that due to the beautiful warm weather, their membership was flooding the course and they could not accommodate me this day.  I totally understood but since a drive directly to the airport would have taken me near Indian Hills I figured no harm in stopping by.  I arrived around 12:45 and introduced myself to HP Andrew Peyton but from the look of the parking lot it was clear there was no way.  Told Andrew I would try again in the first part of 2022 and headed to the Birmingham airport.  

Frankly surprised this has not happened more often.  Pleased I knocked off three of these four tracks, and think I can pick up Indian Hills when I travel to Mississippi in Q1 2022

Four One Day Trips...Combined to be Trip #25...December 6-17, 2021

On Friday December 3, 2021 the USGA announced the creation of its 15th national championship, the US Adaptive Open Championship limited to golfers with disabilities, with the inaugural event to be played July 18-60, 2022 at Pinehurst #6 here in Pinehurst, NC.  I would guess that my reaction to this announcement was somewhat unique..."well here is another course I have to play...but no real travel required as #6 is a drive of about 5 miles from our home".  And #6 was the only course in the Pinehurst Resort that I had not played, so this gave me an excuse to complete that task!  I was on the phone that Friday afternoon and by Sunday I was booked for a tee time at 8:10am on Monday December 6.

I was at the tee right on time on 12/6 and played with two visitors (father and son) from California and Maryland who were making their first visit to our wonderful town.  We played in about 3:40 and I came away singularly unexcited about #6 (and given the quality of my game that morning, my guess is that #6 felt the same way about moi...had an ugly 45 -49 = 94).  Pinehurst #6 opened in 1975 or 1976 and was designed by George Fazio and his nephew Tom.  It was the first Pinehurst Resort course to not start and end in the vicinity of the glorious Pinehurst clubhouse.  The course is too penal, too tight, and frankly is not interesting or fun enough to capture my attention.  Glad it is in the rear view mirror.

The following Saturday 12/11 I played my favorite course in NC...Old Town Club (Posts #65, 104, 140, and 150)...with Josh Sens, a fellow GOLF Magazine Panelist and also writer for GOLF.  You may recall that I played George Wright Municipal in Boston with Josh this past June (Post #152).  We were joined by Charles Frost, OTC's Director of Golf, whom I have gotten to know over the past few years and highly respect.  Dunlop White III, Chair of OTC's Golf and Greens Committees, was able to watch us play the first three holes and the last three and join us for lunch, and I always enjoy chatting about this wonderfully silly game with Dunlop...learn something every time!  Hit the little white ball real well but this is a tough tough (but importantly a fun fun) golf course...and had a 44 - 42 = 86 that had me reasonably pleased (except for my approach shot on #8 where I misjudged the wind and an awful short pitch on #16...resulting in doubles on both holes).  Oh well, at least it gives me a good reason to grind my teeth!

On the afternoon of Tuesday 12/14 I drove south to Savannah, GA in order to play Ford Planation (whoops...renamed Ford Field & River Club to satisfy today's woke world...Henry The Deuce must be turning in his grave).  I had hoped to play a second course on this trip but dinner plans for the evening of Wednesday 12/15 made that impossible, so just did Ford.  

This course was built by Pete Dye in 1986 and underwent a major restoration in 2014 under Pete's watch (supposedly this is the last course where he worked on site before was hit by Alzheimer's Disease and passed away in early 2020).  With the exception of hole #15 the course is very flat...but I loved it...the angles and options are simply a joy to read and understand.  And as I learned, #15 is much more uphill than it appears...gather I am not the first to learn that lesson (or should I say failed that test...since we will not know if I learned that lesson until I play it again).  

The course was in wonderful condition with plenty of run out.  I was here because since 2019 it has been included in GolfWeek's USA Top 200 Classic courses and therefore in my Merged GolfWeek USA Top 400.  I had a 43 - 39 = 82 and would love to return.  Go play it yourself...wonderful example of how Dye forced you to NOT hit in the obvious direction off the tee...which left you no decent second shot...you need to play the angles of the greens and how they sit on the land.

After thanking the staff, got back in the car for a 285 mile drive back to Pinehurst (almost 4:30)...so I drove about 570 miles for one course...but was worth it!

Finally on Friday 12/17 I left home around 5:30am to meet an MIT Roommate and great friend Rick Lentz for breakfast in Charlotte before heading to Myers Park CC to play this host of the 1955 Women's Amateur.  I had been trying to play this track for almost two years, but COVID and the huge increase in play because of COVID had made it very difficult.  Finally I contacted CCNC's former HP, Andrew Glover (now Director of Golf at Blowing Rock CC), who knew a member of Myers Park (Bill W.) and we set up play for this day.  Happily Andrew was able to join Bill, Bill's wife Melinda, and me for our foursome that day.

Myers Park was founded in 1921 and its course was originally designed by A. W. Tillinghast.  In 1945 Donald Ross renovated the course and its current footprint is clearly that of Ross (since 1945 minor restoration work has been performed by Rees Jones and Bobby Weed).  The club is in the midst of a huge ($27 million) renovation of its clubhouse buildings.

The course now stretches to 7031 yards (par 71) which is plenty of length except for the PGA Tour.  The greens are back to their original large size and are very good and very tough...lots of slope on most of them.  Overall this is a very good track...probably a USA 400 IMO(and if that sounds so so to you, remember there were 16,156 golf courses in the USA, a a top 400 course is in the top 2.5%...pretty damn good.

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It is now very late on Christmas Day December 25, 2021.  We are in Boston and are scheduled to fly back to North Carolina the morning of Wednesday December 29.   As of now I have played this year 125 different courses for the first time.  Assuming our flight goes well and does not get cancelled this coming Wednesday, I should get in another two courses on 12/30...bringing me to 127 new courses for the year (prior best year for me was 2017 when I played a total of 115 new courses, so this already a record setting year for me).

But the biggest news is that I am now fully "caught up" with my blog...and hope to keep it that way.  In any case I am planning a year end summary to be published in the next 3-4 weeks.

Wishing you the Best of Holidays and a Happy New Year!!