POST #161...Three + Months and 33 Courses Later

Yup, fell behind again and time to catch up on my travels, play and courses visited.  But before turning to that, I need to spend a few minutes making some points about the recently concluded 2022 US Open at Brookline.

Much has been spoken and written over the past week or two, so I shall try to be brief.  I doubt The Country Club's course has never been as fast and firm and true as it was last week...nor as beautifully presented.  The course was literally transformed under the direction of Golf Course Architect Gil Hanse and Director of Grounds David Johnson.  They worked so well together that it would be hard to say what their relative contributions were.  Suffice it to say that this team presented a course to the world this month  that was simply brilliant.  I had the pleasure of playing it twice (second round halted after 13 holes due to heavy rain) about 2 weeks before Open Week.  The feel of the turf as one walked it or hit shots off it was sheer joy.  The fairways have a deep and strong root structure and the entire course played firm and fast.  While Gil's work was superb (and garnered most of the media's attention), this observer senses that Dave's efforts on the agronomy end may have been even more consequential.  

The organizational efforts required to pull this event were huge...and superbly handled by the USGA and TCC's Open Committee led by Will Fulton.  While I am sure there were the usual share of crises that occurred leading up to and during Open Week, they were invisible to those on the outside.  My infinitesimal contribution was volunteering in "Caddy Services" where 156 caddies were registered and received (and usually returned) the caddy bibs.  The pay wasn't great but it was fun to participate.

Now back to my golf courses played and travels!

When I last posted, I had played some 1421 courses.  Since March 9 I have played an additional 33 courses and made excellent progress on my various bucket lists.  Some medical issues (happily without long term implications) during the second half of March required that I cancel two brief planned tips...to Puerto Rico and Mexico City (Grand Reserve in PR was host to the USGA's Women's Four-Ball Championship in April, and Club de Golf Chapultepec hosted a World Golf Championship event three time before COVID led to its cancellation.  Am hoping/planning to get back to these tracks later this year.

Greensboro Country Club-Farm Club April 12, 2022:  Tyler Gosselin, who served as an Assistant Pro at Brookline for a number of years before securing the head pro position at Scarsdale Golf Club (NY), became Director of Golf at Greensboro Country Club late last year.  I had never played Greensboro but knew not had a strong reputation and knew at least one member, Hayes H., who joined me for the round.  

Greensboro CC was founded in 1909 and its first course is located within the City of Greemboro, was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1911.  We played "The Farm" course which was originally designed by Ellis Maples and was part of Carlson Farm CC.  In 1969 Greensboro CC merged with Carlson Farm and then in 2008 Donald Steel was engaged to resigned the Farm course.  The course was in near perfect condition even after a winter of play off dormant fairways.  Normally dormant fairways are pretty well between up this time of years (just before growing season starts).  Also found it interesting to find a club whose Ross designed course is their "2nd" golf course!

While Greensboro has never hosted an important event or been included on a Top X00 list, I had wanted to play it and catch up with Tyler.  He is doing very well and I also saw him at the Open earlier this month...and he reported that he and his wife Jess are expected their second child and all continues to go great for them here.  Happy to hear that and have them close by!

Southern California Trip 4/28-5/2

At this point California contained the largest block of courses that I had left on my key bucket lists.  There were a total of 21 courses in California that I needed to play.  It was time to start chipping away at this group of California courses.  The night go Thursday 4/28 I flew from Charlotte NC to Los Angeles and then drove to Annandale  (near Pasadena, CA).  I has a tee time at 7:30 set up by Ted M., and old friend who I had hired into Citibank in 1972.  Having not seen Ted since 1977, in 2011 Ted Pat and I (and Ted's host) were paired for 18 holes at Florida's Seminole Golf Club...and we have stayed in fairly close touch since.  In fact, Ted is trying to complete his first GOLF Magazine World Top 100 and as of late June 2022 stands at 91 with 9 relatively easy courses to access left to play!  Ted was out of town but arranged for my tee time and was scheduled to return in the morning.

Annandale Golf Club, April 29, 2022:  Annandale Golf Club was founded in 1906 and the golf course was initially laid out by Willie Watson.  The club's caddy master, Billy Bell redesigned the course due to road construction that eliminated some the original holes.  More recently, in 2008 Brian Silva was engaged in 2008 to change some holes impacted by further road expansion and I would assume imminent domain proceedings.  One thing that shocked me about Annandale (but I later learned that this was true and many other California courses) was the nature of the hills in California.  Remember, this is earthquake country...and the slopes on these hills are much sharper than they seem to the eye.  I was constantly short on uphill shots and long on downhill ones.  I really liked the course and thought this was a wonderful "play every day" track...but at 6208 yards from the tips not a great championship course.  The bunkering is very tough and very good, and the greens are lots of fun and difficult to read and putt.  I should also note that Annandale is a very very fine club.

My favorite hole was the par 4 10th, and I found essentially no weak uninteresting holes.  I shot a 42 - 44 = 86.  I was here because Annandale had hosted the 1967 US Women's Amateur.  

Ted arrived at the club as I completed my round and we had a wonderful lunch follows by a clubhouse tour.  But with a 83 mile drive to my next course (heading south and east) I had to get moving.

Soboba Springs Golf Course, April 29, 2022:  This course is owned by the Soboba Springs Casino,  opened in 1967, and was originally designed by Desmond Moorhead (who co-designed with Jack Nicklaus Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio and designed Mission Hills CC in the California desert (long time home of Dinah Shore Tournament).  Cary Bickler renovated the course in 2006 and 2018.  It sits in a valley floor in the desert north of San Diego.  Shortly after opening it was included in Golf Digest's 1967 200 Toughest list and then never appeared in any other "Top X00" list.

Frankly it was neither interesting or memorable and I was pleased to have it in my rear view mirror.  I shot a 42 - 41 = 83.

Rams Hill Golf Club, April 30, 2022:  After this round I had to drive another 85 miles southeast to Rams Hill Golf Club...and at times this was a harrowing drive...coming down from a very high "ledge" to the desert floor, with a sheer drop on the right side of the car.  I arrived before sunset and stayed at a nearby hotel.  Had a semi decent meal and hit the sack...was along day with 36 holes and almost 4 hours of driving.

Rams Hills started  as a 27 hole facility in 1983 designed by Ted Robinson.  The facility has gone through multiple owners and was then totally redesigned by Tom Fazio in 2007.  After a shut down from 2010-2014 (I would presume a result of the 2008/9 financial crisis) it reopened under the same Rams Hill name and received glowing reviews.  But the course I saw in April of this year was very very different.  I would guess that 40% of the fairway areas were "nothing but dirt" with no sign of turf.  The greens are generally in decent shape and are among the best Fazio greens I have played, but the fairways are simply horrendous

I shot an 43 - 42 = 85.  Somehow this course has been in the GolfWeek Top 200 Modern Course lists since 2017.  Sure didn't look like that to moi.  Save your $$ and driving time!

Singing Hills Golf Resort--Oak Glen Course, April 30, 2022:  After the round it was back in the car and headed mostly south to Singing Hills, a 54 hole resort (one of the three courses is a par 3 course) that is part of the Sycuan Casino.  In 1973 and 1989 this course hosted the US Junior Amateur (won by Jack Renner and David Duval respectively).  This is a good golf course but in somewhat questionable conditions (perhaps the result of ongoing renovations).  I hit the ball well and shot a 40 - 41 = 81and came very close to a hole in one on the par 3 9th hole.  The course in a small way had a feel that was very similar to La Costa with most of the holes sitting in a valley.  But the most interesting aspect of this round was the group in front of me...a Korean father with 2 of his 3 daughters (ages 10 and 13....their older sister is 16 years old).  The 10 year old has a swing that is exactly like Charlie Woods' golf swing (Tiger's son) and the 13 year old was blowing it by me!  Be watching for them (think their last name is Wu).

After the round I drove into San Diego for dinner with Bob Blumberg, an old fraternity brother from MIT (Bob was two years ahead of me).  Was good to catch up...

After dinner I had to drive to Anaheim for my last two rounds on Sunday.  That drive was some 90 miles and took almost 2 hours.  First tee time Sunday was at 8:15 followed by another at 1:30, then a drive to LAX airport and a red eye flight to Charlotte NC arriving early Monday May 2

Hacienda Golf Club, May 1, 2022:  Sitting near a very high hill top about 10 miles north of Anaheim, getting to Hacienda can feel harrowing.  The roads leading to the club reminded me of those leading to The Meadow Club located north of San Francisco in Marin County.  

This is a superb but generally unheralded golf course.  The club was founded in 1920 and retained Willie Watson to build a golf course at its current site.  Watson is one of golf's Golden Age's finest architects also credited with the likes of Olympic Club (Lake), TPC Harding Park, Brentwood CC, Hillcrest CC, Annandale GC, and San Diego CC in California; White Bear Yacht Club, Interlachen CC, and Minikahda Club in Minnesota, and Belvedere GC in northern Michigan.  Hacienda initially had 9 holes and about 4 years later expanded the course to 18.  Assisting Watson with this project were George Thomas (LACC and Riviera), E. B. Tufts and Charles Mayo.  As an interesting side note, the club's website says the construction crew used to build the course was run by Charles Shaw, who apparently was also involved with the construction of National Golf Links of America (NY), San Francisco, GC, and someplace known as The Country Club in Brookline, MA.

My friend from Los aAngeles Tom B. played Hacienda in the 1990's for a local event and some kid named Tiger Woods arrantly fired a 62; Tom says everyone else was sure that Woods had played a different course!  This is one demanding track that requires a ton of local knowledge.  Like many of LA's better courses, it sits within a canyon/barranca and the slopes affected the land are extremely difficult to discern.  My balding head received a lot of scraping during this round.  But while very difficult, it is a fair track and I think one of California's hidden gems.  I was here because Hacienda had hosted the 1967 Girl's Junior,...but this is a very special golf course and the club seems to be filled with members who appreciate the game.

In 2007 the late John Harbottle III was retained to renovate the course, adding length, updating bunkers and greens, and exposing/restoring a meandering creek that was natural to the land.  The bedeviling slopes are still dominant and my lack of a posted score for this morning's golf is for good reason!  Best holes include #4, 5, and 15 in my opinion.  In sum and substance...this course is well worth a visit!

Yorba Linda CC, May 1, 2022:  Located some 15 miles ESE of Hacienda, Yorba Linda CC opened in 1957 with a course designed by Harry Rainville.  Richard M. Nixon was born and raised in the neighborhood right near the course and was made an Honorary Member of the Club.  And in 1966 and 1967 it was included in Golf Digest's "200 Toughest" lists, for its moments of fame. It is a good if not special golf course.

Somehow after not being able to play the game at all in the morning, I was able to find it this afternoon and had a 38 - 40 = 78.  The club had. shotgun event planned for the afternoon and we started on #8.  The day ended on the slightly uphill par 3 7th where I sunk a 40' putt for a birdie 2 to end the trip!

My flight back left LAX for Charlotte at 6:05 Monday morning.  Successful trip...spent a little over 3 days in California and knocked off 6 courses, bringing my total played to 1,428 courses.  Was a more than a bit tired at the end of this trip but felt good to make a dent in the California collection of courses to play.

Maryland and Delaware Trip s Early May 2022 

Regular readers of this rag known that each Spring we travel north from Pinehurst to Milton, MA and each Fall do the reverse to be in Pinehurst for about 7 months.  Pat hates long drives and I love to use these trips to play some courses in the along the way.  

I have been trying to play the North Course at Wilmington CC and Bidermann Golf Club for a few years as well as the Blue Course at Congressional CC since its recent renovation was completed about 12 months ago.  Finally when I contacted the clubs this year, all were available...perhaps not on the dates I desired, but as they say "beggars cannot be choosers" (which should be the motto for all golf course raters).

I had hoped to play all three on a drive north around 5/11-13 but that would not work.  Wilmington was very doable the week before, as was Bidermann, and Congressional was available on 5/11.  So the only solution that seems to work was to do a short trip the week of 5/1 to Wilmington and return to Pinehurst, and then head north the following week, stopping in Bethesda, MD to play Congressional.

Wilmington Country Club-North, May 5, 2022:  Late the afternoon of Wednesday 5/4, I drove north to Wilmington...some 460 miles or 7 hours.  Stayed at a hotel some 5-6 miles from Wilmington CC and was at the club around 7:15 the next morning for my 7:30 tee time.  Wilmington CC has two courses, North and South.  I has played the South Course in 2013 and it is generally regarded as the club's tougher and better course.

The club was founded in 1901 and then in 1960 moved to its present location and the South Course (designed by RT Jones Sr.) opened first.  One year later the North course designed by Dick Wilson opened.  

The original Wilmington CC hosted the 1913 US Women's amateur but no longer exists.  The South Course hosted the 1971 US Amateur, 2003 US Mid-Amateur, 1965 and 1978 Junior Amateur, and will host the 2022 Western Open.  The North hosted the US Girl's Junior in 1978 and in 2003 was co-host of the US Mid-Amateur.  A very impressive listing of national championships.

I liked the North Course and its routing a an excellent piece of land for golf...with one exception (which I shall explain in a minute.  My round was "a tale of two cities" with an ugly 48 on the front and a very good 39 on the back despite bogies on the par 5's (#10 and #18).  The one hole I really did not like was #18...it has a pond that crosses the fairway in front of the green.  Before the pond the fairway end and rough starts about 145-150 yards from the center of the green and the pond ends some 55-60 short of the center of the green.  To my mind, a great golf role plays tough for the better player and easy for the average golfer...this hole does the exact opposite.  No good player would even think about that water (unless they hit a terrible drive) but the average played is going to have a tough time carrying the water and will likely be left with a long 3rd shot into the green.

Keith Foster renovate the South Course in 2008.  ANDREW GREEN?????

Bidermann Golf Club, May 5, 2022: Bidermann sits contiguous to Wilmington CC but by car is about 4 miles away.  I have played a good number of "reclusive" wasps clubs around the US, but to date this might be the most reclusive.  Bidermann started as a nine hole course designed in 1920 by Devereaux Emmetthat was the private golf course for some of the du Pont's.  In the mid 1960's after Emily du Post made an adjoining tract available, Dick Wilson, designed the new 18 hole layout. Finally in 1977 Bidermann merged with Vicmead Hunt Club  (while maintaining its own clubhouse).

On this beautiful Thursday I recall seeing three other golfers on the property...and the "Clubhouse" mentioned above is as simple and basic as any I have entered.  This is not exactly a Discovery Land Project, and I loved it for that very reason.  The golf course is excellent with a wonderful collection of bunkers providing superb definition for the fairways.  And the site itself has just the right amount of elevation changes for a superb golf course.  The only question that struck me, which I chose not to ask, is why Seth Raynor (who seems to have garnered a substantial market share of small very private wasps clubs, was not hired to design this one.

I was able to play it simply because a young Professional Golfer I know (from his time at Brookline) was recently hired as the teaching pro at Bidermann.

After the round I got back in my car and drove another 460 miles south to Pinehurst, arriving home around 11:30pm.  Long 31 hours which included 36 holes of golf and about 945 miles of driving.  While I fully accept the "beggars cannot be choosers" statement, I also know to "strike when the iron is hot" if one wants to meet one's audacious (some might more correctly say "silly" goals).