151.  How I Spent the Months of April and May 2021

Word to the wise…do not get behind…it gets very hard to catch up!

 

 

My last entry was posted November 14, 2020 and at that time I had played (most of) course #1262, Bright’s Creek in Hendersonville, NC on November 5, 2020…and that was a time limited 14 holes.  Between November 5 and March 29, I played CCNC’s Dogwood andCardinal a total of 13 and 6 “complete round equivalent” times respectively and once each at Forest Creek-South, Pine Needles, andDormie (all of which I had played numerous times previously).  Something to do with something called COVID I think.  

 

I also graduated from my Cardio Physical Therapy class.  That program was a huge help and it pushed me to extend my walking routine.  Walked nine holes with an electric pull cart on January 7, eighteen holes with electric pull cart on January 19, and carried my “Sunday bag” for 18 holes on March 5!!  I will be the first to tell you that walking up the sharply uphill par 5 18^th on CCNC’s Dogwood course was not exactly a picnic, but I did make it without crawling!

 

I tried to play some private clubs near Charlotte, NC but COVID is keeping golf tee time demand at record levels and many clubs have so much member demand they simply do not have the capacity to allow Panelists to play.  And this is a world-wide phenomenon; similar tales have emanated from places as varied as Great Britain and China.

 

During this period, I also kept busy working my spreadsheet and a new effort, entitled “Fescue”, developed and maintained primarily with a good friend from Los Angeles, Tom Brown.  It came about as I was looking for a list of new courses being developed around the world as well as important renovations/restorations…and we quickly ascertained that no such list existed.  I started a spreadsheet which at first had 9 projects on it.  Tom built todays’ version of Fescue and did the majority of the research; the list now totals over 720 projects in about 75 different countries with completion dates of January 1, 2020 forward.  Go to https://fescue.github.io

 

Received my first Moderna shot on February 4 and second in March making me ready to go by around March 18 and allowing me to return to my crazy travel routines in full force.  To summarize, from March 29 through August 27 (152 days by my count) I have played 87 different courses (69 for the first time and 18 that I had played before) in some 25 different states.  I now stand at 1330 courses played in my lifetime and have made some serious progress towards completing my crazy bucket lists.

 

During this time, I have failed to keep you informed and/or bored…and for that I apologize.  No way I can catch up in the detail I have used in the past…problems with memory and lack of typing skill are just two of the reasons.  But I will try to give you some highlights as well as interesting details where I can.

 

Texas Trip March 28-April 2--Trip #1: 

 

My assault on various bucket lists commenced with a flight to Dallas the evening of Sunday March 28.  I flew out of Charlotte and the flight arrived DFW at about 12:30am on Monday.  Fortunately, I had rented a car early enough otherwise I would have been SOOL (sxxx out of luck) with no car.  As it was it was impossible to secure a car for a one-way rental.  Squeezed for cash during the pandemic all the rental car companies cancelled order for new fleets and sold as much of their older cars as possible.  With the vaccine program going well and people feeling safe enough to travel, there just ain’t enough cars out there (and the current semiconductor industry issues will keep things tight for a while).  

 

The morning of March 29 I played Maridoe Golf Club with good friend Dave W. and his brother Paul (most of this trip was with Dave W. and either his brother Paul and/or their good friend Leigh E.).  Dave had been a long-term Golf Digest Panelist (which is how we met), but in April he accepted a position on GOLF Magazine’s Panel and resigned from Golf Digest’s.  I will keep it simple with Maridoe…it is super hard…right up there with the likes of Oakmont, Carnoustie, Winged Foot-West, etc.  From the back tees (which I did not play…otherwise I would still be trying to finish 18 holes) it plays to a course rating of 80.5 (I cannot recall previously seeing any course that high) and slope of 155 (the maximum allowed).  I had a 41 – 45 = 86 and felt “beat-up” after the round.  While I would not characterize the courses as unfair, it sure is close…and IMHO the 10^th hole crosses that line.  It hosted the 2021 US Women’s Four Ball Championship in April.  Its site was previously home to Columbian Golf Club and Honors Golf Club and then was purchased by oil/gas billionaire Albert Huddleston who retained Steve Smythers to build an all new course (hoping it will someday host a US Open…good luck with that).  It is known as the “in” course for professional jocks in Dallas.  I cannot imagine why a mere mortal would want to join…but in golf egos explain a lot.

 

Next course for me was Coore & Crenshaw’s Trinity Forest.  As you may recall, since I conquered the World Top 100 from All Sources (EVER) list in 2018 for the second time, six courses (3 in the USA and 3 overseas) that I never played have made new World Top 100 lists.  Trinity Forest was one of these six so playing it brought that task list down to 5.  I had heard very mixed reports regarding Trinity Forest…some loving it and others hating it (might even be the new “king” of the “high standard deviation in ratings” category).  It very much reminded me of The Old Course at St Andrew’s and was VERY firm and fast.  Loved the greens (especially #17) and the angles/options.

 

At the start of the round I had a real scare.  Went out with a caddy and a cart but half way through the first hole I felt exhausted and a little short of breath.  The caddy called for a cart to get me, I went back and rested in the clubhouse for 20-30 minutes and by then felt fine.  So I told the caddy let’s give it another try (this is a walking only course)…and I was perfectly OK for the rest of the round and the months since. 

 

The afternoons after the above two rounds were very special.  Caught up with Tim Cusick, my long-time swing coach who is now working to help launch the PGA’s new headquarters in Frisco (some 40 miles north of Dallas).  Tim is also teaching part time in Dallas and was able to quickly spot some of my latest swing flaws and get me headed in the right direction.  The second afternoon included a tour of the Frisco construction site where a future PGA Championship site designed by Gil Hanse is growing in alongside another interesting course designed by Beau Welling (in its later stages of construction).  Both should open in 2023 and are highly anticipated.  The PGA and its partners are investing some $500 million on this site which is expected to totally change the economy of Frisco, TX.

 

Wednesday March 31 was spent playing Las Colinas Country Club (opened 1963 and designed by Joe Finger), a classic example of what was wrong with the architecture of the 1950’s through 1980’s, and The Vaquero Club, completed in 2001 by Tom Fazio and Discovery Land (champions of “over-the-top” concept in golf clubs).  Las Colinas hosted the US Women’s Amateur in 1969 and Vaquero made one appearance (2007 where it placed #163) on my Merged version of Golf Week’s USA Top 100 Classic and Top 100 Modern.  Vaquero is a fabulous facility…but the golf course did not get my juices flowing.  My architectural preferences run in different directions…but hosting a Women’s Am is not small potatoes and making any USA Top 200 list (given there are some 16,000+ courses in the USA) also ain’t small potatoes.

 

That evening Dave and I drove past Austin deep into Hill Country.  Thursday would be centered around Boot Ranch and Escondido.  I had an interesting reaction to Boot Ranch.  It was designed by Hal Sutton and opened to acclaim in 2006.  As I hit balls on its vast (34 acre) practice range waiting for the overnight frost to burn off, I marveled at the huge expanse of land they had to work with.  While I really liked almost all of the course’s 18 holes (best being #2, 10 and 11), it was too hilly to walk and the great distances from green to tee also discouraged walking.  The “flow” of the course and the overall design suffered because of that.  Somehow it may well be that too much land can “spoil” a course.  The best counter example is of course, Merion Golf Club’s East Course which sits on a mere 110 acres and sits well within almost everyone’s World Top 10 or Top 20.  My “interesting reaction”: limited land forces an architect to go deep and think hard about alternatives…excess land availability can promote sloppy and careless design.

 

I generally enjoyed Escondido (designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 2007) and played it well (41-39 = 80) but found too much repetitiveness among the holes.  Both courses have only appeared on Golf Week’s USA Top 200 Modern (and thus my merged Golf Week Top 200 or 400 lists).  Boot Ranch has appeared seven times (most recently at its best position ever…192 on the Merged list) and Escondido has appeared eight times, most recently in 2021 at #336 on the merged list and having hit it best position in 2015 (#328).

 

Dave and I then drove back to Houston (a long haul after 36 holes) and had to get ready for Houston’s River Oaks Country Club the next day.  Although I played poorly at River Oaks, I really really liked the course and it was a fun day.  First, as we arrived at the club’s parking lot, I realized we would be playing with Andres P., Scott W’s (Alan W’s son’s) father-in-law whom I met at the wedding in Buenos Aires almost 20 years earlier.  Andres is a superb player (was Senior Club Champion at Pine Valley a number of years ago) and a wonderful guy.  Second, the course is much better and tougher than I expected.  The greens are very tough as are the slopes close to the greens (being a yard or two off here can extract a big punishment).  In that way, it very much reminded me of Augusta National…and the entire facility is magnificent…much larger than I expected.

 

While River Oaks hosted the 1940 Western Open, it has never hosted a USGA Championship.  And shockingly, its only inclusion on a “Top” USA or World list was in 1966…that very first list of “200 Toughest” published by Golf Digest.  Never again.

 

After a couple of drinks, it was off to the airport to get home.  This brought me to 1269 lifetime but more important, got me back interested in getting some of the lists done!

 

 

Savannah GA area…April 5 and 6—Trip #2

 

This one could be called a quickie.  On Monday 4/5 I drove down to Sea Island to play the new Plantation Course designed by Davis Love III.  Sea Island now has 54 holes and I have played 36 (Plantation and Seaside) including all of the holes (or restorations thereof) that have hosted a USGA Championship (6 Senior Women’s Ams, the 2004 Mid Am, and 1963 Senior Am).  The Seaside 18 (which I played in 2011 has been included on 36 USA lists…with a high of #76 on Top100golfcourses.com’s 2010 listing) is a regular stop for the PGA Tour.  Its highest current listing is #176 on Golf Digest’s 2021 USA Top 200.

 

While I generally liked the course (good greens create interesting angles on approach shots…and require fairly extensive course knowledge), I found that on four of the holes it was difficult to understand overall hole design and the direction the fairway moved.  Not sure that is a plus.

 

Early the next morning, I quickly played Savannah Country Club, which hosted the 1985 US Women’s Senior Am.  This track has seen better days and I was pleased to have it in my rear-view mirror.

 

While there were other courses I need to play in the Hilton Head area, they were not available due to member demand.

 

Scottsdale, AX, Las Vegas, NV, and SW UT…April 19-21—Trip #3

 

Hitting three different cities in three days to play 5 different courses was a tough schedule.  I left on an early nonstop from Charlotte to Phoenix and played the Chiricahua Course at Desert Mountain in the northern part of Scottsdale.  Desert Mountain has seven golf courses, six of “regulation” length and one par 3 course (“No. 7”), all of which were designed by Jack Nicklaus.  I had previously played Apache and Renegade in 1966, and Cochise (2017..Post #75).  In 2013 Chiricahua was rated #195 on Golf Digest’s USA 100 Greatest, which placed it within my bullseye.

 

I played with three members who could hardly believe my stories…especially since I played like a dog (a wounded dog, actually) and shot 44 - 46 = 90.  As I have said many times (especially since my recent surgery), these course visits are to see the courses, not my game!  A few good holes (best being 12 and 14 IMO) but if it wasn’t for the Golf Digest listing, was not worth the effort.  After the round I headed back to the airport to fly to Las Vegas.  The trip went smoothly except the LV airport was packed when I arrived and I waited some 45 minutes for the bus to car rental, but eventually reached my hotel.

 

In the morning on April 20, I played Las Vegas National, which might shock those of you who have played it.  But the history of this place is astounding.  It was one of the Rat Pack’s primary hangouts…yes, I mean Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr.  Plus, it hosted 6 Women’s PGA Championships (1961 through 1966) and the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions twice (1981 and ’82) when it was part of the Stardust Hotel or Stardust CC.  Suffice it to say it has seen better days.  But I did shoot a 43 – 39 = 82 which was encouraging.

 

That afternoon it was over to the Wynn Hotel which now includes the Wynn Golf Club…designed by Tom Fazio and his son Logan and constructed on the acres previously occupied by the Desert Inn’s golf course (which was totally bulldozed prior to the construction of Wynn).  I had to play it because of my self-made rules…it is occupying land that previously hosted The Tournament of Champions from 1953-1966.  While this course is certainly superior to Las Vegas National, it rates highest in the “over-the -top” category…which is a negative indicator in my book.  But I got it done…and sank perhaps the longest putt of my life with a 102-footer on the par 5 third hole.  Other than that tidbit, I have no highlights worth reporting (and I refuse to describe the waterfall behind #18 green as a highlight).  But…this day completed my course requirements in southern Nevada.

 

Following the round at Wynn, I drove 135 miles (2:10) to Sand Hollow Resort in southwestern Utah.  I was scheduled to play Sand Hollow the morning of 4/21 and then play Coyote Springs in NV on the way back to LV for my red eye flight back to Charlotte, NC.  Now, remember how I started the description of this trip…about it being a “tough schedule”?  Truth is I overslept on 4/21 and missed my tee time at Sand Hollow.  I was able to secure another time for Sand Hollow later in the morning, and would not be able to play Coyote Springs.  I needed to play Sand Hollow as it had made my merged Golf Week Top 400 list in 2019, 2020, and 2021, while Coyote Springs had never been on a “Top” listing and has not hosted an important event.  Would have liked to play both but it was not “necessary”.  Instead, I had a couple more hours of necessary sleep!  I very much liked Sand Hollow.  Not as great as Gamble Sands in WA but very good and certainly should be included in a USA Top 400.   I had a 44 – 41 = 85 and then drove back to the LV airport and headed home!  

 

Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri…April 26-28—Trip #4

 

The following Monday I was off to Nashville early and that day was able to play the North Course at the Legends Club of Vanderbilt University, which had hosted the 1997 US Girl’s Junior Championship (back then North was called “Ironwood”).  I played with 3 members and had a 43 – 44 = 87 on a difficult course in excellent condition.  It is one of a growing number of outstanding US college/university golf facilities available to the best young golfers in the world (as they attract students from throughout the world).  Given the state of the US education system today, one can question the use of these funds for athletic facilities…but on the other hand they usually are fully funded by wealthy alumni for this specific purpose.  Opened in 1992 and designed by Tom Kite and Bob Cupp, this is a very good course but IMO not deserving of a place on a USA or World Top 200.

 

On Tuesday 4/27, I first played Hillwood CC, which had hosted the 2015 US Senior Women’s Amateur.  Hillwood opened in 1953 and was designed by Dick Wilson.  In 2011 it underwent a major restoration under the watchful eye of Bruce Hepner, who spend 17 years working for Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf before starting his own firm in 2010.  After dealing with the subtle but difficult slopes of the second green (enhanced I would guess by the conversion of their greens to Bermuda) and playing the wonderful par 4 dogleg left par 4 fourth hole, it was clear this is a superb track and worthy of the title: Hidden Gem.  I shot a 43 – 40 = 83.  IMO for sure a USA Top 200 and perhaps even Top 100.

 

After a quick lunch it was over to Belle Meade CC, which hosted the 1955 Senior Amateur, and was included in Golf Digest’s “USA 200 Toughest” listings in 1966 and 1967 (the start of the “Top 100” listings phenomenon).  The course was originally designed by Donald Ross in 1921 and then renovated by Rees Jones in 2003.  Hillwood and Belle Meade lie some 2 miles apart and I would guess they are strong rivals (Belle Meade people made a specific point about their greens still being bent grass…and IMO they were not as good as Hillwood’s)…and while I enjoyed Belle Meade I must say Hillwood seemed IMO to be far superior…despite Belle Meade’s link to Donald Ross.  Most likely a function of a Hepner’s work compared to Rees Jones’…but I will leave it at that.

 

Having been able to play both fairly quickly, I then drove about 125 miles in 2 hours to play another Golf Digest 1966/1967 200 Toughest listing…Kentucky Dam Village.  Since first pursing these two lists I have always wondered about this course because of its unusual name and its generally unknown history.  Then last year I learned that it was designed by the late great Perry Maxwell (think Southern Hills, Old Town Club, Prairie Dunes, all built after spending years as a partner of Dr. Alister MacKenzie…and renovations at places like Augusta National, Pine Valley, Merion, Colonial, and National Golf Links of America).  I arrived with about 2 hours 15 minutes left before sunset and was able to play it in about 2 hours.  Clearly the maintenance efforts of the State of Kentucky (where Maxwell was born and raised) over recent decades leave much to be desired…but this was built on an interesting piece of land and has wonderful “bones”.  Given its condition it is not deserving of a USA “Top 400” status…but worth visiting for Maxwell admirers, of which there are many.  Had a 42 – 41 = 83 with a few “gimme” putts and was very glad to have played it…it is covered with Maxwell’s fingerprints.

 

Ended the long day with a 95-mile drive to Cape Girardeau in southern Missouri.  On Wednesday morning I played Dalhousie Golf Club, completed in 2003 and designed by Jack and Gary Nicklaus.  This is a high end very private club and it is hard to believe it is part of the same sport as Kentucky Dam Village!  While I liked Dalhousie…I would vote for Maxwell’s creation if it could get just 5% of the TLC that places like Dalhousie get regularly.  Dalhousie is a tough course and I had a 43 – 44 = 87 but would hate to add my score without equitable stroke control.  Not sure I would want it as a steady diet.  In any case, Dalhousie hosted the US Women’s State Team Championship in 2015 and has been on my Merged GolfWeek USA Top 400 list four times between 2014 and 2019 with a high rating of #270 in 2014.  I then had a long trip back to Pinehurst (driving and flying) but overall was glad I knocked off some hard-to-reach tracks.

 

Arizona...May 4-8--Trip #5

This was to be a trip that by all rights should have never worked out as it did, but I got lucky.  I left our home in NC early on Monday 5/4 and flew to Phoenix after connections in Chicago.  Upon arrival in AZ, I drove a few miles south to San Marcos Golf Course in Chandler, AZ.  San Marcos opened in 1913 the year after Arizona gained statehood in the United States.  It was the first golf course in Arizona and therefore the state’s oldest course today. Sixty years after its opening, San Marcos hosted the 1973 US Women’s Senior Amateur.  The course was fairly empty and after an ugly double bogey start, I ended the round with a 42 -42 = 84, completing play in about 2 hours (partly by hopping back and forth on the back nine).  But got it all in with sufficient time to perhaps play Moon Valley CC, sitting about 35 miles northwest of San Marcos.  

 

I had called Moon Valley’s pro shop and they said I could play so long as I finished before sunset (at 7:12pm).  I arrived at 4:30pm and was able to convince the gentleman cleaning carts that I had the pro’s permission to play (and did not even have to use a half-truth).  Moon Valley opened in the early 1960’s and was originally designed by Dick Wilson, and later renovated by Bob Cupp.  It was for many years owned by Ping Golf and for almost 20 years hosted the LPGA’s Standard Register Ping event.  In 1966 and 1967 Golf Digest included Moon Valley on its “USA 200 Toughest Courses” lists, hence my need to play it.  Beat sunset by a good 15 minutes and even shot a very good 40 – 38 = 78 playing from 5285 yards (remember that these days I am playing at yardages of about 5200-5500 yards).

 

Felt great about having played both, but not so good about a late-night drive north to Sedona, AZ (about 100 miles and two hours).  Drive went well despite a huge cow that somehow partially blocked the frontage road on Interstate 17 (fortunately I saw it just in time).  

 

First thing the next morning I was scheduled to play Seven Canyons Golf Club, a Tom Weiskopf design.  Sedona is a beautiful town dominated by huge red rocks and the course sits very close to these monster boulders.  Somehow, Weiskopf was able to shoehorn 18 holes into very limited acreage and the course is interesting and fun, if a bit confining.  In 2013 the course was rated #200 in the USA by Golf Digest.  My game was awful and I had an ugly 49 – 46 = 95.

 

After the round I had to hustle north to Forest Highlands to play its Meadow Course.  I had played Forest Highland’s highly rated Canyon Course in early November 2012 (just before it closed for the season) and was now playing Meadow at the start of its 2021 season.  I played with one of the assistant Pro’s and enjoyed the course, but IMO, while Meadows is good it does not compare with the superb Canyon Course.  Canyon is very dramatic and Meadow feels “quieter”.  Both were designed by Tom Weiskopf and opened in 1988 (Canyon) and 1999 (Meadow).  Meadow was rated #362 on my Merged Golf week list for 2011 but that was it only appearance on a “Top XXX” list.  Canyon has appeared on 52 Top XXX USA lists and was as high as #32 on the 1999 Merged GW list (its current highest rating is #125 on Golf Digest).  Meadow has hosted the 2014 US Girl’s Junior Championship and the 2019 US Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. 

 

After the round I drove south to Scottsdale (about 135 miles taking 2:10).  I would be staying for two nights at the home of Dave and Elena F.  Dave was admitted into our Global Golf Centurions Club last year and has been making huge progress towards finishing more extensive lists such as the Golf Magazine World 100 EVER.  They live in Toronto and Scottsdale and are wonderful folks, even if Dave is almost as certifiably crazy as moi. 

 

The morning of Thursday May 6, Dave and I played Silverleaf…another high-end club in Scottsdale with a member who is a close friend of Dave’s (Dave is a former member of Silverleaf).  Silverleaf was designed by Tom Weiskopf and opened in 2002.  While I liked the course, there were some aspects that I found questionable.  In particular, on a number of holes the greenside bunkers were located a good 5-8 yards from the green’s edge.  I asked our host member who said they had shrunk some greens but had not redone the bunkers at that time.  Normally, such changes would be made as part of the same project and was not aware of any plans to move the bunkers.  But the course is in excellent condition and has a good number of wonderful holes…but in a place like Scottsdale it takes more than that to stand out.

 

In any case, I had a 41 – 40 = 81.  Silverleaf sat at #352 on the 2020 GolfWeek Merged USA Top 400, which is the only list it has made.

 

After the round I went back to Desert Mountain, this time to replay Renegade (which I had played in 1996).  It had recently been renovated by Jack Nicklaus and the person responsible for dealing with panelists had asked me to take another look at Renegade when he set me up to play DM’s Chiricahua course on April 19.  I was very glad I played it as I came away very impressed with Renegade.  Each hole has two sets of greens and one can play the “regular” greens or the “Nicklaus” greens.  In total, playing the Nicklaus greens increases the course’s overall length by 711 yards to a monstrous 7933 yards!  Additionally, the Nicklaus greens are better protected and more difficult to putt.  I really liked the course (though it is way too difficult for this 76 year-old)…but would thought it would be better if Jack would eliminate some of the bunkers guarding green fronts to give players the option of using their ground game to reach the green.  I played well and had a 41 – 43 = 84 (playing a total of 5344 yards to the regular greens!!).

 

That evening I had dinner with two couples who were old friends from my NY days…one from Citibank (Richard and Sally L.) and one who were neighbors in Purchase, NY from around 1988-1993 (Chip and Daryl W.).  They are very good friends here in Phoenix and it was wonderful being with them and sharing old war stories.  Would have been even better if Pat could have made this trip and met them.

 

Friday May 7 was the final day of this trip and I was scheduled to play Scottsdale National Golf Club’s “The Other Course” in the morning followed by its now infamous “Bad Little Nine” par 3 course with Dave F.  In 2014 David Parsons , founder of Go Daddy and Parsons Xtreme Golf (“PXG”…you must have seen the ads) purchased The Golf Club of Scottsdale for $600,000 and has since invested another $250 million on the property including:

 

                  --renovating the original course called The Mine Shaft (designed by Jay Morrish and Dick Bailey) which now is a 7579 yard par72 course occupying some 290 acres;

                  --building The Other Course designed by Jackson Kahn Design…which has opened to almost universal acclaim;

                  --building The Bad Little Nine, without question the most difficult par 3 course in the world (total yardage…972 yards…with holes ranging from 79 to 153 yards and averaging 108 yards/hole).

 

Obviously the latter two projects necessitated the purchase of additional land.  

 

If you really want to understand these two new courses, I suggest you go to https://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/scottsdale-national-golf-club/ to read Ran Morrissett’s description…far better than anything I could ever write.

 

I loved both Scottsdale National courses.  TOC is simply brilliant and fun…and it is astounding to think that the land was dead flat because its rolls, bumps, and slopes seem so natural.  And the finishing touches and details and nothing short of outstanding.  While I certainly would not want to play the Bad Little Nine every day, it was fun to try this one time and I hope to have another shot at it.  And I could absolutely play TOC every day!!  

 

I had a 39 – 42 = 81 on TOC and probably triple digits on the Bad Little Nine!  TOC was ranked #79 on Ran Morrissett’s 147+1 World Custodians list this year, and #35 on that lists USA candidates.  This brought me down to 4 courses to re-complete the World Top 100 from All Sources (EVER) list and only one course (Sheep Ranch) to complete the USA Top 100 from All Sources (EVER) list.

 

Late that night I flew back to NC on a red-eye, and attempted to recover from this adventure over the weekend.  Eight courses in less than 4 days, plus about 600 miles of driving ain’t easy on this old body.  But I am making progress and having fun. 

 

Wichita, KS…May 12-13-Trip #6

 

The following Wednesday morning I was back at Raleigh-Durham Airport for a two-day (one night) trip to Wichita, Kansas.  There were two courses in Wichita I had yet to play that had hosted important events.  On the afternoon of 5/12 I played Rolling Hills CC, which hosted the 1950 US Women’s Open.  I shot a 41 – 45 = 86 and the course was good.  

 

The club was started in the 1920’s as a group of men started to play regularly at Westlink Golf Course.  By 1948, Rolling Hills had been formally incorporated and had purchased a new property and build a golf course.  Two years later the 1950 US Women’s Open was hosted there and won by probably the greatest woman athlete in history, Babe Zaharias.  During that event, the LPGA was founded!!

 

In 1963 the course was renovated under the direction of Floyd Farley and further improvements were made during the 1990’s.  

 

The following morning I was at Crestview CC’s North Course which sits about 15 miles east of Rolling Hills.  Crestview hosted the 1980 and 1991 US Girl’s Junior Championships. The club was founded in 1921 and in 1969 moved to a new course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. It also hosts the Korn Ferry Tour’s annual Wichita Open.  This part of Kansas is loaded with good golf including Wichita CC and world-renowned Prairie Dunes and Flint Hills, all of which I had previously played.

 

This was my last trip prior to driving north to Milton, Mass. May 20-23.

 

Trip from Pinehurst, NC to Milton , MA…May 20-23—Trip #7  The morning of Thursday, May 20 I left our house on my annual drive north around 9:30am.  This would be another long day.  I would drive from Pinehurst to Charlottesville, VA (256 miles or 2:15), play one regulation 18 hole course and a 6 hole par 3 course, then get back in the car for a drive to my hotel in Malvern, PAS , just outside of Philadelphia (250 miles or 4:30).

 

My golf for this day was at the Boar’s Head Resort at the University of VA in Charlottesville.  The course had recently been renovated by Davis Love III and was in very good condition.  It is built on an excellent piece of land that rolls and pitches beautifully and Love made great use of the land’s movements. 

 

Many of you may recall my email after that round…from which I will quote below:

 

I played it alone and went off the back nine, followed by some skipping around the front nine (playing the front in the following order: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 3, 4).  In summary, I did it, but I didn’t!! Explanation follows.

 

I was hitting it very well and had a 4 over 40 on after nine.  Because of the hopping around I did on the front nine, I basically lost track of how I was playing…but kept my score as the nine progressed.  As I finished at the 4th green (note order of play above), I checked my score on the back and it added to 36…giving me a 40-36 = 76….equal to my chronological age.  

 

It was then that I realized that on two holes on the back nine there was a group on the next tee when I approached a green…wanting to play my round quickly (I had a 4:30 drive left to get to Philadelphia) I quickly took my first putt and in both cases that left me with a putt of about 5’ for par…which I “gave” myself in order to get to the next tee before the group ahead finished teeing off.  This enabled me to play the round in about 2:45…but also means that I really did NOT shoot my age (I did it, but I didn’t!!).  As the old saying goes, “haste makes waste.”

 

No question not knowing where I stood on my last few holes help me score very well yesterday!

 

No question that I was hitting the ball very well.  

 

After the round I played the 6-hole par 3 course then drove up to Malvern, PA.  At 7:50am on 5/21 I was playing Applebrook GC in Malvern, designed and nurtured by its long-time member Gil Hanse.  I simply loved this course and it showed in my scoring.  Had a 2 over 38 on the front (with two 3-putt greens) but then followed with a 6 over 41 on the back for a 79 with birdie 2’s on three of Applebook’s five par 3’s.  Was great to follow up on the day before.  The course is built on an excellent piece of property and sits beautifully on top of the land.   No question this one deserves the title “hidden gem.”

 

After the round, I drove to my brother’s home in Philadelphia for dinner with Dave and Rosemary, which was a wonderful evening, even if I was a little bit tired.  All is well with them and Dave at age 78 continues his teaching efforts at U of PA Law School and handing cases for the law firm he co-founded.  For the most part we both avoided politics so the dinner was quite civil.  Was great to see them and hear that all are in good health.

 

Finished the day with a 100-mile (1 hr 40 min) drive to Westchester to get some sleep after two long days.

 

Saturday morning 5/22 I was at my old haunt and club, Quaker Ridge playing with an old friend Dr. Mark S.  It was special spending a few hours with Mark.  The course was in magnificent condition and the renovation of its clubhouse was proceeding well at this point in history (more on this topic in a later post).  Hit the ball OK but could not score…amazing how tough this track is in a very subtle way. Had a 44 – 43 =87 and more importantly caught up with some other long-time friends including playing with Brad F. and seeing Steve S. and Michael F. (who I would be seeing the following week at Brookline).  Love coming back to this place.

 

After finishing up at QR, I drove backwards to Monclair NJ.  Montclair Golf Club consists of 4 nine-hole courses; in 2015 I had the pleasure of playing the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th nines (which had hosted the 1973 US Women’s Am and the 1985 US Amateur).  I wanted to play the 1^st nine mainly to “complete” this club which also hosted a Metropolitan Open and two Met Am’s.  Setting this up became much easier when I learned last year that our new neighbors, Mark and Cindy S. were members of Montclair for years.  For sure the 1^st nine is Montclair’s weakest but it is still good (the others are excellent) and had superb lineage having been designed by Donald Ross.  I was able to quickly play the 1^st nine and the staff at the club treated me as if I was a very special guest.  Good way to end the day, and had a good 41 for 9 holes.

 

Spent the night at a hotel in NJ and then on Sunday morning drove into northwestern Connecticut to play Tom Fazio’s Bull’s Bridge, which I had been reading about for two years…but because of COVID had not been able to play.  John Steinbrenner, who writes for the virtual golf magazine Global Golf Post, and I had been talking about playing sometime in the northeast and I suggested Bull’s Bridge which he had not seen yet as well.  Bull’s Bridge is located in Northeast Connecticut (South Kent). It opened for play in 2004 and was designed by Tom Fazio.  The site offers some phenomenal views and natural beauty but has a few questionable (IMO) holes dictated by the hilly terrain.  In particular, I found the first two holes too downhill for my taste in golf courses…but from that point on, the courses is really very very good.  I would guess that in mid-October, this place is s sight to be seen.

 

After the round I drove the rest of the way to our house in Milton, MA.  Pat had flown north and arrived as couple of days earlier. 

 

This seems like a good place to complete this post.

 

On a year-to-date basis I had played a total of 38 courses, of which 32 were for the first time for me, and 6 were replays.  All of the 32 new courses were played between March 29 and May 23 (56 days).  Brought me to a lifetime total of 1293.  Good progress but lots more work to be done…

150. Three-day Mini Trip to Western NC and Greenville, SC

 

During my drive home I started planning the following week in Pinehurst, given that Pat would not be flying down for another week, and quickly realized this would be a good opportunity for a mini trip.  Thinking about courses/clubs I wanted to revisit or see for the first time, it became clear that the western half of NC was the closest opportunity with a reasonable number of alternatives.  Nashville, TN would have offered more bucket list outstandings, but meant too long of a drive after this last week’s almost 1250 miles.  Mentally going through my “to-do” lists, a potential trip started coming together starting Tuesday 11/3 and returning Thursday 11/5 (it is difficult to find courses that are open on Mondays, and I had three guests scheduled to join me at CCNC on Friday).

 

I knew a return to Old Town Club (“OTC”) should be part of the trip and other areas of interest included the Blue Ridge Mountains in western NC, Charlotte, NC, and Greenville, SC.  On Sunday morning I outlined a possible trip and started emailing and calling pro shops and friends in these locations.  One piece of excellent news was a very positive weather forecast for the entire week in all of these locations.  I was surprised (but totally understood) to learn that many clubs had continued to ban unaccompanied guest and panelist play due to the volume of member play generated by COVID induced “cabin fever”.  All three courses I wanted to visit in Charlotte gave that response, so that location quickly dropped off my prospect list.  On the other hand, I received positive emails back from my friend Dunlop W. at OTC as well as the HP at Biltmore Forest CC in Asheville, NC, and these two provided a good starting point for the rest of the trip. 

 

Old Town Club, November 3, 2020:  Located in Winston-Salem, NC (about 1:45 from our Pinehurst home), OTC has become one of my favorite tracks in the world.  I first played it in 2006, prior to the restoration work completed by Coore-Crenshaw some 7 years later.  Starting in 2013 I have played it annually every fall after our return from MA except for 2015 (when I played in in May).  In all, this round was my 9^th at OTC.  As prior posts #65, 104, and 140 describe some of those visits, I will keep this one brief.  

 

I played with Jim E., a former OTC President and a member of CCNC, and two other OTC members.  The weather was close to perfect and I had a 42 – 42 = 84.  All in all, a wonderful afternoon…course was in great shape and the company was outstanding.  After the round I had a 2:25 145-mile drive to Asheville, NC.  During the drive I was able to line up two courses to play on Thursday November 5^th, thereby filling out my dance card for this mini trip.  I stayed up watching election returns which were looking good until about 10:30pm when several key states announced they were halting their counts until the next day.  Seemed a little strange and unusual and I failed to notice that all of these states were controlled by Democrats.  The rest is history as they say…apparently some dirty history (but I shall stop any political commentary at this point).

 

Biltmore Forest Country Club, November 4, 2020:  Back in the late 19^th century, a young entrepreneur by the name of Cornelius Vanderbilt became involved with the shipping and railroad businesses.  For you kiddies, shipping and railroads were the internet in the 19^th century.  He did OK in these businesses and ended up one of the richest people in the history of the USA.  Cornelius’ youngest grandson, George Washington Vanderbilt II, used his inheritance to build the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, NC.  That home originally sat on 125,000 acres, or about 196 square miles (equivalent to a square with 14 mile long sides!)….and totaled almost 179,000 sq. feet of living space.  To put the Biltmore Estate in perspective for you golfers…the home on the estate is almost three times the size of the clubhouse at Sleepy Hollow CC (NY) which of course was another Vanderbilt home.

 

His daughter was the original owner of Biltmore Forest Country Club which opened in 1922 with a course designed by Donald Ross.  Biltmore Forest has consistently appeared on GolfWeek’s USA Top 100 Classic course list since it was expanded from 100 to 200 courses…as well as my GolfWeek Merged USA Top 400 list (#361 in 2020).  Additionally it hosted the 1999 US Women’s Amateur and the 2013 US Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships.  From the tips it plays to 6750 yards (par 70).  This is a beautiful and outstanding club and course…and IMO, very underrated.  The property is filled with steep slopes which camouflage the actual slopes on the greens, and the greens in some ways reminded me of the “rolls” that Perry Maxwell built into many of Old Town’s greens.  The fairways have excellent width and there are options available on almost every hole.  Golf here is absolutely fun and this is certainly a course one could play every day. 

 

The clubhouse here has a wonderful 1920’s sense to it and feels as comfortable as an old shoe, even while being relatively formal…that is a tough combination.

 

I thought the best hole is #16, a 470 yards dogleg left par 4 with a Redan green protected by a sharp drop off on the left side and a green that slopes right to left much more than it looks.  The 9^th hole is a more traditional par 3 Redan although at 161 yards is a bit short for this Template.

 

Overall, a true hidden gem.  It may be a little out of the way but absolutely worth the trip.

 

Speaking of trip, I had a 1:15 (53 mile) drive to my hotel in Greenville, SC…and when I arrived at the hotel, I discovered that I had left my golf bag and clubs at the bag drop rack at Biltmore Forest…thereby requiring an additional round trip to pick them up.  The body did not need a 159-mile trip this evening, but it got one.  

 

Green Valley Country Club, November 5, 2020:  Green Valley is located north of Greenville, SC, opened in 1958 and was designed by George Cobb…who also designed the Par 3 course at Augusta National GC and Quail Hollow GC (NC).  In 2001, the course was renovated by Tom Jackson.  In 1966 and 1967 Green Valley was included in the “USA 200 Toughest” lists published by Golf Digest (these being the first “Top” lists ever assembled and published).

 

Earlier during the trip I was told that and one time Green Valley had the highest number members who were also members of ANGC of any club in the south.  I also heard that at one point the club went through bankruptcy proceedings.  No way of knowing regarding either claim.  Based on my quick playing of the course, it may well have been fairly tough.  And there are clear signs that the club has seem better days.  In any case, I am afraid this is not a great track…but playing it means I only have 69 courses left to finish Golf Digest’s 1966 and 1967 200 Toughest.  

 

After the round I drove about 50 minutes north back into NC to play Bright’s Creek.

 

Bright’s Creek Club, November 5, 2020:  From 2000 through 2008 I was a member of Forest Creek Golf Club in Pinehurst (as well as CCNC).  Forest Creek has two Tom Fazio courses (Posts #65 and #141) and around 2005 the developer of Forest Creek opened another club called Bright’s Creek located in Hendersonville, NC (and also designed by Tom Fazio).  A good number of Forest Creek members bought land and joined Bright’s Creek and the two clubs were almost sister clubs (but no formal tie was ever implemented).  I never made the 3:45 trip to play and see Bright’s Creek but I remember people saying it was in a simply spectacular setting.

 

A knew that Bright’s Creek had closed its course and terminated its operations a few years ago, and then earlier this year learned that it had been purchased (I believe out of bankruptcy) and had reopened…and it turned out that a friend of mine (Mark L.) was a member and part of the group of three who had purchased the property.  Mark suggested that I play it and give him my thoughts and it geographically worked well with Green Valley for a day of this trip.  

 

The course has 19 holes (including a par 3 19^th to resolve tied matches…Forest Creek’s South course does the same).  I had assumed that since it had just resumed operations this summer the course would be fairly empty this time of year…and that was a bad assumption.  As a result, I was only able to play 14 of the 19 holes (1-9, 12, 13, 17-19), and that took some mad scrambling around the property searching for open holes.  The DoG, Rich Albright was most helpful but with a dinner scheduled in Pinehurst that evening, I simply did not have the time to finish.  I will make the following points about the property.  First, my Forest Creek friends were not exaggerating…Bright’s Creek in in a simply spectacular setting, and this is a very good Fazio course.  The facilities also are first class.  What surprised me the most was its condition, which was very very good by any standard.  Given that for some 2-3 years there was only one maintenance person managing its upkeep, and that it has only been about 4 months since the club reopened, I was amazed at how good the overall condition of the property is today.  On the negative side, the course seemed to have too many long treks from green to next tee.  My next trek to western NC will for sure include a complete round at Bright’s Creek, and hopefully another 18 at Biltmore Forest.

 

After the round I had a quick lunch and then drove eastbound to Pinehurst barely in time for my scheduled dinner.

 

Course Count and Bucket Lists:  These recent rounds brought my total course count to 1,261 (or 22,205 golf holes).  This year I have played a total of 65 different courses (of which 52 were for the first time and 13 have been courses I had played previously). Bucket list status today is as follows:

 

High priority to play (total of 34 excluding “double counts”):

to reclimb World/USA Top 100 EVER for another time (4)

finish Golf Digest Top 200 USA EVER (8…none of which were ever USA Top 100)

finish Golf Week Top 100 Classic and Top 100 Modern EVER (11…none of which were ever Top 100 on “Merged” list)

finish all Women’s Major and Senior Major sites EVER (7),

finish all USGA Senior Am sites EVER (3)

finish World Golf Championships sites EVER (3)

Then 20 more to finish US Junior Championships EVER 

Then 67 to finish Golf Digest 1966/67 200 Toughest

Then 59 to finish USGA Women’s Am, Mid-Am, Senior Am and Girl’s Junior…to complete USGA current championships sites EVER.

 

TOTAL of 180 to go!!!!!...plus any new ones that crop up…finish by end 2023?  Doable (but doubtful) if stay healthy!!  Need that vaccine!!

149. Drive from MA to NC

 

 

It was getting to be time for our annual pilgrimage south from MA to NC.  As we have for the past 10 years or so, I drive (with a car stuffed to the gills with our winter things) and always include stops for golf along the way.  Pat then flies down and I pick her up at Raleigh-Durham Airport.  This year I left our Milton MA home around 6:15am on Monday October 26.  The plan for day one included one stop to visit a friend in CT, then 18 holes in NJ, and then on to Philadelphia for dinner at my brother’s and my hotel west of Philadelphia.  This would be a long day including 402 miles of driving (assuming I never take a wrong turn) and 18 holes of golf.  

 

Stop #1 was to visit a great friend for the last sixty years, Dr. Barry C. and his wife Bobbi in their home in Westport, CT.  Barry and I played together on the Jamaica High School golf team in 1961 and 1962 and have remained close since.  In more recent decades he has been a leader in medical research while I fully retired some 12 years ago and traveled the world to play its great golf courses.  Although we had communicated frequently, over the past 5-6 years our opportunities for face to face interactions have been too limited (but did include a round at their CT course, Birchwood).  Barry has been a superb advisor to both Pat and me regarding medical issues that come with growing older…and no question in my mind that human beings do not come in a better package.

 

After some 90 minutes Barry had to get back to work and I headed to West Orange in central NJ…but on the way detoured to La Tourette Golf Course (to replace missing scorecard), a NYC muni in Staten Island that I played with fraternity brother Jim F. in 1970.  

 

Essex Fells Country Club, October 26, 2020:  Located next to West Orange, NJ, this part of NJ is headquarters for Seth Raynor country.  Within a few miles of each other are the following Raynor designed tracks:

                        Essex County Country Club (first course)

                        Essex County Country Club (second course---now Francis Byrne Golf Course)

                        Essex Fells Country Club

                        Montclair Golf Club (9 holes designed by Raynor and built by Banks)

                        Rock Spring Club

 

Essex Fells was incorporated in 1896 and hired Alex Findlay to design a 9-hole course totaling 1810 yards.  In the early 1920’s, Seth Raynor rerouted that nine and expanded the course to a full 18 holes of 6144 yards.  Today the course totals 6531 yards from the tips and is located on an excellent piece of land with good slopes making it difficult to read the greens.  However, in 1996 it had the misfortune of being “redesigned” by Rees Jones…and many of the Raynor characteristics are well obscured.  I thought the best holes are #3 (a downhill reverse Redan…although some would say a Redan cannot be downhill), the long par 3 10^th (which may have been a Biarritz at one time), the 458-yard par4 8^th, and the 448-yard uphill 16^th.     The 12^th fairway is filled with natural bumps and rolls…so flat lies are almost to find, but unfortunately the rest of the property lacks this characteristic. 

 

Overall a good but not great track.  I do plan to come back to this area to play Francis Byrne and Rock Spring, hopefully next year.  For now, I am left with 9 Raynor’s to go (out of 51):  Brookville (NY); Knollwood (NY); Blowing Rock (NC); Everglades (FL); Lake Wales (FL); Waialae (HI), Mid Pacific (HI); and Rock Spring and Francis Byrne in West Orange.  Hit the ball pretty well and had a 42 – 42 = 84.

 

One last note regarding Essex Fells…the term and concept “Mulligan” was either invented here or Winged Foot…both clubs claim credit.  No way to know which is the true answer, but I do know that Pat is my Mulli!!

 

After the round I was in the car and headed to that beautiful highway known as the New Jersey Turnpike on my way to Philadelphia and dinner at my brother’s.  This drive was a mere 101 miles and I arrived around 6:15pm.  There were four of us, Dave, his wife Rose Mary, and their son Sam.  Dave and I were relatively well behaved and avoided politics.  Was great to see all three of them.  

 

Drive to hotel was relatively short…32 miles (plus add 4 miles for one wrong turn).  Very long day…followed by lousy night of sleep (probably overtired), which should make Tom Doak’s greens at Stonewall-North extra impossible!

 

Stonewall-North, October 27, 2020:  Stonewall is a relatively new club (founded in the early 1990’s) about 45 miles WNW of Philadelphia with two Tom Doak designed tracks, Old and North.  Back in October 2014 I played the Old course, and decided to play the North course this trip.  The North has never been included on any well recognized “top 100/200/400” listing and it has not hosted any of the events I track.  Old hosted the 2016 US Mid-Am (with North co-hosting the stroke play qualifying rounds) and Old has been on the GW Merged USA Top 100 and GM USA Top 100. 

 

However, I actually liked North more than Old…it is certainly more fun and interesting, while Old is for sure more difficult.  North totals 6790 yards from the tips, Old totals 6980, and both are par 70’s.  My favorite holes on North are the par 5 3^rd…where the tee shot must carry a very large mound  and then hopefully trundles down the downhill slope on the other side, the par 5 8^th of 601 yards with a second shot that must carry a stone wall (otherwise known as a Stonewall), the short par 4 12^th of 351 yards that doglegs left to a green that is somewhere between a Biarritz and a Double Plateau, and #15 a 395 yard uphill par 4 that is superbly well bunkered and whose green has a false front and right side (I three putted).

 

For sure the North offers more fairway width than the Old, as well as larger and more undulating greens than Old.  This makes the course a more demanding “thinking” course than Old…and means holes can play very differently with different pin placements.  To me those attributes make North the better track.

 

I was tired from yesterday’s long drive and lack of good sleep so I chose to not keep score.  But this is really a fine golf course…and I am surprised it has not made any listing.  If you come to Stonewall you will probably want to play Old…but if you become a regular here, I would think 2 of 3 rounds would be on North.

 

After the round I headed south.  I was scheduled to play two courses in Baltimore the next day, but Thursday looked like a washout all along the Mid-Atlantic coast.  Thursday I was scheduled to play Manor CC outside of Washington DC and then Birdwood in Charlottesville, VA…with Manor being of greater importance for my bucket lists.  So, as I started my southbound trip I set my GPS to Manor CC (in Rockville, MD) and called Manor’s pro shop.  My MAPS app was showing a 3:45 arrival and sunset was to be at 6:08.  I had been rained out of Manor a year earlier and could not play it due to COVID on my trip north in May…and did not want it to slip by again.  HP Mike Sullivan was not in and the assistant pro I spoke with said 2:20 would be tough for a full 18.  But I figured what did I have to lose?…if I could only play 16 or 17, then coming back for the one or two missing holes would be much easier than a full 18.  I arrived at Manor at 3:40pm and quickly grabbed a cart and made it to the first tee after (sort of) checking in with the pro shop.

 

Manor Country Club, October 27, 2020:  While Manor has never been included on a USA Top 100/200/400 listing, it has hosted two US Boy’s Junior Championships (1957 and 1971) and one Girl’s Junior Championship (1959).  The club was founded in 1922 and hired William Flynn to design 27 holes (an 18-hole Championship course and a 9-hole short course).  In 2005, the Championship course was restored by Arthur Hills.

 

I teed off on one and quickly played holes 1-6 before running into 3 groups playing holes 7-9.  As the seventh tee lies only 150 yards from the clubhouse, I drove over to the 10 tee and saw the back nine was wide open.  I completed the back nine in about 1:05 and then went over to the 7^th tee to find holes 7-9 to be completely empty…and finished the round on hole #9 (best hole on the course and very similar to Oak Hill-East’s 9^th hole) at 5:55pm…with 13 minutes to spare before sunset.  Truth of the matter is I had to play Manor too quickly to adequately evaluate it and did not keep score.  But based on my quick round, it is a very good but certainly not a great course.

 

I had scheduled dinner with Jason Mills (current HP at Congressional CC), who was an Ass’t Pro at Brookline two years ago.  We had dinner in Bethesda at a nice Italian restaurant.  Congressional’s Blue Course is undergoing a major renovation under the guidance of Andrew Green which should reopen in Spring 2021 which has to have been a wonderful experience for Jason.  Was great to catch up and see him doing well and growing into a very big job.

 

After dinner it was back to Rockville to my hotel.  A rushed but good day…36 holes plus some 198 miles of driving.  Tomorrow would be another 36 but not much driving.

 

Green Spring Valley Hunt Club, October 28, 2020:  I first learned of this club about a year ago when I saw that it had hosted the US Girl’s Junior Championship in 1999.  Last May I was hitting balls at CCNC’s practice range when a very well connected member and friend came by to say hello and I noticed his polo shirt had an unusual logo (fox’s head with the letters GSV) that I had never seen before, so I asked where it was from…and the answer was “Green Spring Valley in Baltimore”.  Further research revealed the club was founded in 1892 “to promote fox hunting”.  Golf was added in 1914 after two members contributed $4500 to finance the purchase of acreage sufficient for a nine-hole course designed by noted architect Tom Bendelow.  In 1930 one hole was eliminated and current holes #1 and #18 (more about them in a minute) were added to create a 10-hole track…and members would play #1, the remaining original 8 holes twice, and then #18 to complete an 18 hole round.  The 1930 changes were guided by another architect of some note, Herb Strong (Canterbury in OH, Engineers in NY, Guyan in WV).  Finally, in 1957 Robert Trent Jones eliminated one hole and added nine others to create today’s 18-hole course of 6623 yards.  Last year a new master plan developed by Tyler Rae (think Beverley CC and Skokie CC in IL, Cedar Rapids in IA, and Mountain Lake in FL) was approved by the club with implementation planned over the next few years.

 

I have played at a good number of old money golf clubs and country clubs over the years but this one may be the “WASPiest” of them all.  It is spread over what seemed to be some 7-10 different buildings with minimal signage, and GPS brought me to the wrong one…and there were not a lot of folks in evidence at 8am.  This place is deep, deep, old $$ Baltimore.  The golf course is as quaint and unusual as they come.  I have played a few courses that start with a par 3 including some very good ones (including England’s Royal Lytham & St Annes which has hosted The Open Championship some 11 times).  I have also played a few courses that finish on a par 3 (including Long Island’s brilliant Garden City Golf Club).  I should also add that both Royal Lytham and Garden City are mainstays on World Top 100 listings.  But until this day I had never even heard of a full length 18-hole golf course starting and ending with par 3’s.  Additionally, the stretch of holes from #7-#15 (9 consecutive holes) are all par 4’s.  Hardly conventional, but it works and the course is fun to play, although certainly not a “great track” (but hole #7 is quite good)…and just as certainly part of a great family club.  Glad I got to play it.

 

Baltimore Country Club-East Course, October 28, 2020:  BCC was founded in 1898 and located within the City of Baltimore in an area called Roland Park.  The following year BCC hosted the US Open.  By the 1920’s the club needed room for expansion and retained A. W. Tillinghast to design the East Course (opened in 1926 at its new second campus (known as Five Farms) located about 7 miles north of the Roland Park site.  In 1962, the Roland Park course was closed (more on that later) and a second course (“West”) designed by Ed Ault was opened at the northern site.

 

The East Course has hosted the 1928 PGA Championship, 1932 US Amateur, 1965 Walker Cup (the only Walker Cup Match to end in a tie), the 1988 US Women’s Open, and the Senior Players Championship in 2007-9.  It is a wonderful design on superb land with tons of elevation changes (and hence slope!).  In 1915 it was restored by Keith Foster.  This was my third visit to BCC’s East Course (prior two were in 1984 and 2013).  In 2013 I also played the three “remaining” holes at Roland during my quest to play all of the “still remaining” courses that have hosted a US Open.  I had learned that three original holes could still be seen behind the Roland Park Clubhouse, and receiving permission to play them prior to a wedding brunch we attend at Roland Park.  Am not sure that I would characterize Pat as being pleased by this, but by then I believe she understood whom she had married.  

 

The golf course really has no weak holes and the best of the bunch are two par 5’s (#5 and #14 which are 586 yards and 607 yards respectively) and the phenomenal 457-yard par 4 10^th with a small green guarded short & left by a beautiful pond and wetlands.  Totaling 7181 yards with severe slopes and a par of 70, this is a big course for all but the PGA Tour.  It has not pierced World 100 lists in about the last 15 years, and has been rated by most around #60-#70 on USA Top 100 lists…which speaks loudly about the quality of golf courses in the USA and World in recent years.  If you get to Baltimore and secure an invite,,,make sure you accept it.

 

I played with Joe F. and Jim G. who were my hosts here back in 2013.  Told them no more trips to Baltimore for me until they get their butts up to Brookline.

 

After the round I headed back down to Rockville and my hotel there (remember...I was scheduled to play Manor CC the next morning, which continued to look like a weather washout.  I cancelled my game in Charlottesville for Thursday and planned an easy day driving from Washington to Williamsburg, VA.   Pat had booked a flight for Saturday November 7 from Boston to Raleigh and my host for golf in Virginia Beach suggested we play there Saturday 10/31 rather than the afternoon of Friday 10/30…given the amount of rain that was expected Thursday.  Sounded like a good plan to me.  I would then drive from Virginia Beach to Pinehurst Saturday afternoon and early evening.

 

NO GOLF!!!, October 29, 2020:  After rearranging my golf plans for Friday and Saturday, it was time to brave the heavy rains and head southeast.  Along the way I planned two stops to pick up missing scorecards.  Between the weather and convoluted stops for scorecards, the drive took much longer than expected and I arrived at Williamsburg around 5:00pm.  That left just enough time for a short nap before dinner with Hank W., a fellow Global Golf Centurions Club member who lives primarily in Williamsburg.  My body thanked me for no golf this day…but cursed me out for another long drive.

 

Hank and I had a very nice dinner at a local restaurant and I retired to get to bed early.  I was scheduled to play the next morning at the Green Course at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club, which is owned by the Williamsburg Resort.  I had played the Gold Course in 1984 and while the Green generally did not garner rave reviews, it had hosted the 1998 US Senior Women’s Amateur.  The question would be…given the rainfall on Thursday…would the course even be open on Friday.

 

Golden Horseshoe Golf Club--Green Course, October 30, 2020: I was up early and called the pro shop to make sure I could play…and then learned I had to be off before 9am as there was a charity outing with a shotgun start at noon.  Due to Friday’s very heavy rains, it was cart paths only which would mean my round would take a bit longer.  I grabbed a quick breakfast and got over to the Green course.  The pro reminded me about the cart path only rule (he didn’t have to…it was obvious that if you took a cart into any fairway it would immediately become mired or stuck in the mud).  I decided that since I was here and needed to play it, let’s just get it done.  

 

I have never played on a course that was wetter…there was casual water literally everywhere and no place to take complete relief (but at least the rain had stopped overnight).  The very definition of a quagmire.  I played from the lady’s tees as quickly as I could…helping matters by holing out with a 75-yard wedge on the par 4 third hole.  Otherwise, the round and the course were completely unremarkable.  Rees Jones designed it in 1991 (his father RTJ, Sr. had designed the Gold Course here).  I actually played fairly well (41 – 40 =81) but did not post a score given the condition of the course and the liberties I took with relief.  At one point I took a nasty slide while walking downhill…but luckily no damage done.  I completed the round and checked the course off my list around 11:50am…and headed back to the room for a good nap.

 

Hank had asked me to come over to their house in Williamsburg for dinner.   His wife Dixie is wonderful and the house is superb.  We had another good evening trading golf stories and political thoughts.   I remained optimistic about the election’s eventual results but it was clear to me that no one really had a handle on this one.

 

We agreed to leave for Virginia Beach (a 55-minute drive) around 8:30am and planned on playing at 10am, which worked well for my schedule.

 

Bayville Golf Club, October 31, 2020:  The drive was easy.  Bayville is a high-end club located just north of Virginia Beach and about 0.5 miles east of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  It opened in 1995 having been molded into its current form from its predecessor dairy farm by Tom Marzorf of Tom Fazio’s shop.  While it has not appeared on a USA Top 100, it did host the 2011 US Women’s Mid  Amateur Championship.  

 

After hitting a few balls we teed off on #13. I thought the back nine was very very good…and in particular liked the par 5 15^th hole (even though I butchered it after three very good shots).  I was fairly disappointed by two holes on the eastern end of the property (#6 and #7).  The 6^th is a par 5 of 545 yards that is slightly uphill with a slight turn right and a tough semi-blind tee shot (a very good start), but when you get to the crest of the hill, the rest of the hole simply looks wide open and frankly a bit ordinary/boring…almost as if Marzorf had run out of ideas at this point.  To a somewhat lesser degree the same feels true on the par 4 478-yard 7^th hole.  I cannot remember any two holes like these that emanated from Fazio’s organization.

 

Otherwise, I thought it was an excellent course.  It is very exposed to the wind which swirls more than one would expect at a location like this, and some of the views are compelling.  Its conditioning was very good.  The par 72 plays to 7138 yards from the tips.  I had a decent 43 – 43 = 86 marred by mental errors on #15 and #9 that resulted in ugly double bogeys.

 

Wanting to do most of the trip to Pinehurst in daylight (this was the last day of DST), I grabbed a quick sandwich for the road, profusely thanked Hank for a very special 2+ days and headed west for the Sandhills.  I arrived home around 6:15pm and got busy reopening the house and unloading the car before collapsing in bed around 11:30pm.