Central CO October
22-24, 2015
YES…a hole in one!!
By my step-son, Clark Woolley on the 7th hole of Lakota
Canyon Ranch (went off on 10 so it was our 16th hole of round), New
Castle, CO (about 200 miles west of Denver) on October 24, 2015. Hole played about 187 yards, slightly uphill,
against a slight breeze. Hole is a punch
bowl and no part of the flagstick was visible.
Clark, who is a superb athlete, hardly plays any golf (I think this was
his 3rd round of the year) but can really launch it (hit a 7 iron,
which is pretty strong even with a 10% reduction in yardage because of
altitude…I figure the hole was playing about 175 yards adjusting for
uphill/wind/altitude). Twosome playing
ahead of us was on 8th tee (about 50’ above 7th green)
saw it go in and cheered!! This was
Clark’s first, and no doubt about it, he nailed it. He was happy as can be, and when we got to
the clubhouse 30 minutes later, no one was around for him to buy drinks.
Pat and I were in CO to see Clark, his bride Alexander, and
their daughter Sarah (3 years 8 months) and son Owen (just past his 1st
bday) in their new home on Glenwood Springs, CO (about 50 miles west of Vail
and 40 miles north of Aspen). They moved
there from Washington, DC and love it.
It was wonderful seeing all four of them for a few days. Pat is flying back to NC, and I am heading
west with my usual crazy itinerary.
Planning to play between now and November 12 the following courses:
USA
Seattle GC
Harding Park, San Francisco
Pronghorn GC—Fazio, Bend, OR
Crosswater Club, Bend, OR
South Korea
Anyang CC
Whistling Rock
Haesley Nine Bridges
South Cape
Jack Nicklaus GC Korea (host of President’s Cup 2 weeks ago)
Singapore
Singapore Island CC-Bukit Course
Indonesia
Bali Handara
Nirwana Bali
China
Spring City-Lake Course
Spring City-Mountain Course
Stone Forest- C Course (Leaders Peak)
Stone Forest-A Course
Mission Hills Haikou—Shadow Dunes
Mission Hills Haikou—Lava Fields
Sheshan International (host of HKSB Championship Nov 5-8)
Hoping for good weather and on time flights!! If I can get all of the above in, will have
made some serious progress on my bucket lists.
Clark and I played two local courses near their home,
Ironbridge (which is literally in their backyard as they live off the 17th
tee, and joined the club), and Lakota Canyon, about 20 miles west of their
home. Both were built on mountainous
terrain, which presents a lot of challenges for golf architects. Outside of nanny goats, I doubt anyone had
walked either course since they opened.
Par 5’s are a very real design challenge as it is difficult to find a
stretch of land over 550 yards in length without a gorge intervening…and these
gorges often create long carries without the possibility of a reasonable layup.
Weather was beautiful both Friday afternoon 10/23
(Ironbridge) and Saturday afternoon (Lakota).
Given the heavy rains Thursday through Friday morning, both courses
proved to drain quite well. Ironbridge
is the tougher of the two (and at times too tough and bordering on unfair), and
Tom Lehman has been renovating it to make some of the holes “softer”, which I
applaud. Lakota (designed by James Engh)
is the better of the two courses and very forgiving (too much so) with slopes
along both side of most fairways and greens typically surrounded on three sides
by large mounds, causing many misdirected shots to kick towards the fairway or
green. Of course, the views on both are
simply spectacular. Both play to about
7100 yards from the tips (par 72) and we played both from about 6300. Finishing late in the afternoon on both days,
it became very chilly once the sun started hiding behind the mountains, but we
got both rounds in. In summary, both are
good courses, but not “top100 quality”…remember
with some 15,500 course in the USA, the top 100 represents the top 0.6% and
with some 35,000 courses in the world (I am guessing), the top 100 worldwide represent
the top 0.3%...fairly lofty territory.
Lakota was #46 on Golf Week’s 2006 Top 100 Modern Courses in
the USA list, but on the merged list of Modern and Classic, that came out to
#105. In 2007, Lakota dropped to #97 on
the Modern list and then dropped off.
Am now flying to Seattle, hoping the rain does not start
till late this afternoon…
Seattle Golf Club October 25, 2015: Made a very short visit to Seattle to play
Seattle GC. Main reason was to finish a
mini-bucket list---playing every course that has hosted a Walker Cup
Match. There will have been 45 matches played
to date, 23 in GB&I and 22 in the USA.
The 23 held in GB&I have been hosted by 13 different clubs, and I
had played all of these 13 by 2013. The
22 held in the USA have been hosted by 18 different clubs, and with my playing
Seattle GC, I have now played all 18. Additionally,
I have played the announced venues for future Matches (2017, 2019, and
2021).
To be completely forthcoming, I should point out that a
Match had been originally scheduled at The Town & Country Club in St. Paul,
MN to be played in 1940, but that Match was cancelled due to the start of World
War II hostilities. I have not played
Town & Country, but since that Match was never held, believe that does not
blemish my completion of the Walker Cup venues.
Seattle GC was founded in 1900 and hosted the 1952 US
Amateur as well as the 1961 Walker Cup Match (which, as a historical note, was
the last important Amateur event played by Jack Nicklaus before he turned professional
in late 1961). In terms of Top 100
listings, its only appearances were on Golf Week’s first six Top 100 Classic
Course listings (from 1997-2002) including a peak of #79 in 1999. However, it never appears on my “merged” Golf
Week lists.
Seattle is a beautiful and superb club and is generally
regarded to be the most prestigious Golf Club in the State of Washington. The golf course (which was redesigned about
20 years ago by Arnold Palmer) is very very good, and is one I could play every
day without being bored. The greens are
difficult and while the course is relatively short by today’s standards (6836
yards par 72), the climate in the Seattle area makes the course play much
longer.
TPC Harding Park October 26, 2015: Harding Park Golf Course (named after
President Warren Harding) was completed in 1925 (originally designed by Sam
Whiting, who also designed The Olympic Club’s Lake Course which sits directly
across Lake Merced) and has been a municipal course owned by the City of San
Francisco ever since. About 12 years
ago, an extensive renovation led by Sandy Tatum was completed which extended
the course to its current 7169 yards.
Since then, it has hosted the President’s Cup (2009, and scheduled for
2025), the 2005 American Express Championship (part of the WGC series), and the
2015 Cadillac Match Play (also part of the WGC series). The 2020 PGA Championship is scheduled for
Harding Park. Its only appearance on a
“Top” listing was in Golf Digest initial “200 Toughest Courses in the USA” list
published in 1966. As you will recall,
that list was purely alphabetical.
The course is very good and while its condition is very good
for a municipal course, it is too wet, soft and slow to be considered to be in
very good condition. Played it with two
members of California Club (where I stayed the nights of 10/25 and 27) and we
were the first group off and finished playing in about 3:30. Then back to Cal Club for lunch with a former
club president who shepherded Cal Club’s phenomenal renovation completed in
2008. Then it was off to Bend, OR to see
a couple we met at our ISAGS trip to South Africa in March, and play 36 holes
on Tuesday.
Pronghorn Golf Club (Fazio) October 27, 2015: After my flight was delayed, arrived at our
friend’s house around 9:30pm. My first
time here in the Oregon high desert and was interested in seeing Bend as I had
heard wonderful things about it. It is
very late in their season and getting in 36 will require some luck, as there
usually are frost delays here this time of year. Sure enough, frost was on the ground Tuesday
morning but we were able to tee off on Pronghorn Fazio by 9:45am. This gave us time for a quick “drive-by” tour
of Bend which is an old lumber mining town that is now a premier “destination
town” for golf and skiing with tons of other activities. Oregon’s Cascade Mountains provide a fabulous
backdrop for a neat neat area. Got the
sense that the Chamber of Commerce boasts are pretty accurate.
This upscale club opened in 2004 with a course designed by
Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio’s course opened in 2006. In terms of my Top 100 listings, the Fazio
course was on the Golf Week merged list in 2010 and 2012 (highest rating was
#88 in 2010). Plan was to play the Fazio
and the Crosswater Club (20 miles south of Pronghorn) as both have been on my
USA Top 100 lists (always keeping bucket lists in mind) rather than both at
Pronghorn. The Fazio course is very
private and the Nicklaus course is open to the public.
The Fazio course is really very very good…one of the best
Fazio tracks I have played (note: I am
not a big Fazio fan). It is not in the
same league as Gozzer Ranch (ID) which I played last year, and Wade Hampton
(NC) is clearly better (in my always humble opinion) but otherwise it is one of
the best Fazio’s I have played…in the same league as Diamond Creek (NC),
Estancia (AZ), John’s Island-West (FL), and Martis Camp (CA) among others. Back better than front and best holes are #7,
12, 14, and 15 and most interesting is #8:
#7…tough
496 yard par 4 that starts with a fairly mundane looking tee shot and a superb
setting of the approach (in that regard, similar to the brilliant #15 at Gozzer
Ranch);
#8…187 yard downhill par 3 created
by blasting out tons of volcanic rock which uncovered a long, deep lava tube underground
(now visible from the “crater” created by the blasting and excavation) and
created a green setting surrounded on three sides by a 10’ high wall of lava
rock;
#12 is a short 500 yard par 5 that
gets very interesting in its final 100 yards due to a small green (with a
“false left side”) hidden behind a large fairway bunker positioned about 65-80
yards from the center of the green (and at the base of a small hill that blocks
any view of the green if you lay up short of the bunker);
#14 is a short/drivable 312 yard
par 4 uphill to a very very narrow but deep (56 yards) green that slopes from
front to back over a crest and surrounded by small dunes left and right; off
the tee, the player must decide whether to try to carry a very large bunker in
the center of the fairway about 75-100 yards short of the green center;
#15 is a tough tough 515 yd par 5
favoring a draw off the tee and a fading second to a raised green angled from
right front to back left.
At 7456 yards (par 72), this is a big course which includes
a 676 yard par 5 ninth hole.
While it would be hard to consider this to be a “natural”
course, it is really very well done. We
were the first played off and finished in exactly three hours…and it was off to
Crosswater.
Crosswater Club October 27, 2015: Located in Sunriver, OR about 20 miles south
of Bend. Opened just over 10 years ago,
Crosswater was completed just over 20 years ago. It is a very big course…stretching to 7683
yards (par 72). The Little Deschutes
River crosses the course seven times and results in a lot of wetlands coming
into play. It was designed by Robert
Cupp and in terms of Top 100’s, it has been:
--on Golf
Digest’s USA list in 1999 and 2001 (peak rating #80 in 1999)
--on my
merged Golf Week USA list 1997-2002 (peak #58 in 2001)
It is relatively flat, obviously long, and very tough. But it is also somewhat dated. Good course but not Top 100 quality
today. It did however win the “battle of
the par 5’s” having extended its 12th hole to 687 yards, thereby
beating Pronghorn’s #9 by 11 yards. I
played from the White/Senior tees…6138 yards total and 572 yards on this 12th…and
somehow did not reach #12 in three. Not
my style of course (although I sunk a 6 footer on 18 for a 79).
We played Crosswater in three hours but it was chilly and
damp especially on the back. Got all 6
USA courses in over the past 5 days.
Actually made the 36 today with plenty of time to spare.
List Status:
OK…where do we stand?
First, now have played:
--785
courses over my lifetime;
--125
courses to date in 2015 (94 of which were new for me)
--166.5
rounds to date this year
In terms of bucket list, aside from completing all Walker
Cup Match host courses, the following improvements (items in italics) in my lists were made:
1.
Worldwide
Top 100 Ever from seven sources: 263 courses on list, 245 played, and 18 to go
(Asia—11, Australia/NZ—5; Europe and Caribbean 1 each).
2. US
Open Venues: 54 in total, 52 played and two to go (Skokie-IL and Brae Burn-MA)
3. 1939
“First Top 100” (spoof): 101 courses (two tied for 100 spot), 81 played, 5 no
longer exist, and 15 to go (England-6; USA-1; Cont Europe-3; S Africa-2;
Canada-1; Sri Lanka-1; Vietnam-1)
4.
USA
Top 100 Ever from five sources: 338 courses on list, 293 played, 2 no longer
exist, and 43 to play
5. Men’s
Major Venues Ever: total of 121 courses,
93 played, 1 no longer exists, and 29 to go (2 US Open...see #2 above; 27 PGA)
6.
“Cups”—Walker,
Ryder, and Presidents: total of 69 courses, 56 played, and 13 to play (RC-12;
PC-1)
The next 16 days or so will make major improvements in #1
and a small improvement in #6 if the trip goes as planned. Will feed you updates as the trip proceeds.
Flight back to San Francisco went smoothly and again stayed
at Cal Club. It is now Wednesday mid-day
as I get ready to fly to Seoul this afternoon.
Interesting Ride:
Made good use of Uber on this trip as I did not rent cars in
Seattle or San Francisco. Sunday night
on my ride from SFO to Cal Club, I asked my driver a few questions…they are
summarized below with his answers in italics:
1. Where
are you from? Beirut Lebanon
2.
How long have you been driving for
Uber? Two years
3.
Do you have another job? I am studying at U of Cal
(Berkeley)
4.
What field and what degree are you
seeking? Masters degree in Nuclear Engineering.
5.
What do you plan to do when you get the
degree? Go back to Beirut.
You can draw your own conclusions, but my bet is that he has
a federally funded grant paying his way for his studying here.
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