Midwest Trip (plus KY) May 15-19, 2017
(Part III)
The sequencing of all these
trips is a function of logistics (flight schedules, geography, etc.) as well as
schedules at the clubs I am visiting.
Even with the randomness of these factors (although some factors are not
random…many clubs are closed on Mondays, Friday/Saturday/Sunday are usually the
busiest days, etc.), trips like these tend to have their own ebb and flow. This trip was no different. It started with me playing four special
courses (Flossmoor, Beverly, Lost Dunes, and Moraine). Then I played Miami Valley the afternoon
of 5/17…and was facing two courses on
5/18 which were generally not considered to be exceptional, followed by two
track on 5/19 that I was really looking forward to.
Kenwood Country Club
(Kendale), May 18, 2017: Kenwood CC is located in the suburbs of Cincinnati
northeast of downtown. The club was founded
in the summer of 1929 (not the best of timing given the Depression commenced in
late October 1929). Donald Ross
consulted for the club regarding site selection but apparently was not involved
with the design of the club’s two courses (Kendale and Kenview)…William Diddel
was the designing architect. Kenwood has
hosted two important USGA Championships, the US Amateur in 1933 and the US
Woman’s Open in 1963. Its only
appearance on a “top 100” list was the initial Golf Digest 1966 “200 Toughest”
list, which, you will recall, was alphabetical and did not rate the courses
numerically. Sometime in the 1950’s or
1960’s, I-71 was constructed and cut off the northwest corner of Kenwood’s
property, which required a reconfiguration of the both courses.
Kendale plays to 7015
yards. I shot a mediocre 42-42=84. It is heavily tree lined and in very good
condition. At this stage of my trip I
was getting tired (which may well have affected by opinions), but I found the
course to be fairly good, but generally not fun or particularly interesting
compared to the likes of Beverly and Moraine.
For sure this is an unfair comparison as Kendale is far above average
compared the about 15,000 courses in the USA…but when compared to the USA Top
100, it clearly does not measure up.
After the round, it was back in
the car for a drive of about 110 miles (1 hour 40 minutes) to Louisville, where
I was scheduled to play Big Spring CC.
Big Spring Country Club, May
18, 2017: Big Spring was founded in
1926 and in 2014 it merged with Harmony Landing, another country club located
in the Louisville area. Big Spring
hosted the 1952 PGA Championship won by Jim Turnesa. It plays to 6958 yards on fairly hilly
terrain. In 2004, the course was fully
renovated by Rees Jones. My comments regarding
Kenwood apply to Big Spring as well…and my game reflected that (42-43 =
85). One good thing was that I got both
of these rounds completed without being stopped by thunderstorms that had been
predicted. I was finished by around 3pm. However one “streak” stopped…I lost my first
ball on the trip…not bad…had played 6 rounds and 5 holes before dumping a ball
in a pond.
My plan was to play the Donald
Ross course at French Lick Resort in Indiana first thing in Friday morning 5/19
and then Camargo in Cincinnati in the afternoon (and then fly back to Boston
from Cincy Friday night). However, the
weather forecast looked bad for Friday morning in French Lick, IN. I had a 90-minute drive from Louisville to
French Lick and figured if I could squeeze in 9 holes or so at French Lick that
afternoon, that might increase my chances of completing the Ross Course on this
trip (French Lick is pretty isolated and I wanted top avoid the need for a
return trip). Then I realized that since
I could play by 5pm, I would have enough time to finish 18 at the Ross
course…and then would have played 3 different courses in three different states
(OH, KY, and IN) in one day! That of
course got my insane juices running and I was quickly on the phone to the
resort, only to learn that there was a high school match scheduled starting at
about 4pm, and the course would be completely closed for that match. I even inquired about playing later behind
the event, but that wasn’t permitted either.
In any case, when I arrived, T-storms had hit and Ross was closed
temporarily due to the storms (they were able to finish the high school match).
So I got some much needed rest
and relaxed for the evening.
French Lick Resort—Ross
Course, May 19, 2017: Despite a dire
forecast as of the night before, the sun was out as I approached the first tee
around 7:15am. I was the first off and
playing alone…which was necessary with my schedule.
I had been in French Lick in
July 2013 to play The Dye Course…a 8102 yard monster (course rating of 80.0 and
slope of 148)…here is what I wrote about the Dye Course in an email to a few of
you four years ago (btw…it did rain that day in 2013):
Pete Dye at French Lick--incredible. about 8100+ yds from
back...huge elevation changes...greens going every which way...seems like
hundreds of tiny pot bunkers. Pete Dye on steroids. Incredible
vistas from many tees and greens...and something to behold, but certainly not a
course to "enjoy" and even missing some qualities I would want to see
in a great championship course. Yes, it is a sight to see, and yes it is
very very tough...but no real charm (although clubhouse is charming). Did
not play the restored Ross track which i gather is very very good. Such
is the penalty i pay for chasing my bucket lists.
Before I teed off, the starter
advised that the Ross Course has more elevation changes than the Dye, and I
gulped! Ross is actually very good, but 3
of 4 par 3’s are very long (240/249/252/151 yards from tips…my tees were far
more reasonable. Fairways and greens
were fairly “hairy” perhaps because of recent rain but I also sense they keep
the grass on the long side to keep it healthy with the heavy amount of play.
Ross Course opened in 1917 and
in 1924 was the host venue for the PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen. At the time if was known as the Hill Course
(and deserves that name). It was
renovated in 2005, plays to 7030 yards (par 72), and was renamed the Ross
Course in 2005. Since then it has hosted
LPGA and Senior Tour events. It has
never been included on a USA or Global Top 100.
It was very windy and I was
striking the ball very well, especially on the back nine (40 – 38 = 78). Greens are fairly wild and with the exception
of the long long par 3’s and a strange short par 4 8th (too long to
explain) I liked the course…but it does not belong on a USA 100. A couple of pictures follow:
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| French Lick Ross from 1st tee |
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| French Lick Ross #4--uphill 240 yards and was playing into stiff wind! |
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| French Lick Ross approach on #17...two tired green, left and right |
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| French Lick Ross 2nd shot on 420 yard par 4 18th |
Getting this one in meant I had
played five former PGA Championship venues on this trip (Flossmoor, Beverly,
Moraine, Miami Valley, and French Lick-Ross), leaving me with only 12 more to
play to complete the Grand Slam Ever.
After the round, thanked the
staff and pro, and jumped in my car to head to Cincinnati (187 miles,
approximately 3 hours) to revisit Camargo, a simply brilliant Seth Raynor
design that I first played in September 2012.
Camargo Club, May 19, 2017: The prior week I hosted Quentin L., one of
the founders of The Outpost Club (and one of the 34 people who have finished a
Golf Magazine World 100) and a friend of his, Hunter M. Hunter’s stepfather
belongs to Camargo and he set me up with Rob Z. to play with on 5/19.
Robb, who is a corporate
litigator had two other guests, Charlie and Eric (both young attorneys as well). We had a quick lunch on Camargo’s patio and
went over to the first tee. I caught up with
head pro Tom Cecil…wonderful guy whom I had met back in 2012. The weather looked questionable but we teed
off around 1:30. The course was in great
shape…very fast and firm, just as it should be played. Weather looked good through about 6 holes,
and then some darker clouds started appearing.
It rained briefly when we were on #9, but we went on, and were walking
out to our drives on #13 when the siren went off signaling lightning strikes in
the area. To the clubhouse we went
hoping this was a small cell that would quickly blow over…but that was not to
be…it didn’t rain for a while but the lightning stayed a threat, and eventually
it became clear that golf for the day was over.
Certainly a bit disappointing, but twelve holes here probably is better
than 18 at 99.7-99.8% of the courses in the world. And given my good luck weather wise on my
trips to date…no complaints here. Of the
first 12 holes, the best IMO are:
o
#2, a 529 yard par 5 (“Valley”) doglegging
right. Drive is slightly uphill and then
fairway dips down into a big valley…much deeper than it looks (I can testify to
that) and must be carried to avoid a blind third shot;
o
#3, a short (320 yard) straight par 4
(“Plateau”)…but be careful off the tee to avoid the right side as it drops off
sharply into “never never land”…except for the fact that the best way into the
green is from the right as the left front of the green is well protected by a
deep bunker!
o
#4, a 454 yard dogleg left par 4 (“Narrows”)
where Raynor plays with your mind. On
the tee, it looks like you want to play down the left side…but there is a deep
hollow to the left of the dogleg (blind from the tee) that must be avoided and
you guessed it, the landing area is narrow…part of the “chess game” between
great architect and golfer I have written about previously;
o
#5, 179 yard par 3 (“Eden”) with a huge infinity
green angled to the left and sloping sharply back to front…any pin on the left
side of this green is a true “sucker pin”…do not fire at it!
o
#7, 427 yard par 4 (“Alps”) with punchbowl green
and bunkers in front of green within the punchbowl that slope from front to
back…highly unusual look!!
o
#8, 227 yard “Biarritz” par 3...this one with
hollow in front of the green
o
#11, 140 yard “Short” par 3…simplest design
going and this is one of the great “Short” adaptations.
Unfortunately, I missed the par
3 15th “Redan”, the par 4 16th “Maiden” (green with two plateaus in
back separated by a valley…you can guess why I like this design), and the par 5
17th “Road” hole.
My view of this course is very
simple. First Seth Raynor is my favorite
architect ever. Second, I think Camargo
is his finest inland course. There are
no great views, the bunkering does exactly what it is supposed to do to impact
play, but is not designed to look spectacular.
This is simply great golf architecture in its purest sense…in that way
very similar to Kingston Heath (Melbourne, Australia) in terms of the pure
greatness of its architecture. Enough
said? BTW…the club is as good as the
course. I loved it five years ago…and it
was even better this time. The huge
greens here were very firm and fast…and their slopes had to be respected. One last point...Raynor passed away before Camargo's construction was completed...so course was finished by Charles Banks. It was Raynor's last effort and may reflect the boldness he developed. Imagine what he might have built of he had lived longer...
Only pics I took were of #6...see below:
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| Camargo #6 368 yd par 4...approach shot...anything shot quickly becomes VERY short |
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| Camargo #6 front edge of green...subtle but effective false front |
Regarding Top 100’s. Globally, Camargo has been as high as #43 (GM
in 1995). It is now #57 on GM and #59 on
Top100golfcourses.com. In the USA, its
highest rating ever was #25 (again, GM
in 1995). Currently it is #31 on GM, #27
on GW, and #52 on GD…shame on that last rating!
It has never hosted a major event and at 6659 yards today, it is way to
short for today’s world-class players.
There is plenty of room to extend the course to 7200+ yards, but that is
the last thing I would expect. Camargo
is secure in its own skin, knowing golfers playing it usually have one thought
when then putt out on the 18th green: “when can I go back out for
another 18 holes?”
After a refreshing shower it was
to the airport. Was great to get home!!
OK…how do I stand at this point
(as of May 19, 2017)?
Courses played—930
States played–44 of 50
PGA Championship sites not
played (and still existing)—12
US Open, Open Championship,
Masters sites not played (and still existing)—0
Cups sites (Ryder, Presidents,
Walker, Solheim, Curtis) not played (and still existing)—6
US Amateur sites not played (and
still existing)
US Senior Open/Senior Open
Championship sites not played (and still existing)—7
USA Top 100 (Using merged
Golfweek list)--16
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