94. WI Finale to Crazy Trip

WI Finale to Crazy Trip

Flight from Reno to LV went well but we were delayed by a minor equipment issue on LVàMilwaukee flight.  Eventually arrived around 40 minutes late and then faced long line at car rental counter, so ended up about an hour late getting to Blue Mound which is northwest of the city.

Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, August 24, 2017:  Over the past 2-3 three years I had started to hear very special and very positive rumblings about Blue Mound.  I learned that it was a Seth Raynor design, and one of his last courses before his untimely passing…and that it had been beautifully restored.  Additionally, earlier this year I met a BMGCC member who is a fellow member of CCNC, Mark R., whose opinions I respect, who advised that I needed to see it (unfortunately for me, Mark was traveling on golf business on 8/24). 

I pulled into the club’s very hidden entrance around 4:10pm and soon was looking at one of the great clubhouses built in the 1920’s…very much reminding me to Country Club of Detroit, Detroit GC, The Park (Buffalo), Mountain Ridge (NJ), and Winged Foot.  I entered the pro shot and had wonderful conversation with head pro Barry Linhart…a wonderful, and engaging gentleman.  During this conversation, I learned that the concept of a restoration of BMGCC arose during a visit by the late George Bahto, a NJ dry cleaner who became the world’s foremost expert on the works of C. B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor.  Bahto looked at what apparently was an overgrown, overtreed, soft, wet course with greens that had shrunk over the years and asked the principals and leaders of the Club: “Do you know what you have here?”  As they say, the rest is history.  Bruce Hepner led the Renaissance (Tom Doak) Golf team that did the renovation.

By 4:30 I was in a cart and headed to the first tee.  The layout here is similar to Muirfield, Quaker Ridge, Onwentsia, etc. with the front nine circling the property (in this case clockwise) and the back line inside the front nine.  As I approached the first tee, I could sense my adrenaline rising…the course looked and felt magnificent…and greeting me at the first tee was the following statue of my favorite architect:

 

Raynor sculpture off first tee

I will try to be brief in describing BMGCC…but please note, as good as it is…Camargo in the Cincinnati area is still my favorite inland Raynor.  First the par 3’s…there are four and they cover the four best par 3 templates and are superb: Biarritz (#3 with the swale in front of the green), Short (#7); Redan (#13); and Eden (#17).  Other great template holes are Alps (#4), Road (#5), Punchbowl (#8), Cape (#11), and Leven (#16—which did me in).  The course is in superb condition and very firm and fast. 

From the tips, BMGCC now plays to a relatively short 6666 yards…but that is plenty of length for 98% of club players.  My adrenaline was pumping every minute of the round and I shot a solid 39-41 = 80.  It hosted the 1933 PGA Championship (won by Gene Sarazen).  In terms of Top 100’s it has never made a list.  Having discovered this “Hidden Gem” it is time to get it known to the golfing world!  And one more final thought on Milwaukee…this city (once an industrial powerhouse) is home to two great old tracks/clubs…the combination of Milwaukee CC and Blue Mound G&CC represents a pair of great ones often unrecognized (or even unknown) by the golfing world (and…quite frankly, by moi, before seeing them, for the first time in 2013 and 2017)…plus the superb Lawsonia Links some 90-100 miles to the northwest.  Yes, the new great ones of Sand Valley, Erin Hills, and Whistling Straits (but excluding Irish Straights which I hate) generate much publicity…but forget not the above mentioned threesome of old great ones that provide the base!

Abundant low quality photographs follow:

Blue Mound clubhouse from the golf course

2nd shot on 497 yd par 5 5th hole (Road Hole)--see Road Hole Bunker just in front of green

Slightly uphill approach shot from behind cross bunkers on Road Hole...better view of Road Hole Bunker

445 yd par 4 Punchbowl #8 from the tee...sharply uphill and slight turn left to green

 

Approach shot on #8 Punchbowl

Green on #8 Punchbowl with my ball behind pin...just before I sunk my 7' birdie putt!!  (ball on front right of green was  practice shot I hit after after my first approach shot with 3-utility)

185 yard par 3 #13 Redan Hole

Redan hole from behind...catch that shape on the green from golfer's right (from left side of pic)

355 yd #16 Leven Hole green from back right--I hit my 8 iron approach over ---and  quick double bogey ensued

191 yard Eden par 3 #17 from in front of "infinity" green

#17 green falls off in back to this bunker

2nd shot on 560 yard par 5 18th with clubhouse in background

Sand Valley Golf Resort, August 25, 2017:  I left around 7:30pm and headed west and then north heading for the latest Mike Keiser creation…Sand Valley Golf Resort located near Nekoosa, WI, a drive of about 2:30.  All went well until my iPhone GPS application (Apple Maps using GPS data from Tom Tom) left me at the end of an abandoned road that had been used during the construction phrase.  I looked at a signpost with about 4-5 instructions on how to get to the resort from this location and cursed a bit.  About 10 minutes later I had progressed about ½ mile to the resort after wondering if I would meet my demise by getting totally lost around 10pm in northwestern WI.  In any case, I did finally get to my room and got some sleep.  This would be 27 holes…18 on Sand Valley and 9 on SV’s second course…Mammoth Dunes, which is still under construction. 

Had arranged to meet a golfing buddy from Pinehurst and CCNC, Gail K. at SV.  Gail and his wife Sherry are from Minneapolis and belong to Spring Hill GC and Wayzata CC there.  Gail and I had originally planned to do a trip with wives through MN, WI, and MI’s Upper Peninsula some time over the summer, but that fell through given the complexities of all of our travel schedules.  So when I realized that Blue Mound and Sand Valley would be a logistically possible end to this ridiculous trip (and a perfect fit for my remaining bucket list items), I called Gail and he was free for August 25. 

Gail had arrived the afternoon before while I was just arriving in Milwaukee (and had similar issues finding SV) so we met Friday morning for an early breakfast.  We had the second tee time and both play pretty quickly which helped given my (as usual) tight schedule.  The plan was to play the first course, Sand Valley, and then have a quick lunch.  At that point Gail had to head west to the Twin Cities for a dinner party, and I planned to play nine holes on the second course, Mammoth Dunes (still under construction…more later).

For those of you who have been living in a cave for the past 20+ years, Mike Keiser created the first recycled paper greeting card company and sold it about 25-30 years ago for something like $125 million.  By then he had been bitten by the golf bug and wanted to build his own course.  His first effort in this regard resulted in the Dunes Club in SW Michigan (he is from Chicago…about 90 minutes away)…which may be the best 9 holes course and club in the USA.  His second effort is called Bandon Dunes.  If you need to know more, Google his name which will be much easier than my typing more about him.

Keiser has completed the first course (Sand Valley), a clubhouse, lodges and rooms, etc etc.  Coore & Crenshaw designed Sand Valley and it had a soft opening last year and an official opening May 2, 2017.  A second course, Mammoth  Dunes, designed by David McLay Kidd is still under construction (9 holes now open for play) with a projected opening in 2018 for all 18 (a 17 hole...no typo there…par 3 course designed by Coore-Crenshaw is also expected to open officially in 2018).

Sand Valley Golf Course, August 25, 2017:  To my mind, this is another brilliant example of what the combination of Mike Keiser and today’s great architects (Coore-Crenshaw, Tom Doak, David McLay Kidd, etc.) find when they hunt for wonderful natural land just waiting to be discovered.  It is fun, challenging and fair, and when I finished 18 I wanted to play it again.  Filled with wide fairways, angles and options, few if any forced carries, the opportunity (in many cases necessity) to run approach shots into the green, difficult run off areas around the greens, and large difficult greens to putt…it is a classic example of strategic architecture.  To date ratings have been favorable but not overwhelming.  Earlier this year Golf Week had it as #61 on its Top 100 Modern list, which equated to #133 on my GW Merged list (however, it is important to note that all of the play contributing to that rating was from 2016, prior to SV’s official opening).  Golf Magazine last week published its 2017 Worldwide and USA Top 100’s…SV was ranked #52 in the US Top 100, but did not make the cut for the World Top 100 (however, for the first time GM also published the 15 courses that “just missed” and SV came in #111 on that list).

Interesting story on how this place became “Bandon Dunes Midwest”.  In 2012, a Chicago businessman named Craig Halton and his wife were hiking in this part of Wisconsin (about 250 miles from Chicago) and came across this vast expanse of towering sand dunes.  Craig is a golfer and reached out to Mike Keiser, who at first was not high on the idea.  But Keiser did dent one of his lieutenants out to look, and the report came back “you are not going to like this but this place is fabulous” (or something along those lines).  The rest is history as Keiser purchased 1700 acres and now one of the poorest counties in WI is undergoing a boom in tourism, jobs, etc etc.  Interestingly, I am told by a reliable source that Keiser has been surprised by the large number of visitors from Minneapolis-St Paul (3.5 hours away compared with 2.5 hours from Milwaukee and 3.5 from Chicago).  That news did not surprise me at all…Minnesota is like Michigan Massachusetts regarding golf…a relatively short season but the people there who play are dedicated golfers and when it does swarm up in late spring, they get their rounds in while da gettn is good!  A little so-so weather does not hold them back.

The course was in fabulous condition…very firm and fast.  The dunes and waste areas are something to behold.  The par 3’s are a superb collection.  The greens are close to perfect…and fit right into the landscape, as do the fairways.  Stretches to 6913 yards par 72 (5 par 5’s and 5 par 3’s).  And the accommodations, food, etc. and simply outstanding (without being over the top)…just like Bandon and Cabot.  No surprise with any of this…Coore-Crenshaw is IMHO the best architectural firm around, and Keiser has “played this course” before.  He has a “model” for an upscale, great, minimalist golf resort and is simply repeating it brilliantly.

Sand Valley 216 yd #3 Redan in a terrible photo

593 yd par 5 4th uphill to green

4th hole from 5th tee located behind 4th green 

175 yard par 3 #5...downhill to turtleback green and my tee shot fell off the turtle's back

136 yard par 3 #8 to 3 tiered green...amongst the toughest 136 yard holes you will find

563 yard par 5 10th, downhill off tee; stock a 9-iron to about 4' for birdie

View from SV #9 to Mammoth Dunes #6 and #7

I played well with a 41-38 = 79 and no bogies on the par 3’s (had four pars and one double bogey 5)

The only question going forward is “does today’s golfer ever tire of strategically designed (wide fairways, wide fairways with lots of options, firm-fast conditions, big interesting greens complexes) in remote locations?”  I hope not…but stranger things have happened.

Mammoth Dunes, August 25, 2017:  After lunch w Gail, he headed west a few yards and walked over to the first tee of Mammoth Dunes.  A key part of Keiser’s model is to have at least two courses in an area to attract golfers and make the journey to remote locations worthwhile (hence the purchase of 1700 acres).  The second course at Sand Valley Resort is Mammoth Dunes, designed by David McLay Kidd…a Scotland whose initial breakthrough came when he designed the wonderful Bandon Dunes course for Keiser about 17 years ago.  Apparently, over the years since Keiser had grown unhappy with the newer courses designed by Kidd.  Then Kidd designed Gamble Sands in central WA (see blog post from last month) and in exchange for doing a favor for Keiser asked him to go see and play Gamble Sands.  That round put Kidd back on the “A list” and got him this assignment.

Most of the work is done with nine holes open for play (1-5 and 15-18).  The other nine holes (6-14) are in the grow-in phase and are scheduled to open spring 2018 (along with the Coore-Crenshaw 17 hole par 3 course).  These nine total 3674 yards (par 37) but I would guess the completed course will end up around 6900-7000 yards.   Keiser is not trying to build courses to hold majors or PGA Tour events…I think he recognizes that golf has become bifurcated and he is catering to the amateur player and smartly avoiding the “monster” tracks build in the 1970’s and 1980’s.  I also think has a “hedge strategy”, jic.  If my memory is correct, most of the holes on his courses have plenty of room for lengthening should tastes change and/or technology continue to lead to longer and longer shots by players at all levels.

Mammoth Dunes #2 across to hole #1

Approach shot on MD #2 par 4 of 410 yards

MD par 3 207 uphill---great hole

It really is too early to tell how good Mammoth Dunes will be.  The fairways and greens were much slower than SV as the young grass needs time to mature before being closely cropped and rolled.  The word I had heard before my visit is that the Kidd parcel may be a better piece of land than the Coore-Crenshaw.  Again too early to tell but based on the nine holes I played it certainly is more dramatic.  2018 should be an important and interesting year for the Keiser organization.

I ended up shooting a 41 for this nine…and look forward to completing play here in late 2018 or 2019 (assuming the legs are still working).

After thanking the staff, and reconfirming driving instructions, I was off for Milwaukee airport, concluding a tough but highly successful trip.  I again lucked out weather-wise.  In terms of my bucket lists, at this point I stood at:

            --980 courses played to date;

            --50 States--DONE

            --7 more to complete the USA Top 100 EVER (4 from Golf Digest lists and 3 from Golf Week lists…Golf Magazine is done)

            --3 more PGA sites to complete the Men’s Majors EVER

            --2 to complete the “Cups” EVER (Ryder, Presidents, Walker, Solheim, Curtis)

            --1 to complete US Senior Open EVER (British Senior Open EVER done)

            --1 to complete US Am EVER (British Am EVER done)

            --2 to complete US Mid-Am EVER (no British Mid-Am)

            --2 courses to complete the ’16 and ’17 GW Top 100 Classic and Modern.

In total, 17 to go.

Got home a little earlier than expected and fairly tired but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter, and I can’t hear a train coming!!