112. Exploring New England

112.  Exploring New England

Other issues were keeping me close to home in mid-late June, so I did so cleaning up of some courses I wanted to play around here. First visits were to two PGA Tour venues south and west of Boston.

TPC Boston, June 19, 2018:  For some reason, I had never gone down to play TPC Boston, which has been host venue for one of the Fed Express Cup playoff events since 2007.  I have never been a huge fan of TPC courses (with the possible exception of the original in Sawgrass, FL) and so was not expecting much…and low and behold I was pleasantly surprised!  

The course originally opened in 2002 (designed by Arnold Palmer) and then was “redesigned” (sound like more than a renovation or restoration) by Gil Hanse working with Brad Faxon in 20017.  The playing corridors have been widened considerably…and I would vote for more efforts along these lines…but right now it is a very very good golf course.  Has never been on a USA Top 10.  Best hole IMO is par 3 11^th, 231 yards to raised green well protected by a mammoth bunker on front right.  I can assure you that my selection of 11 as the best hole has nothing to do with the fact that I put a 3-wood to about 8 feet (played from 175 yards).  Front nine is very flat but back nine had good land movement.  Lots of wetlands throughout property but course played firm and fast during my round. Well worth the trip!

Pleasant Valley Country Club, June 20, 2018:  The next day I headed west instead of south to play Pleasant Valley CC.  PVCC hosted PGA Tour events 32 times from 1965-1998 starting with the Carling World Open boasting a total purse of $200,000 (winning purse was probably $40,000…compared to $1.0-2.0 million today).  In 1967-8 and 1970-74, it hosted the Women’s PGA Championship.  Between those two tours, golfers named Hogan, Nicklaus, Trevino, Palmer, Snead, Lema, Casper, Floyd, Whitworth, and Bradley walked these fairways.  

It is a good course, but certainly not great. The most interesting thing about it to me is the narrow roads leading to it…cannot understand how it handled any galleries, and provided parking to patrons…but the Tour was much smaller in those days.

Pleasant Valley opened in 1961 and was designed by Donald Hoenig.  It went through remodeling in 1970 (Geoffrey Cornish and William Robinson), 1984 (Brian Ault and Tom Clark), and in 2001 and 2005 by Robert McNeil.  It was on Golf Digest’s 200 Toughest lists in 1966 and 1967.

I played well…having a 39 - 38 = 77.

The next week I ventured to Maine, and then south in to Connecticut.

Kebo Valley Club, June 26, 2018:  Two day trip started around 4:00am on 6/26…I had a 4:45 drive (290 miles up to Kebo Valley Club near Bar Harbor, Maine).  Arrived in time for my 9:20 tee time.  Kebo Valley was #100 on the GW USA Top 100 Classic list in 1997, and on GD’s 200 Toughest in 1966 and ‘67…it was out of the way to say the least but if I was to finish this bucket list, I had to get there.  The one piece of good news I had was from a friend from Brookline who advised the week before that he summered there as a teenager and the course was fun and interesting.

Kebo Valley Club was founded in 1888 and the next year opened with six holes designed by Herbert Leeds…who would go on to design Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, MA, and Palmetto Club in Aiken, SC (my favorite “Hidden Gem”).  In 1911, President Taft has a 27 on what is now the 17^thhole.  

Pres. Taft's 17th Hole...that is a BIG hill and BIGGER bunker

I understand that record still stands.  In 1920, the club purchased additional acreage and expanded to its present 18 holes.  It is a great piece of history, and still a very playable course today. I had a 39-41 = 80, with my bogey 5 coming a full 22 strokes short of President Taft’s record.

Kebo #13 green from back left...front of green protected by bumps/moguls

Penobscot Valley Country Club, June 26, 2018:  Two days earlier I did some additional research regarding other clubs in Maine, and focused on Penobscot Valley CC, located 58 miles from Kebo Valley (and on the way back to MA) that had some very good reviews.  It was on the GD 200 Toughest lists in 1966 and ’67.  So it got added to my schedule, and I arrived around 1pm.  Penobscot Valley was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1924. It had been sold to an operator of several courses in Maine in September 2017.

On this day the course was essentially empty. There were signs of construction and renovation…but no evidence of any work being done on this day.  It was clear that the course had “good bones”, but it was even more clear that it was suffering from critical “skin diseases” that could create very real problems.  

I got in the 18, but left wondering about the future of this place.

Got on the road southbound around 3pm…and arrived near Bernardston, MA in northern central Mass. some 305 miles later at around 8:15pm…talk about a long day….36 holes and 653 miles…

Crumpin-Fox Club, June 27, 2018:  This club took a long time to get completed.  Conceived of in 1969 Dave Berelson, Robert Trent Jones, Inc. was retained to find a site for a “Pine Valley” type course, and the current site was chosen.  Delays ensued and in 1977 Andy St. Hillaire purchased the site and completed the back nine and clubhouse…but the project was sold again to local Bill Sandri.  Architect Roger Rulewich supervised the building of the front nine, and renovations to the back.  Finally, in 1990, 21 years after “conception”, the course was completed and open.

Pat and I dropped by to see it about 7 years ago on a drive back to Boston from Vermont, but only looked at holes 1 and 10. I was here because in 1998 and 1999 it was included on GW’s USA Top 100 Modern list …but never on my Merged GW Top 100 list.  This is a very tough course and would be simply brutal to walk…long treks from green to tee through the woods.  Playing corridors seem wider than 7 years ago but still way too narrow.  Course was very wet as wind, air, and sun has tough time drying it out.  Need to remove several thousand trees…  Also, par 3’s on front and back too repetitive.  Has good potential but needs work…

Played very very well shooting a 38-41 = 79. Good news was only had a 75 mile drive south to Hartford.

Hartford Golf Club-Red/Blue, June 27, 2018:  Hartford GC goes back to 1896 with a small course built on 25-30 acres.  Five years later, the club moved to West Hartford, starting with 18 holes designed in one day by Alex Finday.  Over the following 60 years, new holes and substantial renovations were contributed by Donald Ross and Devereux Emmett and today the club encompasses 27 holes.  I was playing the Red and Blue nines, which hosted the 1996 US Mid Amateur Championship.

The head pro at Hartford is Joe Connerton. Joe was at Brookline before Hartford and came down here about 8 years ago.  It was great to catch up with him…and special to see this club.  The course had just completed a renovation guided by Bruce Hepner (who opened his own shop in 2010 after 17 years with Tom Doak’s Renaissance Design) focusing on bunkers, tees, green expansion and collars, and the course was in wonderful condition (but could be firmer/faster). Excellent routing, wonderful vistas across the course, and a great “walk in the park.”  Had a 40-40 = 80…good playing this trip.

After the round, it was back in the car for a 112 mile drive home.  So two days, 72 holes and a mere 840 miles of driving.  My new car is wondering who purchased it!! 

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Slowly getting caught up.  Now “just” 14 weeks behind!