121. Drive from Milton, MA to Pinehurst, NC (Part I)
About 2 weeks later than normal, I departed from Milton on Monday, October 29 for my annual drive south to Pinehurst. Pat is flying down Monday, November 5 and I will arrive in Pinehurst Sunday night. Over the next 6 days, my plan to squeeze in enough driving to get to Pinehurst on time…with the rest of the time divided between golf, sleeping, catching up with some friends, and eating. I departed Milton around 3:20 and arrived at Hamilton Farms Golf Club about 8:30pm…including a stop for dinner. Drive was 270 miles and I somehow avoided any bad traffic…hard to do on this route…but I ain’t complaining.
Hamilton Farm Golf Club, October 30, 2018: The club occupies the former Brady estate near Far Hills, NJ. Readers of this Blog who are former Citibankers…many of us knew one of the Brady family members (another family member was former US Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady). This was a modest 5000 acre homestead created in 1911 which early on included a 54 stall equestrian stable (today these facilities are home for the US Equestrian Team). Golf for the Brady family was played at nearby Somerset Hills Country Club (see Post #20 and below on this Post). Through the years, the property suffered a series of disasters, including two major fires in 1921 and 1978, both of which essentially destroyed the main house. The property was purchased by The Beneficial Corporation in the late 1970’s and then by Lucent Technologies in 1998. Lucent planned a super exclusive club with just 18 corporate memberships. Lucent was created by 1996 a spinoff of most of AT&T’s manufacturing and research operations and many sense they were more adept at creating and manufacturing new methods of accounting than communications equipment. Within a few years, Lucent’s stock had risen to about $84/share, and collapsed by 2003 to $2.13/share. The collapse of Lucent’s finances forced the company to sell the estate and its newly constructed golf courses to a private company (controlled, I gather, by members of the Brady family) which since then has run the property as an exclusive private club.
The two courses were designed by Dana Fry and Dr. Michael Hurdzan. One course (“Highlands”) is a regulation sized 18 hole course, while the second, “Hickory”, is an 18 hole par 3 track, the only 18 hole par 3 fully rated by the USGA, located less than 5 miles away.
The property is located in a magnificent area of New Jersey. I can assure you that this is not the portion of New Jersey visible from the NJ Turnpike.
Well...this morning was cold…frost delay…first one of the winter for me. I played Hamilton Farm with an old fraternity brother, Ken O., who lives nearby and is a member.
We went off around 10am…and played with a friend of Ken’s and one of the assistant starters. The course is built on a very good piece of land…with plenty of land movement and striking features. Conditioning is generally reputed to be excellent, but it is obvious that the weather this past winter and summer (very cold winter, and hot summer with heavy rainfall for the latter part of the summer and this fall) has taken its toll here (it also needs to be noted that the following day I played two courses nearby and both of these two were in superb condition…so perhaps other contributing factors are involved). The course is good but has never appeared on any Top 100 listing. Its bunkering is very deep and dramatic, and the greens are very difficult to read and feature numerous false fronts, backs, and sides. Approaching the putting surfaces from the proper angle (generally dictated by pin position) is essential.
The two most distinctive features I noted were: (1) large sections of greens that sloped from front to back, and (2) a superb collection of par 5’s. IMO the best holes are #2, 9, and #14 (all par 4’s), the par 4 10th and par 3 #17. I also thought the par 5 11thhole was excellent but would work better as a long, difficult par 4 of about 515 yards. On the other hand, with the exception of #17 the par 3’s are uninspiring. I ended the round with a 42 – 43 = 85…playing reasonably except from holes 12-15.
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| Hamilton Farms Highlands #10--approach shot to 380 yard par 4 10th |
Interestingly, Hamilton Farms’ par 3 “Hickory” course is better known than its larger cousin in golfing circles. It also felt very different than most of the par 3 courses I have played in recent years in two regards. First, it is 18 holes, which is highly unusual for a par 3 course (might be my first 18 hole par 3). Second, the individual holes, which range from 127 to 229 yards, feel like par 3’s one finds at most very good parkland courses. I have found most of the newly built par 3 courses to be shorter in length, but more difficult around the greens…more of a “short game test”. Did not keep score but did sink a 70 foot putt for a birdie on the 229 yard 17th(played from 191 yards)!
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| Hamilton Farm Hickory #9 par 3 155 yards |
In any case, this is an excellent club, and it was great to catch up with Ken. I stayed at the club in the estate’s original mansion...not bad “digs” at all. Also, it was very special to spend a full day on one of these trips not driving in a car!!
Trump National Golf Club-New, October 31, 2018: When I worked for Ford Motor Company 1968-1970, there was an unconventional rising star at General Motors (a company that was well known for not tolerating unconventional executives) running GM’s Pontiac Division—John DeLorean. DeLorean left GM in 1973 and formed his own startup (word did not exist then) DeLorean Motor Company. In 1981 its sports car with gull-wing doors was finally introduced (after many production related delays), and by 1982 the company was in receivership. That same year he was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine…but was found not guilty (in large part due to claims that the US Government had entrapped him). He passed away at 80 years of age in 2005.
So where am I going with this? Oh…in 1980, DeLorean purchased a modest 434-acre estate in Bedminster, NJ…perhaps NJ’s most affluent area (see Brady estate write up above). He filed for personal bankruptcy in late 1999 and the estate was sold off in 2000 and finally purchased by Donald Trump in 2002…after Trump received approval for his plans to build a 36-hole golf club (Trump’s purchase was for 506 acres). In 2004, the Tom Fazio designed “Old” course opened (Trump’s third golf course) and four years later the “New” course opened for play (designed by Fazio’s nephew, Tom Fazio II). At present, there are 19 Trump golf properties (12 in USA and 7 overseas…Ireland, Scotland-2, Dubai-2, Indonesia-2) with 23 courses (Doral has four and Bedminster two). Since you asked, including “New” I have now played ten of these 23 courses (seven in USA and the three in GB&I).
To date, the Bedminster facility has hosted the 2009 US Junior and Girl’s Junior Championships (conducted on both the Old and New), and the 2017 US Women’s Open conducted on its Old course. The 2022 PGA Championship is scheduled to be played at Bedminster and expected to be played on a “to be determined” composite track with more than half of the holes from the New course. The New course has never been included on a USA or World 100.
I played with Steve L., a fellow GM panelist who I first met when I played Bedminster Old in 2012. We were delayed by frost for about 90 minutes and then were the first players out on New. I enjoyed the New much more than the Old. It is much more open and also has more terrain movement. Best holes IMO were #3 (368 yard par 4, uphill dogleg right, to a difficult green with deep falloff/false front on front left), #12 (417 yard par 4 with long carry to fairway of 262 yards from tips, then uphill to green sitting on top of a crest…very dramatic hole sitting in open…I loved the “feel” of it, and holes 16-18. The course has undergone a major tree removal process in recent years that has opened up wonderful vistas and significantly improved the turf quality. Either President Trump has started to appreciate “fast/firm/brown” or he is too busy to deal with this…either way works for me. In fact, the overall condition was outstanding, especially considering the brutal last 12 months in the northeast weather wise.
I had a 43 – 43 = 86. After finishing, Steve and I grabbed a quick lunch and drove over to Somerset Hills CC for our afternoon round.
Somerset Hills Country Club, October 31, 2018: Last played by me in 2015, this is one of the superb first golden era courses in the US, and I would refer you to Post #20 for a description of my visit on October 6, 2015. I would just like to add the following comments:
1. course remains in superb condition…playing firm/fast, especially considering the amount of recent rain;
2. as I get older, three walks (or should I say climbs) from 12thgreen to 13thtee, from 17thtee to fairway, and then from 18thtee up to fairway are beginning to become arduous…check that…they are not “beginning to become”, they “ARE”;
3. so so many brilliant holes here…Redan #2, mini-waves on long par 3 8thgreen, cross bunkers on par 5 9th, Principal’s Nose and Biarritz #13…Tillie experimenting here like he did no where else.
This afternoon’s play was again with Steve L. and was a high stakes game of $5 Nassau. We walked here (took cart at Bedminster) and by the last few holes (played the back nine first) we were both exhausted but determined to finish. The golf was ugly but I ended up pocketing $10. He will never live it down.
It was great to catch up with head pro DJ…whom we know from Brookline…and to learn of his engagement.
Then it was a 65 mile 1:15 drive to NY where I was staying with David M., another old fraternity brother in White Plains. This was Halloween night, but most of the drive was on Interstates, so drive went smoothly…little traffic.
Dinner with David was fun, spiced with what old folks like us talk about…war stories from 50 years ago with suitable embellishments and our health (or lack thereof).
St. Andrews Golf Club, November 1, 2018: In 1894, five clubs got together to form the Amateur Golf Association of the United States…subsequently renamed the United States Golf Association (“USGA”). The five founding clubs were Chicago Golf Club, Newport Country Club, St. Andrews Golf Club, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, and The Country Club. I had played at four of the five but had never played St. Andrews GC.
I was faced with a mild quandary. I knew that St. Andrews GC had originally been formed in 1882 in Yonkers, NY…and moved to its present location five miles north in Hastings-on-Hudson in 1897. So the question was…did that make it a NLE (no longer exists) since in 1894 when the Amateur Golf Association was formed, St Angrews GC was located in Yonkers, NY? After careful deliberation, I concluded “no” to that question, as I was visiting to celebrate the CLUB as opposed to the course…it is the CLUB that was one of the five founding USGA members…not the course. So I added St. Andrews to my itinerary.
I recall hearing about St Andrews GC in the late 1970’s. Its golf course was originally designed by two members, William Tucker and Harry Tallmadge. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, facing declining membership roles (dropping from about 250 members in 1970 to 146 members in 1980), crippling operating deficits, and questions regarding its very viability, the club signed a deal in May 1979 with Jack Nicklaus Associates and thereby gave up sole control of the club. Jack embarked on complete redesign of the course, utilizing some 18 unused acres of land adjacent to the course and owned by the club…and incorporating the planned development of 209 condominium units. In 1985, with $3.5 million already spent on eight new holes (compared with a total budget of $900,000), the banks assumed control. Only 86 of the planned 209 housing units were built and that probably ended up saving the club and course, by ensuring sufficient space to improve the course in future years.
In subsequent years the club has staged a comeback…today its membership role is more like 340. Furthermore, as the locker I was assigned belonged to NYC’s former mayor, Michael Bloomberg, I can conclude the quality of its membership has improved. The club appeared to be quite healthy and active even on a late fall weekday. I should also point out that there are very very few institutions (or people for that matter) who/that have not suffered through dark periods. The key is learning from one’s mistakes, moving on, and hopefully bouncing back.
The course was revised by Jack in 1996. I was pleased to be able to play it even though it is not a particularly good golf course. Clearly the club is an important component of the history of golf in the United States…in fact a museum piece….and should be appreciated for that.
St. Andrew s GC’s head pro, Greg Bisconti is the son of Peter Bisconti, Jr., who was the Metropolitan Golf Association’s tournament director some 40 years ago. I knew Peter, Jr. in the 1970’s-80’s and would have liked to meet Greg…but Greg was playing in a local tournament. One of the assistant pros, Mike Argentine, had worked at Brookline as an intern in 2012.
After the round and saying thanks, I drove over to Scarsdale Country Club and caught up with Tyler Gosselin, head pro there. Tyler left Brookline for this position almost two years ago.
Union League National Golf Club—Meade/Grant 9’s, November 1, 2018: Then I drove about 165 miles (2:40) almost down to Cape May in southeastern NJ. Dana Fry and Dr. Michael Hurdzan designed a course called Sand Barrens that opened in 1997. In 1999, Golf Week included Sand Barrens Golf Club on its USA Top 100 Modern list, but not high enough for my GW Merged Top 100. Then in 2001, a third nine was added and the three nines were named North, South, and West. The original 18 holes consisted of all of the North, holes 1-7 of the West, and holes 1-2 of the South.
In late 2017, The Union League Club of Philadelphia purchased Sand Barrens to provide a golf facility for its membership on the Jersey Shore…some 70 miles from its downtown Philadelphia headquarters (the Jersey Shore is a very popular vacation and weekend retreat area for Philadelphia residents). In order to confuse things a bit more…the nines were renamed as follows: North…now Meade; South…now Sherman; West…now Grant. Dana Fry’s firm has completed renovation work on Meade and Grant, and is almost finished renovating Sherman.
I arrived around 3pm and went right off on Meade/Grant. Construction crews were working on Sherman, where I needed to play holes 1 and 2, and I figured I could deal with that later. The course was recently capped with lots of sand, which had not been fully absorbed. This is an excellent course maintenance technique which if employed on a regular basis will develop a sand “base” and significantly improve the drainage properties of the land…and in terms of good golf courses, few things are more important than drainage.
I liked the course a lot. The greens are very large, the course is very well bunkered, and the bunkers are challenging but fair (I gather a high water table made if impossible to dig deep bunkers). Also, thick tree overgrowth (which I had heard about) has been substantially cleared in the current renovation. The land is very very flat and that is a negative, but the course is fun too play and interesting. Even with the sand on the fairways, the course gave some bounce and roll, so I would expect it to be reasonably firm/fast under normal conditions. After starting off par-birdie-par-par-par-par I cooled off a bit and finished up 37 – 39 = 76 (par 72). These two nines total 7092 yards and I played 6051 yards.
After finishing 18, the construction crews on South (old Sherman) were finished for the day, so I snuck out and played #1 and 2 teeing up fairway shots and without stepping on the greens. In my book…that qualifies for playing the full 18-hole course that GW listed in 1999.
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I was staying with my brother David and his wife Rosemary in Philadelphia that evening and the drive was relatively easy…about 80 miles. They were at dinner functions; I arrived around 8pm and they got home shortly thereafter. We sat around catching up (mostly old people talk about various maladies…except for Rosemary who is a youngster in comparison) and generally avoiding political arguments.
Weather forecast for Friday was not looking very good…rain and thunderstorms forecast for most of the day and I was hoping to play Sunnybrook Country Club and Aronimink Golf Club…weather permitting. To be covered (along with weekend of golf in Charlottesville, VA) in next post.
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