1001. April 2014 Trip to Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina--9 Courses
Email 4/16/2014:
Email 4/16/2014:
Credits due on the new title "Where in the World is Rudo?" Obviously, I am not creative enough to have thought of that title...and full credit belongs to the wife. Thank you, Pat. This report is regarding a more localized trip, but the title applies well to my next trip, about which you will hear more in the next week or two.
Pat had to journey to Boston 4/4/14-4/12/14, so I planned out a trip to visit eight tracks, all within 250 miles of Pinehurst that I had not played before. I left early on April 4 and drove up to Richmond to play Royal New Kent on 4/4/14 and CC of Virginia--James River on Saturday 4/5/14.
I had expected an interesting journey but it turned out to be even more so, with some highly unusual tracks along the way. As you will see, the continuation of this horrific winter (caused of course by global warming...with apologies to you "believers"...had to get that in) forced me to alter my schedule but was able to play all eight tracks and even add a 9th. In retrospect, this was an very interesting collection...overall much better than I expected...with some fabulous variety including some real brutes, a bunch of fun tracks, resorts, public tracks, and fabulous clubs, and both great historic courses and some brilliant new ones. Interestingly, five of the nine tracks have never appeared in the USA Top 100 lists published by Golf Magazine, Gold Digest, and Golf Week (using my "merged" GW list...a merger of the Classical and Modern 100's), and the four that have appeared have been only appeared once in the last 10 years. Proof that one or more of the following is true...
1. we raters don't know what we are doing
2. we raters don't spend enough time visiting tracks that are relatively "out of the way"
3. there are just so many great tracks out there
Royal New Kent
This is a Michael Strantz track completed in 1997. Strantz passed away in 2005 at the young age of 50 and having completed 8 courses and 1 major renovation. I have now played 5 of these 9 and they vary all over the lot. Best is Monterey Peninsula Shore (his renovation) and worst is Tot Hill in Ashboro NC. Royal New Kent is very tough as can be seen in its course rating and slope (77.1/153 from back tees). It also is fairly "ragged" around the edges...and does not seem to be doing great from a business standpoint. Very reminiscent of Tobacco Rd (near Pinehurst) with much more length. LIke all Strantz tracks, very unusual and interesting...and further proof that there is a fine line separating true genius from madness. Best holes are 5, 8, 10 (what a green!!), 11, and 16. One thing that I could not understand was 17th and 18th holes...which are good, but seem very out of place for a Strantz track.
One fun thing was running into Jeremy Brofsky, who caddies (very often for moi) at Brookline, is a real good player and fine person, and is finishing his freshman year at U of Richmond. Good to hear that Jeremy will be back this summer and that he is enjoying his college experience.
Country Club of Virginia
Across town from RNK, and in many ways very very different. A superb old classic club with 3 tracks on 2 different sites, the most famous being the James River course which hosted the 1955 and 1975 US Am's (both won by well known amateurs...the late Harvie Ward, of "The Match" and Pinehurst fame, in '55, and Fred Ridley, of ANGC Rules Comm fame, in '75). Designed by William Flynn in '28, renovated by Rees Jones in '92, and restored by Lester George in '03. It was also the home club of Harry Easterly, a former president of the USGA and a giant in that organization's history.
I played it April 5 with Steve DeWalle who has an interesting blog www.golftripper.com (well, almost as interesting as what you are reading right now). As we talked during the round, it turned out that two years ago, after two wondering young golfers from New Zealand (Jamie Patton and Michael Goldstein...about 3-4 years ago they went around the world and played at least 18 holes every day for 365 consecutive days) spent a couple of days with us here in Pinehurst, they headed north and stayed with Steve in Richmond. Also ran into my old fraternity brother and roommate's wife in Richmond as she headed north from FL to NH. Sooo, along w Jeremy, three examples of this small world in two days!!
Important for me wife Pat to meet and know about folks like Steve, Jamie, and Michael (and a bunch of you who receive this)...almost makes me seem normal.
Good track...with back nine much better than front. Excellent green complexes with strong, wide slopes, and great fun to putt. Doubt greens could be playable above stimp of 12. Best holes are 4 (long tough dogleg left par 4), 8 (uphill 205 yd par 3 with major slope to green), 12 (uphill 433 yd dogleg right), and 13/15...both excellent drivable par 4's.
After the round it was off to West Virginia to get to the area around White Sulfur Springs...have a date at the Greenbrier for the morning of 4/6/14
After the round it was off to West Virginia to get to the area around White Sulfur Springs...have a date at the Greenbrier for the morning of 4/6/14
Greenbrier Old White
This was my first time to The Greenbrier (all nine courses played on this trip were new for me) in WV. Incredible resort with main building that is nothing short of an unbelievable sight to see. It is also home to "Old White", designed by Charles Blair Macdonald in 1914...which of course means constructed under the supervision (probably with heavy design input) of Seth Raynor.
As expected, filled with the great holes that CBM and Raynor placed in all their tracks. Best are the par threes with the 8th, a Redan, leading the way. The Biarritz (#3) is also superb...and this one is like #9 at Yale, with the "chasm" being within the green (as opposed to others such as Yeamans Hall and Fishers Island where it fronts the green). Also loved the #15 Eden, even after missing a 5' birdie putt :-( Thought the Hog Back hole (#2) is the best par 4.
No question in my mind that CBM and Raynor were the best architects ever...and this one is very special. No doubt there are better CBM/Raynor designs (with Camargo in Cincinnati being my favorite), but this one is very good compared to this elite group...and a superb track compared to fine courses in general. Well worth the visit. Hope to return in the fall w "da wifey"..and even splurge for a room at The Greenbrier.
Ballyhack
Having played Old White Sunday morning April 6, 2014, and with Monday looking like a washout, decided to see if it was possible to play Ballyhack in Roanoke VA (which was on my way to my next destination) Sunday afternoon. Thank you to Steve DeWalle for the idea...he had asked if I was playing Ballyhack on the trip. Had heard of it, but didn't know much about it. Suffice it to say that it was a very very interesting addition to my itinerary.
Tough is not sufficient to describe Ballyhack. Designed by Lester George and finished in 2009 (as you know, timing is everything in life and unfortunately that was not good timing...but it is still alive and kicking which says something right there). From back rating of 76.1 slope is 155. Very tough course to play for the first time...fair number of blind shots (remember what the Scots say...a shot is only blind one time), and some drop offs next to fairways and sides/backs of greens (e.g. left side of par 5 #2) that are not real inviting (purgatory at best). Somehow, for reasons I cannot explain, I loved it. Would never put this on my list of courses to play every day, but every once it a while, very interesting. Played well/hit it great...shot a 79. Who knows if I played well because i liked the course, or vice versa. Fairways were real fast and firm, and greens firm and receptive...and surprisingly quick. Great variety of holes (except none that are close to being non-descript), with toughest being 3 and 16, and most interesting being 6 (downhill drivable par 4), 7 (relatively simple par 3 until you see the sharp left to right slope of green), and 15 (downhill par 5 with fascinating alternative ways to play it).
Truth is a lot of people will hate this place...but it is fascinating. Fits well into its setting so is quite natural in feel, and some really wonderful holes. Just remember to bring a few sleeves of balls w you. Absolutely worth playing.
The Virginian and The Olde Farm
These two tracks are right next to each other...and are both excellent clubs and tracks in Bristol, VA (southwest corner of VA). I had wondered how a town the size of Bristol could end up with two top clubs. Turns out, two men, both billionaires though the coal industry ("global warming" again!!) both decided to build a great club here. Played The Virginian in the morning and found out that Olde Farm was right next door. That got the old brain churning, and I realized i could play both Tuesday April 8, and then be able to get to Primland (which I had to cancel due to weather on Monday) on Wednesday April 9. Being flexible (not a trait generally attributed to your truly) proved to be quite helpful!!
The Virginian is a Tom Fazio track circa 1992. Hosted the Senior Am in 2003. Very good club with great facilities. Has many of the pluses and minuses of Fazio tracks. Beautiful layout, well placed hazards, and a good variety of holes, but somehow lacking in something unusual, with special charm, and most of all, it lacks the "chess game" between architect and player that characterizes the great old tracks created by the Macdonald, Raynor, McKensie, Tillinghast, Ross, and Thomas in decades past and more recently by Coore/Crenshaw, Doak, and a few others. Course starts a little slowly for first 3 holes then gets better. Best holes are 4, 6, 8, 9, 11-14 , and especially 16...which is a dogleg right, slightly uphill par 4 where the tee shot must hug the right side to create an opening to the green...but not too far right or a big tree blocks the way....great hole. Fairways are Zoysia grass making every shot look feel it is teed up. Well worth the visit.
The Olde Farm is a really special club. Land is better than The Virginian's, and the course fits the land perfectly. Wide open vistas across the course. In fabulous shape and all bent which was surprising (although altitude of 2000' helps). Course was firm and fast w firm greens that were very quick. Designed by Bobby Weed and opened in 2000. So many fine, fair holes. #2 is downhill par 4 which follows the natural shape of the land perfectly to a green well guarded by the angles and a creek in front. #3 goes uphill and rides along a ridge...fabulous par 4. The eighth is a superb drivable par 4 and the 14th is an even better mid-length par 4...with a very nasty green.
While the course at Olde Farm is great...the atmosphere of the club is even better. A true national membership, with fabulous facilities. Clubhouse, which is 14 years old looks like it is at least 150 years old, is magnificent. They have an outdoor pavilion, a separate building for large dinner gatherings, a barn for casual gatherings...place is like a summer camp. In ways that I have trouble explaining, reminds me in some ways of Whispering Pines in TX (80 miles north of Houston) and Mountain Lake in FL (70 miles SW of Orlando).
If one looks at the histories of great golf clubs, most of the truly great ones have had dictators for a large part of their history (e.g., ANGC, PVGC, NGLA, etc etc) but it is important that a club have the right dictator...the wrong one is a disaster. Although I did not have the chance to meet him, I sense that Jim McGlothlin is the right kind of dictator (as least for a golf club).
Net net...Bristol VA is a fine place to visit!!!!
Highlands Course at Primland
After an easy drive from Bristol to Meadows of Dan, VA (yes, that is the name of the town), I arrived at the Primland resort about 50 miles north of Winston Salem, NC. High in the Blue Ridge Mountains (in fact, right at the top a mountain at about 3000'...and in a resort with 12,000 acres!!) lies this spectacular resort and golf course designed by Donald Steel and completed in 2006. What a place!! Just plain loved it!! The views are spectacular at a minimum...overlooking some very very deep gorges that surround the course, but, thankfully, do not come into play. Overall, my favorite track on the trip...perhaps because I fired a 77 from 6450 yards even after a bogey/bogey finish. Wonderfully interesting and fun green complexes...big and very tough if you end up on the wrong side...and very fast greens that were firm yet receptive to well hit shots (and appropriately not receptive to indifferent approaches). Course flows with the land perfectly, with great uphill and downhill holes (and even 3 relatively flat holes). If you are looking for level lies, stay at home or at the bar at the resort. So so many great holes, but best are 4, 7, 8, 10 (best hole design), 13, and 17 (most interesting design). Course is fun and tough but fair. Ratings are 74.6 and 145 from the back. And the resort itself looks to be very very special. Another place to take da wifely this fall...perhaps on same trip a Greenbrier. Be a fascinating contrast in terms of two great courses, and two great hotel/resorts...old and new in both cases.
Quail Hollow Club
After short drive to Charlotte NC Wednesday afternoon, had the opportunity to visit and play Quail Hollow on Thursday April 10 with Bill Timmerman. I met and played with Bill at a US Seniors event at CCNC last October (where i subbed to help fill out the field). We hammed and egged well enough to almost winning our flight, losing on the 20th hole of the finals. Great guy and tough competitive player.
You probably are familiar with Quail Hollow from the Wells Fargo Championship each May on the PGA tour. Designed by George Cobb in 1961 and renovated by Arnold Palmer in the 1980's and by Tom Fazio in the 90's. Has elicited very positive and some fairly negative comments from PGA Tour players...and will host the PGA in 2017.
Played like a dog. May have been getting a little tired. Unfortunately, three of the holes were closed as the greens were covered to enhance their growth...function of bad winter...and rest of course was being prepared for the Wells Fargo event about 4 weeks later. Score was pretty good...in this regard, three closed holes help considerably.
Looks like it will be in great shape for the event, but that of course meant it had to be in a "prep" stage, especially after the winter, at this point. The new Bermuda greens seem to have come in well. Problem w evaluating it for this round was the level of my play and slow greens which clearly were necessary to get it ready for the Tour event, but changed the feel of the course.
QH is definitely a great championship test...and very long and tough tough track with lots of trouble and tough greens. Looks very different than it does on TV...for example, from TV, I had had no sense that 18 was uphill from the fairway to the green. I would like to go back when it is in normal shape and not so early in the season and making necessary preps for a big event. It may well be that given what has happen to the game (and what has happened to my game), QH is too big, long and tough for me at this stage, but I think and hope not. Making a course both a great championship test and a fun track is probably the toughest thing to do in golf. Few have succeeded but those that have are among the best. I sense that from reasonable tees QH can be a fun track...have to wait for next visit to find out.
Musgrove Mill
In backcountry South Carolina about 30 miles south of Spartanburg SC lies Musgove Mill. Didn't know much about this track before I arrived (April 11) but had been warned. Bill Timmerman was a founding member and had advised that it was very very tough (that from a QH member says something). What I found was a wonderful real golf club...nothing pretentious, truly low key with a membership loaded with low handicap members...just pure tough golf on a better than superb layout. If I was 15-20 years younger, would join in a nanosecond (if they would take me w me game). Designed by Arnold Palmer (1988)...and with a very different feel form any other Palmer course i have played...and I mean that in a very positive way. Fabulous piece of land with the Enoree River running through it. Small, firm fast greens, and firm and fast fairways flow beautifully over the land. Best holes are 4-7, 9, 11, 12, and 17. Greens filled with incredible pin placements...and there are some (like #7), where one can spend the rest of one's life chipping back and forth from left to right and back.
This place does achieve the "daily double". It is both a great test..and fun. Not many tracks can claim both. Amazing track and wonderful great. Fabulous way to end a great trip!!
Drove home to Pinehurst in time to see the end of the 2nd round at The Masters. Pat got back from Boston Saturday...was great to be back together after the week. She is the best!!
Next..da Big One
In 18 days, I start a round the world 16 day journey designed to complete the 2014 Golf Magazine Worldwide Top 100...hence the subject of this email authored by Pat: "Where in the World is Rudo?" More to come on my journey in the coming weeks...and of course, expect reports along the way. For now, I must tend to more pedestrian matters and get my hearing aids adjusted :-(
Email 4/21/2014:
OK...so a bunch of you have been wondering "what drives this madman Rudo in his search for playing more great golf courses?"
A brief history to clarify. I first tried this silly game during the summer of 1955 (at the ripe age of 10) while at summer camp, and that summer, played my first course, the nine hole Honesdale Golf Club in northeastern PA (home course of Art Wall, Jr., 1959 Masters Champion). Shortly thereafter, I ventured onto the muni closest to our house in Jamaica, Queens, NY, Kissena Golf Course, a monster of a par 64 track stretching to almost 4600 yards. The first great course I played (other than Kissena) was The Black at Bethpage in 1960, which was the 10th course I ever played. After that, I did get to see The Country Club in June 1963, following Arnold Palmer for 36 holes during the 3rd and 4th rounds of the US Open Championship. For you young kids out there, prior to 1965, both the 3rd and 4th rounds on the US Open were scheduled for play on Saturday. Ken Venturi's close brush with death from heat prostration at Congressional in 1964...and, more importantly, the lure of higher TV rights fees...caused the USGA to spread the US Open play to four days starting at Bellerive in 1965. But, I digress...
In 1969, I had the chance to play Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and Cypress Point (which I consider to be the finest club and course in the world today). In those days, if you were staying at The Del Monte Lodge at Pebble, you could play Cypress one or two weekday mornings. That was also the first time this city boy saw a live deer...as a small herd crossed the second fairway just before I played it. Woops, digressed again... The following year I was able to play The Old Course, Carnoustie, and Mid Ocean...and was on my way.
During the 1970's I became interested in golf course architecture and fortunately had the opportunity to play a good number of the US's and world's great tracks. When Golf Digest's (GD) bi-annual list of "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses" was published, I would dutifully check off the number played, and then add that list to a file I had started for these lists. Did the same as Golf Magazine (GM) started publishing its biannual list of the World's top courses in 1979 (at first a Top 50 which expanded to Top 100 in 1985) and USA Top 100 in 1991, and Golf Week (GW) started in 1997 its list of USA Top 100 Classic and Top 100 Modern Courses (using 1960 as the cutoff). But I never got close to finishing a top 100. One primary reason was that most of the new tracks of the '70's and 80's somehow didn't "feel right" compared with the old great courses in the US, British Isles, and Australia. There were some fine exceptions...Harbor Town, Spyglass Hill, and Sotogrande (Spain) for example. But for the most part, I concluded I was chasing a "rabbit" and it wasn't worth the effort. I continued to seek out the great old classics, but stopped trying to complete a top 100.
Two things reactivated my interest over the past 10+ years . First, in 2003 I visited Bandon Dunes for the first time. That visit, plus the opportunity to play Sand Hills GC in Mullen, NE in 2010 (as well as selected other new tracks) opened my eyes to the great new courses that were being designed and built by a new wave of architects who brilliance came close to that of the greats of 1900-1940 (Macdonald, MacKensie, Maxwell, Raynor, Ross, Thomas, Tillinghast and others). After Pat and I played Sand Hills, I told her there were 10 more courses I really really wanted to play while I still could (Chicago, Crystal Downs, Fishers Island, Friar's Head, Newport, the Ocean Course, Sebonack, Somerset Hills, Valderrama, and Yale)...my first "bucket list". On July 5, 2011 (376 days later) I completed this bucket list at Fishers Island...and I sincerely thank those of you who helped me with this first bucket list.
The second thing that rekindled my interest came about in 2010, when I contracted a mild case of pneumonia. After reading for a couple of days, I got bored and started to wonder what sort of "project" i should undertake. Then it hit me...I remembered all my old top 100 listings and realized that i had not brought them up to date for other tracks I had played after their publication. So that got me started on creating what is clearly one of the world's greatest Excel spreadsheets...showing every course ever listed in any of the GD/GM/GW top 100 listings. Da wifey Pat started to wonder if she should have da Hubbie committed at that point, but I think realized that this behavior (1) was nothing new, and (2) kept me off the streets. In any case, over the past 4 years, I have constantly tried to improve the speadsheet. By noting which courses I have placed once, multiple times, or never (as well as noting those that no longer exist), and sorting all these data, I was able to create many more bucket lists. Note...a number, but not all of you have received this spreadsheet from me. If you have not and wish to have it, please let me know...but beware, if you are not reasonably familiar with Excel, it can be daunting. Finally, on November 5, 2013 by playing Briar's Creek in SC, I completed a "Top 100"...the 2007 Golf Magazine USA Top 100...bucket list #2 knocked off.
Current Incomplete "Bucket Lists":
1. Current (2013) Golf Magazine Worldwide Top 100: Have completed 93 of 100, missing the following:
Hirono GC, Japan (#37)
Nine Bridges Club, South Korea (#45)
Kawana Resort (Fuji), Japan (#71)
Shanqin Bay GC, China (#78)
The European Club, Ireland (#86)
Tokyo GC, Japan (#93)
Durban CC, South Africa (#100)
Note---Completed May 2014
2. Current (2013 for GD and GM, 2014 for GW) USA Top 100: There are 144 that are in one or more of the three top 100's. I have have played 136 and am missing and their highest current rating:
Gozzer Ranch, ID (GD#27)
Rock Creek Cattle, MT (GW#40)
Huntsman Springs, ID (GW#55)
Black Rock, ID (GD#58)
Shooting Star, WY (GW#61)
Forest Dunes, MI (GM#72)
Colorado GC, CO (GW#79)
Dismal River (Doak), NE (GW#86)
Note: Completed July 2014
Note: Completed July 2014
Please note that I do not think that I should include all 200 of Golf Week's Modern and Classic Top 100's...so I merge these lists each year (based on the numerical score given for each course) and my Golf Week Top 100 is the top 100 from this merged list.
3. Every course that has EVER been rated among the top 50 by any of these three magazines since these ratings started. There have been 164 courses in this category, and I have played 157. One track no longer exists (Sutton Bay, SD, which reached #37 in GW in 2005, but unfortunately, subsequently slid into the Missouri River...its replacement has not reached these ratings heights). Hence, I have 6 more to play to finish this bucket list (tough to play a track that no longer exists):
Gozzer Ranch, ID (GD 2013 #27)
Black Rock, ID (GD 2009 #27)
Rock Creek Cattle, MT (GW 2012 #35)
Wild Horse, NE (GW 2003 #36)
Sanctuary, CO (GD 1999 #48)
Broadmoor (West), CO (GD 1969 #50)
Note: Completed...have 3 to play to finish Top 100 Ever (above was regarding Top 50 Ever)
Note: Completed...have 3 to play to finish Top 100 Ever (above was regarding Top 50 Ever)
Please note that I can complete #2 and #3 above by playing a total of 11 courses located in ID, MT, WY, CO, NE, and MI.
I know most of you will ask, so the answer is that there have been 335 courses ever on one or more of the three magazine's top 100...I have played to date 244 of these leaving 91 to go...me thinks this is too much for an old man like moi. Note: 3 to complete
And if you think that would be tough, if I include all 200 from Golf Week's two lists each year, as well as Golf Digest's 200 Toughest published in 1966 and 1967, and the GD second 100 published in 2013, there have been 617 courses that have made at least one list, and i am missing 333 (played 281 and know of 3 that no longer exist)...forget that!! Note: Now missing 125
Upcoming Round the World Trip
Last September, after playing Cabot Links in Nova Scotia (currently #82 on GM worldwide...and a BRILLIANT FUN track, which brought me to 91 of the 2013 GM Worldwide, after receiving strong encouragement from two others (in the presence of Pat...and she did not object!!), I decided to go after it, and started planning my final assault (perhaps overly dramatic). After much planning and much much help from several friends and several friends of friends (whom I thank profusely and will not name to keep them from being bombarded with requests), I scheduled a round the world journey starting in NC May 4 and returning May 20...as follows:
5/4 Fly Charlotte-Denver Play Colorado GC Drive to Gotthenburg, NE
5/5 Play Wild Horse Drive to Colorado Springs
5/6 Play Broadmoor (West) Fly to Vancouver
5/7 Play Capilano* Fly to Tokyo (and cross date line)
5/9 Play Tokyo GC
5/10 Play Kasumigaseki (East)*
5/11 Play Kawana (Fuji) Fly to Miyazaki, Japan
5/12 Play Phoenix CC* Fly to Osaka
5/13 Play Hirono GC
5/14 Play Naruo GC* Fly to Seoul
5/15 Fly to JeJu Island, SK Play Nine Bridges Fly to Hainan Island, China
5/16 Play Shanqin Bay Fly to Durban
5/18 Play Durban CC Fly to Dublin
5/19 Play European Club
5/20 Fly home!!!!!!
Trip encompasses:
16 days
27,741 air miles
66 hours 25 minutes scheduled flight time
Do not understand why Pat doesn't want to join me in this venture.
If I am lucky regarding weather, flight arrivals, etc etc, and the end of this journey (not necessarily in order of importance):
1. I will have completed Incomplete Bucket List #1 above...and in fact, in addition to completing the 2013 worldwide list, i will also have completed all of the biannual worldwide lists from 1997 forward, except for 1999 (will still be missing Old Head, Ireland)
2. My to do list for the combined Incomplete Bucket List #2 and #3 will drop from 11 to 8
3. By playing the four tracks with an * above (Capilano, Kasumigaseki, Phoenix, and Naruo, I will have made progress on a potential future bucket list...having played all 190 of the courses ever listed on GM's Worldwide Top 100. As of today, I have played 165, this upcoming trip, if fully successful, will have me playing 11 of my currently missing 25, bring me to 14 to go (sounding like a new bucket list!!) Note...and it was a new Bucket List...completed July 2016
4. I will still be alive.
That's it for now...need to get back to my trip to-do list. If anyone wants to join me...let me know. Better yet, if anyone's Gulfstream 550 or 650 is available from 5/4 to 5/20, it would be deeply appreciated.
Keep your cards and letters coming...
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