128. Trip North from Pinehurst, NC to Milton, MA

128. Trip North from Pinehurst, NC to Milton, MA

It has been over three months since my last post (#127 on March 7, 2019).  These weeks have not exactly been filled with golf.  In the fall of 2017 I learned that I had a heart murmur due to a defective aortic valve.  At that point my doctors expected that I would need to replace my aortic valve within 4-5 years...but with only on "data point" this had to be a "guesstimate."  

This past November, tests indicated that my valve my deteriorating more quickly than previously anticipated, and while I had been asymptomatic, by late February symptoms were starting to become noticeable.  On April 2, I underwent a TAVR procedure (look it up on Google), approved for use by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration about eight years ago.  Suffix it to say it is far easier on the patient than open heart surgery.  I was discharged from the hospital about 50 hours after the procedure concluded, was taking walks of 2-3 miles about 10 days later, and playing 18 holes of golf (walking 9) within three weeks.  Such are the miracles of modern medicine.

During the 4-5 weeks prior to the procedure, I stayed inside as much as possible and did not play golf.  Aside form noticing some symptoms, I wanted minimize any chance of catching a cold or the flu.  I tried to keep busy...filing 2018 taxes "helped" with that task.  I was also able to rebuild part of my "Top 100" spreadsheet (to be introduced within a few weeks) as well as organize my collection of scorecards and yardage books (which readers may recall will fuel the world's largest barn fire should I predecease Pat).  I found that I was missing some 180 yardage books from the 1128 courses I had played to this point and have been working to reduce this list (which currently stands at 145 missing).  

International Country Club. May 3, 2019: At about 6am on Friday May 3, Pat and I departed Pinehurst.  I dropped her off at RDU airport for her flight to Boston and then continued northward on a trip that would last until Thursday May 9...with a wee bit of golf along the way.  My first stop was at Reston (VA) National (formerly Reston-South) one of my "missing scorecards" from a round played in late 1982.  After that I went 5 miles south to International Country Club, also in Reston.  I was playing it because it was included on Golf Digest's "USA 200 Toughest" lists in 1966 and 1967.  To my knowledge, these lists were the first course rating lists ever published...and they represent an example of how hard it is to start something new with no "footprints in the snow to follow."  In those days, people did not travel anything like they do today, there obviously was no internet, and the media's footprint was far far smaller ("the good old days").  A total of 249 courses made one or both of these lists, and of those 249, fully 135 have never appeared on any other Top 100 list since that time.  Criticizing these lists is easy, but it is a little like criticizing a Commodore personal computer or a Model A Ford automobile.

I arrived at International around 11:50am.  I should note that my bride Pat and her ex-husband Vic were members here in the late 70's when they lived in Reston (she was a very good tennis player back then...never set foot on the golf course).  I played at 12:10 with two members.  The club was founded in 1961 and operated out of two locations.  Its clubhouse and a 9 hole course were located just inside the beltway on leased property and the present course had been constructed on owned land in Reston.  Seven years later the lease inside the beltway expired and a new clubhouse had been constructed next to the Reston course.  The course was designed by Ed Ault and Al Jamieson and had to be modified in later years (by Bill Love and Tom Clark in 1992 and then by Bob Cupp in 2005) when the club was forced to sell some its land under eminent domain proceedings.

The course now totals 6816 yards (par 71)...it was 6959 (143 yards longer...same par 71) in 1967.  It is a good golf course but frankly would not sniff a top 100 or 200 today...but that really is not an insult.  There are maybe 150 courses that should be considered for a USA or World 100...that is about 1.0% of the number of courses in the USA and about 0.4-0.5% of the number of courses in the world...pretty lofty status.  Best hole by far was #7 a 448 yard par 4 downhill off the tee, then flat then uphill to the green...with a creek left that cuts right at the base of the hill before the green.  I had a very strong par 4 there.

Shot a 41 - 42 = 83.  Wanted to finish quickly to avoid as much of the DC rush hour as possible...stupid of me...it would do no good.

Quaker Ridge Golf Club, May 4 2019:  I pulled out of International CC around 4:00pm and made good progress for about 18 miles (using the toll high occupancy lanes on the beltway) and then I hit a WALL...the next 10 miles took about 1 hour 45 minutes!!  So much fun!  I finally arrived in Westchester at about 10:15 pm, slightly exhausted.

Up early wondering about the weather on Saturday morning.  Arrived at Quaker around 7:45 and ran into old friends.   The place looked simply fabulous.  I was here in May 2018 (Post #110) for the Century Conquerors Club meeting (now the Global Golf Centurions Club) but could not play because of a recent skin surgery.  As I have covered QR in prior posts (#59 and #1005) I will not go into great detail here, but it was in superb shape and Gil Hanse's brilliant restoration literally has worked miracles.

Observing the changes at Quaker and other course over the years, I have learned a bit about how many "Golden Age" courses lost some of their "mojo" over the decades and how restorations bring it back.  During World War II, due to rationing of fuel, all clubs (irrespective of the extent of their resources) were forced to minimize use of scarce resources such as fuel.  As a result, at almost every club, maintenance staffs learned to cut the greens in a circular pattern.  As a result, greens shrunk and the "corners" of the greens...home of many of the interesting pin placements...were lost, and eventually forgotten.  Bunkers, which are costly to maintain, were also removed through the years.  Through careful study of old aerial photos and other sources, Gil (and other superb restorers) figure out original green (and bunker) dimensions and placement, and this is key (along with significant tree removal) to the restoration process.  Best green changes by Gil at QR are #1, 10, and 15 IMO.

I played with three old QR friends, Michael F. (who is almost as much of a golf nut as I), Steve S., and Larry L.  Of course the best thing was catching up with caddymaster/starter Richie, and Ziggy in the locker room.  I hit it well and had a 42 - 40 = 82 with three doubles.  And I walked about 2/3 of the way with no "symptoms"...good sign!

Had a great lunch, said goodbye until next year (hopefully) and headed to Sleepy Hollow.

Sleep Hollow Country Club, May 4, 2019:  My original plan was to play Quaker on Saturday, and Sleepy Hollow and Rockaway Hunting Club near JFK airport on Sunday.  However, the forecast for Sunday was horrendous...steady rain all day long virtually guaranteed.  I was staying with Jim G. who belongs to Sleepy, and he was able to switch our round from Sunday morning to Saturday afternoon.

I first played Sleepy in 1974 and my last round there had been in 2014 (see post #1005---go back and read if you are interested as I will not be repeating the same points).  In 2014 Gil Hanse was about half way finished with his renovation and now the work is close to "done" (in quotes because golf courses are living growing things...and there always is more work to be done).  The tree removal, green expansion, and bunker redo efforts have been hugely successful IMO.  He has successfully converted what was a "half Macdonald-half Tillinghast" into a "full Macdonald".  These changes could not have been easy as the course is build on top of huge boulders sweep down from the north during the last ice age, so "moving dirt" is not a simple task here and in many cases is close to impossible.  This course is now one of the really superb courses in the NY area.  But I still have issues with the par 5 6th (see Post #1005) as well as the par 3 10th (even though I parred them both this day).  The green at the par 3 16th ("Short") is much improved with a deeper thumbprint in the center.  It may be the finest "Short" in the entire collection of Macdonald/Raynor/Banks tracks...and I am pleased to report I posted a birdie 2 there.  Overall my play was poor on the front and good on the back (46 - 41 = 87).  No walking here unless one is a nanny goat!

All in all, not many days in my life playing two courses of this caliber.  And somehow the threatened rain held off all day.

We drove back to Jim's house...less than a mile from my old house in Purchase...then to dinner with Jim and his bride Wendy at Alba's in Portchester...site of the first dinner at the CCC/GGCC meeting last year.  Our waiter looked at me with a "I know you " look and I filled him in.  Another fabulous meal there.

"NO GOLF", Sunday, May 5, 2019: As predicted, this a was a day with steady continuous rain.  I called Rockaway Hunting Club...and they were open but no caddies no carts and apparently harder rain than in Westchester.  Head pro and I quickly agreed another date would be more appropriate.  According to my weather site, they had a mere 2.41" of rain that day!

Spent part of the morning driving around picking up "missing" scorecards around Westchester, then drove south to Atlantic City get to my hotel and be ready for golf in New Jersey on Monday.  Had 7 courses scheduled for Monday-Thursday and lots of driving, so this day of rest was much appreciated.

Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis, May 6, 2019:  Located about 15 miles (as the crow flies) north of Atlantic City, this is a municipal course (and always has been) designed by George Fazio (Tom's uncle, who played a lot on the Tour in the 50's) a highly successful architect in the 1960's and 70's (Jupiter Hills-FL, Butler National-IL, Champions GC-Jackrabbit-TX, Hershey-East, National GC of Canada-ON, Moselem Springs-PA, and Edgewood Tahoe-NV).  I also loved Wild Dunes (SC) which today gives primary credit to Tom Fazio...but I first played it in 1983 and I recall  (perhaps incorrectly) George Fazio getting the lead credit back then...who knows?  Course was fabulous when it first opened but then ruined by close-in housing and Hurricane Hugo in 1989.  Ocean County was remodeled by Hal Purdy in 1992.

Ocean County has seen better days.  It is clear that it is suffering from maintenance cutbacks...plus the heavy rainfalls of the past 12 months and especially the day before did not help.  But it was interesting to see signs of "good bones" on a number of holes, especially around the greens.  It had been included on GD's 1966/and 1967 "200 Toughest lists but never reappeared on any other Top 100.

I had an excellent front and awful back nine (38 - 44 = 82).  Plays 6848 yards, par 72.  Afraid this one was not worth a stop...

Buena Vista CC, May 6, 2019:  After a 40 mile drive southwest (including a quick stop to pick up a "missing scorecard" in at Seaview in Atlantic City) I arrived at Buena Vista.  This is now a public course and suffers from the same neglect as Ocean County.  Opened in 1957 and designed by William Gordon (Saucon Valley-Grace and Sunnybrook in PA and Stanwich in CT) and his son David (same as his dad, plus Saucon Valley-Weyhill),  BV was also on the same GD Toughest lists as Ocean County.  But I must report that if it originally was blessed with good bones, they have deteriorated over the years.  The course had standing water on about 30-40% of its fairway acreage and was is very poor condition.  I did get my 18 holes in, and then proceeded north after a lackluster 43 - 39 = 82.

After the round it was north to the Princeton area (after one "missing scorecard" stop). The next morning I had breakfast with one of the true founders of our Global Golf Centurions Club, John Sabino. John created the website that first listed those of us who had completed a Golf Magazine World 100.  Early in May 2018,  he learned he had acute myeloid leukemia...with a genetic defect that made his case much worse.  John spent as horrifying a 9-11 month period as I can imagine, and kept enough of a sense of humor (and life) to document it on his blog (Google "Playing the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World" if you get down and want two find out how lucky you really are!).  It was simply wonderful to catch up with John...the last time I saw him was May 3, 2018 at University of Pennsylvania Hospital, just before he started his chemo routine and went into deep quarantine.  He has recovered and attended The Masters with The Wife last month!  Seeing him well was no question the highlight of the trip!!

Ridge at Back Brook, May 7, 2019:  In recent years most of the magazines responsible for "top 100" lists have expanded their lists (cynics would say in quest of greater advertising $$ but of course I am not a cynic).  About 8 years ago, GolfWeek expanded its Top 100 Modern and Top 100 Classic lists to 200 each, and in 2013 Golf Digest expanded its USA 100 Greatest list to 200.  To date, I have resisted siren calls to expand my bucket lists but on this day ventured to play Ranch at Back Brook in western NJ (close to the PA line) which was #182 on GD's USA list published earlier in 2019.  Before leaving Pinehurst, I learned that good friend of ours in Pinehurst (Mike and Gay F.) were founding members of Ridge at Back Brook (need to find an abbreviation or shorter name of my fingers will get worn out) when it opened in 2002...Mike warned me it was a tough course.  Might be one of Tom Fazio's toughest.

Well, after 6 holes I had five bogeys and a double bogey (playing from 6003 yards...the course plays to 7215 from the tips), and I was tired (playing in a cart).  I found my game on #7 and played the last 12 holes with 8 pars and 4 bogies (overall 44 - 39 = 83 or 11 over par).  The course is tough...especially holes 3-5 which can wear you down.  Hole #3 plays 438 yards turning left, with water all the way down the left side.  The approach is to an elevated green angled to the back left and protected by two large front bunkers...simply brutal with that day's pin position...back left.  Hole #4 (431 yards) drops down off the tee and then is strongly uphill doglegging right toward the green.

Overall the course is visually spectacular and offers great challenges for scratch players, has some superb holes, is in excellent condition, and boasts a gorgeous clubhouse.  The land moves very well with some 150' of elevation changes and multiple rock outcroppings.  On the other hand, it is not a course I would consider "fun", and certainly not a course I would want to play every day.  The superb holes are off set by many long walks from green to tee.  The club's website cites the fact that the no one broke 75 for a US Open qualifier.  If that is a statement of greatness in a course, the game is in trouble (at least in my opinion).  Beautiful to see, interesting to play one time, but not on a steady diet!

Ridgewood Counter Club-East/West, May 7, 2019:  I first played the 27 holes (East-West-Center) in late 1979, and then played it for a second time about a dozen years later, so I had not been back for almost 30 years.

The club as founded in 1890 and its present facility opened in 1929.  In includes 27 holes by A. W. Tillinghast and a Norman styled clubhouse designed by Clifford Wendehack...a powerful pair of architects.   Tillinghast also designed great courses such as Winged Foot, Quaker Ridge, Somerset Hills, San Francisco, Bethpage-Black & Red, Baltusrol, Baltimore, Mountain Ridge, Aronimink, Newport and many others.  Wendehack designed magnificent clubhouses including those at Winged Foot, Bethpage, Mountain Ridge, Park CC, and Hackensack.

From my round there in 1979 I remember a tight course with trees lining almost every fairway.  Several years ago the club completed a restoration project led by Gil Hanse, and the results are quite magnificent.  Thousands of trees are gone leaving the beauty of grand individual specimen trees.  the quality of the turf is superb, and the sights are simple yet classic.  This course is now classic, fun, challenging, and fair.  Playing it requires careful thinking, as there are optional ways of playing almost every hole, each with its own set of risks and rewards.  Best holes IMO are #2 East, #5 West (fabulous green setting!), and #8 West.  The greens are outstanding and the conditioning no less than superb.  Better bring your thinking cap here...just hitting it to an opening doesn't always work.

Over the years Ridgewood has hosted the 1935 Ryder Cup, 1974 US Amateur, 1990 US Senior, three Barclays/Northern Trust events, and the 2016 US Girl's Amateur among others and celebrated winners such as Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Vijay Singh, and Kathy Whitworth.  Over the years a number of different composite courses have been utilized during important championships at Ridgewood...I counted six different combinations.  And back in the 1930's it employed an assistant pro by the name of Byron Nelson!

In terms of ratings, Ridgewood has never made a World Top 100, and its position on USA top 100 list has generally hovered in the 80's and 90's (its highest current rating is #82 in Golf Magazine).  If it is missing anything, it is a spectacular setting and a couple of spectacular holes...tough to find in northern NJ.  But as a pure golf course, I would rate it as a top 75 in the world.

I was supposed to have dinner with a fellow GM panelist, Steve L., but traffic was its usual horrendous self, so we passed and I stayed in Paramus.  Would have been good to catch up with Steve but frankly I was a bit tired.

Hackensack Golf Club, May 8, 2019:  Readers may recall my trip to Tucson in December 2018 (Post #125).  I played The Gallery-North with member Cyrus W., a very good play and guy, who asked if I had played his club in NJ, Hackensack GC.  I told him that I had not played it and that I was embarrassed to say that I had not heard of it.  He advised that it was a Raynor/Banks, being restored, and worth a look.  Interestingly, two other people I knew mentioned Hackensack to me this winter, so I made sure to include it on this trip north.

That was a superb decision (for which I deserve zero credit).  I arrived around 7:30, and my walk through the clubhouse (designed by Clifford Wendehack) stirred my senses...clearly the place had a sense of history.  As I walked onto the back terrace, I turned to my right and saw the following view of the recently renovated first hole:

Hackensack #1 from clubhouse porch

I think I stood there staring for about three minutes.  Hole #1 is a fairly simple long straight par 4 (442 yards, slightly down hill, then up a bit to a slightly raised round green surrounded on three sides by deep bunkers).  It was love at first sight!!

The club started renovating its holes after receiving copies of original plans (I believe from Chicago GC).  They are doing 2-4 holes per year and have about three holes to go to finish the work.  I could not play #7 as it had recently been sodded and was not ready.  It was great fun to see some of the "unrenovated" holes next to the renovated ones.  The differences in bunkering was dramatic, with shallow uninteresting bunkers still in place on the former.

There are some wonderful other holes here, aside from #1...the third is a great Biarritz (green 77 yards deep),

Hackensack 3rd hole Biarritz

#12 a wonderful Redan, and #16 a superb punch bowl. Charles Banks' plans included a huge bunker (150 yards long and 7-8' deep along the right side of #11 (a 441 straight and level par 4), but the bunker was never built.  During the renovation process it was added and dominates the hole in a very positive way (not sure I would be saying that if I had hit my drive into it).  

Fun coincidence...while playing #16 I ran into Cyrus, who was back in NJ for a short trip (he only is here for a few rounds per year).  I reiterated my invitation for him to come up to Brookline.  

One important historical note...it turns out that Hackensack is either mostly or totally a Charles Banks design.  Many of you are well aware that Seth Raynor was the construction supervisor for C. B. Macdonald's courses.  When CBM retired from golf course architecture, he turned over his book of business to Raynor, who quickly grew into one of the finest architects in history (despite, or perhaps because he had never played the game).  Raynor hired Banks to be his construction supervisor.  When Raynor died in January 1926, Banks completed his unfinished projects and became an architect of high renown.  As there were ongoing tax disputes between the club and local authorities when Raynor passed away (in January 1926), the club did not gain title to the property until July 1926, thus it is likely that this was Banks' first solo design.

Rack this one up as a hidden gem for sure, even in its unfinished state.  Hopefully we will see it move up the ratings ladder...it would be well deserved (to date it had never been on a USA 100...until today...as it was #190 on GolfWeek's 1-200 list of Top Classic courses that I received by email this morning!!). Hackensack has hosted a Metropolitan Open (1973) and three Met Ams (1964, 1994, and 2009).

Oh...I had a 35 - 40 = 75...the front nine aided to some degree by the 7th hole being closed (I posted an 80 for handicap purposes).  Plays 7001 yards, par 72

Echo Lake Country Club, May 8, 2019:  After the round I drove south about 30 miles to Echo Lake CC.  I was able to grab a good lunch there and then get right off.

The club was founded in 1921 as the merger of two smaller clubs (Cranford GC and Westfield GC). In 1913 Cranford has retained Donald Ross to build an 18 hole course at the present location.  Over the next two years Echo Lake sold off 32 acres of its golf course and purchased an adjoining parcel of 32 acres...this swap enabled the course to gain needed length.  Architect Robert White then built six new holes (today's holes 11-16).  In 1928 Willard Wilkinson build three other new holes (6, 7, and 9 and a practice range).  The resulting course has remained in this approximate configuration since 1928...essentially with 9 holes by Donald Ross, 6 by White, and 3 by Wilkinson.  Recently, it was renovated by Rees Jones.

Echo Lake hosted the 1934 Met Open (at that time generally considered to have been a "major") as well as two USGA Championships, the 1994 Junior Boys' Championship and 2002 Junior Girls' Championship.  It has never been included on any Top 100.  Today it plays 7116 yards from the tips (par 71)...a healthy yardage.  I had a 43 - 40 = 83 playing poorly on the front and reasonably well from 14 in.

The clubhouse, pro shop, and first tee sit atop a bluff facing east.  The course was in very good condition.  A number of the greens are good examples of Ross' superb work, but others built by White and Wilkinson and more mundane.  Additionally there are a large number of parallel fairways and overall the course lacks design variety.  Best holes are #6, 9, and 16 IMO.

After the round I drove back to Westchester (and picked up more "missing scorecards").  One more round on the schedule on Thursday morning and then drive home to my bride!

Metropolis Country Club, May 9, 2019: During all my years at Quaker I had never played Metropolis (which is about 7 miles away).  As it was on the GD 200 Toughest lists in 1966 and 1967 I decided to rectify that error.  It was founded in 1922 in its present location with a courses designed by Herbert Strong (Canterbury-OH, Engineers-NY, Saucon Valley (Old)-PA; and Nassau-NY).  Over the following 90 years the course was altered by A. W. Tillinghast, Joe Finger, and Ken Dye.  Then in 2013 Ron Forse was retained to bring the course back to its roots with the help of the course superintendent, Davis McCaffrey.  The results are really very good, with 4 excellent par 3's (although they could use more variety in terms of playing length), and a very good flow and collection of holes on a site contained by lack of space and probably having a bit too much in the way of elevation changes.

Holes I liked the most were the par 3's (see two pics below), as well as uphill dogleg right par 4 #3,

Metropolis #9--158 yards

Metropolis #13--183 yards

long par 4 #7, and short drivable par 4 #17.  Course was in excellent condition.  Only thing I do not understand is how it has been ignored by the "top 100" community since 1967.  BUT...last minute correction:  GolfWeek for certain years published a Classic Top 200 and a Modern Top 200 (use in case you were wondering what happened to inflation) and included Metropolis as Classic #190 in 2015 and 2016.  The "200" lists were not published in 2017 or 2018 but just were published for 2019 where Metropolis moved up slightly to #188.

Metropolis has had a superb collection of head pros through the years, including Paul Runyan (PGA Champ in 1934 and 1938 and Golf Hall of Fame inductee) from 1931-1942, Jackie Burke, Jr. (Masters Champion and PGA, both in 1956, co-founder of Champions Golf Club in Houston, TX, and Golf Hall of Fame inductee) from 1948 to 1950, "Lighthorse" Harry Cooper (31 Tour victories and Golf Hall of Fame inductee), and Gene Borek (who fired a 65 at Oakmont in the 1973 US Open...two days before Johnny Miller's 63 ...which came after rains softened the course!).

I had a tired 45-45=90 to end the trip...and was anxious to get back to Pat and home.  Stopped for a few "missing scorecards" and arrived home around 5:15pm.  Trip was about 1550 miles and 10 golf courses in just under 7 days.  Straight drive from our home in Pinehurst to our hole in Milton, MA is 800 miles, so I was doing a lot for zigging and zagging in NY and NJ!

Overall, played 7 new courses, thereby knocking off 4 of my missing from the GD 1966/67 lists (now missing 94), and on host of a US Girls' union and US Boy's Junior Championships.  Golf-wise the highlights were finding another Hidden Gem (Hackensack), returning to Quaker again, and revisiting a beautifully restored Ridgewood.  Over all highlight was seeing a healthy John Sabino.