Golf Club of New England, June 4, 2019: There were two courses I wanted to play near Portsmouth in southern New Hampshire, so being free on June 4, I arranged to play both. Portsmouth lies about 65 miles north of our home in Milton, MA. I left around 5:45am to beat the early commuters.
GCNE opened in 2003 and was designed by Arnold Palmer, and was subsequently renovated to toughen it up. In 2004, the club filed for bankruptcy.
Today it stretches to 7673 yards...I chose to play the White tees at 5797 (only a difference of 104 yards per hole). The rough around the course was very very deep, and the bunkers were backed by some the thickest tall fescue I have seen.
It hosted the US Junior Championship in 2012. I first heard of GCNE about four years ago as the New England Club Pro Championship was played there. The next day I heard about this monster from the pros at Brookline as most were limping around from the experience. Not knowing any better or being any wiser, I decided to give it a shot. With a roaring start (6-6-6) I stood 5 over thought three holes, but settled down for a 45 on the front and then played well on the back, shooting 41 there for an 86.
If you want a simple description of the course, allow me to explain the 8th hole. This is a 250 yard par 3 with a kidney shaped green angled from front left to back right. To reach the left front edge of the green from the back tees it is 228 yards...and to the right front edge it is 242 yards...and it is all carry over water or marshes from the tees to the front of the green.
My simple "test" to measure the greatness of a courses is the following question: when you finish on 18, are you anxious to get back to the first tee and do it again, or are you happy the ordeal is over. I will let you guess where I place GCNE.
Portsmouth Country Club, June 4, 2019: In 1901, Portsmouth CC was formed and a nine hole golf course designed by Alex Findlay was its home. In the late 1920's, additional land was acquired and and 9 holes designed by Wayne Styles were added. However, in the early 1950's the US Government acquired the club's property through eminent domain (to build an Air Force base). The current home of Portsmouth CC was acquired in 1957 and designed by Robert Trent Jones...and renovated by Russ Forbes in 2007. Today it stretches to 7153 yards, par 72. Portsmouth appeared on both of the Golf Digest "200 Toughest" lists in 1966 and 1967.
Situated off Great Bay to the west of Portsmouth, six holes play alongside the Bay or its estuaries, including holes 12 and 14 which have greens situated on "points" jutting into the Bay. Overall this is a fun course...not great and certainly not a USA Top 100...but one that would be fun to play regularly. The Bay provides some wonderful vistas and the course has a number of very good holes (par 5 4th, par 4 12th, par 5 14th, and par 4 15th probably the best). I had a 39 - 41 = 80.
Mount Juliet, June 10, 2019: As regular readers know from my last post (#130), I decided to finish off my two primary bucket lists (USA Top 100 Ever and World Top 100 Ever) as soon as possible and laid out two mini trips, each lasting 3-4 days, first to the British Isles, and then to Michigan, June 9-12 and June 16-19 respectively. I needed to play Huntercombe Golf Club about 30 miles northwest of London's Heathrow Airport, and Treetop Resort's Smith Signature course in northern Michigan.
I also needed to play Ireland's Mount Juliet course as it had hosted the American Express World Golf Championship in 2002 and 2004 (won by Tiger Woods and Ernie Els respectively). I flew from Boston to Shannon on Aer Lingus and arrived in Shannon early on Monday the 10th. Mt. Juliet is about 2 hours east of Shannon (and 90 minutes southwest of Dublin) and I arrived about an hour earlier than I scheduled.
Matt Sandercock, who is Mt Juliet's Director of Golf and previously was an Assistant Pro at Sunningdale Golf Club, had made arrangements for me to play and Matt offered to play with me...which I happily accepted.
Mt. Juliet is a world class resort with beautiful accommodations and restaurants, but I am afraid that the course does not match that standard. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, it opened in 1991and hosted three Irish Opens as well the WGC events mentioned above. It is on a good piece of land but has far too many trees. The 17th hole (534 yard par 5) has trees in the fairway and closely lining the fairway and reminded me of one of the par 5's at Sahalee (WA)...and that is not meant as a compliment. The trees are suffocating and block what could be wonderful vistas, and the impact on turf conditions is also obvious and negative. I had a 41 - 42 = 83 and was glad to get this one off my to do list. On the other hand, Matt is a very good guy and fun to play and talk with...so the day was fun.
I was able to shower before departing and had some chocolate to keep myself awake for the drive to Dublin. Arrived at DUB in plenty of time but my flight to Heathrow was late and it was raining hard when I arrived. Finally arrived at my hotel in Surrey around 1:00am and had a tee time at 8am the next morning...it was a long day but was ready for Sunningdale and Huntercombe and the rain that had dominated the forecast a few days ago looked like it might hold off. Looking forward to a special golf day on Tuesday!
Sunningdale Golf Club--Old, June 11, 2019: Sunningdale GC is one of the UK's (and world's) great golfing institutions. It is home to two golf courses that have been regulars on World Top 100 lists since the lists started some 40 years ago. My World 100 spreadsheet current contains 49 separate lists from 11 sources/publications, and Sunningdale's Old and New courses have graced 47 and 28 of these lists respectively and their highest positions have been 17 and 15 respectively. The only two course club can beat that record is the renowned Royal Melbourne GC whose West and East have graced all 49 and 20 respectively and had highest positions of 1 and 20. The only better contiguous courses to my mind are Shinnecock Hills GC and National Golf Links of America.
Sunningdale's New course was completed in 1923 and designed by Harry Colt (who was the club's first Secretary). The Old opened in 1910 and was designed by Willie Park, Jr., and later modified by Colt. I first played New in 1977 and played it a second time on August 29, 2018 (Post #117). I first played Old in 1980 and believe my prior round on Old was about 15-20 years ago (way too long an absence). During my visit last August, the Secretary urged me to come back and replay Old, and it was a joy to be able to do so.
Due to heavy rains over the prior 24 hours, no "buggies" were allowed on the course. I was playing 36 this day but I guessed (correctly as it turned out) that playing these courses would get sufficient adreneline pumped into my system to get me through the day. My caddy, David and I were off the first tee at 8:04am. I played the red tees (5847 yards). The Old is fairly short (6329 yards from the medal tees) but is shear joy. The second is perhaps the hardest hole and my favorite stretch is from 4 to 6. But few holes in the world reveal a sight quite like the walk up the 18th at Sunningdale's Old with the magnificent clubhouse and famous oak tree behind the green. The course is dotted with 110 bunkers by my count, and heather abounds. Yes, short but demanding and fun. Even in my younger days when I could hit it some long distances, the shorter Old was always my favorite compared to the longer and more demanding New. It was a wonderful reunion...my game was OK...43 - 41 = 84 but somehow the score did not matter.
David was a wonderful caddy...and as we come up 18 he mentioned that he had caddied for another Quaker Ridge member within the last year, and we figured out it was Michael F. Golf's small world shrinks again.
After good-byes, it was off the Huntercombe Golf Club, where an important mission needed to be fulfilled.
Huntercombe Golf Club, June 11, 2019: After a short drive, I arrived at Huntercombe around 1pm. Founded in 1901, it was designed by Willie Park, Jr. (think Sunningdale-Old, Formby-England, Maidstone-NY, Notts-England, Olympia Field North-IL, and Silloth on Solway-England) and remains essentially an untouched Park design (routing changed slightly due to construction of new clubhouse in 1963...turned old 6th hole into the first...7th into 2nd, etc.). Park Jr. won The Open Championship in 1887 and 1889 (at Prestwick and Musselburgh respectively). His father, Willie Park Sr. was victorious four times including the first (1860, 1863, 1866, and 1875...all at Prestwick), and his uncle Mungo Park won it in 1874 at Musselburgh. Huntercombe had never appeared on a World 100 until Golf Club Atlas' "147 Custodians" was published last August (it was ranked #97).
I arrived around 1pm and met the General Manager, Marcus Lovelock. Marcus has been at Huntercombe about two years and this had always been his dream job...which becomes obvious after a short conversation. He asked if he could join me for 5 holes (the 5th green returns to the clubhouse and he had an outside commitment later in the afternoon) and I quickly agreed.
The "new" clubhouse is very simple and most functional, and I was able to grab a quick sandwich before we teed off.
The first hole is a short (142 yard) par 3 that is fairly flat with a green that slopes from front left to back right. In fact, the entire left side of the green cannot be seen from the left side of the tee, but is visible from the tee's right side. From the first green one proceeds to the right and back to the second tee...and there I encountered one of the finest vistas I have encountered in golf. Looking north and northwest, one can look over several miles of beautiful rolling farmland to an area known as Wittenham Clumps (such a wonderful, perfectly British name). About four large "rolls" are obvious and the land looks like a beach with successive "waves" of farmland headed our way, and the waves were progressively higher as they became more distant. I wanted to stay there just looking for about 15 minutes, but remembered that Marcus has an appointment to get to, and that having butchered the 1st hole, I should at least get moving on the second. So I left the tee forgetting to even take a photo ☹️☹️. BTW...the entire fairway and green slope sharply from right to left...and you better know the ground game here.
Then I came to the third green...which has a sharp over all slope from back right to front left punctuated by "waves" extending from front to back and running parallel to each other. My guess is that Park was attempting to copy the background on #2 on the green of #3...see picture below...but we shall never know.
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| Huntercombe GC 3rd Green from right side |
The 4th green is even more unusual, but I had seen it before. The green has two parts, with the left plateau sitting some 4' above the right plateau. Two years ago, I played Meadowbrook Golf Club, which lies in the suburbs northwest of Detroit (Post #88). Meadowbrook was designed by Willie Park, Jr. and its 3rd green is an adaptation of Huntercombe's 4th green!! The design works in both places...but do try to avoid putting from the upper level down to the lower!
The 8th green is also pretty unusual and looked familiar as well. It is a relatively "normal" green in front...and then about 20 yards into the green there is a sharp slope rising some 3' vertically before a shelf with a depth of less than 15 yards on top. There is almost no way to stop the ball if you land on top so the ground game is the only way to play this green with the pin in back. Brookline has some photos of the 18th green at the conclusion of the playoff during the 1913 US open..and back then the green had a similar (although somewhat deeper) shelf above the upslope on the back of the current green.
The greens on 12, 13, and 15 are also full off surprises. But Park's creativity was not limited to putting surfaces. The course is well noted for the lack of sand filled bunkers (today only 13); instead, Park employed natural craters filled with small bushes, fescue grass, and other forms of vegetation. The result is "hazards" (even if that works no longer exist in the Rules of Golf) that act like bunkers but require almost no maintenance. The other unusual architectural feature is large mounds located at various parts of the course.
In summation, this course is as positively unusual as North Berwick's West Links in Scotland (Post #100). It needs to be seen!! As usual, Ran Morrissett's write up at GolfClubAtlas.com and accompanying photos are far superior to mine, so I urge you to go to:
https://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/england/huntercombe-golf-club/
At 3:39 pm (London Daylight Time) on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, I sunk my second putt on 18 and the photo below documents the end of this round and completion of this bucket list.
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| With this putt sunk...World Top 100 EVER All Sources conquered for third and last time! |
This was a very special place to re-complete my World Top 100 Ever...and I certainly send my deep appreciation to Ran Morrissett for calling this hidden gem to my attention.
After the drive of some 30 minutes back to my hotel, I enjoyed a well needed nap! Was a great day, and the rain held off for most of it.
Worplesdon Golf Club, June 12, 2019: Wonderful Heathland dominates the land in Surrey just southwest of London. Here there are three courses (West Hill, Woking and Worplesdon GC's...The Three W's) that almost abut each other and are renowned as outstanding examples of Heathland golf. Pat and I had played Woking GC in June 2015 (Post #11) and loved it, so I am now 2/3rds of the way done.
Worplesdon was designed by J. F. Abercromby and features bunkers by Willie Park, Jr. While it has never been included on a World 100, it is a "regular" on GB&I Top 100 listings (currently #30 in England and #71 in GB&I on top100golfcourses.com). It was in wonderful condition on this day. I found try best holes to be #4 (171 yd uphill par 3--do not be short); #5 (405 yard par 4 with tons of heather right---do not be right off the tee); #10 (139 yard par 3--over large pond but i still liked it...green is tricky and slopes sharply from back to front towards water...do not be short or long); #11 (527 yard par 5 that requires some real local knowledge to fully understand the angles); and #13 a slightly downhill par three of 173 yards that is a thing of beauty and superb design). I ended up quite pleased with a 42 -39 = 81 which included several shots tossed away due to my lack of local knowledge...so essential in this part of the world.
Teeing off at 8:45am I finished my round by 11:15, offers many thanks to the professional and the secretary and headed on to the trip's last round.
St George's Hill Golf Club (Green and Red), June 12, 2019: This was a return visit to a club/course Pat and I flipped over on that same trip in June 2015 (Post #11). St George's Hill was designed by Harry Colt and opened for play with 36 holes in 1913. At some point thereafter it was cut back to 27 holes, probably to provide more land for additional homes. Pat and I had played the "main course" (Red and Blue nines) in 2015 and I was scheduled to play R&B but play had been delayed by morning rain and I was concerned about catching my flight back that evening if I was playing behind an outing on R&B. This gave me a chance to play the Green nine for the first time...2952 yards from White tees versus 3215 and 3331 yards on Red and Blue respectively, and I was pleased to do so. I had a 39 (G) - 43 (R) = 82 and finished the round just was it started to rain again.
St George's Hill is laid out over some of the best inland land I have seen...the land rolls and tumbles across beautiful and treacherous mounds and up and down beautiful slopes...and most of the greens are sited in wonderfully nature settings.
The club is reputed to be the first golf club designed around real estate...and today is surrounded by grand estates...many of which are owned by Russian Oligarchs (reminding me once again how I missed the boat), including Putin's daughter. Security here is very extensive, but when I provided my last name, the gates swung wide open.
After the round I was able grab a bite to eat and shower/change before my 8:10pm flight to Boston. The flight arrived early and I was home by 11:30pm. Successful journey and great to be back on top of the "World Top 100 Ever--11 Sources" bucket list for the third time...now to conquer the same for USA the following week!
Arcadia Bluffs (South), June 17, 2019: Back in 2010 Pat and I made a trip to Chicago and Northern Michigan for golf and visiting friends. It was a very special trip in all regards and we played golf and stayed at a new resort called Arcadia Bluffs right on Lake Michigan about an hour form Traverse City. The rooms were excellent, the views spectacular, and the course was good and offered some beautiful holes along the Lake. Sitting about 15 miles south of Alister MacKenzie's Crystal Downs GC (which were played on this trip), it is difficult for a course to stand out architecturally, but the Bluffs course can be fun (we played it in 25-30 mph winds which can negate a lot of fun).
Last year, Arcadia opened a second course ("South") located a little east of Bluffs and about a mile south. South was designed by Fry/Straka (Dana Fry and Frank Straka) who are also responsible for Calusa Pines (FL), Devil's Paintbrush and Pulpit (Ontario), Erin Hills (WI), Hamilton Farms (NJ), and Shelter Harbor (RI). This one is a Raynor adaptation BUT...they did this without a lot of Template holes...no Redan, no Short, No Road Hole, etc. Hole #5, a par 3 of 200 yards from the tips has some Maiden aspects...but in many ways plays more like #11 at Shinnecock Hills... and if I had not picked up, I might still be there. It has a false front, right side and back...and a long deep bunker on the left. I have heard that the owner, Rich Postma did not want any Templates. That may be, but Fry/Staka did sneak in two pair of Spectacles on #9 and #13, brought in some church pew bunkers on 17, and for the most part, the course looks and plays like a Raynor or Macdonald:
- almost no trees,
- geometrically shaped tees, bunkers, and greens,
- wide fairways with lots of options and angles to decide from,...and some pot bunkers in the center of fairways (perfectly fine with very wide fairways IMO) similar to Fry's efforts at Shelter Harbor in RI
- windy environment
- very firm and fast fairways and greens...course plays "bouncy", and
- large greens broken into sections by spines and hollows.
The course is 7412 yards from the tips (par 72), but feels like an easy walk (I was playing 36 this day so was in a cart). Tons of space, but the tees are close to the prior greens. I had a 42 - 38 = 80.
Yes, the are some semi-negative things to point out...the bunker sand seems to be a bit soft, and the course is not quite ready...but these are things that get corrected naturally as a course grows in...and remember this one is almost brand new. Overall it is a brilliant, but subtle, presentation of many aspects of the first golden age of golf architecture. I am 200% sure this would work from a business standpoint at a upscale club near a large city...in an area loaded with "experienced golfers". It will be interesting to see if this subtle presentation works in a resort environment where there are not a lot of "regulars". No one going to Crystal Downs or any of the other great tracks in Northern Michigan should miss this one. I truly hope it becomes a rousing success story!!
Hated to leave this place...a second round would have been wonderful...but I had two get over to Treetops to get on top of another mountain.
Treetops Resort--Smith Signature Course, June 17, 2019: The drive from Arcadia to Treetops takes about 2 hours 20 minutes, and toward the end of the drive I recognized the area around Treetops...as this was my third visit. The first two were in July 2013 and June 2018. I played the first 12 holes of the R T Jones Masterpiece course in 4 hours in 2013...and had to leave (no posts back then), and then went back last year to play holes 13-18 and finish it...only to learn in a discussion with another Paul R. (GW Panelist from Austin) that I had played the wrong course (after taking two trips to do it!!). Dumb is not a strong enough word. So this visit became necessary to play The Rick Smith Signature Course that was on my merged GW USA Top 100 lists for 1997 and 1998 (#34 in 1997).
The good news was that the course was fairly empty (Mondays are slow days at resorts and this was early in then season for Northern Michigan), so I was able to play it quickly. This courses opened in 1993 and frankly, today looks very tired. Every hole is surrounded by thick stands of trees, the distances from green to tee are way to long to walk, the bunkers need refurbishing as do the greens, and some holes are almost claustrophobic (175 yard par 3 6th looks like a bowling alley). I played well (39 - 38 = 77) and was very glad to get this one done.
The round at Treetops (which I completed at 3:51pm EDT) brought me on top of the USA All Sources Top 100 EVER for the first time. Thus, I had completed both the World and USA Top 100's EVER (from all sources for both listings). As you may have seen in Post #130, that evening, after checking online to ensure that none of the sources for these lists had published a recent update, I announced that "I shall no longer 'chase' World to USA Top 100 lists."
My reward for this was a 3 hour 15 minute drive south to the Detroit area...I had 5 courses to play over the next two days.
Orchards Golf Club, June 18, 2019: Orchards is a daily fee course located about 40 miles north of Detroit, near Pontiac, MI. I had tried to play it last summer but delays in league play meant the course was fairly jammed and it was clear I could not finish my round if I started as scheduled (around 6pm...see Post #111). This year I booked the first tee time at 8:00am and talked to the head pro who assured me I would be the first player off .
Orchards GC was designed by R T Jones, Jr. and opened in 1993. Including unusable wetlands and residential housing, the original property (a former apple orchard) encompassed 525 acres. In 1997 it was included on GW's USA Top 100 Modern list, but not my merged list. It currently stretches to 7046 yards and in 2022 it hosted the US Amateur Public Links Championship. I played quickly (about 2 hours 15 minutes) and well, shooting a 39 - 40 = 79. After saying "thanks", I was on the road for an hour's drive to Dearborn, MI...on the way stopping for lunch with Jay H., whom I first met in 1977 playing his home course, Plum Hollow GC (Post #88). Jay and I caught up on each other's lives and golf stories and he returned to his plumbing supply business and I continued my trip to Dearborn.
TPC Michigan, June 18, 2019: Back in June 1968, after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University's School of Industrial Administration (longhand for Business School), I headed from Pittsburgh to Dearborn to work in finance at Ford Motor Company. I worked at Ford for almost two years but never liked living in the Detroit area, and switched to Citibank in May 1970. The good news for you right now is that I will not bore you with the details. But this was a my first real stop in Dearborn since then.
In the late 1980's the PGA Tour, Ford, and other organizations collaborated to finance and build a new golf course less than a mile southeast of Ford's corporate headquarters (the "Glasshouse") located on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and was meant to be a permanent home for the newly created Senior Players Championship (equivalent to the PGA's Tour's Players Championship played annually just south of Jacksonville FL since the early 1980's). The Senior Players Championship has been one of five Senior Tour (now called Champions Tour) majors since its inception in 1990. The inaugural event was hosted by Dearborn Country Club (I am guessing due to delays in the construction of this course) in 1990 and then here from 1991-2006. Since 2006 it have moved frequently to the following venues:
2007-09 Baltimore CC, MD
2010 TPC Potomac at Avenal Farm, MD
2011 Westchester CC-West, NY
2012-14 Fox Chapel CC, PA
2015 Belmont CC, MA
2016 Caves Valley GC, MD
2017 Exmoor CC, IL
2018-today Firestone CC-South, OH
On this day a good number of local pros and top amateurs were playing in practice rounds for an initial qualifying round (held here the next day) for the PGA Tour Rocket Mortgage Championship that was completed June 30, 2019. As a result, play was fairly slow.
TPC Michigan has never been on any Top 100 listing, and frankly, for good reason. It plays to 7071 yards (par 72) and is constructed around major wetland sites. Water and marshland come into play on at least 12 of 18 holes, and hole #14 now wins my award for the worst single golf hole I have played. This hole plays 455 yards from the tips and 407 yards from the regular tees (where I played from). Starting about 150 yards from the green, water and marshland encompass almost all of the hole with just a strip of "fairway" (more like single file walking path) that is about 8 yards wide to the right...all the way to the green. For the Senior Tour players, leaving an approach shot of say 160-180 yards is not a big deal. Now picture a 15-20 handicap playing this hole. If he/she hits a so-so drive, they have to take out a wedge and lay up to the water...and then probably empty their golf bag attempting to carry the rest of the way to the green (assuming they are not smart enough to simply pick up). So many times do you think they will come back to play this track? In some ways it reminded me of Harbor Shoes near Benton Harbor, another Nicklaus track dominated by wetlands (Post #111)...very artificial
To be fair, I am not sure anything else could have been done with this portion of the property...but maybe the question should have been "why build a course here". About 12 years ago, the entity operating the course declared bankruptcy. The facility was subsequently purchased (and is still operated by) by Club Corp.
I posted a smooth 46 - 45 = 91 (might still be there if I was not using Equitable Stroke Control) and was most pleased to have this one in my rear view mirror.
Dearborn Country Club, June 19, 2019: This was to be a very long day...starting with a scheduled tee time at Dearborn CC at 7:30am, and attempting to play 54 holes (in carts obviously...btw I used carts on all rounds of this Michigan trip given it was to be 7 rounds in 3 days).
I arrived at Dearborn CC at 7:10 and was able to tee off at 7:15am. This is a very flat but good golf course that could be better with the removal of more trees. Originally designed by Donald Ross and opening in 1916, it was renovated by C. E. Robinson in 1966. To be honest, in the late 1960's when I worked at Ford, I never knew of its existence about 2 miles from my office. As mentioned above it hosted the initial Senior Players Championship in 1990 as well as the LPGA's Stroh's Open on 1978 and 1979. Playing here meant that I was down to two more venues (Reserve Vineyards-South near Portland OR, and Port St Lucie CC--now a Club Med franchise in FL) to have completed the Senior Tour Major venues ever.
I fired a poor 42 - 43 = 85; this was a relaxing round and I was just pleased to get it gone by 9:30 and move north to Bloomfield Hills for my next round on a long day.
Forest Lake Country Club, June 19, 2019: Forest Lake is a very very private club located in Bloomfield Hills (perhaps the most exclusive neighborhood in the Detroit region). It hosted the Women's PGA Championship in 1956 and the US Women's Open in 1958 (won by Marlene Hagge and Mickey Wright respectively). It was designed by William Diddle and opened in 1926 and was renovated by Arthur Hills. Forest Lake is a fun but very short course (6279 yards from the tips and 5876 form the middle tees, where I played from).
I started off hitting the ball extremely well and had putts of less than 15' on holes 1-3 for birdies (alas...missed all three). Fell apart from 4-8 and ended up shooting 41 - 41 = 82. I enjoyed the course and it is clearly a very fine club. I finished my round by 1pm...and then hoped over to Orchard Lake CC just 6 miles west of Forest Lake.
Orchard Lake Country Club, June 19, 2019: Designed by Harry Colt and his partner Charles Alison, Orchard Lake CC opened in 1926. Starting about 15 years ago, the club retained Keith Foster to bring back the boldness and spirit imbued by Allison almost 80 years earlier. While I had never set eyes on Orchard Lake prior to this visit, I have heard that it had suffered from an illness common to many golf courses...unchecked tree growth resulting in the "life" and openness of the course being literally chocked out of the layout. I witnessed it happening from 1975-2000 at Quaker Ridge but failed to recognize it until about 7-8 years later when I realized how the course had become claustrophobic. Happily, Gil Hanse was brought in and reversed that trend in big ways...and the Hanse's, Foster's, DeVries', Crenshaw/Coore's, Doak's, Phillips', and too many others to mention reversed those trends at hundreds of courses across the world and have pushed an emphasis on fun in the game of golf. It is important to also recognize the efforts of pioneers such as Al Jamieson (California Club of SF), Dunlop White III (Old Town Club, NC), Dick Youngscap (Sandhills GC, NE), Michael Keiser (Bandon Dunes Resort, etc.), and the leadership of Oakmont Country Club in the mid-1990's and thereafter.
Back to Orchard Lake. The course now plays 7104 yards from the tips (par 71) and is a sight to see. Large areas previously filled with thick bunches of trees now are open with beautiful tall fescue occupying the land. As a result the vistas are marvelous, the sun and wind get to almost all of the ground and turf, thereby drying the land more quickly, and the turf is wonderfully healthy. Net net...it is fast and firm!
The bunkers are big and bold and dominate the holes when looking from the tee. Bunker size is a major factor here, but also the use of brilliant white sand contributed in a big way...as the white sand causes these hazards to really stand out...and it become more difficult for the player to ignore their presence. And the bunker size is easily matched by the greens, all of which present difficult overall slopes with relatively little in the way of major interior mounding.
Finally, the open space allows the wonderful contours, mounds and valleys of Orchard Lake's rolling land to become more obvious...and the challenges this land presents (flat lies are rare events here) is never far from the players mind.
I had the pleasure of playing Orchard Lake with a good friend from Pinehurst who is a long term member and fairly well known player in the State of Michigan. All Pete G. did was win the Michigan State Amateur Championship in four separate decades (think about that for as second). Aside from that, Pete is also one very nice and wonderful gentlemen...or to put it more simply, a great guy!
It was very special to hear the history of the course from Pete as we played it. After starting with double bogey 6 on the par 4 first (406 yards, turning slightly left, slightly downhill off the tee and then fairly level until about 30 yards short of the green which sits perched atop a small hill...with a very large yawning bunker protecting the right front) I started to hit the ball pretty well. I ended the round with a solid 39 - 38 = 77, not too shabby for my third round of the day.
The club has kept pretty much under the radar during its 93 years, hosting one Western Amateur in 1962 and never appearing on a USA Top 100. I loved playing it and would place it among the five best courses in the Detroit area (along with Franklin Hills, Indianwood-Old, Meadowbrook, and Oakland Hills-South...in alphabetical order). A semi-hidden gem...take advantage if you get an invite.
Off to the airport which was a mess as Delta's systems were down. Fortunately they came back up and we took off on time and landed ahead of schedule. As always, good to be back home and with my bride!!
Rhode Island Country Club, June 28, 2019: RICC is about 65 miles from our home in Milton, MA and has hosted four US Women's Amateur Championships (1924, 1953, 1987, and 2011) as well as the 1975 US Senior Women's Amateur. It also has hosted the CVS Classic since its inception in 1999. It has never appeared on a USA or World Top 100. While it has not been on any of my bucket lists, I have been curious about it since learning of its extensive USGA history, so I contacted a good friend from Pinehurst who has lived most of his life in RI and is know to many as Mr. Rhode Island Golf (most notably for his work in founding and building "Buttonhole Golf"...Google it), and Eddie M. arranged a fun game!
RICC is a fun course that I could play every day without getting bored (although in certain winter months I might get quite cold...just checking to see if you are reading this). Relatively short (6393 yards par 71), RICC was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1911. I had a 39 - 40 = 79 which was good for me as the course requires local knowledge. Not a weak hole amongst the 18...and by far the best is the straight uphill 14th (377 yards) to a wonderful infinity green with excellent bunkering and a green loaded with outstanding pin placements. The course is filled with false fronts and sides.
After playing RICC, and having played Newport two days earlier, I decided that Rhode Island may well have the best concentration of "fun" courses amongst the USA's fifty states. It is filled with fun tracks, namely (again in alphabetical order and limited to courses I have played):
Misquamicut Club (Post #109)
Newport (Post #18)
Port Judith (play precedes Blog)
RICC (Post #131)
Saconnet (Post #56)
Shelter Harbor (Post #5)
Wannamoissett (play precedes Blog)
I have played an 8th course in RI but IMO it is unworthy of this list and shall go unmentioned (remember what our mothers told us...). Note that there are absolutely no "big" championship tracks in the entire state (and who cares), specifically, if I am not mistaken, the longest of these seven is Shelter Harbor at 7032 yards.
Other Recent Repeats: Between June 26 and July 8 I played three courses I had played before and covered in prior Posts. Nothing of great import to add to these prior Posts except as noted below (and the fact that I love all three tracks!):
June 16, Newport CC (Post #18)--to host the 2020 US Senior Open
July 7, Essex Country Club (Post #113)
July 8, Old Sandwich Golf Club (Post #83)
Bucket List Status:
Courses Played--1158 (20,438 golf holes)
World Top 100 EVER (all sources)--DONE
USA Top 100 EVER (all sources)--DONE
Fifty States--DONE
Men's Major Venues EVER--DONE
PGA Players Championships--DONE
Five Cups--1 to go (Denver CC, CO)
Senior Majors--2 to go
Women's Majors--5 to go
Amateur Majors--5 to go
Federal Express Playoffs--1 to go (TPC Southwind, TN)
World Golf Championships--2 to go
Golf Week USA Classic Top 100 EVER--1 to go (Astoria, OR)
Golf Week USA Modern Top 100 EVER--15 to go
Golf Digest USA Top 101-200 EVER--12 to go
Golf Digest 1966 and 1967 "200Toughest"--92 to go (not planning to finish)
US Junior Championship Venues--29 to go (not planning to finish)
To date for 2019 (through July 9), played:
16 repeat courses (had played before 2019)
43 new courses
59 total courses
Milestone missed...On May 3, 2019, according to my best calculation, I played my 20,000th golf hole...the 13th hole at International Country Club in Reston, VA. Knew you would be thrilled!
Miscellaneous: Think about the following thought/question:
English language question...did the word "if" exist before the game of golf was created?
Second English language question...why are many of our clubs called "Country Club"? I remember when I was young and we lived in Jamaica, Queens, that if we were going out to Long Island or Westchester we would talk about going to "the country"...meaning away from the busy City (even though Jamaica was fairly suburban at that time). Talking to others who are up elsewhere, it seems "going to the country" was a phrase used in most cities for those types of trips. Me thinks that is where the "Country Club" title came from.
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