132. Back to Rockies and Upper Plains

132.  Back to Rockies and Upper Plains

As noted at the end of my last post, in early July 2019 I had 45 courses left to finish my first priority bucket lists.  Some of these are grouped geographically within a relatively small area (10 of the 45 are located in the states of Oregon and Washington, and five are located in Texas), while others are dispersed over a much larger area.  This trip was to last for 6 days, and cover 6.5 courses (one club had 27 holes), but would cover two large sections of the USA, the Rockies (specifically Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana) and the Upper Plains (South Dakota and Nebraska, although I was not able to arrange play on this trip at the course in NE).  Six days for 6.5 courses looks like a virtual vacation compared to most of my other jaunts, but this would end up being more of a flying/driving journey than a golfing trip.

Ravenna Country Club, July 14, 2017:  I was at Boston’s Logan Airport bright and early this Sunday morning (left home at 5:40am) for a flight to Denver, CO.  Amazing how crowded Logan was at 6:00amon Sunday!  We arrived early at DEN and when awaiting my luggage, ran into a good friend from Pinehurst (CCNC member) and Toronto, Steve S.  Steve was also waiting for his luggage off his flight from Toronto and was headed to Ballyneal, one of the great courses built over the last 20 years and located in the northeast corner of CO (about 3 hours from DEN airport).  Pat and I played Ballyneal in 2010 one day after playing Sand Hills in NE (pre-blogging days so no post to refer you to).  Steve was headed for an Outpost Club event at Ballyneal.  Outpost Club is a “virtual” golf club that I belonged to about ten years ago…in fact Steve and I first met at an Outpost Club event at Palmetto GC in Aiken, SC in 2011…and we both think back often to that wonderful course and club.  Ballyneal was designed by Tom Doak and has generally been rated between #75 and #85 on Golf Magazine’s World listings and #45-#55 on top100golfcourses.com.

After a drive of about 50 miles (heading southwest) I arrived at Ravenna about 12:20. Ravenna was designed by Jay Morrish, who in earlier days partnered with Tom Weiskopf and had a strong hand in designing Loch Lomond (Scotland) and Double Eagle (Ohio)…this was Moorish’s last design (by plan).   It opened in 2007 with plans to sell lots of real estate.  Given the events of 2008, it is not surprising that the club was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2010.  It finally emerged from bankruptcy in 2014. Initially the course was a brute, with a course rating of 75.0 and a slope of 149, huge bunkers, sharply sloping fairways and wild greens.  Me thinks that after the financial crash in 2008, not many golfers were looking to get beat up on their home course.  In 2014, the new owner, Kevin Collins, started a major effort to “soften” the course.  It was shortened by 150 yards, bunkers covering over two acres of land were removed, and green/fairway contours were reduced.  As a result, the course rating dropped to 73.8 and the slope to 143…not a pushover but certainly more playable and fun.  A new clubhouse is now under construction after some 12 years in a “temporary” (but very well done) clubhouse.

I played with a Golf Week panelist from Kiawah Island, SC (Mac Frye) and we both had similar views of the course.  In essence, more softening seems to be in order…especially reducing the slope on the second fairway, opening up more options for the second shot on the par 5 14^thhole, and smoothing the contours on the 15^thgreen. The course is not walkable due to the mountainous terrain and long distances from green to tee…but correcting that would not be unfeasible given the terrain.  On the positive side, the course was in very good condition and despite being very green (lots of snow this past winter and rain over the last two months) played fast and firm…and most of the individual holes were quite good. My game was not great…42 – 46 = 88 in part because I was tired.

Ravenna #16, 240 yard downhill par 3...from a tilted camera!

Ravenna has never appeared on a USA true 100, but was on GW’s USA Top 100 Modern for six years between 2009 and 2016. It’s highest rating ever on my Merged GW Top 100 list was in was in 2010 (#153) with a position of #80 on GW’s Top 100 USA Modern that year.

My introduction to Ravenna was through J. J. Keegan, a business consultant to the golf industry and fellow Golf Magazine panelist.  JJ clearly has been advising Kevin Collins on his plans for Ravenna and both of them asked Mac and me for our candid reactions to the course and suggestions.  We both suggested softening the course more, especially 14 and 15…and that seemed to be in line with what they were thinking.  

I left Ravenna around 6:30 and headed west to Edwards, CO, just west of Vail on I-70.  Easy drive except to a pretty strong thunderstorm that lasted for about 10 minutes about 25 miles east of Vail.  

Red Sky Ranch-Norman, July 15, 2019:  Was up early for a 7:10 tee time at Red Sky Ranch’s course designed by Greg Norman. Red Sky sits at around 7500-8000’ above sea level and commands spectacular views of the Rockies.  The facility opened in 2003 with a Tom Fazio track and Norman’s course followed a year later.  I was playing the Norman because in 2013 Golf Digest listed it as #194 in its USA “Top 100”.  I know that makes little sense…but a number of listing have now expanded…sort of like golf’s version of multiple valedictorians.  This of course has nothingto do with the possibility of generating more advertising $$ because they are including more courses in their “top 100” listings.  In 2013 GD started publishing a listing of #101-200 in the USA.

As readers of this blog may be aware, I am not a huge fan of Greg Norman’s architectural efforts, but must admit to liking this puppy.  Greens are huge and have strong slopes that are difficult to discern in the mountainous setting…and very little in the way of interior mounding.  Fairways are generous and slope as well.  Course would be difficult to walk (somewhat more walkable than Ravenna but not much).  Overall it was in nearly perfect condition, if a little too green (to be fair, CO…and the Rockies in general…have received copious amounts of snow and rain this year).  I played with Patricia Peeples, whose job at Red Sky is to coordinate the scheduling of panelists and other “dignitaries” (note the bold typeface for those quotation marks). I was in a time crunch as my flight was scheduled to depart DEN at 1:50pm, and my drive back would be 2:15-2:30 (more on this in a minute).  I ended up with a 44 – 42 = 86.  For most of the back nine, Pat did not play so that we could finish the round before 10am…and I was off for DEN by 9:50.  

The start of the drive to DEN went well…then I hit a major delay just east of Vail where rock clearing was taking place…and sat in backed up traffic for over 45 minutes.  All looked fairly dire but I figured I might have a chance if I got lucky and hauled butt the rest of the trip. Problem was returning my rental car. Decided to drop my bag at curbside first as I knew it had to be checked at least 45 minutes before scheduled departure…or 1:05pm…and I got it checked at 1:02. Then made a mad dash to Hertz, and back to the terminal, through security and to the gate.   The rules say you need to be at the gate within 15 minutes of scheduled departure…I arrived at 1:38 (about 3 minutes late) just as they were making a last call for me…but I got on board, semi-exhausted, and knowing that my new heart valve had passed a major test.

Iron Horse Golf Club, July 16, 2019:  As I was planning this trip Iron Horse was the tough one in terms of gaining access. Eentually, I found a fellow Golf Digest Panelist who was a member…and though he was going to be out of town, he was able to set me up with two other members.  Iron Horse is located in Whitefish, MT in the northwest corner of MT. It is a spectacular location and the course sits above Whitefish Lake, about 25 miles from Glacier National Park.  Probably because of Glacier, there is a commercial airport within 15 miles of the course and this small town has become a haven for Texans looking to escape the summer heat of Dallas, Austin and Houston.

Car rental was very expensive so I planned on using taxis and Uber (if available) for this stop of about 26 hours.  However, when I arrived I was advised that UBER was highly unreliable, there were no taxis in sight, and calls to locals taxi companies yielded estimated waits of about 50 minutes and quotes of $65 for a 15 mile trip.  So online I went and found an UBER driver 3 minutes away!! Jessica came from upstate NY and claimed to be the only Jew is Whitefish…I responded that she was for the next 24 hours or so going to be one of two!  She became my chauffer for three trips (Airport to Hotel, Hotel to Iron Horse, and Iron Horse to Airport).  I was fairly tired at this point so just crashed at the hotel in order to catch up on missing sleep.  

On Tuesday morning I arrived at Iron Horse around 8am and met my hosts (both from Texas…Dallas and Austin) as well as a couple of other members.  Iron Horse is a very low key, quiet and comfortable club.  The course was designed by Tom Fazio, and opened in 2000. About 4-5 holes have spectacular views of Whitefish Lake, and the best holes IMO were two par 3’s  (7---a sharply downhill 188 yarder with a very tough green,  and 16---229 yards to a potato chip shaped green closely guarded by bunkers) and the par 4 dogleg right 8^th.  My very strong sense is that the basic bones of the course are really excellent...but that tree growth has started to tighten the course and reduced the options and fun quotient.  Paring back some of the fir trees would also do much to help this property recover from tough winter seasons (such as the last one), as well as enhance some of the already spectacular views.  

This is one that needs to be played and has even greater potential than it shows right now…with not a lot of effort!!

As much as I enjoyed my hosts and round here, the highlight was a conversation I had in the clubhouse with an older member who had introduced himself to me upon my arrival in the locker room.   He hailed from Pittsburgh, PA and had played at Oakmont.  After my round. the same gentleman was in the locker room again and I restarted our conversation.  Slowly it came out that he was a former President of Oakmont…after having served as the green chairman who initiated the tree removal program at Oakmont in the mid 1990’s: Jim M.  I told him how much I admired what he had done at Oakmont…and more importantly how it had commenced major efforts to reduce tree growth at hundreds of outstanding courses throughout the world…breathing new life into most of the classic tracks.

Anyhow, if you can find a way onto Iron Horse…it is very much worth playing and seeing.  And if they manage to clear out some of the tighter holes on the property and open up the course a bit, I believe this one would shoot up the rankings.  

Details wise, I played fairly well shooting a 40 – 42 = 82.  Iron Horse stretches to 7028 yards from the tips, and was included in GW’s Top 100 Modern list at spot #84 in 2002 (never on my Merged GW Top 100).

After a good shower, my UBER driver Jessica too me back to the airport.  While waiting for my flight, I spotted an older gentlemen at the airport wearing a Yarmulke (a Jewish skullcap)…I called Jessica to advise that she was now one of three…at least until the next flight departed!

Powder Horn Golf Club, July 17, 2019:  Leaving Whitefish MT and heading to Sheridan, WY meant either a drive of some 8-9 hours or two flights…I chose the latter, transferring in Salt Lake City and heading for Casper, WY.  Both Casper and Billings, MT are just over 2 hours from Sheridan WY, but my choice was always Casper.  One of my great buds and fraternity brother at MIT (Rick Lentz) was originally from Casper, and I always wanted to get there to see it.  Well, 50% completed…I got there, but being that it was just before 10pm, there was little to see…and no one seemed to remember Rick!

The drive north to Sheridan was uneventful but somewhat spectacular with major lightning strikes visible to the north, and I arrived at my hotel just past midnight.  

Early the next morning I was at Powder Horn, a 27-hole club featuring three nines by Dick Bailey.  Interestingly, Golf Week has included the combination of the Stag and Mountain nines on their Top 100 Modern listings in 2000 and 2002-2011 (peaking at #130 on my “Merged” GW list in 2003), while Golf Digest includes the combination of Stag and Eagle nines in its list of candidate courses.  As such I chose to play all 27 (not wanting to risk the need for a return visit to this rather remote location).  The three nines are very different from one another.  I played Mountain first, had a 39 but thought the nine was way too open and not very interesting.  Then I played Stag…which was quite the opposite, being fairly tight in spots and I thought had too much water (had another 39).  Finally I played Stag…fired a smooth 36…and thought it was a very good nine.  Overall, I would select the Eagle/Stag 18 as the best combination.  In terms of building sequence, Mountain came first in 1997, followed by Stag and then Eagle over the following 6-7 years.

Following the round, I had a quick lunch and hit the road…this time heading east to central South Dakota.

Sutton Bay Club, July 18, 2019:  Back in 2013 I was scheduled for a trip to South Dakota, Minneapolis, central IL, and Ft. Wayne IN.  The day before my scheduled departure, I was playing at Brookline with a member of Hazeltine National (MN) and we were discussing my first stop on my upcoming trip…Sutton Bay in SD.  The member of Hazeltine asked if I knew the history of the Old and New courses at Sutton Bay…and my reply was “I thought they only had one course”.  I then learned the history of Sutton Bay.  Its Old course, designed by Graham Marsh, opened in 2003, and in 2005 was rated #25 on GW’s Merged USA Top 100 and stayed on this Merged list through 2010.  In 2009 and 2011 it was rated #85 on Golf Magazine’s USA Top 100, and in 2012 it placed #95 on top100golfcourses.com.  However, starting around 2008 or 2009 sprinkler system pipes started breaking regularly as the land on which the course was constructed started to shift and literally fissure/split.  Before long, the Old course had become a safety hazard and had to be abandoned, and Marsh was brought back to build a replacement, higher up and further away from the Missouri River.  The New course opened in 2013 (just prior to my discussions)…but the ratings mentioned above were for the Old course, which had been on different land.  As it was described to me, the entire Old course had slid into the Missouri River. 

I notified Golf Digest of what I had learned and Sutton Bay was removed from their Best in State ratings. I also cancelled the first day of my trip…thereby saving myself from an arduous journey to central SD.  However, earlier this year, Sutton Bay’s New course was included on GW’s Top 100 USA Modern listing (but not the “Merged” list), thereby putting it back on my personal to-do list, ands requiring the same arduous journey…just six years later.  

So I headed east from Powder Horn mostly on Interstate 90 and then US-212 for a total of 410 miles and about 6 hours 10 minutes.  That was a long drive…but tomorrow’s would be worse (more later).

This is a spectacular setting…high above east bank of the Missouri.  Sutton Bay Club is beautifully done without being over the top. Activities include golf, fishing and hunting in their appropriate seasons, but my focus was to be golf…and some rest from the drive.  I inquired about the Old and whether it might be possible to play a few of the original holes.  The response was quick and clear…it would be a major safety risk (as the ground was filled with fissures) and the land was now infested in rattlesnakes.  Trust me, those warnings were enough for moi to keep the Old course in my “no longer exists” category.  

The next morning I was the first golfer off the tee.  Played with Cody, an assistant pro here and a fine, fine, young man.  I very much liked the course.  It has wide fairways, well placed bunkers that force the golfer to consider their options on almost every shot, and the greens are fairly large, filled with double breaking putts, and loaded up with mounds…there are some incredible putts on these greens, and to some extent they reminded me a little of Ohoopee Match Play (Post #123).  Best hole IMO is par 4 11^th…simply fits perfectly into the land forms.  The many views of The Missouri River and Lake Oahe are spectacular (reminding me of the views of the Missouri River from the Links of North Dakota (Post #85).  

As with about every course I have played over the past few months, Sutton Bay has received far more than its normal amount of rain (and/or snow) this year and is much greener than normal (so I was told…this being my first visit within 125 miles of here).  The course, which was in great condition, still played fairly firm and fast…but I would guess that under normal conditions it is really fast.  One other consequence of the rain was that the fescue lining the generous fairways was extremely thick and brutal.  Cody hit into it once or twice and I thought he might break a wrist getting out.  They are actively working to thin out the fescue.

Based on what I could discern from a distance, the Old course was much closer to the River/Lake, but the New course offers more expansive views from its higher perch.  I was told the Old course had more natural movement in its fairways, but the greens on the New are much tougher to play and understand. Additionally the Old was a much tougher walk.  Yardage wise New totals 7317 yards..  I came in with a 43 -42 = 85…not bad with 5 three putt greens.

Overall I came away very very impressed.  Let’s be clear, this place makes Bandon and Sandhills look convenient…but no question it is worth the effort.

Hiwan Golf Club, July 19, 2019:  After the round at Sutton Bay and saying thanks to the staff, I grabbed a box lunch and was back on my way…this time with a drive of almost 600 miles (9 hours) to Denver.  I had hoped to play Dismal River Club’s White Course on the way (I would be driving within 22 miles of it) but they now have a rule requiring all non-members to spend a night at the club in order to play either course (I played their Red Course in 2014, Post #4)…and they were booked solid that Thursday night.  This will mean another trip back to NE…not all bad as I will try to work in another round at Sandhills GC on that trip.  It also meant I had nothing to break up the trip.  Also tried a return to Ballyneal GC in northeastern CO, but they too were booked solid.  Good news for the game and its many clubs and businesses that depend on visiting players, full membership rosters, and strength of the economy.

The sights along the way were often spectacular…but few were better than the Rockies in the distance signaling that I was getting close to Denver.  I was heading to a town called Evergreen which is west of Denver (thereby extending the drive somewhat) and was scheduled to play Hiwan GC early Friday morning.  Mel H., who has completed at least one (and probably more) GM World list and is a fellow member of Global Golf Centurions Club had arranged for me to play Hiwan, his home club. No question in my mind that Mel is/has:

            - played more great golf courses than any other physicist who has ever lived; and

            - is the second best physicist/golfer to ever live (first would be Bryson DeChambeau).

Unfortunately, Mel was traveling on July 19 and could not join me, but he set up my game for which I am very grateful.  And I would be seeing him the following week.

Hiwan was included in GD’s 200 Toughest lists in 1996 and 1967, hosted the 1976 US Junior Championship. It also hosted the Colorado Open from 1964-1992.  It opened in 1965 with a Press Maxwell design and was remodeled by Dick Phelps in 1990.

Hiwan plays to 6932 yards from the tips (par 70), and is very hilly.  The first hole is straight up hill and is an indication of things to come. By my count eight holes are big time uphill or downhill, and I counted five major doglegs (all left to right). It was in excellent condition and played fairly firm/fast.  I finished this trip with a 39 – 39 = 78, showered and headed to the airport…quite tired. 

When I returned my car, I noted that I had driven my rental car (starting in Casper WY at about 10pm on 7/16 and returning at Denver Airport at 1:30pm on 7/19…a total of 63.5 hours) had logged 1217 miles.  My rental charges totaled $224.44 (18.4 cents/mile)…not too bad.  Total for the trip was 1612 miles (excluding miles in golf carts!).  Since you asked, my gas charges with the Casper-Denver car totaled $91.32.  This was more of a driving/flying trip than a golf trip (1612 miles plus 5 flights totaling almost 14 hours)…but I did knock off most of my hard to get to/isolated destinations.

Flight home was happily uneventful and I arrived home around 11:30PM.  Pat was fast asleep!