135. Short Trip to Knockoff Some Isolated Courses

135.  Short Trip to Knockoff Some Isolated Courses

Before I get into this trip, I need to add one comment to my last post, regarding Century CC.  When I arrived in the locker room, the attendant showed me to a locker for my use that morning.  I immediately notice the locker belonged to Michael Bloomberg.  Observant readers of this blog will recall that on November 1, 2018, I played St. Andrews GC on my journey from MA to NC (post #121).  At St. Andrews I also was assigned Bloomberg's locker.  Perhaps I should start a new bucket list...use Michael Bloomberg's locker at all of his clubs.

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Pat had two girl friends (friends from Pinehurst but one of them lives in NH during the summer months) coming to town for a couple of days, so she gently suggested I should get out of Dodge.  Given that Brookline has punched its fairways a week earlier that seemed like a great idea. 

My immediate thought was to see if I could schedule a short trip to the Rockies and Upper Plains to hit the courses that I could not schedule on my trip 5 weeks earlier (Post #132).  After a few emails the essence of a trip came together.  I would play just four courses in three days (one repeat course and three first timers for me) and be in three adjoining states.  If these states were in New England, this would be a no-brainer…problem was NE, CO, and UT, while being adjoining are a shxx load larger. But better to face the long drives on a single trip than have to knock them off on multiple journeys.   And the trip seemed to be very doable as originally planned.

I was scheduled to depart Boston for Denver around noon on Tuesday August 20 but at the last minute had to depart on a later flight at 6:36pm…that would put me into DEN at 9:19pm. Since I was not scheduled to play on 8/21, that would not ordinarily create an issue…except I had to drive some 258 miles after landing to get to North Platte, NE.  Careful readers of this blog as well as knowledgeable golf course geographers know that North Platte lies right on I-80 and at the southern base of the Nebraska Sandhills…reputed to be the largest contiguous area of sand dunes in the Western Hemisphere (20,000 sq. mi.).  Since the early 90’s the Sandhills has become spotted (hard to fill 20,000 sq. miles) with some brilliant new golf courses.  I first saw the Sandhiills in 2010 and this was to be my 5^thvisit to the Sandhills and my 6^thtrip to NE for golf.  I arrived at my hotel around 2:00am (all times for NE CO and UT on this trip are expressed in Mountain Time for simplicity) and was asleep by 2:30am.  Only problem was I had a 90 minute drive to the course the next morning for a 7am tee time. So my wake up alarm was for 4:45 afforded me a wonderful 2:15 of sleep!  Anyhow, the good news is that it was daylight for my last 15 miles or so driving to the Dismal River Club, as the last 15 miles or so are gravel roads!

Dismal River Club-White, August 21, 2019:  I had been to Dismal River in 2014 to play the Red course (designed by Tom Doak), and loved it (Post # 4).  The White course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 2006, about 7 years prior to the Red.  At that time the White had not appeared on a USA Top 100 (the Red has appeared on USA Top 100 lists published by GM, Top100golfcourses.com, and my Merged GW list). The White was ranked #199 on GD’s 2013 #101-200 listing, and since I am trying to finish off that list, I needed to return.

The site is visually stunning as are most sites in the Sandhills, but I thought both Dismal’s Red and the nearby Sandhills GC were both even more stunning.

When it opened, the White was generally criticized for being impossibly difficult given the windy conditions prevalent in this area.  I had heard that it had been softened considerably in the years since but my sense is “not quite enough.”  It’s 5^thhole plays 187 yards from the back, and is straight uphill (sort of like playing the par 3 6^that Augusta backwards) which means the ball’s trajectory upon landing is not very steep…but the green slopes shapely from front to back.  As a result, it is almost impossible to stop the ball on the green when the wind is behind the player.  Those were the conditions that morning (winds blowing about 15mph) and I hit a pitching wedge pretty high and nipped it well to a front pin (105 yards away). My ball mark was one yard into the green and the ball ended up 75 feet past the pin…and the greens were soft this day!!

While there are a good number of excellent holes here (#4 and #18 are superb par 5’s, #8 and #13 are 

Dismal Rive-White #18 from 18th tee...par 5, 500 yards.

outstanding par 4’s, and #15 a very very good par 3), the likes of  #5 and the par 3 10^th(190 yards with 55 yard deep green including a bunker surrounded by wild plants in the middle of the green...a la #6 at Riveira CC??... and at least a 5 foot drop in surface height from the front of the green to the low point about 35 yards deep) made me  wonder. 

Conditioning was not good, which is attributable to a very tough winter in the Upper Plains.  There was much winter-kill in the fairways and the greens were very soft.  From what I have heard this situation is very prevalent in the Upper Plains this year.

The facility has had four owners since it first opened in 2006…the latest incarnation is 

as an exclusive golfing/fishing/hunting club.  Overall it was much better than I expected, but I do not think it compares favorably to the Doak at Dismal and certainly not to nearby Sandhills GC by Coore/Crenshaw. IMO it will take some further softening and some luck with the weather and conditioning…and the green stuff known as money.  In summary, worth playing if you are in the neighborhood, but not worth a special trip to play just White.  

On the other hand, Ran Morrissett who has one of the best set of eyes in the business really liked it…so how do you account for taste? 

Oh…and I played real well, coming in with a 37 – 41 = 78, but must admit to getting about three hugely lucky breaks (for example, on #1…hit a 6 iron to the green for my third shot, without knowing where the cup was…as pin had been left beside the green…and ended up 5’ from the hole and sunk putt for a par).  Parred holes 1-5…and even parred #5 and birdied #10…the two holes I bitched about the most.

After the round it was time to hit the road again.  This time for a 3:40 drive to Hoylake, CO and Ballyneal.  I left Dismal around 10:45 and arrived at Ballyneal about 2:30.

Ballyneal Golf Club,  August 21, 2019:  Pat and I played Ballyneal for the first time in June 2010.  Given that it sits half way between Sandhills/Dismal River and Denver, this gave me an great opportunity to revisit...and I am very glad I did so!

Ballyneal sits on some unusual landforms known as the “Chop Hills”.  Part of the land was owned by the O’Neal family for decades and brothers Rupert and Jim saw their dream fulfilled with the building of the club. We played Ballyneal with Rupert back in 2010 (pre blogging so no post) the day after playing 36 holes at Sandhills GC, which is pretty tough competition.  I later met Jim who was and still is the head pro at The Meadow Club just north of San Francisco.  

Ballyneal was designed by Tom Doak and opened in 2006.  It sits beautifully on the natural landscape…best exemplified by the par 5 4^thand the par 4 16^th.  Both of these holes look like they were designed by the glaciers that covered this land thousands of years ago.  Ballyneal is a walking only club…and as you walk the fairways, one can feel the difference…the firmness underfoot.  One also notices it on tee shots…broken tees are normal here, a sure sign of proper maintenance.  The fescue greens are perfect for this place and the course is the very definition of fast/firm…in fact I hit my approach shots over on 3 of the first 4 greens…before getting back used to real firm/fast conditions.  Surely a sign of insufficient time in GB&I these past 12 months.

Few flat lies are available on Ballyneal’s very wide fairways, and one needs to think about wind direction, pin position, and ground movement before starting each hole…or your next shot will evoke two simple words: “no way”.  The “Chop Hills” are very much like the “Sandhills” with a simple natural beauty of their own.  

I teed off at 3pm…just me and my caddy.  Having played 18 at Dismal (in a cart) and completed two drives totaling about 5.5 hours (all after less than 2.5 hours of sleep) I wasn’t sure if I would make it…but I did so with no problem…even hitting a few pure shots on holes 15-18. However, after finishing 1the 18^thand walking up to the clubhouse, I knew I would have to forgo the 12-hole par 3…but the shower and nap certainly felt great.  Dinner was superb as was a good night’s sleep.  Good news was the toughest part of the trip was in the rear-view mirror.

Denver Country Club, August 22, 2019:  In the years I have been doing this, it is clear that some courses end up being easy to set up to play, and others just are very difficult.  In many cases there is no rhyme or reason for the pattern…yes Augusta National is tough to arrange for almost everyone…but with some other courses it seems like you are jinxed.  One of those for me had been Denver Country Club. Founded in 1887, DCC is near downtown Denver and goes back to the days when this was a “cow town”.  Through MIT alumni and golf activities I knew one of DCC’s most prominent members, Will Nicholson.  Will was a member of ANGC and president of the USGA 1980-81.  Several times when I was planning a trip to CO he asked me to play DCC, but I was too busy playing some top 100 courses in the state…some good (e.g. Ballyneal, Cherry Hills and Colorado GC) and some not so good (and unmentioned).  Will passed away at age 87 three years ago, and later that year I was closing in on completing a “self-created” bucket list…playing all the courses that have hosted one of the “Five Cups”:

            --Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup--Men/Professional

            --Walker Cup—Men/Amateur

            --Solheim Cup—Women/Professional

            --Curtis Cup—Women/Amateur

Through scheduled events in 2020, this totals 108 courses and 163 events (including the “unofficial” Ryder Cups at Gleneagles-Kings and Wentworth-West in 1921 and 1926 respectively, and the unofficial Walker Cup Match at Royal Liverpool in 1921, but excluding the 1939 Ryder Cup Match originally scheduled to be played at Ponte Vedra CC (FL) but cancelled after the start of WW II…please note for the official record that I have also played Ponte Vedra CC).

Since September 2017, I have had three games scheduled at DCC…only to have them cancelled due to bad serious bad weather or maintenance on the course, most recently in July 2019. This time it seemed to have worked…although I kept a close eye on the weather forecast!  I left Ballyneal around 7:40am on 8/22 for the 3:10 drive to DCC.  All looked good as I arrived and met my host, Gary P., a member for a mere 45 years or so. Also joining us were another member, Doug W. (who had hosted my good friend Fergal O’Leary at DCC a month prior), and two other guests of Gary.  After a wonderful lunch it was off to the practice area to warm up…and of course Nervous Nellie Paul could not help but notice a bunch of dark clouds moving in from the west.  Long story short…the clouds blew through, and no rain fell on our parade.

However…another dark cloud appeared just before we teed off as Southwest cancelled my flight that evening to Salt Lake City.  Thanks to text messaging, I was alerted but by the time I could reach SW and Delta, their alternative flights were fully booked…but I was able to get on a later flight with United.

The club was founded in 1887 (!!) making it the oldest US club west of the Mississippi River.  Like Brookline, it started as a club focused on equestrian sports, particularly horse racing…and then evolved over the following 13 decades.  Its first course was in Overland Park and the club moved to its present location alongside Cherry Creek in 1905.  This course was designed by James Foulis who also designed courses at Oswentsia Club (IL) and Glen Echo CC (MO)—a former host of golf at the Olympics.  In addition to Foulis, the following other golf architects and /or ar chitectural teams of note have worked on DCC: Donald Ross, William Flynn, A. W. Tillinghast, William Diddle, Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay, and Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw.  Many of these alterations were dictated by eminent domain property losses as the City of Denver grew from “cow town” to a major metropolitan area.  More recently Gil Hanse commenced a major restoration of the course that is entering its busiest stages.  A major objective of Hanse’s efforts is to bring Charry Creek more into play on many of the holes.

The round started birdie-par but then went downhill…but I finished with a decent 40 – 42 = 82. And, my “Cups Ever Bucket List” is now finally finished!!  

After drinks and a shower, Gary and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the club.  He is a first-class gentleman who I hope to host at TCC later this year or in 2020.  

At 8:00, I was back in the car for a short drive to Denver’s airport and my later flight to SLC, last stop on this trip!

Glenview Golf Club, August 23, 2019:  My flight landed at about 11:55pm and after disembarking I made a mad dash for Enterprise Car Rental to ensure they were still open and I would have a car.  That worked out fine and after collecting my clubs, I headed east of Salt Lake City into the Wasatch Mountain Range.  Located in Park City, UT, Glenwild is a mere 40 miles from SLC airport.  Park City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and is simply a gorgeous town.

Glenwild’s golf course was designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 2001.  Today it stretches to a hefty 7564 yards (par 72) but plays a bit shorter due to its altitude.  It has not hosted any important pro or amateur event but has been included on all GD’s #101-200 USA listings since GD commenced publishing its second hundred in 2013.  Its highest position on the GD list was #125 in 2013 and it has slipped to #188 in the 2019 list.  

The course makes great use of the overall slopes inherent in its mountain setting…more so than it uses bunkering as a “hazard”.  The greens were in terrific condition…very fast, firm, smooth and true.  This year however, the fairways were attacked by some sort of wildlife pest and were not in equivalent condition.  I would be surprised if this lasts into next year. As many of you know, I am not a big fan of Tom Fazio’s work…but this is one of his better efforts IMO.  And the views are simply stunning.

The club itself appears to be very well run and the service level is outstanding.

In terms of my play, I had a 42 – 39 = 81, so no complaints.  After the round, had a good shower and lunch, and then back to SLC airport for a smooth flight home.  Even though Thursday and Friday were fairly easy going for a trip by moi, Tuesday night through Wednesday evening were a tough 24 hour spell. 

I had three guests at Brookline Saturday and was really tired…they can testify as to the effects of the trip!  But on the positive side…the trip knocked off three of my 37, and put the Cups Ever Bucket list to bed once and for all!

Next on the agenda, Pat and I are headed to France 8/26-9/7…I am in France right now as I type this (still the two finger method).