39. Getting It DONE…the Homestretch (Stage I)…2nd Chapter

Getting It DONE…the Homestretch (Stage I)…2nd Chapter

Before I get to my day in Rome, two other things about Monday.  First, I was the only person on the course (at least until 1pm), which is a good testament to the sanity of the Irish (and the opposite regarding mine).  Secondly, the head pro, Paddy McGuirk and everyone else there could not have been nicer or more welcoming.

Arrived at hotel in Rome around midnight saying thank you thank you to my GPS.  Would have been lost puppy without it and was very tired.  Loss of phone making trip more complicated in a bunch of ways.  Had a one hour conference call w a senior person from Verizon and one from Apple and they could not figure it out…I was simply amazed and frustrated, but it is what it is.

Marco Simone GC April 12, 2016: Overslept in morning…right thru alarm…but fortunately only by an hour.  Rushed to course after my Fiber One breakfast (nothing changes) and GPS misplaced entrance to club.  Finally got there and teed off at 8:45 instead of 8:00.  Playing Marco Simone Golf Club, just outside or ring road around Rome at about “2 o’clock”. In December 2015 it was named host venue for the 2022 Ryder Cup…frankly, another in a string of poor selections that seem to have started in 1985…after many years of superb choices (e.g. Muirfield, Birkdale, Lytham, etc.), starting in 1985 it has gone to (italics denote courses I have played):

            The Belfry-England (1985/89/93/02)

            Valderrama-Spain 1997

            K Club-Ireland 2006

            Celtic Manor-Wales 2010

            Gleneagles Centenary-Scotland 2014

            Le Golf National-France 2018

            Marco Simone-Italy 2022

With the possible exception of Valderrama, and unbroken string of poor to average selections…all seemingly driven by the European Tour’s need for cash to support its regular events.  The European Tour needs high revenues from the Ryder Cup and its selections seem to be driven primarily by the cash offered up by candidates with little consideration of course quality.  And of course, the Europeans always complain that the US is too commercialized (ands the sports media soaks that up and repeats it with no thought behind it…so what’s new?).  Anyhow, I will get off my high horse.

Its Championship course was designed (by Jim Fazio) and opened in late 1970’s or early 1980’s. 

Suffice it to say that I was not enthralled by Marco Simone GC.  While only about 6940 yards from the tips based on the current yardage book, there is tons of room (Championship course said to encompass about 240 acres) to stretch this course out…and apparently plans to do so prior to 2022.  One real issue might be a “choke point “ where literally 4 tees (7, 9, 11, and 16) and four greens (6, 8, 10,  and 15) all come together in a relatively small space.  With Ryder Cup crowds, this should be quite a scene.  Despite my reaction to the course, I played well and had a 39-39 = 78 (yesterday at Baltray was more like ∞ - ∞ = ∞).

One thing that was much appreciated was how the Italians waved me through whenever I came up behind a slower group, so I was finished playing by 11:00 and headed over to Olgiata Golf Club, about 20 miles away and directly north of Rome’s central district.

Olgiata Golf Club April 12, 2016:  Drive to Olgiata was easy and immediately sensed this to be Rome’s most exclusive golf club.  Was able to have lunch at the club and the lunch was as good as Cypress point’s course.  Would hate to think what I would weigh if I belonged here.

Olgiata was included in Golf Digest’s 2016 World 100, much to the surprise of many.  It is ranked #100 on that list, but interestingly, never made it to Golf Digest’s Top 100 Overseas (Worldwide excluding USA) list published five times, with the latest being 2012.  It is a very good course (and a great club) but not in my mind close to a Top 100. Originally designed by Kenneth Cotton in 1961, it was renovated by Jim Fazio in 1996.  In 1968 and 1984 Olgiata hosted the World Cup.

Plays to about 7160 yards today and in excellent shape and firm/fast.  Certainly one of the better parkland courses in Europe, but cannot compare to the great parkland tracks of the US.  It has a very good flow, excellent bunkering, and beautiful trees (although too many of them) but is not “memorable.”

For the record, had a 40 – 43 = 83.

Simply put…go to Rome for the beauty of the City, the food, and the sights.  It is not destined to be a golf destination for the foreseeable future.  But then again…who does to GB&I for the food? :-)

I finished in plenty of time to fly to Paris.  Stayed at a hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport but Tuesday was a very long day…getting to the hotel shortly before midnight.  Fortunately, I have slept well on the short flights in Europe. And the good news is that I am staying two straights nights in the same hotel…a feeling of luxury!!

Biarritz Golf Club, April 13, 2016:  Today proved to be a real adventure.  It started calmly enough with a flight from CDG to Biarritz in France’s southwest corner.  The golf course is located 5-10 miles from the airport, and my schedule was to fly back to CDG departing at 6:55pm that evening.  I was playing Biarritz as it was on Tom MacWood’s “spoof” 1939 list.  When I arrived, a very helpful and pleasant woman confirmed my starting time. I then explained to her that I was there because of this MacWood list professing to uncover a World Top 100 created in 1939 and that Biarritz was on the list as #1.  We went online to find MacWood’s article and I showed her that it was listed as “Chilberta” as #71.  At which point, she said “Chilberta” is about 5km from here.  I said, yes but does it have a golf course, and if so is it a good course and is it old.  Her answer was positive on both counts.

Now, MacWood’s article generally listed the location of the club instead of the exact club name.  When I decided to try to finish the list, in most cases it was obvious which course on the list.  In a couple of cases, further research was needed…including Chilberta.  I went to Google Maps and found Chilberta France located next to Biarritz.  Biarritz Golf Club is famous as it was the origin of one of the Charles Blair Macdonald/Seth Raynor “template holes” commonly called “Biarritz” (excellent examples include #9 at Yale, #17 at Yeamans Hall, #11 at The Creek, #5 at Mountain Lake, #5 at Fishers Island, and #17 at Fox Chapel).  These greens are also sometimes called “double plateau” greens.  These were designed as an adaptation of the original par 3 at Biarritz GC…which did NOT have a double plateau green, but rather featured a deep chasm with the sea flowing just before the green (similar to #16 at Cypress Point and #16 at Cabot Cliffs...both designed after Biarritz).  The original Biarritz hole no longer exists at Biarritz GC…but the name sticks.  Soooo, when I saw that Chilberta was next door to Biarritz, I assumed that #71 was Biarritz GC (ever notice what the first three letters of “assume” spells out?).

My next question was “any chance you could call them?” and before I knew it I was set up to play at 12:04.  Back in a taxi, I was at Chilberta by 11:30.  As I have found before, remaining flexible is the key to these trips.  The course was designed by Tim Simpson and opening in 1927.  I loved it…it flows between the beach and forests, with glorious views of the French and Spanish Pyrenees in the distance.  The course was in great shape for this time of the year, running firm and fast.   A very short 6200 yard par 70 from the tips, it shouted the Tom MacWood philosophy…golf should be FUN.  The greens have more false fronts that the average junior high school prom in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and there are few level lies anywhere.  Favorite hole was #11, playing 395 yards into the prevailing wind and headed directly toward the Bay of Biscay…downhill off the tee and then uphill on the approach, a spectacular sight from the tee.

I played really well….finished with a  37-39 = 76.

Showed the woman who is general manager of the club and course the MacWood article and she was most interested.  I was also informed that Estelle is a championship player. 

Then had to fly back to Paris…only wish I had the time for a second round…what a fun day!!  Some day will return and play Chilberta for a second time…and of course finally play Biarritz.

38. Getting It DONE…the Homestretch (Stage I)

Getting It DONE…the Homestretch (Stage I)

I am sitting in an airport lounge at Dublin airport, having just completed a six day trip to Europe.  This was Stage I of my final push to complete my outstanding Bucket Lists (and perhaps make some progress on future Bucket Lists and plans…should I get the current ones done.  To quickly summarize my current key “to do” status as of the start of this trip one week ago:

--lifetime to date…823 courses in 44 countries and 42 states;

            --World Top 100 Courses EVER (8 sources)—total of 286 courses, played 275 and 11 to go;

            --Tom MacWood Spoof 1939 Top 100…101 courses of which 5 no longer exist, played 86 and 10 to go (one of which is one of the 11 to go on the EVER list above);

            --US Open Venues…54 courses, 52 played and two to go.

Careful readers of the blog will have noted the increase in the number of courses on the EVER list…this was due to an eight source, Golf Digest UK, which published two World 100 lists (in 2010 and 2011), which was offered up by someone whose name is being withheld for his protection.  Also, about 2 weeks ago I was able to play one more of the MacWood list, the venerable Ponte Vedra Club in Florida.  Located quite close to the TPC Stadium Players course, it is reputed to be the home of the first “island green” in golf.  It was designed by Herb Strong and opened in 1928.  It was scheduled to host the 1939 Ryder Cup Matches, but these were cancelled due to the onset of WW II (despite the heroic efforts of the famed predecessor of US Democrats, Neville Chamberlain (“Peace in our time”).  

Tom MacWood had placed it at #45 on his list.  It is a good, fun course. Unfortunately, it had rained hard up and down the east coast the prior three days and even a course built totally on a barrier island sand dunes requires more that overnight to recover from that type of soaking.

In any case, that short visit brought my MacWood Spoof to do list down from 11 to 10.

This Past Week’s Journey

Pat and I were invited to a Bat Mitzvah in New Jersey on April 9 (yes, on Saturday of Masters weekend…and the father is almost as much of a golf nut as I am), she had to be in Boston for a floral job this week, and we needed to get her new Boston car (another convertible for my “Little Old Lady from Pasadena”) up to Boston from Pinehurst.  So on Friday we drove to NJ, and on Sunday, she drove on to Boston and I flew to Europe.  In between, awful weather cancelled our golf game at Mountain Ridge, but we were able to visit Daniel (“DJ”) Joseph and David Wilson at Somerset Hills, where they are the new Head Pro and First Assistant respectively (both were at Brookline previously).  Was great to see them and they seem to be doing great at one of the finest clubs in the USA (last played my moi 10/6/15 and chronicled herein).

I arrived at JFK airport Sunday just as the broadcast was commencing on CBS.  After Jordan’s string of four birdies on 6-9, like most of the rest of the world I figured this was over.  My wi-fi and then cellular signal allowed me to see holes 10-12, and then I only had access to Masters radio.  Absolutely shocking result, best described by a famous and oft-used quote (whose source escapes me): “Golf can be a very cruel game.”

One thought regarding the flight.  As I have made negative comments regarding airlines on this blog (specifically Jetstar and Qantas) I should make positive comments when they are earned.  The new sleeper seat layout on Aer Lingus is fabulous.  Seats/beds are very comfortable and have tons of storage…which many business seats seem to lack.  The service was also excellent.

County Lough Golf Club (Baltray), April 11, 2016:   Arrived at Dublin Airport around 5:15am on Monday, procured by car rental, and headed up north about one hour to Baltray.  The weather could be best described by Jordon Spieth’s first two swings on #12 the day before.  It was about 43°, the winds were about 30mph (and gusting higher) and it was raining fairly hard.  The club was founded in 1892 and its course renovated into greatness by Tim Simpson and reopened for play in July 1938. 

Your truly was in a quandary.  As miserable as it was, I could not return until September and I needed this to finish the EVER bucket list.  It got on the list due to being rated #68 on Golf Digest UK’s World Top 100 (my 8^th source) in 2010 and 2011.  When my caddy showed up, I figured, have top give it a shot.  #1 was playing right into the wind…and I secured perhaps the best bogey five of my life there.  At that point, my caddy said, “why don’t we get a buggy.”  I will be eternally grateful for that thought, but wish it had come 10 minutes earlier.  Amazingly, while I huddled behind some tall bushes to get some protection form the wind, he went back to try to secure a buggy.  I never thought they would allow it, but they did, so who was I to argue?  That made the rest of the round possible.  We zipped around in about 2:15, I have no idea what I shot (but did have several pars), went into the clubhouse after nine to try down and warm up (and prevent frostbite)…but we got it done.  Just don’t ask me what the course was like…although I could tell that the back nine through the dunes is something special.  Will be sure to play this again when I return w Pat in September for Fergal’s wedding.

This morning when I arrived at DUB, I tried to get onto the web via my iphone, but it would not “activate”.  The screen showed a message indicating the SIM card would not work with European carriers.  I had replaced my phone (due to a screen problem) at a NJ Apple store on Saturday, and the Apple salesman placed a new SIM card in the phone.  I have a sense that the card he used is totally restricted to Verizon and locks out of any other carrier.  It worked fine in NJ, but not anywhere in Europe…and I have a Verizon overseas plan.  Will see what happens when I land at JFK.  But note that this means NO PICTURES this trip.

After a shower that felt awesome, it was back to DUB for a flight on Ryanair to Rome, for 36 holes Tuesday.  Ryanair is a typical discount airline with low ticket prices and lots of fees…but unlike Jetstar, they are upfront about it and what you can do to minimize the fees…no obfuscation here.  Flight went fine but I am tired…playing in conditions like that (even with a cart) takes a lot out of you.  Forecast is for mid-70’s in Rome Tuesday, and that will be appreciated.

37. Flights from Hobart to Sydney to Honolulu to Kilo, March 5, 2016

Flights from Hobart to Sydney to Honolulu to Kilo, March 5, 2016

I had booked us on a set of flights taking us from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia to Kilo, Hawaii, USA on March 5.  Because these flights cross the International Date Line, we were scheduled to depart Hobart at 4:15pm and arrive in Kilo at noon the same day (after about 16 ¾ hours of flights and layover times).  The evening before I noticed that the first flight (Hobart to Sydney) was on Jetstar, and given our experience flying from Queenstown, NZ to Melbourne on February 18, wanted to be sure we would avoid getting “jetstarred” with highly exorbitant luggage charges.  The Jetstar website provided several sets of highly confusing legal language regarding luggage allowances and reaching Jetstar by phone was impossible.  So we left for the airport early enough to get us there at least 3 hours before our flight.

That turned out to be a good thing.  The Qantas and Jetstar folks at the airport did advise that our luggage allowance (including carry-ons) would be only 46 lbs each (even though we were flying business class on the main leg…Sydney to Honolulu), but that we could purchase excess luggage credits over the web or phone until 2 hours before scheduled departure, at a cost of about $55 between us…compared with about $500 after 2:15pm.  We got that done in time at the lower rate, and then checked in at 2:15pm.

However, Jetstar would not book our luggage through to either Honolulu of Kilo…this despite the following:

1.     Our air tickets were purchased on the Qantas website which offered this set of connections and issued the tickets for these 3 flights under a single airline ticket number/confirmation code;

2.     Jetstar is a wholly owner subsidiary of Qantas.

While the scheduled layover time in Sydney was 1 hour 50 minutes, the above meant we would have to:

1.     get off the Jetstar flight;

2.     collect our checked luggage;

3.     bring 4 pieces of checked luggage and two carry on pieces (totaling some 220 pounds) to a separate terminal; and

4.     check in at Qantas for the Sydney-Honolulu leg

all within a grand total of 50 minutes…as Qantas had a firm cutoff of for check-in one hour prior to scheduled departure.  Qantas provided zero instructions on the fastest way to get between the Jetstar terminal and the International Qantas terminal.  Discussions with 3 different Jetstar and Qantas employees yielded three different ways to proceed with step 3.  All three employees opined that doing the above in less than 50 minutes would be next to impossible, but that it must be “doable” since Qantas wrote all three flights on a single ticket.

To make a long story short…we were able to make the flight, thanks to sage Sydney airport advice provided by a flight attendant on the Jetstar flight.  We checked into the Sydney-Honolulu-Kilo flights (and checked the luggage through to Kilo) 1 hour 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure, and made it to the Qantas International terminal and through emigration with all of 10 minutes to spare after several mad dashes.

Well, at least we made it.  When we reached Honolulu, we had to collect our luggage to clear US Customs…and two of our four pieces of checked luggage did not appear on the carousel (fortunately our clubs made it and our clothing etc. did not…although Pat did not agree with that assessment).  The Qantas baggage customer service person claimed he could not determine where the two suitcases were…this despite that fact that all checked luggage is bar coded and scanned at multiple points…and tried to shuttle us off to Hawaiian Airlines in Kilo (our final destination).  After some somewhat unpleasant discussions, they were able to advise that both pieces were still in Sydney and would be about the March 6 flights and delivered to our friend’s house the next day (which did happen).  And I remember when Qantas was one of the world’s great airlines…

Nanea Golf Club and Mauna Kea Resort, March 6 and 7, 2016

We stayed at the house of friends at their Hawaiian vacation home on The Big Island’s Kona coast.  They are members of Nanea Golf Club and Mauna Kea.   I had played Mauna Kea in 1974 while returning from a trip to the Far East, and Pat and I played both Nanea and Mauna Kea two years ago on another trip to Hawaii.

Nanea Golf Club, March 6, 2016:  This is a very very private club.  It is simply exquisite, and fun to play…but it also very much values its privacy, and I shall respect that, and severely limit what I say about the course and club on this forum.

The club was founded by George Roberts (of KKR) and Charles Schwab (of Charles Schwab) in 2003.  Located high above the Pacific on the west coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, the course was designed by David McLay Kidd (think Bandon Dunes).  It stretches to about 7500 yards.  As you might expect, it is in wonderful condition.  What you might not expect is the difficulty associated with reading its greens, which are heavily influenced by the slope from Mauna Kae down to the Pacific Ocean.   The course is one of the very few that is both challenging and fun to play.  If you get the opportunity, do not let it pass.

Nanea earned a spot on the Golf Magazine World Top 100 in 2007-2011, peaking at #75 in 2009.  It also was #98 in the World on www.top100courses.co.uk in 2006.  In terms of USA Top 100 ratings, Nanea peaked at #44 in 2007 on the GM listing (having appeared in all GM listings in 2007 and after…and is currently #71).  It was #70 on Links Magazine’s final listing dated 12/31/14 and it has appeared in all www.top100courses.co.uk listings from 2006-16 except 2010.  It has never appeared in any Golf Digest or Golfweek Top 100…probably due to an insufficient number of ratings.

Mauna Kea Golf Course and Resort, March 7, 2016:  The Mauna Kea Resort was the dream of Laurance Rockefeller and the flagship of his Rock Resorts chain.  It opened in 1964 to rave reviews and was generally recognized and the most expensive and beautiful vacation resort in the world at that time.   The golf course was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the most dominant and recognized name in golf course architecture of the 1950’s -1960’s era.  It was the first course built on black lava rock (which turns out to be very fertile when crushed).  I well remember venturing into the lava rock off the fairways when I played it in 1974 searching for errant drives…and hoping I would not break an ankle trying to navigate the terrain. 

The course was renovated by Jones’ son, Rees Jones in 2008 and now stretches to 7370 yards par 72 (76.6 rating/144 slope).  In terms of Top 100’s. it has never been on a World 100 list.  On USA Top 100 lists, the following highlights its history:

            --has been on 20 of 63 USA Top 100 Lists…most recent being Golf Magazine as #100 in 2009;

            --of the 20 lists it has appeared on, 15 were in Golf Digest and 5 in Golf Magazine

            --highest rating ever was in the 31-40 bracket in GD in 1969 and 1971.

Playing Nanea and Mauna Kea on consecutive days shows an interesting contrast between penal golf design (Mauna Kea) and strategic golf design (Nanea).  Mauna Kea is iconic, interesting to play once or twice, but rarely has the word “fun” been attached to it.  Nanea is the type of course that one could play every day without being bored…or feel beaten up regularly…yet it is a very demanding test.  To put it simply, give me strategic design over penal design any day of the week.

Wrap-Up

We made it home on March 8…and it is good to be home.  Courses played and Bucket List status:

            --lifetime to date…822 courses in 44 countries and 42 states;

            --World Top 100 Courses EVER (7 sources)—total of 284 courses, played 277 and seven to go;

            --Tom MacWood Spoof 1939 Top 100…101 courses of which 5 no longer exist, played 85 and 11 to go;

            --US Open Venues…54 courses, 52 played and two to go

Overall Evaluation…Australia and New Zealand:

This is a tough one.  We played the following courses on this trip in Aus/NZ (listed alphabetically):

Arrowtown

Barnbougle Dunes

Barnbougle Lost Farm

Cape Kidnappers

Cape Wickham Golf Club

Commonwealth Golf Club

Huntingdale Golf Club

Kingston Heath Golf Club

Kinloch Golf Club

National Golf Club—Moonah

National Golf Club—Old

Ocean Dunes Golf Club

Royal Melbourne GC—West

Tara Iti Golf Club

Victoria Golf Club

Among other courses I have played in Australia and New Zealand, I would throw Metropolitan, New South Wales, Royal Adelaide, Royal Melbourne—East, and Paraparamumu and into any list of great courses (RMGC—Composite excluded due to being a Composite course as per explanation from several posts ago).

My Top 10 in this region are:

1.  Royal Melbourne--West

2.  Kingston Heath

3.  Barnbougle Dunes

4.  Cape Wickham

5.  Tara Iti

6.  Cape Kidnappers

7.  New South Wales

8.  Barnbougle Lost Farm

9.  Metropolitan

10.  Victoria

I should point out that the top 5 above are, in my always humble opinion, very tightly bunched.  I consciously “tapped down” my enthusiasm for Cape Wickham and Tara Iti to guard against the “infatuation factor” and recognizing that courses change more in their initial years than later on.  To the degree that changes in the next few years on these two courses add to their brilliance, the ones listed higher need to watch their backs.  In any case, as a result of this trip, my personal World Top 100 needs careful reviewing.

One final point…note that of the above ten, 50% were built in the last 20 years…further proof of the new golden age.

36. Barnbougle Lost Farm and Dunes

Barnbougle Lost Farm and Dunes

Pat and I were here four years ago.  These two courses were built about 5 years ago for Lost Farm and about 11 years ago for Dunes.  Dunes was designed by Tom Doak and Lost Farm by Coore-Crenshaw.  The property sits along the northern coast of Tasmania (close to Tasmania’s northeast corner) and was originally part of a cattle farm.  The projected was originally conceived as an 18-hole resort, but after the success enjoyed by Dunes (as well as the overwhelming success Bandon Dunes had with multiple tracks) a second course just east of Dunes was designed by Coore-Crenshaw.  Since then many have debated the relative merits of the two tracks.  In World Top 100 Rating since they were both operational, Dunes has “won” every head to head match up.  In 2015 Golf Magazine showed Dunes as #36 in the world and Lost Farm as #85…the widest spread ever.  Top100golfcourses.co.uk’s current listing shows Dunes at #35 and Lost Farm at #47.  To be perfectly honest, after playing both in 2012, I personally rated Lost Farm higher as I thought some of the Dunes greens (in particular #16) were too extreme and unfair.  My bride Pat considered Dunes to be the better course then (perhaps she should be the rater, and not me..but then again, she is unwilling to travel to Outer Mongolia, Madagascar, or Afghanistan to rate courses!).

In any case, we were both looking forward to this return visit.

Before continuing, I should state that both courses play beautifully firm and fast.  They are built on true links land.

Barnbougle Lost Farm, February 29, 2016:    LF plays to 6900 yards from the tips (for its standard 18 holes…the course actually contains 20 holes with two extra par 3’s of about 130 yards each…these are used as playoff holes or substitutes in case of maintenance on one of the regular holes).  The course has a wonderful flow to it and the golfer always knows where they are on the property.  Also has some fabulous holes, in particular:

            --#3…a drivable par 4 of only 280 yards, slightly uphill, with the green guarded by a large bunker in the middle of the fairway starting about 50 yards short of the middle of the green, and a very deep bunker guarding the left side of the green.  The fairway is tiered with the right side well above the left and the right side affording a far easier approach shot if you lay up off the tee.  This is a superbly designed drivable par 4 offering both risk and reward.

            --#5…476 yard par 4 dogleg right that may be the best driving hole I have ever seen.  Well placed drive is blind and must clear a large sand dune that runs along the entire right side of the hole…long hitters find an ever narrowing landing area the further they hit it (unless they can carry it about 335 yards off the tee like Adam Scott did when playing w Roscoe).  Those trying to lay up off the tee must flirt w the dune and carry it right of and past a relatively large upslope at the fairway’s right turn that runs away from the tee in the direction of the tee shot…and anything hit too safe (too far left or short) will bound left in a direction directly away from the green.  Wind against and this hole is sooo tough off tee.  Green is relatively accessible unless you are short right.

            --#8…610 yard uphill par 5 with two tiered fairway (right side above left).  Big hitters off tee must avoid large fairway bunker on left side of fairway about 320 yards out.  Green protected by small bunker short left, a large bunker on left side, a false front, and one of the deepest bunker/waste areas you will ever see to the right of the green (stay OUT of here).

            --#11…445 yard par 4 with uphill blind tee shot that needs to be long and straight to avoid fairway bunkers and have a good view of the green.

            --#16…420 yard dog leg right par 4 on relatively flat land (after elevated tee); requires drive down left side for view of green yet drive down left must carry about 250 yards to clear fairway bunker and large mound on left side of fairway.  Easy drive is down right side but then second is blind and affords a tougher angle into the green.

            --#17…185 yard uphill par 3 to green protected by large bunker short right and smaller bunker on left.  Large green is 40 yards deep but front 10-13 yards is a false front.

This is a brilliant Coore Crenshaw layout with wonderfully subtle green complexes.  However, the site had a fair amount of flat land and holes #1, 2, 12, 13, and 16 are relatively flat.  While the architects did an excellent job making these holes interesting, fun, and challenging, and the rest of the site is very special, me thinks this is a small negative.

Barnbougle Dunes, March 1, 2016:  I shall be quick and to the point regarding this Tom Doak course that is 6765 yards and par 71.  The problems I had with the 16^th green have been corrected and either the other greens were much fairer than I thought four years ago, or some of them have been softened as well.  In any case, for what it is worth, I now fully concur with the sense of the World Top 100 ratings  (not to mention Pat’s sense form 2012).  This is a brilliant, fun, and challenging design, and deserves a higher rating than Lost Farm (which also belongs in the Top 100)

Pat and I played as a twosome played on a beautiful day with strong but not brutal winds of about 20 mph.  I played from a mixture of tees…playing the 10 holes with the wind from longer tees than the 8 holes against…in total about 5950 yards.  Played one of the best rounds of my life…hitting 13 of 14 fairways, 13 of 18 greens, and 33 putts.  Bogeyed #5 (3 putt), 10, 11 (3 putt), and 15…and double bogeyed #7 (par 3 from all of 105 yards playing with the wind).  Birdied #3 on the front, and then 17 and 18 from about 25’ and 20’ respectively to finish with a three over 74.  Enough said!! 

Rest of Tasmania, March 1-5, 2016:  With my adrenaline still going at fever pitch, we drove form Barnbougle to Cradle Mountain Lodge (about 3 hours) for a couple of days of relaxation, and then to Freycinet Lodge near Tasmania’s eastern coast (about a four hour drive) for another two days of relaxation (and preparing this blog post), and then to Hobart for a series of flights (Hobart to Sydney to Honolulu to Kona) to take us to the Big Island of Hawaii.  As I write this, we are on the second of these three flights and I have survived 108 hours without a golf club in my hands!!

Just a quick word about Cradle Mountain and Freycinet…both are beautiful places but we loved the latter more.  Cradle Mountain Lodge was filled with aged hippies and felt like a Woodstock reunion.  This place was straight out of Vermont…all it was missing was Bernie Sanders.  I fought back by wearing Newport CC and The Country Club golf shirts and a golf hat from Ekwanok Golf Club (VT).  I shall finish this post by pointing out the following:

1.                    when we first entered Cradle Mountain Lodge, there were two other guests (in Woodstock reunion uniforms) outside smoking cigarettes;

2.                    the breakfast buffet offered “poison” as shown on the picture below (including two of my fingers!);

Would they lose their license in Vermont for serving this?

3.                    walking through the woods near the lodge we came across a series of wonderful peaceful waterfalls (see pic below) that were almost as beautiful as the ones built by The Donald on his golf courses…wonder if he built these?

Just like at Bedminster and others...so did The Donald build this?