60. Trip from Milton, MA to Pinehurst, NC October 4-12, 2016 (Part II)

Before I continue…I need to publish two corrections to my last post:

1.     CCNC was #99 on the GM Worldwide list in 1985…not 1997 as I had posted (this has been corrected on the blog)

2.     In my discussion of Winged Foot East I mentioned Shinnecock/NGLA/Sebonack as one of the world’s great combinations of three contiguous (or almost contiguous) courses…an old buddy from the southern fork of Long Island correctly pointed out an error in this…the better combination on Long Island is Shinnecock/NGLA/Southampton.  Southampton GC is the Seth Raynor design that was recently renovated and while less famous than the Doak/Nicklaus designed Sebonack is certainly superior

Trip from Milton, MA to Pinehurst, NC October 4-12, 2016 (Part II)

By Friday night, I was spending a good percentage of my time watching the weather.  Hurricane Mathew was on the prowl heading north from Florida straight for the Carolinas.  Pinehurst is about 125 miles from the coast but Pat had arrived home on Thursday and one never knows.  Also, the outer reaches certainly had the potential to affect my rounds in NJ on Saturday (10/8) and Philadelphia on Sunday.

Essex County Country Club, October 8, 2016:  Funny the similarity in names with many golf clubs, even amongst the small fraternity of great ones.  One thinks of all the great tracks with “Oak” in their names (Oakmont, Oak Hill, Oakland Hills, Oak Tree National, etc etc), “St. George” (St. Georges-NY, St. George’s Hill-Sussex, UK, Royal St. George’s, and St George’s-Toronto), “Hill” (too many to mention)…and how about Essex County??  Well there are two great Essex County clubs…Essex County Club in MA and Essex County Country Club in NJ, both of which were founded in the 1880’s.   I have had the pleasure of playing ECC (MA) about 5-6 times but until this date, had not played ECCC (NJ), although had heard great reports from golfers whose opinions I respect (although with one of those sources, I must exclude political opinions from the “respect” category…right, Steve?..and actually there are three Steve’s who fit that bill!! J).

ECCC was founded in 1887 and moved to its present location “on a mountain” in 1917.  The present course was designed by A. W. Tillinghast…yes, play in the NY area and you get the opportunity to play lots of Tillie tracks.  Some 8 years later, Seth Raynor and his then assistant Charles Banks were brought in to make revisions.  Raynor passed away (in his early 50’s) in 1926 and Banks took over the business.  Holes 1-6 and 9 are original Tillie creations while the other 11 holes were the work of Raynor and Banks.

I played just before noon with a member and his guest.  The day was cloudy with a good breeze.  The property is wonderful…yes, built on a mountain but not a mountain course.  It is filled with perfectly placed cross bunkers of the type Tillie and Raynor/Banks used so effectively elsewhere, and a recent restoration cleared out thousands of trees and opened up excellent vistas.  The front nine is really good, but the back nine is simply great.  From the tips it plays 7101 yards (par 71) with a stern 75.5/144 course rating and slope.  The back nine is a hefty 3593 yards (par 35).  In terms of ratings, ECCC has never been on a USA or World Top 100 listing…never even making a GolfWeek USA Top 100 Classic listing.  Frankly, I find that to be incredible…and a condemnation of Top 100 lists.  This is a course that is both a truly superb test and fun to play. It is in excellent condition…not manicured to perfection like some others.  But to those who crave perfectly manicured tracks and think golf courses should be devoid of bad or good bounces, I highly recommend that you never again play a true links course anywhere and never travel to GB&I with your clubs, as I would hate to see you suffer such disappointment.  I would also point out that golf is supposed to mimic life, and one of life’s great tests is how one deals with life’s bad bounces…and the game of golf should test that part of a players game and mind.  Most of you members of the Millennial Generation may wish to request that a member of an earlier generation read the previous three sentences and attempt to translate them for you.  And for now I will get off my high horse.

The good news, is that I can chalk this one up as another hidden gem.  Go play it, and love it.  It will beat you up at times but give you the opportunity to play heroic recovery shots that offer great risk and great reward.  The course really gets moving with a tough but fair long (468 yd) par 4 fifth and a fabulous 173 yard par 3 sixth (to a green well protected by a large mound front left and a sharp fall off right), as well as a great 169 yard par 3 ninth to a green high above a deep deep front bunker.  Then if really gets going on the back.

After a good tee shot on 10 (440 yard straightaway par 4) one faces a sharply downhill approach shot to a that must account for a left to right slope in front of and on the green…great fun on the second shot.  #11 is a bear of a par 3, 208 yards over a chasm with some really tough pin placements right, and #12 is simply a 462 yd uphill par 4 with a well protected green…a piece of cake.  #15 stretches to 255…a downhill par 3 to a green that then slopes back to front and sits at an angle left from the fairway direction…very cool.  Loved #17 which turns left and is slightly uphill to the green…the tee shot is very well guarded by 2-3 large trees which dictate play off the tee…and the back nine concludes with a big and bold 18^th.

I had a 42-40=82 that pleased me even though I was not pleased by dump errors on 5, 6, and 18 that resulted in doubles…further proof in each case of the need to stay focused when playing a track created by the likes of Tillie, Raynor and Banks.  Go see this course.  While it no longer is the highly exclusive club of its earlier years, it is a very pure golf club and course.

After the round, I headed south for a scheduled 36 holes in Philadelphia…but with Matthew continuing its path northward, things were looking grim for Sunday.  Also called Pat and power was out at our Pinehurst home (which meant no water since our water comes from a well).  She decided it tough it out at home Saturday night…and no amount of talking to her about moving in with friends who had not lost power would work.

Llarench Country Club, October 9, 2016:  When I awoke Sunday morning, it was raining hard.  I was scheduled to play Llarench in the morning and then Rolling Green in the afternoon.  The forecast showed rain halting around 11am, but it was not clear of either course would be open for play today after this much rain.

I drove over to Llarench and was told it was open (walking only).  Told them to get me a good caddy and I was ready to go as soon as I was able to put on enough Gore-Tex.  Head pro at Llarench is Chris Wilkinson, who was an assistant at Brookline about 10+ years ago and one of Brendan Walsh’s numerous head pro placements.  Good guy…and very helpful.  Had left Brookline before started playing it but remembered Pat.

Llarench is 6780 yards and par 71.  The club was founded in 1928 and the course designed at that time by Alexander Findlay…and was renovated by Stephan Kay in 2005.  It has never been on a USA or World 100 list.  In 1958 it hosted the PGA Championship (actually the first played at stroke play and won by Dow Finsterwald). 

It poured hard for the first 7 holes.  Tough holding on to club and there was standing water on almost every green.  Front nine seemed to be very good (tough to tell in these conditions) and my caddy (who is in junior year of high school) was great.  The on the 8^th tee, the rain stopped exactly as forecast.  After #9 I went into the clubhouse to shed the Gore-Tex and went back out to finish the 18.   Not surprisingly, the course was not very crowded.  I would have never played a home course in these conditions.

My lasting impression of Llarench will always be that it has the best drainage I have ever seen on a parkland course.  Between the time when the rain stopped on 8 and when we teed off on 10, perhaps 20-25 minutes had passed….and with a measured rainfall of 1.15” the previous 24 hours, we encountered almost no standing water on the back nine. 

After the round, (which I walked and was very tiring given the wet clothing and soft course conditions, I called Rolling Green.  They were open, but as expected no carts allowed due to the rain.  There was no way I was going to be able to walk 36 that day and then drive to West Virginia, so Rolling Green remains an unplayed US Woman’s Open site.

The drive to West Virginia was a long one (about 5 hours) and it was good to get to bed.  House in NC still without power but at least Pat has relented and moved in with friends in Pinehurst. No one knows when power would return…and some are talking next weekend!! L

Lakeview Resort (Lakeview Course), October 10, 2016: Here I am in Morgantown, WV, about 90 miles south of Pittsburgh, PA to play the Lakeview Course at Lakeview Resort.   You obviously are asking why…and the answer is that this course was included in the group of courses rated #71-80 in Golf Digest’s list of The 100 Best Tests in the USA published in 1969.  It was also included in the group of courses rated #51-100 in GD’s 1971 and 1973 listings of USA 100 Greatest.  The course is in terrible shape and has few if any redeeming values (even views of lake are not real special).  This is a prime example of why rational, sane golfers (if there are any) do not pursue of Top 100 listing (unless they are both intellectually curious, and also very handsome).  Let’s move on!!

Pittsburgh Field Club, October 11, 2016:  The drive north to Pittsburgh was uneventful.  The great courses of the Pittsburgh area are located very close to each other.  On the southern side of the Alleghany River lie Oakmont CC and Longue Vue Club, while Fox Chapel GC and Pittsburgh Field Club lie on the northern side.  I had played Longue View in 1967 while I was at business school, Oakmont three times (first in 1976 and most recently in 2015), and Fox Chapel in 2013 and 2015, but had never play Pittsburgh Field Club. 

The clubhouse sits on top of a large hill (for those who have not been there, few cities in the US are as hillier than Pittsburgh…perhaps only San Francisco) and is very imposing.  The inside of the clubhouse exudes a sense of strength that is absolutely consistent with the “sense” of the city itself. 

The tee shot on the first hole is straight downhill to a level fairway…those with acrophobia might feel somewhat queasy on the tee.  The course has great flow, is in wonderful condition, and has a good number of strong holes.  Best by far is #9, a 418 yard downhill par 4 that doglegs left to right and offers an approach shot to a beautifully situated green angled to the right.  The fairway is full of big rolls and flat lies are difficult to find.  I took my one photo from the trip on #9…so here is what the approach shot looks like…the pin was toward the back of the green that day.

 

Second shot on Pittsburgh Field Club 9th hole---so much fun!!

Another superb hole is the par 4 17^th which is 425 yards and requires a precise approach to the smallish well protected green with a fall off in back.  The 18^th tee sits on a hill well well above the 17^th green.  Many decades ago the club installed an outdoor elevator to bring players and caddies up a full 90’ to the level of the 18^th tee.  As I was using a cart, I decided it would be inappropriate to try to drive the cart into the elevator.  Cannot remember seeing an elevator on any other course.  Bogeying the par 3 18^th kept me from breaking 80 but I really did enjoy the course.  Its total length is 6783 yards (par 71).  In 1937, the PGA Championship was conducted at Pittsburgh Field Club and Denny Schute emerged victorious.

After the round I spent six hours or so driving to Richmond, VA…last stop on this “tour”.  Still no electricity at the Pinehurst home.  Pat is coping pretty well (better than I would).

That evening had dinner with another blogger, Steve XXXXX, otherwise known as The Itinerant Golfer.  His blog is much more professional than mine…I know that so you don’t have to remind me.  And yes, he has many more pictures than I do.  Seriously, Steve is a really good guy who I met about two years ago…and it was fun to catch up with him.  Tomorrow we are playing Belmont Golf Course together.

Belmont Golf Course, October 12, 2016:  We got off early and I was tired…lots of driving and and golf on this tour, and while there were a number of great and really fun courses on the trip, there were three really substandard one…and these rounds really drain the adrenaline.  But your hard working reporter trudges on through it all.

Belmont was formerly Hermitage Country Club and then moved to a new location in 1973.  Its original course then became Belmont Golf Course.  This is the course Steve and I played this day and the same course where Sam Snead won the PGS Championship in 1949.  Hermitage has never been included on a USA or World 100.

To tell the honest truth, this was another course that is not uplifting, I was tired, and I wanted to get back to Pat in Pinehurst.  At this point I can hardly remember the course…but I did get to play and “check off” the 1949 PGA Championship venue.  L The round did gibe Steve an me a chance to trade more “golf nut” stories, which is always enjoyable (at least for us nuts)!!

The drive to Pinehurst went smoothly and the power was still off…but it was great to back with Pat.  As a postscript, the power came back on the next afternoon.

Dormie Club, October 24, 2016

While not part of the trip south, on October 24 a fellow GD rater, Terry I. of FL was in Pinehurst and I played Dormie Club with Terry.  Terry puts me to shame in terms of golf courses played.  Here I was as of that date at 877 courses…and he stood at over 3000.  Wonderful guy with a heart of gold, and also a superb judge of architecture.

Over the past six years since its opening in 2010, I have played Dormie six times (including the 10/24/16 round).  It was designed by Coore & Crenshaw and is a beautiful design (albeit in a questionable location).  It was conceived as a high-end private club and seemed to be having trouble getting traction before the financial crisis hit in 2008.  Certainly the financial crisis did not help but the situation seems to continue to worsen…or at least not improve.  Dormie was rated #96 on Links Magazine’s final (12/31/14) USA Top 100 listing.

This round continued to show a wonderful design (except perhaps holes 8 and 10), but the deterioration in playing conditions is really starting to affect the quality of play.  I will be revising my Golf Digest rating after this round, and Dormie’s numbers will not be improving.

Bucket List Status

1. Courses played…877…do I go for 1000?

2. USA Top 100 EVER (GM, GD, GW-merged list, LinkMag-final, Top100golfcourses): 40 to go.

3. Completing Important Event Venues:

--US Open, Open Championship, Amateur Championship, Senior Open Championship, Walker Cup Matches, and Presidents Cup Matches---ALL COMPLETED

--PGA Championship Venues—21 courses to go

--US Am Venues—8 to go

--US Senior Open Venues—8 to go

--Cups (Ryder/Solheim/Curtis) Venues—9 to go

--US Mid-Amateur Venues—8 to go

--US Woman’s Open—27 to go (not actively pursuing…at least yet)

Note that there are repeats between the above…so pursuing all of the above except US Woman’s Open venues would require me to play 85 more courses (including just one overseas…the 2020 Curtis Cup venue in Wales)…adding in a US Woman’s Open bucket list brings the total to 106.

Current Plans

Pat left for a week with the Boston munchkins (we were both visiting the Colorado munchkins 10/21-24) and that will be followed by a Woman’s Member-Guest at Yeamans Hall November 7-9.  Sooo, I am knocking off some of the “to-go’s” mentioned above in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.  More to come…  BTW, we both cast our ballots last week.  :-)

59. Trip from Milton, MA to Pinehurst, NC October 4-12, 2016

Trip from Milton, MA to Pinehurst, NC October 4-12, 2016

So, were you wondering where the hell I was?  Truth is we spent three weeks in MA and my golf was limited to Brookline during that period (not a bad purgatory by any means).  Then we flew down to Pinehurst on Friday 9/30 for a wedding, returning on Sunday 10/2.  A good friend, Steve Smith was married to Karin Torgerson.  Both Karin and Steve are lawyers (as they say…no one is perfect), Karin from Dallas and Steve is from Toronto.  I met Steve at an Outpost Club outing about 5 years ago where we played Sage Valley together after playing the previous day at Palmetto GC (Palmetto being so much better than Sage Valley that I cannot express it adequately in words).  Steve has a vacation house in Pinehurst and is a member of CCNC.  Karin does not play the silly game of golf, but is charming.

The wedding went very well and the weather was great.  On Saturday Pat and I were able to play the newly renovated Dogwood Course, which had reopened about 4 weeks earlier.

Country Club of North Carolina—Dogwood, October 1, 2016:  CCNC was (to my knowledge) the first private club in Pinehurst, founded in 1963.  It started with 18 holes, (Dogwood) designed by Ellis Maples and William Byrd, and then built an additional nine designed by William Byrd which opened in 1970.  This third nine would later become holes 1-5 and 15-18 of the Cardinal Course.  The “outward nine” of Cardinal (holes 6-14) was completed in 1981 and was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. with help from his son Rees.  The Jones’ work in the late 1970’s also included some updating of the other Cardinal holes deemed necessary as a result of increased distance of golfers at all levels.

In the period from 1999-2001 CCNC retained Arthur Hills to renovate Dogwood’s greens and later, Hills led more extensive renovations to Cardinal’s greens and overall design.  Finally, in 2012 Cardinal’s bent greens were replaced with Champion Ultra Dwarf Bermuda grass…which had an huge positive impact on the condition of Cardinal. 

However, Dogwood’s bent greens continued to have problems given the summer climate in NC, and the fairways in many spots were almost always way too soft and wet.  In 2015 CCNC brought in architect Kris Spence to renovate Dogwood and this renovation included the installation of Champion Bermuda greens, capping the soft fairways with sand and improving the drainage.  The course reopened in early September 2016.

Condition-wise…the course is at minimum 5000% improved.  The fairways are firm and fast (and they were that way on 10/1 which was after 4.46” of rain from 9/27-29 (including 3.4” on 9/29)…and also that way on 10/15, 7 days after Hurricane Matthew dumped 6.83” on October 8).  The greens are beautiful and very firm (as new greens always are at first), and the sand in the bunkers is also 5000% better.  In terms of individual holes, hole #4 is now superb, much much better than previously and it is the best improvement. 

On an overall basis, from the forward and regular tees (white and blue), the course is shorter (and plays much shorter because of the firmness) and wider, the greens are still tough, but a bit flatter, and the bunkers are a little bit shallower.  I think all these are for the better…but the combination may have taken too much fire out of the course.  I say “may” because it takes time for all new courses and renovated courses to “shake out”…changes are almost always made a year or two after the job is “done”…so it will be interesting to see how Dogwood evolves…but in any case, on an overall basis it is much much better than it was two years ago…no question about that.

Background wise, Dogwood hosted a US Amateur (1980) won by Hal Sutton and a US Girl’s Junior in 2010.  In terms of ratings, Dogwood was:

--#99 on Golf Magazine’s World Top 100 list in 1985 (the first year that GM had a World Top100…prior lists were a Top 50);

--within Golf Digest’s Top 20-40 in their 1969-79 USA lists and exited the GD USA Top 100 after a #86 in 1997; and

--#78 in GM’s USA Top 100 in 1991 (note that when GM listed Dogwood as #99 in the world in 1985, GM did not publish a USA Top 100).

In terms of full disclosure, I have been a member of CCNC since 1998 and first played it (Dogwood) in 1976.

On Sunday October 2, Pat and I flew back to North Carolina.  Our flight was delayed which meant that we missed a good part of the Ryder Cup singles matches.  I would like to find out who won so if some of the European readers of this blog could let me know, that would be much appreciated.

Quaker Ridge GC, October 4-5, 2016: Then on Tuesday morning, Pat and I drove from Milton, MA to Scarsdale, NY to play in a “Walker Cup Reunion” being held at Quaker Ridge.  I was a member of QR from 1975-2000 (full disclosure again) and Quaker is celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year.  Alan Howard, a former president of QR was put in charge of the 100^th anniversary events and in addition to what may have been the “standard” 100^th Anniversary party for members, came up with the idea of a Walker Cup Reunion (QR hosted the Walker Cup in 1997) inviting all living former players and captains, representatives from all clubs that have hosted the event, and representatives/officials of the USGA and R&A.  According to Alan, when he first proposed the Reunion during a conference call with senior representatives of the USGA and the R&A, it was met with a period of total silence.  Shortly, others started warming to the idea and it turned out to be a wonderful event that was superbly run…at least a “home run” and perhaps a “grand slam” IMO.  Pat and I attended as representatives of The Country Club along with good friend Lawrie Foster (Lawrie’s wife Daphne could not attend).  To date, there have been 46 Walker Cup Matches conducted at a total of 32 clubs, 14 in GB&I and 18 in the USA (all of which have been played by your truly).  The event was attended by representatives of 25 of these clubs (13 of 14 of the GB&I clubs with Royal Lytham & St. Annes absent and 12 of 18 of the USA clubs with Baltimore, Cypress Point, Interlachen, Milwaukee, Minikahda, and Seattle absent…two of which are in Minneapolis and probably had post Ryder Cup events).  In total, some 150 people attended the dinner on October 4 and heard many wonderful anecdotes about the history of the Matches.  Of course, the passing of Arnold Palmer was in everyone’s mind during the entire event and many special examples of his generosity and warmth filled the two days.

Lawrie and I were able to play QR twice and Pat joined us for the October 4 practice round….where we were also joined by an old friend from QR, Michael Frankel, whom I had not seen for about 20 years.  Michael had read about my travel/golfing exploits on the internet and had reached out to me this past summer and it was special to relive old times (even if some of his stories about my lack of accuracy with the driver were somewhat exaggerated). 

Quaker was in great condition and never looked better.  Gil Hanse completed an outstanding renovation/restoration of this Tillinghast gem that has brought the course back to its original intent, severely cut back on tree growth (IMO, QR is a poster child for tree removal), and resulted in a very tough but fair parkland course.  It now stretches to 7008 yards (par 70) with its real strength resting in its par 4’s (2 between 351 and 400 yards, 6 between 401 and 450 yards, and 4 above 450 yards) and a great variety of par 3’s.  The tree removal program has resulted in firmer and healthier turf and greens that are much firmer and faster.  I had balls come back and roll off the green on two false fronts which I never knew existed during probably 2000 rounds at QR between 1975 and 2000.  Simply put, it is a very different (and much much better course).

In terms of ratings, Quaker has appeared in every Golf Magazine World Top 100 list starting in 1983 (the 1979 and ’81 lists were Top 50’s), reaching a pinnacle of  #33 in 1987 and most recently at #74 in 2015.  In terms of USA Top 100’s, it has appeared on every list from all sources except GD’s 1966 and 2011.  It’s highest rating was #14 on GD in 1989 and its highest current rating is #39 on top100golfcourses.co.uk and #40 on GM.

Winged Foot GC-East, October 6, 2016:  Winged Foot lies just across the street from Quaker and with WF’s 36, this almost contiguous combination of 54 holes is certainly one of the 3 or 4 most outstanding combinations of 3 courses in the world (only rivals seem to be Shinnecock/NGLA/Sebanock, Bandon Dunes, and Royal Melbourne GC (36)/Victoria GC.  I have excluded the stretch from Gullane GC (#1) through North Berwick (West) which also includes Muirfield and Renaissance, because of the gap between Gullane #1 and Muirfield and Archerfield GC (a less than stellar pair of tracks) sitting between Renaissance and N Berwick (W).  No question that the WF/QR combination is the best almost contiguous 54 combination designed by a single architect.  Tillinghast did his initial work at QR in 1916 and made major revisions in 1927; his WF efforts were completed in 1923.

In 1929, the US Open was scheduled to be played over WF’s East course.  However, heavy rains and flooding just prior to the event caused the USGA to move the event to the West course, where Bobby Jones won his 3^rd of 4 US Opens in a playoff against Al Espinosa.  Since then, Winged Foot has hosted 4 US Opens (with another scheduled for 2020), 1 PGA Championship, one Walker Cup, and 2 US Am’s on the West Course and 2 US Woman’s Opens and 1 US Senior Open on the East Course.  Many observers consider the West Course to be the 2^nd most difficult course in the USA (with Oakmont as the toughest) and its US Open results back that up.  In 1974 Hale Irwin won at 7 over par and in 2006 Geoff Ogilvy won at five over.

I had the opportunity to play Winged Foot many times starting in the 1970’s, and I distinctly recall that members referred to the East Course as being for “ladies and kids.”  After the Hanse renovation, no one is saying that anymore.  Rumor (from WF members) has it that something like 65-70% of member rounds are now played on the East…and members choose which course they want to play.  Apparently, most rounds on West these days are when members have guests who want to play the “US Open” course.  To be fair, Hanse has just commenced his renovation of West, so the mix of play after the West’s renovation will be a better “test.”

Now to the course…it is simply brilliant.  The greens are perfect…fast and firm in terms of condition and I personally think East has the best set of Tillie greens…each green is different from the others and yet they all work together beautifully.  The bunkering is extremely subtle and tough.  From a distance, the bunkers do not look that challenging, but when you get in them, you realize that Hanse has created concave surfaces in most of the bunkers.  With most of the greens sitting well above the bunkers, the player finds that most shots run to the “outside” half of the bunkers, leaving him with a downhill lie to a green sitting 5-7’ above the ball.  In fact, I hit into 5 greenside bunkers and faced this situation in 4 of the 5.  The fairways have generous width which brings the cross bunkers into play on most recovery shots (and Tillie loved cross bunkers).  The best holes to my mind are #3 (a downhill148 yd devilish par 3 with a huge false front); #13 (a 146 yard par 3 to a green angled to the right, a huge bunker protecting the right side of the green, and a precipitous drop off behind the green; #15 (a 336 yard par 4 with an infinity green sitting on top of a mound protected by a creek at the start of the mound and a bunker sitting at least 8’ below green level on the right side; and #17 (a 227 yard par three that must be approached from left to right).  Throw in the huge magnificent clubhouse and a pure golf atmosphere, and you have one of the best golf clubs in existence.  Was special to have Pat finally play one of WF’s courses, and see the inside of the clubhouse.

The East Course measures 6792 yards (par 72).  In terms of Worldwide ratings, East has been on Golf Magazine’s Top 100 every year since 1993 with the exception of 2013 and currently sits at #84 (its high point was #59 in 2001).  At present it is not on any other current World Top 100.  In USA Top 100 ratings, it has appeared on 55 of 66 listing shown on my spreadsheet, reaching a high of #24 in Golf Digest’s 1993 list.  Its highest current rating is #44 on Golf Magazine’s 2015 list.  It will be interesting to see where it sits in 2017 and 2019 (it takes a few years for enough raters to see a course after it is renovated).

After our round it was a quick lunch, then I dropped Pat off at Westchester County Airport for her flight to Raleigh-Durham.  Then I got back in the car for about 6 days of golf as I wound my way down to Pinehurst with a whole bunch of golf stops along the way.  Want to finish the USA Top 100 EVER plus the PGA Championship venues, so there is work to be done!

Siwanoy Country Club, October 6, 2016:  So, if I’m going after PGA Championship venues, why not go after the first, 100 years after the event?  Siwanoy hosted the first PGA Championship in 1916 won by Jim Barnes.  The club was founded in 1901, built a 9 hole course and moved to its current location and built an 18 hole track designed by Donald Ross in 1914.  Today the course totals 6383 yards (par 70)…very short but a lot of fun.  It sits on excellent terrain (there are only two flat holes on the course and about that many opportunities for flat lies) and a recent restoration has brought back to life the Ross greens, which are in perfect condition.  Located in the southern portion of Westchester County and near the NYC line, it is landlocked with no place to expand.  It has never been included in any Top 100 listing and while its days as a great championship course are well behind it, it would be a fun track to play every day and it is a superb club.  During 1986-87 I lived about 2-3 miles from Siwanoy but never had the opportunity to play it.  Best holes are the par 3 third, par 4 eighth, and par 4 15^th. 

After the round I drove down to Nassau County on Long Island, happily through less traffic than I expected.  With another 36 hole day scheduled for Friday, I needed some rest.

Eisenhower Park-Red Course, October 7, 2016:  Located in East Meadow (about 5-7 miles east of Bethpage), Eisenhower Park started off as a very exclusive private club…Salisbury Golf Club designed by Devereux Emmet in 1914.  In 1926 it hosted the PGA Championship that was won by Walter Hagen.  Unable to pay its real estate taxes during the Depression, it closed down and was taken over by Nassau County.  Today, the park has three courses, with the Red being the “premier” course, stretching to 7199 yards (par 72).  For a number of years it hosted a Senior tour event.

The Red is built on very flat terrain and is in awful condition.  In 2010 I went back and played the Queens NY (Kissena Golf Course) muni I played as a kid (which was great fun) and quite frankly it was in much better condition than the Red.  I was here simply because of my dumb quest to play all the PGA venues (having already completed the Open Championship, US Open, and Masters venues).  Sorry if I sound like a golf snob (can’t be one since I loved going back to Kissena), but this place has no redeeming values.

Nassau Country Club, October 7, 2016:  After finishing my round at the Red, I drove about eight miles north to Glen Cove to play Nassau Country Club.  Here on the northern part of Long Island, the terrain is totally different that the terrain on LI’s southern portion.  During the last Ice Age, the glaciers stretched south and eventually stopped about half way across LI, before the earth started re-warming (obviously due to the first uses of fossil fuels) leading to the glaciers receding to the Artic.  Funny, I thought “global warming” and “climate change” were more recent phenomena.  Have to write Al Gore and see what he has to say.  In any case, the glaciers brought with them huge rocks and boulders from more northerly land and created the hilly terrain of northern LI, upper NYS, and New England.  These rocks and boulders are now the large rock outcroppings that are found in these regions.  The southern portion of LI were never touched by the glaciers and remained very flat.  If you are familiar with the borough of Queens, Hillside Avenue (running east-west) marks the bottom of the hill where the debris dragged down by the glacier stopped (I know since I grew up at the top of that hill).

Nassau Country Club was founded in 1896 as Queens County Club, as the County of Nassau did not exist in 1896 (Queens County encompassed what is now Queens and Nassau).  In 1899, the current Queens County became a borough of New York City, Nassau County was incorporated, and the club changed its name to Nassau County Club.  In 1903, it hosted the US Amateur (which is why I placed it on this itinerary…as I am also trying to complete the US Amateur venues) and in both 1914 and 2014 it hosted the US Woman’s Amateur.  The club is also where the Nassau golf bet was created (non golfers…a Nassau is a match play bet where there are equal amounts bet on the results of the front nine, back nine, and all 18…creating three separate bets).  A member, Mr. J. B. Coles Tappan, created the concept as a way to keep a game interesting in cases where one played or team gets off to a very strong start…the idea was to create a new game on the back nine to keep all the golfers focused longer.  Finally, Nassau CC is where Bobby Jones started putting with his Calamity Jane putter.  In 1923, Jones was on Long Island preparing for the US Open to be played at Inwood.  Nassau’s head pro, Jim Maiden (and brother of Stuart Maiden, the head pro at Jones’ East Lake club in Atlanta) asked Jones to try his putter (that he had nicknamed Calamity Jane) and Jones started sinking almost everything.  As they say, the rest is history.  Now lets move along from our geology and history lessons…

Nassau CC was originally designed by Devereux Emmet.  Seth Raynor renovated the course in the 1920’s…which is obvious from the 5^th green.  The shape of that green and its surrounding bunkers reflect the Short Hole “template” used by C. B. MacDonald, Seth Raynor, and Charles Banks…even to the point of the oft-included raised “ledge” along the back and side portions of the green.  Sometime later this hole was stretched to 204 yards…but it clearly was at one time a “Short”. 

Subsequent renovations were completed by Herb Strong and Tom Fazio (2012) and unfortunately somewhere along the way many of the bunkers were redone (badly), and the 5th hole was stretched to 204 yards.  The club is planning another renovation to bring the bunkers back to their Raynor design and I applaud that plan.  Today, the course totals 6702 yards (par 70), is in excellent condition and is fun to play.  The greens are very tough but fair and the rolling terrain is similar to Siwanoy’s.  Best holes are 6, 13 and 15 and the most unusual part of the course is the old cemetery (which predates the club) located next to the 10^th tee.  One of the Long Island railroad’s lines runs along the left side of holes 6-8 and the local train station is only about 400 yards from the clubhouse, a great convenience for commuting members and a reminder that almost all older courses were built near railroad lines.  I had my first decent round of the trip at Nassau ever after starting with a double bogey…40-43=83.

Again, here is a course that never was on a top 100 and probably never will be…but a fun fun course to play.

After completing the round before sunset I drove into Manhattan for dinner with my sister Jean, her husband Amatzia, and my sister Ann.  Jean moved to Israel over 55 years ago where she met Amatzia and they still live, and Ann lives in Manhattan.  With the exception of some back and forth volleys regarding this year’s presidential candidates, the dinner was nice and all were well behaved (even I).  After dinner I had to drive to New Jersey for Saturday’s round at Essex County Country Club.  Got there past 11pm…and was fairly tired to say the least.

58. Royal Portrush GC and Portstewart GC, September 8-9, 2016

Royal Portrush GC and Portstewart GC, September 8-9, 2016

Pat and I drove up to Northern Oreland’s north coast the morning of September 8…there is lots on road construction in progress.  With the Open Championship returning to Royal Portush in 2019 (held there once before, in 1951), the north coast is buzzing with activity as preparations for the Open proceed.

Royal Portrush GC, Dunluce Links, September 8, 2016:  We were being hosted by a former RP Captain, John M., and his wife, Lynda.  Craig W., a friend of Fergal’s who played with us at Portmarnock and is a member of RP and a former member of Portstewart caddied for us.  After a brief lunch it was off on #1 of RP’s Dunluce Links at 1:40pm.  As you may have read elsewhere, the R&A and RP agreed to a series of changes to the course for the Open and these were overseen by Martin Ebert.  Some new tees, a new green on #2, and a bunch of new bunkers are being added.  The biggest change is the addition of 2 new holes, while dropping the current #17 and 18.  RP has two courses, the Dunluce Links (its championship course) and the Valley Links.  The new holes have been constructed on land occupied by the Valley Links and are expected to be inserted into Dunluce as #7 and 8, which would mean the Open course would flow as follows:

           

            Holes 1-6…current Dunluce holes 1-6

            Holes 7 & 8…newly constructed holes

            Holes 9-18…current Dunluce holes 7-16.

While exact yardages have not been announced, I would expect the Open course to play at over 7200 yards (par 70).  The new holes #7 & 8 are in their “grow-in phase” and are expected to open for play in 2017.  While I was able to view them from a distance, I did not have an opportunity to walk them…but they certainly look imposing.  As such, my comments below refer to the current Dunluce Links. 

Royal Portrush Golf Club was founded in 1888 and was known at the time as The Country Club (sound familiar?...if so, please note that The Country Club in Brookline as founded and named in 1882).  A nine-hole course was constructed in 1888 and expanded to 18 the following year.  In 1929 Harry Colt laid out the original Dunluce Links.

I really liked the course.  I love false fronts and I doubt there is another course with as many greens with false fronts (except maybe Portstewart...see below)…my guess is that there are as many false fronts here as at the average 9^th grade classroom.  It has:

--good elevation changes,

--rumpled land that rolls in every direction,

--almost no land with flat lies,

--firm-fast fairways and greens in excellent condition,

--deep, well placed bunkers,

--very special greens guarded well by humps and mounds, and

--has a wonderful variety of holes that blend together beautifully. 

What else can one ask for?  Without question, its two best holes are #5 and #14. 

#5 is a 411-yard par 4 dogleg right with a two-tiered raised green perched above a hill the drops straight down toward the beach and the Atlantic Ocean.  The back of the green is about 18” from the start of the downslope to the beach so watch out if you are pin hunting for a back pin.  The tee is elevated and I found it hard to force myself to aim far enough left off the tee.  See pic below.

 

#5 from tee...green is straight ahead but I had to aim left of the large mound in left center of picture.

#14 is a par 3 (perfectly named “Calamity”) that will play from about 235 yards from the tips during the Open, with a huge, 60’ deep ravine on the hole's right side extending from the tee to about 5 yards short of the right front of the green.  With any wind (and it can really blow here), this hole can terrorize.  RP is famous for this hole and deservedly so…  See pic of (R-->L) John, Lynda, Pat, and me in from 14^th tee.

14th green in left background

I thought holes 1-16 were fabulous…not a weak or average hole among them.  On the other hand, holes 17 and 18 move away from the dunes and are disappointing.                              

I ended up with a 41-43 = 84.  Wind blew at about 15-20 mph most of the round but we remained lucky, avoiding any real rain for the 4^th straight round.  Not sure what John M shot but he was a virtual machine, and both John and Lynda are very special folks.  Our friend and caddy, Craig, proved to be a terrible caddy…no matter where either of us hit the ball, he immediately went and found it, leaving me with some impossible lies to play from (when Pat hit it in these places, Craig would toss it back into the fairway).

Royal Portrush’s ratings on World Top 100 lists were included in my write up of Royal County Down posted a couple of days ago.  My sense is that based on the courses as presently laid out, the rating of RCD and RP are about right.  However, things could get a shake up after the new holes come into play and the Open Championship is played at RP in less than three years.  Too soon to tell but it could become very interesting.

Portstewart GC-Strand Course, September 9, 2016:  Portstewart is a mere 5 miles west of RP, and to summarize, despite RP’s long shadow, this one is absolute worth playing as well. 

Originally founded in 1884, this course was redesigned by Willie Park Jr. about 90 years ago, but was totally transformed about 25 years ago by the addition of 7 new holes constructed among the dunes lying between the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the River Bann to the south (land known as “Thistly Hollow”).  The result is a course with a fun and brilliant first 12 holes and a very good final six. 

It all starts with a breathtaking first, sharply downhill off the tee (a good 60-70’ IMO) this 425 yard dogleg left is a cape hole over high dunes…at least high from fairway level (felt a little like a dramatic version of #1 at Bethpage Black).  Then after a walk sharply uphill, #2 is a short par 4 (366 yards) downhill off the tee then uphill to a small green made smaller by a false front.  A large chasm on the right side of fairway into the rough, that goes from about 110 yards to 35 yards short of the front of the green limits tee choices for big hitters to a max of 240 off tee or going for the green in a very risky effort.

#5, is the best hole on the course IMHO.  Stretching to 461 yards, it turns slightly left and gently rising between large dunes to a deep deep (56 yards deep) three tiered green with a postage stamp of a back tier.

#6 is a wonderful 143 yard par 3 to a green falling off on all sides and also protected by two small deep bunkers in front…and this hole was made better by my tee shot to about 3’ and birdie 2.

#9 is a superb 378 yard uphill par 4 turning slightly right around a massive dune to a deep narrow green with a false front and sharp falloff  over the green

#10 and #11 are both excellent 407 yard par 4’s; #10 turns right and slopes downhill with tee shot calling for you to hit to left side of fairway that is well protected by two bunkers; #11 also turns right but is uphill to a raised green and this tee shot needs to negotiate 5 fairway bunkers.

Through the first 12 holes the following have false fronts: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11…or put more simply, holes 1, 3, and 12 do not!!!

By the time we reached the 15^th tee, the wind was more like 40mph and the rain started coming down sideways.  We managed to play 15 and 16 and since 16 green is right near the clubhouse, planned to stop there.  Pat was smart enough to do that, but when I saw that the groups in front of us had also gone in, I talked Craig into quickly playing 17 and 18.  17 was dead into the wind and I played it from about 365 yards…with driver, 4-utility and 3 wood to the front!!  Fortunately, the rain had subsided somewhat but the wind kept up.  Was nice to get inside.  Our luck with the weather had to stop but it did hold off till the final 4 holes!

Portstewart plays from 7004 yards.  It has never been on a World 100, and that is clearly appropriate.  However, a mere 5 miles from RP…this is a stop well worth making.

The next morning we made the 3+ hour drive to Dublin airport and flew back to Boston

All in all an excellent trip.  Wedding was wonderful and five courses played were a superb collection.