114. Two Trips to Midwest and Upper Plains…Pretty Far North!

114.  Two Trips to Midwest and Upper Plains…Pretty Far North!

The afternoon of July 12, I flew from Boston to Chicago and then caught a nonstop to Duluth, MN.  For those of you who have spent too much of your life in the Northeast, Duluth is pretty far north.  I was there to meet a friend from Pinehurst (who lives in Minneapolis during the summer), Gail Knappenberger and play a well-respected golf course…Northland CC…bordering Lake Superior.  

Northland Country Club, July 13, 2018:  The club was founded in 1899 and after playing on a course laid out in an open field for five years, a new clubhouse was built in 1904. The new course was expanded to 18 holes in 1912, and after acquiring additional land in 1921, Donald Ross designed a completely new course at the same site, which opened in 1927.  It is a wonderful site for a golf course…with spectacular views of Lake Superior, and gently sloping land that has confounded players for the last nine decades (despite what your eyes tell you, everything runs toward the Lake).  The club hosted the Western Amateur in 1946 and the 1956 US Women’s Open Championship (winning score of 302 tied CC of Rochester’s score in 1953 for the highest winning score in the history of the US Women’s Open).

Northland was included on GD’s USA 200 Toughest in 1966 and ’67, and was on GW’s USA Top 100 Modern every year from 1998-2013 excepting 2003…but never high enough to make my GW Merged list.

The winter of 2017-18 was very tough on this region as well as many other parts of the U.S.  I had wanted to go further north in MN to play The Quarry Course at Giants Ridge, located some 60 miles north of Duluth (but only 5 miles from the North Pole Airport).  When I called, they said they had totally lost all their greens and the fairways were not much better.  No raters wanted in those conditions, and I fully understood.  Hope they have a good winter this year and come back as I have heard great things about it (but probably will never get to see it).

Despite less than ideal conditioning at Northland I still loved it and the “great bones” here were very obvious.  Ross used the land in spectacular fashion, and playing this course for the first time is tough…you are constantly trying to judge the slopes of the fairways and green, avoid some perfectly placed cross bunkers, and there is a pesky creek that can come into play (sure did for moi) “just over the next rise” about 3x here.  Definitely a course you could play every day…although I would guess the season here doesn’t last much longer than 4.5 months (fall must be truly spectacular here…and early).  Fairways are wide if you pace them off and seemingly generous, until you factor in the slopes.  Makes it very playable for the average player and tougher for the Class A’s.  Hole #3 was the longest 380 yard hole I had ever played, and I simply loved the par 4 10^thand par 3 17^th. Posted a 41 - 43 = 84.

After the round, picked up my rental car and started a brief short drive to Evanston, IL (a mere 467 miles (7:05)…with a fair amount of construction to drive through in WI).  And since you asked…yes I was planning to play Evanston GC that evening…time will tell.

Evanston Golf Club, July 13, 2018:  This was a long drive.  I left Duluth around 11:20am and arrive at Evanston at 6:00pm…with sunset scheduled for 8:27 had to hustle, and teed off at 6:15.  

But first some background on the club and course. Evanston GC was founded in 1898.  In 1916-17 the club moved to a new location and retained Donald Ross to design their new track.  In 1982 Jack Nicklaus led a renovation of the course, and then Ron Prichard renovated it again.  It is built on very flat land, is in very good condition (a little over watered and green for my tastes), and superbly bunkered.  It has never been included on a USA Top 100, but in 1962 hosted the US Senior Amateur.

Course was fairly empty and one couple about 3 holes ahead of me immediately waved me through (good folks from Midwest again!).  I played well shooting a 38 – 41 = 79 and was pleased with my game…and finished play just as the sun was starting to set. 

After the round, headed back the way I came…to Madison, WI…146 miles and 2:25 (again, lots of construction).  Had to play another 36 on Saturday, starting at the University of Wisconsin course and then in Davenport, IA.  Arrived at hotel around 11:15pm and went right to bed!

U of WI--University Ridge Golf Course, July 14, 2018:  Was the first one out here on Saturday morning. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and opened in 1991.  It was included on the GW USA Top 100 Modern list (but again, not high enough for my Merged list) during that first three years that list was published, 1997-1999.

The land/site is excellent, with lots of movement generated by the Wisconsin Glacier during the last Ice Age.  However, the overall design is too penal for my tastes…and left most holes with limited playing options.  Not a bad course to play once or twice, but nothing that would “bring you back”.  With a course rating/slope of 74.9/144 and playing 7259 yards, there is no question regarding its toughness, but with this land it could have been so much better…

Given recent rains, the course was very wet and soft (and I sensed is normally fairly green) so I played the White tees (5752 yards) and had a 39 – 39 =77.  

After the round, I headed south to Davenport, Iowa (home of Jack Fleck…more below) to play Davenport CC.  Drive would be 155 miles (2:35).

Davenport CC, July 14, 2018:  This is a fairly brutal trip even by my standards.  I did not want to be away for more than three days, and had 5 bucket list courses I wanted to play on this swing, plus someone had said Davenport CC had completed a very good restoration…hence my visit here. Plus, I think all Hogan affectionatoes (spelling?  word??) need to visit the home of Jack Fleck.  

For you kids out there, on June 18, 1955 (about 2-3 weeks before I first hit a golf ball), Ben Hogan finished his fourth round at the US Open at The Olympic Club’s Lakeside Course and was almost universally congratulated for winning his record fifth US Open.  But out there on the course was a relatively unknown pro named Jack Fleck.  Fleck had three holes to play and stood two behind Hogan.  Birdies on 16 and 18 meant an 18-hole playoff the next day…won by Fleck, a driving range pro from Davenport, who of all things was using a set of new irons that Hogan had sent to him shortly before the Championship.

DCC was founded in 1924 and boasts a course designed by Henry Colt and Charles Alison and recently renovated under the direction of architects Ron Forse and Jim Nagle.  In 1936 and 1951 DCC hosted the Western Open.  It has never been included on a USA Top 100.

Unfortunately, it had rained heavily the night before which meant the course was softer and slower than usual but the ball still would run on the fairways.  I very much liked holes 3, 7 (one of the most positively unusual holes I have ever played…is simply great), 9, 10, and 16…but could not quite “figure out” the first hole. Played with another GD Panelist, Ryan Hillenbrand of Missouri.  Had a 41-40 = 81

The body was still working so it was north towards northwesten IL (75 miles and 1:35).  BTW…if you are looking at a map and tracking my travels, you are probably wondering if I flunked geography.  Problem was I was trying to play six courses on a three-day trip on Friday/Saturday/Sunday…I somehow was able to get on all six but obviously could not dictate tee times…beggars cannot be choosers…hence my back and forth travel schedule.

Eagle Ridge Resort—The General Course, July 15, 2018:  Allow me to quote from my comments section on my GD review:  Terrible land for a course...land would make a great roller coaster but fails as a course (prime example is #14 straight downhill). Reasonably tough but otherwise...not much...who would want to play it more than once???

Now for necessary details…opened in 1997, designed by Andy North and Roger Packard.  In 2000 made its way onto GW Top 100 Modern for one year.  Had a 78-79 = 77…very wet and so many trees all over the place will probably never dry out.  If you get the chance to play it…PASS.

Cedar Rapids Country Club, July 15, 2018:  After a drive of 90 miles (1:40), I arrived at Cedar Rapids…and this place looked cool at first glance!  Big old clubhouse sits overlooking the course, and the course has obviously had a big haircut…removing tree overgrowth and opening up superb vistas. I had the honor of playing with Vaughn Halyard who was a (or the?) prime mover in the brilliant renovation led by Ron Prichard and completed for a ridiculously low $$ number.  

Cedar Rapids was designed by some guy named Donald Ross (ever hear of him?) and opened in 1915.  

Greens were brought back to original dimensions, playing corridors were greatly widened and fescue areas introduced, bunkers refurbished and where appropriate for today’s play, moved, and certain greens and other playing areas raised to minimize the effects of a flood plain making up part of the course.  The result is a fun, interesting, beautiful, challenging, and thought provoking course that one could plan all the time without getting bored.  Best holes are #2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14, and 17. 

Suspension Bridge on Cedar Rapids #6

Bridge on Cedar Rapids #15

Uphill approach shot, Cedar Rapids #18

Started off with 5 straight pars…Vaughn might have thought I was a player…but ended up with a 38-42 = 80.  

This is one you need to play.  It had never made a USA Top 100, and in 2018 made its debut on GW’s Top 100 Classic…and watch for this one top start appearing in more listings…a true hidden gem (btw…on GCA’s recent list of “147 Custodians”, CRCC was #115 in the World, and #50 in the USA).

I had to finish quickly and run…had a drive of 255 miles (4 hours) back to Midway Airport in Chicago.  

What a trip…six courses of which two are outstanding (Northland and Cedar Rapids) and two very good (Evanston and Davenport)!   Well worth it even if it meant driving 1200 miles (almost 20 hours) in three days.  

In a week, would return to MN and WI to get back to Sand Valley and play two more in Minneapolis.  The afternoon of Sunday July 22, flew from Boston to Minneapolis.  Pinehurst friend Gail Knappenberger (see start of this post) met me at the airport and we drove into Wisconsin for our return to Sand Valley (Post #94 from 2017).  Sand Valley is Mike Keiser’s effort to create a “Bandon Dunes” in Wisconsin…located in the middle of the state, in its poorest county.  We were here to play the Sand Valley course (designed by Coore-Crenshaw) in August 2017 and I was able to play the nine completed holes on the second course, Mammoth Dunes later that day.

Sand Valley Resort—Sandbox, July 23, 2018:  One of the excellent new trends in new golf resorts and clubs is the “par 3 course”.  Back 40-50 years ago, Augusta National GC was one of the very few clubs or resorts to have a “par 3” course (offhand, I cannot think of any other except for Turnberry in Scotland).  In the last 10 years or so, there has been an explosion.  Some of the ones that I have seen in recent years are at Bandon Dunes-Preserve (13 holes), Pine Valley (10 holes), Bluejack National (TX)(10 holes), Pinehurst-The Cradle (9 holes), and of course Sandbox…which has 17 holes.

Why 17?  Never got a great answer…but I think it was just to differentiate it from the big courses. Sandbox was also designed by Coore-Crenshaw and opened in May of this year.  In total, I have now played 6 par 3 courses (including ANGC).  IMHO, Bandon-Preserve is the best of these six, in large part because it was built on the best patch of land at Bandon…between the 17the hole of Bandon Dunes and the clubhouse at Bandon Trails…looking down at the beach.  And the most creative and interesting is Pine Valleys…as several of the “holes” are versions of approach shots to greens on PVGC’s main course, a very clever innovation and idea.

Trust me Sandbox is no slouch.  It is a great place to warm up for a round…or to practice one’s short game. Gail and I really enjoyed it. P.S.  I did shoot my age…and with a 67 for 17 holes, probably would have still beaten 73 if there was an 18^th!

Sand Valley Resort--Mammoth Dunes, July 23, 2018: David McLay-Kidd was born in Scotland and made his breakthrough with the design of Bandon Dunes (OR), which opened in 1999.  Mike Keiser had decided to take a chance on an unknown architect and this bet paid off big time for both.  As David’s portfolio grew, Mike apparently began to feel that David was no longer building courses that would be fun for all golfers, and did not ask David for a repeat performance.  Then David went to Washington and designed Gamble Sands (see Post #90)…and simply asked Mike Keiser to look at this new course.  Shortly thereafter, David had his repeat performance booked for Mike’s newest creation, Sand Valley Resort.  Coore-Crenshaw’s Sand Valley course was already under construction, and David carefully scoured the property to find the right parcel for his next course…and that scouring process yielded a brilliant piece of property.  As you have heard from me many times before…site selection is the most important factor in determining how good the course will be.

Having played 9 holes 11 month before, I knew this course had tremendous potential...but it was too early to really tell…the course was not playing fast as the fairways and greens were being kept long during grow-in. It still was not in final condition this day but its brilliance shone through.  Wide open and fun…and challenging if you want to fire at the pins or have a playable shot at the greens.  

There are so many fabulous holes…in particular, #4-6, 10, 13-15, and 18 stand out in my mind.  This course is a sure home run.  And besides, I played great.  Had a 3 over 39 on the front and nine straight pars for an even par 37 on the back…76 in total.  No wonder I thought it was fun!

Fairway Bunker on  par 5 Mammoth #7---foundation from old house on property!

Mike Keiser was playing with his two sons in front of us. Between the 10^thgreen and 11^thtee is a make shift half way house.  They were having lunch and invited us to play through, but first we chatted a while.  Was great to meet him…no question he has transformed the game and the only thing I cannot understand is why he is not yet in the Golf Hall of Fame!!

We drove back to Minneapolis and I stayed over at Gail and Sherrie’s house.  Had 36 scheduled for the next day (naturally) then flight back to Boston.

Somerset Country Club, July 24, 2018:  Somerset CC was founded in 1919 hence will be celebrating its 100^thanniversary next year.  Located near St. Paul it is the old $$ club of the Twin Cities.  The course was designed by Seth Raynor and clearly has wonderful bones.  Apparently previous attempts to bring back the Raynor touches were not successful. A good number of trees have been removed but not nearly enough.  The greens are excellent and I sense they have gradually shrunk over the past 100 years and need to be expanded to their original footprints.  We played with two members who were optimistic about future changes and I certainly hope they are right.

Somerset hosted the US Women’s Senior Amateur in 1995.  In 1997-99 it was included on the GW USA Top 100 Classic.

Quite frankly I played like a dog…certainly a very different player than yesterday afternoon!  

Windsong Farm Golf Club, July 24, 2018:  Windsong Farm is located about 20 miles west of downtown Minneapolis.  It was designed by John Fought and Tom Lehman and opened in 2003.  Nine years later, under pressure from lenders, the club was purchased by a wealthy businessman from Fargo, ND.  

The course is a brute from the back…stretching to 7586 yards (par 71), but with six sets of tees can be played as short as 5062 yards.  I was very pleasantly surprised by the course. It played firm and fast and was challenging but fair.  The land has good movement and the design of the course is very good…it is wide open, offers terrific vistas and a good variety of angles into the greens.   Greens have sharp drop offs into closely cropped run off areas, and can be very fast and difficult to putt, but are fair.  The facilities are beautifully done without any sense of being over the top. All in all, a very fine club and I hope it succeeds.

Windsong was on the GW USA Top 100 Modern for one year (2010). 

I had a 40-41 = 81.  The course was right near Gail’s house so I took a Uber to the airport and got home…certainly an easy trip compared to last week.

*****************

Getting close to catching up with Blog Postings!  At this point after playing Windsong I stood at 1072 courses played…and as of today (10/8/18) I stand at 1092…so only 20 more new courses to write up (plus about 10 courses that I had played before).  

113. More Work Needed in Midwest…and Return to Essex County

113.  More Work Needed in Midwest…and Return to Essex County

In the summer of 2017 I looked at my “to-do” list for completing my Bucket Lists…and it was very clear that I would need to spend a fair amount of time in the Midwest, especially Michigan.  Post #112 describing a trip of 204 holes (11 1/3 rounds) in the Midwest, including 8 1/3 rounds in Michigan, is an example.  In early July 2018 I did a quick 2-day trip to Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

Broadmoor Country Club, July 5, 2018:  I caught a very early flight to Indianapolis this morning and immediately drove to Broadmoor CC north of downtown Indianapolis.  Founded in 1922, the course was designed by Donald Ross, and from 1988-1993 hosted the Senior/Champions Tour.  During the first three years of GW’s ratings (1997-1999) it was included in GW’s USA Top 100 Classic list…but never close to my GW Merged USA Top 100.

I teed off just before 9am and after being asked by a foursome to play through on #3 (much appreciated…and a very common practice in this part of the country), had an open course in front of me.  The course is set on very flat land (typical of this part of the Midwest).  This is a good course but is in need to refurbishment.  Conditioning was not much better than OK and the bunkers were worse. The front nine is unexciting…back nine is better (par 3 15^this very good) but certainly not close to Top 100 standards. 

Had good round…37-41 = 78.  After the round I thanked the head pro and his staff and headed southwest to CC of Indianapolis.

Country Club of Indianapolis, July 5, 2018:  I arrived at CC of Indianapolis around 11:30.  I was here because the club had hosted the US Women’s Open Championship in 1978 won by Hollis Stacey.  

My round was delayed by threatening weather.  There was lightening nearby but somehow the storm initially missed the course, and after about 30 minutes the course opened up for play…I started on #10.  With more threats in the forecast, I played as quickly as possible, and at times, hopped to open holes when I ran into groups in front.  Playing quickly worked…I had a 38-38 = 76, best round in quite a while!  

As I came up the par 5 8^th(my next to last hole), dark clouds were gathering, but I was able to putt out on #9 and get into the proshop just before the heavens opened up.

This course was originally designed by Tom Bendelow in 1914 and then renovated by Pete Dye in 1992.  It is a very very good design.  The land had nice movement to it, and the greens are tough.  My two criticisms of the courses is overwatering…and overtreed.  But no question it is superior to Broadmoor.

After the round I drove about 135 miles to my hotel in Mason, Ohio, northeast of Cincinnati.  

Golf Center at Kings Island—Grizzly Course, July 6, 2018:  The storms of yesterday afternoon had passed through the Midwest leaving us with a beautiful day.  I was back in Cincinnati to play this course because it has hosted the Women’s PGA Championship from 1978-1989 and winners included Nancy Lopez (3x), Donna Caponi (2x), Patti Turner (2x), and Pat Bradley.  It also hosted regular events on both the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour. 

Grizzly has never appeared on a USA Top 100 list and frankly, that is not surprising to me.  I played well (38-39 = 77) but did not think this was worthy of a Top 100 rating.

Kenwood Country Club-Kenview, July 6, 2018:  In May 2017 I played Kenwood CC’s Kendale course.  Kenwood had two courses, Kendale and Kenview.  It hosted the 1933 US Amateur and the 1963 US Women’s Open.   In the 1960’s Kenwood lost land to the building of Interstate Highway 71(I-71) which resulted in a major reconfiguration of both courses.  I was able to contact the club’s historian, Jack S., and concluded that the only way I could satisfy my own criteria for playing a venue would be to play all 36 existing holes at Kenwood.  Having played the 18 at Kendale in 2017, I played the 18 at Kenview with Jack S. this day, which was deeply appreciated.  It is a very very good course.  The first few holes are on very very hilly land…land that the club owned before the building of I-71 but had been unused.  After I-71, the club was forced to utilize this land for part of Kenview’s front nine.  In any case, I can safely say that all holes from the US Amateur and US Women’s Open contested at Kenwood CC have been fully played by yours truly, or no longer exist.

Then it was time to get to the airport (in northern KY) and get back home…and I had a game at Essex Country Club the next morning!

Essex County Club (MA), July 7, 2018:  While I chronicled the virtues of Essex County Golf (NJ) earlier in this Blog (post #60), this is my first set of Blog remarks regarding its namesake, Essex County Club (MA).  The club was founded in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA in 1893 and started with a nine-hole course.  Essex apparently missed out on being the 6th charter member of the USGA due to a delay in the US mails…but was the 6^thmember club (or first non-charter member!). Donald Ross was the club’s first Professional, designed the 18 hole course still used today, and lived right behind the 16^thgreen (the old Ross house is still there).  Readers of this Blog by now must be wondering about all the courses I have played that Ross designed.  Truth is that he is credited with designing almost 400 courses. Clearly, given available transportation during his professional years, he could not have spend a great amount of time at all of these courses…and many have concluded that at many of these sites, he walked the property for a day or two, and produced simple layout drawing for his construction crews to use in building the course.  However, it is known that two of the courses where he lavished attention were courses that sat in the backyards of his homes…Pinehurst #2 and Essex County Club.

I have had the opportunity to play Essex probably ten times…first time in 2007.  It is a wonderful course…but in the last year or two it got much better with the removal of some 1,000 trees, especially along the left side of #1 and both sides of #18.  As a result of these efforts, the turf on #1, 2, 10, and other holes where trees were cleared is much improved.

Essex lies just a few miles from Myopia Hunt Club…and there is a constant debate amongst golfers in Massachusetts as to which is the better course.  Myopia did some heavy tree clearing about 5-6 years ago (after losing several greens in consecutive years) with a very positive impact.  IMHO after its tree clearing, Essex is the better course of the two (but Myopia is the more interesting experience as a club)…if you get the chance, play both.

Essex has been a constant on Planet Golf’s World Top 100 listings…most recently at #48 and starting at a high of #42 in 2009.  It is also #68 on GolfClubAtlas.com’s recently published list of “147 Custodians”.  It also has generally beaten Myopia on World Top 100 listings. On USA Top 100 listings its highest rating is #27 (on “147 Custodians”) and #53 among the big 3 US magazines (GD/GW/GM) and Top100golfcourses.com.

Hope to see more tree removal at Essex in the coming years!

112. Exploring New England

112.  Exploring New England

Other issues were keeping me close to home in mid-late June, so I did so cleaning up of some courses I wanted to play around here. First visits were to two PGA Tour venues south and west of Boston.

TPC Boston, June 19, 2018:  For some reason, I had never gone down to play TPC Boston, which has been host venue for one of the Fed Express Cup playoff events since 2007.  I have never been a huge fan of TPC courses (with the possible exception of the original in Sawgrass, FL) and so was not expecting much…and low and behold I was pleasantly surprised!  

The course originally opened in 2002 (designed by Arnold Palmer) and then was “redesigned” (sound like more than a renovation or restoration) by Gil Hanse working with Brad Faxon in 20017.  The playing corridors have been widened considerably…and I would vote for more efforts along these lines…but right now it is a very very good golf course.  Has never been on a USA Top 10.  Best hole IMO is par 3 11^th, 231 yards to raised green well protected by a mammoth bunker on front right.  I can assure you that my selection of 11 as the best hole has nothing to do with the fact that I put a 3-wood to about 8 feet (played from 175 yards).  Front nine is very flat but back nine had good land movement.  Lots of wetlands throughout property but course played firm and fast during my round. Well worth the trip!

Pleasant Valley Country Club, June 20, 2018:  The next day I headed west instead of south to play Pleasant Valley CC.  PVCC hosted PGA Tour events 32 times from 1965-1998 starting with the Carling World Open boasting a total purse of $200,000 (winning purse was probably $40,000…compared to $1.0-2.0 million today).  In 1967-8 and 1970-74, it hosted the Women’s PGA Championship.  Between those two tours, golfers named Hogan, Nicklaus, Trevino, Palmer, Snead, Lema, Casper, Floyd, Whitworth, and Bradley walked these fairways.  

It is a good course, but certainly not great. The most interesting thing about it to me is the narrow roads leading to it…cannot understand how it handled any galleries, and provided parking to patrons…but the Tour was much smaller in those days.

Pleasant Valley opened in 1961 and was designed by Donald Hoenig.  It went through remodeling in 1970 (Geoffrey Cornish and William Robinson), 1984 (Brian Ault and Tom Clark), and in 2001 and 2005 by Robert McNeil.  It was on Golf Digest’s 200 Toughest lists in 1966 and 1967.

I played well…having a 39 - 38 = 77.

The next week I ventured to Maine, and then south in to Connecticut.

Kebo Valley Club, June 26, 2018:  Two day trip started around 4:00am on 6/26…I had a 4:45 drive (290 miles up to Kebo Valley Club near Bar Harbor, Maine).  Arrived in time for my 9:20 tee time.  Kebo Valley was #100 on the GW USA Top 100 Classic list in 1997, and on GD’s 200 Toughest in 1966 and ‘67…it was out of the way to say the least but if I was to finish this bucket list, I had to get there.  The one piece of good news I had was from a friend from Brookline who advised the week before that he summered there as a teenager and the course was fun and interesting.

Kebo Valley Club was founded in 1888 and the next year opened with six holes designed by Herbert Leeds…who would go on to design Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, MA, and Palmetto Club in Aiken, SC (my favorite “Hidden Gem”).  In 1911, President Taft has a 27 on what is now the 17^thhole.  

Pres. Taft's 17th Hole...that is a BIG hill and BIGGER bunker

I understand that record still stands.  In 1920, the club purchased additional acreage and expanded to its present 18 holes.  It is a great piece of history, and still a very playable course today. I had a 39-41 = 80, with my bogey 5 coming a full 22 strokes short of President Taft’s record.

Kebo #13 green from back left...front of green protected by bumps/moguls

Penobscot Valley Country Club, June 26, 2018:  Two days earlier I did some additional research regarding other clubs in Maine, and focused on Penobscot Valley CC, located 58 miles from Kebo Valley (and on the way back to MA) that had some very good reviews.  It was on the GD 200 Toughest lists in 1966 and ’67.  So it got added to my schedule, and I arrived around 1pm.  Penobscot Valley was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1924. It had been sold to an operator of several courses in Maine in September 2017.

On this day the course was essentially empty. There were signs of construction and renovation…but no evidence of any work being done on this day.  It was clear that the course had “good bones”, but it was even more clear that it was suffering from critical “skin diseases” that could create very real problems.  

I got in the 18, but left wondering about the future of this place.

Got on the road southbound around 3pm…and arrived near Bernardston, MA in northern central Mass. some 305 miles later at around 8:15pm…talk about a long day….36 holes and 653 miles…

Crumpin-Fox Club, June 27, 2018:  This club took a long time to get completed.  Conceived of in 1969 Dave Berelson, Robert Trent Jones, Inc. was retained to find a site for a “Pine Valley” type course, and the current site was chosen.  Delays ensued and in 1977 Andy St. Hillaire purchased the site and completed the back nine and clubhouse…but the project was sold again to local Bill Sandri.  Architect Roger Rulewich supervised the building of the front nine, and renovations to the back.  Finally, in 1990, 21 years after “conception”, the course was completed and open.

Pat and I dropped by to see it about 7 years ago on a drive back to Boston from Vermont, but only looked at holes 1 and 10. I was here because in 1998 and 1999 it was included on GW’s USA Top 100 Modern list …but never on my Merged GW Top 100 list.  This is a very tough course and would be simply brutal to walk…long treks from green to tee through the woods.  Playing corridors seem wider than 7 years ago but still way too narrow.  Course was very wet as wind, air, and sun has tough time drying it out.  Need to remove several thousand trees…  Also, par 3’s on front and back too repetitive.  Has good potential but needs work…

Played very very well shooting a 38-41 = 79. Good news was only had a 75 mile drive south to Hartford.

Hartford Golf Club-Red/Blue, June 27, 2018:  Hartford GC goes back to 1896 with a small course built on 25-30 acres.  Five years later, the club moved to West Hartford, starting with 18 holes designed in one day by Alex Finday.  Over the following 60 years, new holes and substantial renovations were contributed by Donald Ross and Devereux Emmett and today the club encompasses 27 holes.  I was playing the Red and Blue nines, which hosted the 1996 US Mid Amateur Championship.

The head pro at Hartford is Joe Connerton. Joe was at Brookline before Hartford and came down here about 8 years ago.  It was great to catch up with him…and special to see this club.  The course had just completed a renovation guided by Bruce Hepner (who opened his own shop in 2010 after 17 years with Tom Doak’s Renaissance Design) focusing on bunkers, tees, green expansion and collars, and the course was in wonderful condition (but could be firmer/faster). Excellent routing, wonderful vistas across the course, and a great “walk in the park.”  Had a 40-40 = 80…good playing this trip.

After the round, it was back in the car for a 112 mile drive home.  So two days, 72 holes and a mere 840 miles of driving.  My new car is wondering who purchased it!! 

************

Slowly getting caught up.  Now “just” 14 weeks behind!

111. Six Days in the Midwest…204 Holes

111.  Six Days in the Midwest…204 Holes

Having given the stitches from the Mohs procedure time to set and heal, I was ready to play some golf about three weeks after the procedure. I left Boston late on Saturday 6/9 and flew into Traverse City (in the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula). By the time I reached my hotel, it was about 11:30pm…and I was scheduled to play the next morning at 7:30am!

Black Forest at Wilderness Valley, June 10, 2018:  Up early for a long day starting at what I think was Tom Doak’s first course (opened 1991).  I gather that helping Tom built this one were Mike DeVries…and Gil Hanse.   Not a bad combo…but clearly that team could not guarantee strong cash flow in the 25+ years that followed (obviously architects are rarely responsible for cash flow).  In any case, this place looks to be really hurting.  I arrived at 7:15am and was offered a cart to use.  It is about a 400-500 yard ride from the clubhouse to the first tee…I got about 250 yards and the cart literally died.   This course occupies probably 300 acres on very hilly land…got me thinking what might have happened if it had died 60 minutes later. 

I am here this day because Black Forest was once on GW’s Top 100 USA Modern list in 1997 and 1998 (GW’s first two years of publishing a list) peaking at # 69 in ’98, but not close to high enough to make my “merged GW” list for these years.  

I have no idea what sort of condition Black Wilderness was in during the 1990’s…but today the word “Wilderness” certainly applies.  Perhaps the worst condition of any course I have ever played in 63 years of paying this game…including days roaming NYC muni’s. Greens close to unputtable…but certainly fast and firm (hard-pan tends to be that way).  Shoot it to take it out of its misery.  Enough said?  Did not keep score…but did birdie #18.  

Forest Dunes, Loop Red, June 10, 2018:  After a 50 minute drive I was at Forest Dunes…my second visit to this resort.  I was here in July 2014 to play the original course by Tom Weiskopf (opened in 2002), which I really really liked. 

The land at Forest Dunes has had some rather interesting owners through the years, including William Durant, one of the founders of GM, the Detroit Partnership (aka Detroit Mafia), and the Michigan Carpenters Pension Fund (aka…another “Detroit Mafia”…just “kidding”, of course).   After years of losses, the Pension Fund sold the property in 2011 to Lew Thompson, an entrepreneur who made a fortune in the long haul trucking business.  Thompson first built a nice lodge on the property (Forest Dunes is located in a fairly remote part of northern Michigan)…then he went looking at various ways to expand its golf offerings.

You may know that a few days each year The Old Course at St. Andrews is set up in a “reverse loop”:

--play from 1^sttee to 17^thgreen, then 

--from 18^ndtee to 16^thgreen, then

--from 17^rdtee to 15th green, …and eventually 

--from the 3^rdtee to the 1^stgreen, and finally

--from the 2^ndtee to the 18^thgreen.

In other words, instead of playing TOC counter-clockwise, it is played clockwise those days.

Tom Doak has long been interested in building a “reversible” course, and Thompson gave him the opportunity five years ago.  By 2016 “The Loop” at Forest Dunes had opened featuring the counter-clockwise Red Course and clockwise Black Course.  The advantages are obvious…offer customers two different (they are very different) courses on one piece of land and the maintenance of one course.  Naturally, only one course can be opened at a time…or the number of golfers in this country would decline further.  So Forest Dunes plays the property as the Red on days 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. …and as the Black on days 2, 4, 6, 8 etc.  Guest no longer arrive at Forest Dunes for a one day visit…they now tend to stay for 2-4 days to play all three courses.  Mike Keiser’s theorem proved again.

So on this day I played Red at 11am and enjoyed it a lot. Fairways and tees are fescue, which if you have the right climate I think is the best playing surface (very firm and fast). Fairways are wonderful wide corridors but player needs to hit to a particular area off the tee or shot to the green becomes very hard.  Best hole IMO is #12 and hardest is par 5 9^th(at least for moi)…greens are very interesting but not “crazy Doak” greens…they are difficult to read, important to understand but playable.  Very easy piece of land to walk…and one that really challenges players…land “rumpled” and fair number of greens slope front to back (almost has to be on a “reversible course”). 

One interesting question that needs to be sorted out in future years is does this get rated as two separate courses or one?   To date, the only USA or World Rating to include The Loop has been Golf Week’s 2018 listing…which lists it as “Forest Dunes—The Loop (Red & Black).  On the other hand, Golf Digest’s  list of Candidates shoes two separate courses …pain in the butt for me as to how I end up showing it on my Top 100 Spreadsheet!  In any case, the one listing was #69 on the 2018 GW Top 100 Modern…which brought it to #144 on my Merged Golf Week listing.  Several reversible courses and partially reversible courses have been built.  Look for more in the future.  Requires the right land forms (should not have large hills) and very bright creative architects to make it work…it does here at Forest Dunes, and the next day I would play it clockwise.  After a poor start and a 7 on the par 5 9^th, ended up with a 45-39 = 84.  Not bad.

Now I needed to get in my car and up to Bay Harbor near Petoskey, Michigan…a drive of 86 miles and 90 minutes…and this after already having played 36 (obviously all three rounds in a cart).

Bay Harbor Golf Club-Links/Quarry, June 10, 2018:  This is a 27 hole course with three nines named The Links, The Quarry, and The Preserve. The course was designed by Arthur Hills and opened for play in 1997.  I was here to play Links/Quarry, as this was the course that had been included on Golf Week’s Top 100 Modern from 1997-2002, including three years (1997, ’99, and ’00) when it made the Merged GW listing.  Arriving at the club around 5:30pm, I was stunned by the fabulous views to the north of Little Traverse Bay and the Town of Harbor Springs. However, if this was the 66^thbest course in the USA in 1999, why didn’t the Observation Deck on the 86^thFloor of the Empire State Building make the Top 100…the views there are also stunning??

The course is designed to maximize the views…to the detriment of the golf course itself.  Due to some long distances from green to tee, it is essentially unwalkable. Additionally, the course is overwatered and its design is unimaginative.  I know, no one to blame but myself for being a captive of my Bucket Lists!!  

The back nine (Quarry) lacks views of Little Traverse Bay and surrounds parts of a deep quarry.  It can play very tough (I gave up on scoring for the last nine). Perhaps 54 holes and 175 miles in a single day was too much to schedule??  It was nice to get back to my hotel and get to sleep.

Treetop Resorts—Robert Trent Jones Masterpiece—holes 13-18, June 11, 2018:  In July 2013, I played The RT Jones Masterpiece Course at Treetops Resort.  I teed off around 2pm and play was glacial in pace.  The round would have taken 6 hours had I finished but I walked off after 12 holes, as I needed to get back to Detroit.  

I called Treetops several weeks before this trip and they were wonderful in allowing me to go out to holes #13-18 first thing in the morning to finish this course.  I must also say that while I did not like the course five years ago, I did find the course much improved compared to 2013.  Serious efforts have been made to cut back the tree cover and widen the fairway corridors, and the turf was much improved from what I remembered.  It was good to take this one off my “cleanup list” and officially mark it as played.

Forest Dunes, Loop-Black, June 11, 2018:  Back to Forest Dunes to play the Clockwise or Black Course of The Loop.    This course definitely seemed tougher than Red to me, although I thought the fairway corridors were a bit wider.  Around the greens there seemed to be more trouble than Red (remember…these are the same greens, coming from different directions).  There were two corridors on the Black where the walk from the previous green was about 100-150 yards, which did not help the “flow” of the course…but playing 54 yesterday and 42 today was making it impossible to do a deep analysis.

No question these are the two of the toughest courses to get to know that I have ever played.  Worth the visit, but you should be smarter and wiser than I…stay for 4-5 days and get to know all three tracks, BTW…walking only on Loop.

After the round it was back in the car to drive down to Tullymore…another delightful 110 mile drive (2 hours) to about 50 miles NNE of Grand Rapids.

Tullymore Golf Resort—Tullymore Course, June 11, 2018:  Tullymore was designed by Jim Engh and opened for play in 2002.  Sometime since it merged with St. Ives Golf Club and both courses (in separate locations) are under common ownership.  I am playing Tullymore because in 2007 and ’09 it was rated #83 and #90 on Golf Digest’s USA 100 Greatest (don’t blame me…I became a GD panelist in 2010).  It also appeared in 2003 on GW’s Top 100 Modern…but not high enough to make my GW merged list.

Among Engh’s other designs, I have played Black Rock (ID), Hawktree (ND), and Sanctuary (CO)…count me as a fan of none of these.  He also built the third nine (The Kilmore Nine) at Carne Golf Links, but I did not play that nine.  

Strikes me that Engh takes jobs with very difficult sites. Tullymore is simply overloaded with wetlands (water comes into play on 14 holes) and one has the feeling the holes were shoehorned into whatever open spaces he could find.  Obviously, this requires its own set of unique skills, but that does not guarantee a good result.

After finishing at Tullymore, I had to drive 135 miles down to Benton Harbor, MI, where I would to play a Jack Nicklaus track, Harbor Shores the next morning.  So over the past 48 hours, my totals were about 550 miles and 96 holes of golf (5.3 rounds)…and the only two really good courses amongst them were the two Doak Loops at Forest Dunes.  Who picked this job, anyhow??

Golf Club at Harbor Shores, June 12, 2018:  I was the first golfer on site this morning and was off the first tee promptly at 7am. After a very good first hole, the course starts getting shoehorned a bit, as wetlands and real estate impinge on major portions of the property.  Actually the site was a superfund cleanup site and the golf course and real estate development was built on top of the reclaimed land. Nicklaus says they removed enough water etc from the land to fill an area the size of a football field to a height of 65 feet (about 120,000 cubic yards by my math).

In even numbered years from 2012 through 2024 Harbor Shoes has and will host the Senior PGA Championship.  When the course first opened, Jack played an exhibition round with Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller, and on the 10^thgreen sunk a 102’ putt that Johnny Miller said was impossible to get up the hill:

https://www.pga.com/news/golf-buzz/jack-nicklauss-famous-harbor-shores-putt

The rise from the lower portion of the green to the upper must be a good 12-15”.  I three putted from the lower portion of the green…and sunk a putt of 6’ to do that!

Anyhow…a good golf course but not USA Top 100 material…but what a green on #10!!

Birmingham CC, June 12, 2018:  OK…now we get to the real reason for the trip.  You will recall that I ended 2017 having played every Men’s Major Venue EVER…except one…the site of the 1953 PGA Championship, Birmingham CC.  That PGA is famous for what didn’t happen rather than for what did happen.  In 1953 Ben Hogan played only six Tour events…and won five of them (including The Open Championship).  He could not play in the PGA Championship because it overlapped with The Open Championship that year (July 1-7 for the PGA and July 8-12 for the Open Championship). Additionally, it is doubtful that Hogan could have competed in the PGA as his legs had been severely weakened by his 1950 automobile accident, and the PGA finalists would be forced to play about 30-36 holes/day for five straight days.  Walter Burkemo won that PGA.

I contacted a fellow GD Panelist who found me a member to play with at BCC…an English woman who had her final interview for becoming a US citizen that morning!  I very much enjoyed the course, especially the front nine (best hole is #2) which is built on beautifully “rumpled" land that reminded me of much of the land used for courses in GB&I.  Routing is excellent and the greens very very special…and overall the course was in super condition.  The course was originally designed by Tom Bendelow. In 1930, major alterations were made under the direction of William Diddell.  Robert Trent Jones made some changes before the 1953 PGA, and finally Brice and Jerry Matthews made some changes in 1963.

It was a wonderful place to finished off my Men’s Major’s Ever bucket list.  Was clear from looking around that BCC is a superb club…very active and busy, which is great to see.  Ended up with a fairly ugly 41-44 = 85.  Always good to finish off a Bucket List…especially this one since I have played all the announced Men’s major sites as well…so covered for a bunch of years (unless the Masters moves).

I had called Orchards Golf Club in Washington, MI about 27 miles NE of BCC and was able to get a starting time for around 6pm…headed there hoping to knock that off as well, but when I arrived it became clear that there had been a miscommunication and I would be behind men’s league play which would be very slow…so instead headed up to Grand Blanc (near Flint, MI) where I was staying overnight and playing the next morning. Not playing that third course was a good thing…I was fairly tired…another 275 miles this day.

Warwick Hills Country Club, June 13, 2018:  Warwick Hills hosted the Buick Open event on the PGA Tour from 1978 through 2009.   I had never played it but went up to Flint (I was living in Alexandria, VA) to meet my friends Davis and Ruth Ann Phillips at the 4^thround of the Buick Open to see if our friend Mark O’Meara could win the event (he was tied for the lead Saturday night…but did not play well Sunday).  So I knew the course from walking all 18 holes…but I had to play it as it was included in the #61-70 bracket of Golf Digest’s 1969 100 Best Tests list and in the #51-100 bracket of GD’s 1971 100 Greatest list.  Clearly a very active club and very good golf course in excellent condition (although too green) and built on good land...but routing suffers from too many parallel fairways and still too many trees, despite removal efforts of late.  In any case it was fun to see it from “inside the ropes.”  Played it with Jay H., whom I met and played with in 2017 at Plum Hollow CC (another former PGA Championship venue).  Had a good round…41-39 = 80.

Was good to catch up with Jay and after the round, he needed to get to his office and I needed to get to South Bend, IN, where I was scheduled to play Notre Dame’s course.  Another 215 miles on the odometer.

Warren Course at Notre Dame, June 13, 2018:  Squeezed between a variety of football fields and other football related practice facilities is an 18-hole course designed by Coore & Crenshaw.  The course opened in 1999.  The property is very very flat except for holes 16-18 located in the NE corner of the property.  It is a good course but I do not think worthy of a Top 100 rating (and it has not earned one).  It is scheduled to host the US Senior Open in June 2019 and I think it will be a good venue for that event.  It plays to 7020 yards from the tips (par 71).  

I arrived around 4pm and was able to get right off.  I played very well on the back, shooting a 42-38 = 80 and thought the best holes were 7, 9-11, 13, and 16-18.  

After the round, I drove 30 miles to Gary, IN to stay overnight. The next day would include two courses in Chicago and then, happily, a flight home.  This has been a long trip.  By the time I arrived at O’Hare the next day, I had logged something like 1150 miles and 204 holes (11 courses plus the last 6 holes at Treetops RTJ Masterpiece).

Harborside International, Port Course, June 14, 2018:  After a 40 mile drive I arrived at the 36 hole Harborside facility near Lake Michigan south of Chicago by 6:45am.  Both the Port and the Starboard course were designed by Dick Nugent and opened for play in 1995 and 1996 respectively.  Both play to about 7150 yards and par 72…and while I did not see Starboard, I sensed to is similar to Port…which is a big boring course.  I was playing Port because it was #100 on the GW Modern Top 100 in 1999, which made it #200 on my Merged GW 1999 list.

Teed off around 7:00 on hole #1 and had to play the course in thee following order because a shot gun event was scheduled for the front nine at 7:45: #1-5, then #10-18, followed by #6-9.  Then after I has played 1-3, the starter came out to tell me he had the shot gun plans wrong and I had to finish #5 by 7:30…so I made a mad dash and got through with #5 just in time, played the back, and then finished up on 6-9. Don’t remember much of this track, but then again not much memorable about it.  Just glad it is in the rear view mirror.

La Grange CC, June 14, 2018:  Located about 8 miles WSW of downtown Chicago, La Grange CC was founded about 120 years ago and after outgrowing its original 9 hole course, moved to its present location in 1913.  Its current course was designed by Thomas Bendelow with assistance from William Langford. It hosted US Women’s Opens in 

1974 and 1981.  In 2004 the course underwent a major renovation led by the architectural firm of Cornish, Silva and Mungeam.  It is a good course but has too many parallel fairways…with 15 holes running along the N-S axis and only 3 going E-W.  It is also somewhat overtreed IMO, but that is probably necessary with so many parallel fairways.

I had to hop around to get my round done quickly but that worked well….and I was pleased to get to the airport…having knocked a whole bunch of courses off my bucket lists…and having completed my Men’s Major Venue EVER list!  Time to get home, watch the US Open, and get some rest.  Would like to think that I would avoid such an itinerary in the future, but who would I be kidding…certainly not you folks (or Pat).

110. First Meeting of Century Conquerors Club

110.  First Meeting of Century Conquerors Club

Golf Magazine starting publishing a World Top 50 in 1979.  In 1983 the biannual list was expanded to a Top 100 in 1985.  In 1986, Mr. James Wysocki, a trial attorney from Louisiana, became the first person to complete a GM Top100.  Unfortunately, Jim died in a crash of his Cessna airplane in 1989. 

The second person to complete the list was Bob McCoy, in 1988.  As a follow-up, about 9 years later Bob played a GM World 100 list in 100 days…walking and finishing every hole, without the use of a private plane, and logistical plans in those days were communicated via fax!  

As of May 21, there were 42 folks (41 men and one woman) who had completed the list.  Of those 42, seven had passed away, and one chooses to remain anonymous. Even though our plans for this gathering were not announced until mid-January 2108, a total of 25 of the remaining 34 came to all or part of the meeting.  All members received bag tags designating them as “Founding Members” of the Century Conquerors Club (Founded 2018).  

We stayed at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, NY and played golf at Wykagyl CC, Westchester’s West Course, and Quaker Ridge GC.  For sure the highlight of the meeting was dinner on May 22 at The Links in New York City, kindly hosted by Colin Sheehan, golf coach at Yale University and a founder of The Outpost Club.  Everyplace we went we were treated like royalty (appropriately, I should add).

The last evening of the meeting we unanimously agreed to form a club…papers are about to be filed.  All in all, simply a wonderful time and a chance to meet a whole bunch of interesting folks.  Nothing like a convention of compulsive Type A’s!!

It was great fun organizing events like this (my last one was a fraternity reunion in September 2011) but it is exhausting. Time to pass the baton onto the young turks (although there ain’t a lot of “spring chickens” in this crowd).

BTW, the new powers that be were not excited about our brilliant name for the club…so they decided to go with Global Golf Centurions Club.  Sooo, watch out for Century Conquerors Club bag tags being offered on e-Bay.  Not mine…in a few years they will be worth more than bitcoin!

Oh…and since the meeting we have one more member…so 43 to date!