130. Rudo Reaches Two Major Milestones...and Makes Important Announcement
Major Milestones: Over the past two weeks or so, I have taken three trips:
1. a day trip to Portsmouth, NH open June 4 to play Golf Club of New England and Portsmouth Country Club;
2. a three day trip (departing June 9 and returning June 12) to Ireland and England to play Mount Juliet (Ireland), Sunningdale GC-Old (England), Huntercombe GC (England), Worplesdon GC (England), and St George's Hill GC-Green and Red 9's (England); all four of the English courses are located within 30 miles of London's Heathrow Airport;
3. a three day trip (departing June 16 and returning June 19) to Michigan to play two courses in northern Michigan (Arcadia Bluffs-South and Treetops Resort-Smith Signature on June 17) and five courses (to be announced at a later date) tentatively scheduled for June 18 and 19.
By playing Huntercombe GC and Treetops Resort-Smith Signature, I have now completed the World Top 100 EVER as well as the USA Top 100 EVER.
Readers of this Blog should recall that this is my third ascent of the top of the World Top 100. The first occurred at Cabot Cliffs, in Nova Scotia, Canada, on July 8, 2016. At the time the list was composed of 295 (still existing) courses. Over the following 22 months, the list had grown to 322 still existing courses, of which I had not played two. During a trip to Australia, China, and Japan I played these two thereby "re-ascenting" the World Top 100 EVER on April 8, 2018 by playing Yokohama Country Club-West. Huntercombe GC on June 11, 2019 represents my third ascent...and by now the list totaled 343 still existing courses (plus 5 that no longer exist). Of these 343, I have played 140 multiple times and 203 a single time.
This afternoon, I played Treetops Resort's Smith Signature course. As readers of may blog may recall, I had previously made two trips to Treetops (12 holes in July 2013 and the other 6 holes in June 2018...Post #111) to play what turned out to be the "wrong" Treetops course. I learned later last summer that I had played the wrong course so I needed to get back to play Smith Signature. That completes the USA Top 100 EVER (for the first time for me). This list now consists of 369 still existing courses and 4 that no longer exist. I have played 118 of the still existing multiple times and 251 once. Of the four NLE's, I played two once, but never played the other two.
To my knowledge, no one else has ever complete either of these lists, although a fellow member of the Global Golf Centurions Club is now within 12 courses of finishing the World Top 100 EVER, and hopes to complete it by the end of 2019.
Four of us have completed the Golf Magazine World 100 Ever (a subset of the World Top 100 EVER consisting of 201 courses); in order of time of completion the four are Tom Clasby, Paul Rudovsky, Bob McCoy, and Hong Seh Lim.
For your information, I have created a set of spreadsheets to show the courses on both of these EVER lists. However, I do not think I can post spreadsheets on this blog. The email announcing this post includes these spreadsheets. If you did not receive this email, please contact me by and I will send the spreadsheet to you.
Important Announcement: Having achieved the milestones cited above I am hereby announcing that I shall no longer "chase" World or USA Top 100 lists. This can be a never ending cycle, and there comes a time to step off the treadmill. This is that time for moi.
Please note...the above does not mean that I will stop visiting new (or previous played) courses. And it does not mean that I will not work to finish some still remaining bucket lists. What it does mean is that when top100golfcourses.com, golfclubatlas.com, or another other list generator comes up with a new list, I will not automatically work to finish that list. If there are courses that interest me, I will go play them...if they do not interest me (in my sole judgement) I will not.
It has been great fun...but it is time for someone else to take over.
Oh...and I do plan to continue publishing my blog.
Monday, June 17, 2019
Monday, June 3, 2019
129. Eastward Ho! and Two Day Visit to Austin/San Antonio
129. Eastward Ho! and Two Day Visit to Austin/San Antonio
Eastward Ho!, May 18, 2019: Fellow GM Panelist and good friend Fergal O'Leary asked me to join his wife Karen and him for a round on Cape Cod at Eastward Ho! I have played EH! about 5-6 times, there last time being in 2014, and was very much looking forward to returning. Go to Post #1005 for my WH! write up from that visit, as my fingers are too tired to repeat my eloquent phrases.
EH! is still a Gem but no longer "hidden". In World Top 100 ranking Planet Golf has consistently placed it in hi 60's-low 70's, Ran Morrissett's "147 Custodians" of the Game last year placed it at #65, and his MacWood Spoof placed it at #92. Its USA listing generally has been about #50-70, except #26 on the "147 Custodians". I would think something like #35-40 US and #75-85 World would be about right. Given all the rain that had fallen in MA in prior weeks, it was far from as firm/fast as normal, but there still was good roll out. And the weather was simply perfect...bright sunshine with a decent wind to make things interesting.
Every time I get here I marvel at how the land just heaves and lurches almost randomly...and how well it was utilized by Englishman Herbert Fowler and how well it was restored about 15 years ago by Keith Foster. In the last few years, Mother Nature made some architectural improvements in the form of storms clearing out trees. This opened up fairway #12 and 13 on the right side to spectacular vistas of Little Pleasant Bay to the north and west.
Every time I get here I marvel at how the land just heaves and lurches almost randomly...and how well it was utilized by Englishman Herbert Fowler and how well it was restored about 15 years ago by Keith Foster. In the last few years, Mother Nature made some architectural improvements in the form of storms clearing out trees. This opened up fairway #12 and 13 on the right side to spectacular vistas of Little Pleasant Bay to the north and west.
I played some pretty good golf and was 4 over through 16 holes, then finished double bogey (lost ball), bogey for a 37 - 41 = 78. Despite the bad finish I really felt good about how I hit it. It was great to catch up with Karen and Fergal.
Austin Golf Club, May 25, 2019: Saturday/Sunday of Memorial Day weekend Pat was heading to Toronto for a wedding of a high school friend of her older son, Hunter. This of course gave me an opportunity to run off and squeeze as much golf as possible into 48 hours. The plan was to fly to Austin, TX Friday night and then start off at 8am at Austin Golf Club Saturday morning.
I played AGC with two members and was asked to not post any pictures or detailed course descriptions to social medial, or submit any rating to any Top 100 listing...and I shall respect that request.
This is a GOLF club...no swimming pool, tennis courts, or even card tables. It was designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore and is Ben's "little child". He is here a lot and is constantly "tweaking" the course. It is so much fun to play and very subtly difficult. Greens are relatively small, seeded with bent grass (in southern Texas!!, but this place would be brutal with super firm Bermuda greens), and filled with hidden slopes (reminding me a little of the greens at Shady Oaks in Fort Worth), false fronts, little knobs at the back corners (and some front ones as well). Short siding yourself here is not wise unless you dislike getting up and down. The course is in simply perfect condition...no other description would apply.
Just like the course, the clubhouse, staff and service are about perfect and deeply understated. Very very special place and an honor to be there. If you get invited...grab it. But you must play with a member.
AGC was #93 on the "147 Protectors" World 100 list last year, as well as #39 for USA courses from that list. Its highest rating before then was #147 on my Merged GolfWeek list in 2013. Such low historical ratings do not do much for my confidence in Top 100 lists (but I will continue to pursue them of course). Speaking off that, by playing Austin GC, I am left with one course to conquer the World Golf Top 100 EVER list for the third time...and one course to conquer the USA Golf Top 100 EVER list for the first time!
After the round we had a quick lunch and I headed southwest over to Austin Country Club. This was to be a golf filled day!
Austin Country Club, May 25, 2019: Austin Country Club was founded in 1899 with a nine hole course. In 1949 the club moved to its East Austin location and then in 1984 to its current site, with a new 18 holes course designed by Pete Dye.
Harvey Penick started his career in golf as a caddy at ACC's original location and served the club for 82 years at all three sites. During his tenure he guided the careers of Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, and Sandra Palmer among others.
The course has never been included on a USA or World Top 100 but has hosted the World Golf Match Play Championship for the last four years. Many of you are familiar with the layout from TV coverage. The property has two distinctly different segments, known as "lowlands" (holes 3-7) alongside the Colorado River) and "highlands" (holes 1, 2, and 8-18) reflecting Texas Hill Country. It plays 7062 yards (par 71). Note: the hole numbers here reflect the normal layout of the course; for the Match Play Championship, the nines are reversed so the "lowlands" encompass holes 12-16.
I arrived at ACC at 1:00pm and was scheduled to play with Ed L., a Golf Digest Panelist who is a member. We teed off on #3 and played holes 3-11, then holes 1-2. Play was very slow (the club allows fivesomes on weekend afternoons) and I had to leave after these 11 holes in order to make my third round. We did see most of the remaining seven holes driving back to the clubhouse.
The PGA Tour requires the club to heavily overseed in order to ensure green fairways for the Match Play Championship. As with most things in life, there is no "free lunch" from overseeding and it leaves the fairways in questionable condition during the late spring transition period and very wet and slow during the fall overseed grow in period. This requirement is a source of controversy within the club (it also generates a hefty profit for the club, keeps dues lower, and helps the club maintain a full membership and a wait list). Not that it matters, but I know how I would vote! I also thought some of the forced carries off the tee (particularly on #11) were questionable.
Pete Dye is a highly controversial architect. He has always pushed against "boundaries"...in many directions and has created many brilliant courses in locations many other architects would avoid. A good number of today's best architects got their start "shaping" land on bulldozers working for Pete (including Bill Coore and Tom Doak). He never shied away from risks...and was willing to try almost anything. Generally that leads to both brilliant achievements and questionable results. My guess is that a survey of golfers who have played ACC will generate a good number of both responses. This had to be a difficult piece of land to work with, and he built a course that generates excitement for the PGA Tour, its players and fans. Others may say it is not "consistent" enough...its pieces do not "fit" together and some of its holes are far too penal. Like many things, there is no right answer.
Barton Creek Country Club, Canyons Course, May 25, 2019: The Canyons course at Barton Creek was completed in 1999 with Tom Fazio its designer. In 1986 he completed the Foothills course at Barton Creek (which I played in November 2016--see post #64). There are two other courses at Barton Creek, one designed by Arnold Palmer (finished 1986) and the other by Coore-Crenshaw (finished 1991). The Canyons has never made a USA Top 100 but did make the GW Modern Top 100 from 2002-2005 (highest rating was #71 in 2003).
I played it with another GD panelist, Tom V., with whom I played the Foothills three years ago. Like me he is no longer a young kid, but is filled with wonderful old golf stories and we traded a whole bunch of special one about the likes of Hogan and Trevino. No question I was a pretty tired. Played in carts all three round but especially at ACC and here the overall terrain meant there are some steep hills to and from the carts.
I liked the course a lot. The course fits nicely into some difficult terrain...better than Fazio did with Foothills IMO. It was not in great shape for good reason...Omni is planning a major renovation to commence later this year.
We finished the round just before sunset and had a quick dinner in the clubhouse. When we finished it was dark out. I had left my phone in my car during the round and the battery was down to 5% at the end of dinner but I knew I could charge it during the drive back to my hotel...or at least I thought so. After saying thanks again and goodbye to Tom, I got in the car and started driving...but the phone would not charge..and I had NO idea how to get back to the hotel...only that I needed to head east and a little south. I have no idea what caused the problem but the phone would not take a charge. I drove around for an hour before getting near where I knew the hotel was...and was much relieved when it started charging fine in the hotel room...at around 10:30pm!
Oak Hills CC, May 26, 2019: Had to get up early for a 70 minute drive south to San Antonio for this one. Was well worth it. Oak Hills hosted the first Tour Championship in 1987 (won by Tom Watson) and by playing it, I had completed all of the Tour Championship host sites (a total of 8 different sites). It also has hosted 23 Texas Opens, the 2001 US Junior Championship, and 9 Senior Tour SBC/AT&T Championships. In total, 12 major champions have won events at Oak Hills. Designed by A. W. Tillinghast, it opened in 1922 as Alamo Country Club and after closing for WW II, reopened as Oak Hills CC. It has just completed a restoration/renovation by Tripp Davis, whose restoration work I have admired at Brook Hollow (TX--Post #62) (another Tillie), Meadow Brook (NY--Post #86), Sunnehanna (PA--Post #115), Whippoorwill (NY--Post #46), and Wichita (KS--Post #85).
Davis has done another superb job here. The club is aptly named as the course is dominated by grand oak trees and a major hill upon which the clubhouse sits and from which the course rolls off. The oak trees are huge and really have a major impact on the course's six dogleg holes...where it is critical to either be long off the tee or play away from the corner of the dogleg to allow access to the green complex on your approach shot...therby lengthening the hole considerably. The new bunkers are beautiful and, as one would expect at a Tillie, quite deep. Some of the greens (sodded with Champions Bermuda) are having trouble coming in, but I would expect this issue to be resolved shortly. One interesting aspect of the design is that both nines end with a par 3.
Overall I liked the course a lot...it is simple, fair, tough and classic...everything laid out in front of you, simply waiting for you to make a mistake. I had a good 41 - 40 = 81 (par is 71...6886 yards) and was pleased with my game. I again played with another GD panelist, Richard L., who did his undergraduate work at Carnegie-Mellon a few years after I was there for business school, and was nice enough to play with me at 7:15am (I awoke around 4:15am and was at Oak Hill by 6:15am...and proceeded to get a good 45 minute nap in my car!).
By 10:30 I was on an 80 minute drive north heading toward Spanish Oaks CC.
Spanish Oaks CC, May 26, 2019: I arrived just before noon and quickly found Paul R. (no, not me) a GolfWeek rater who is almost a nuts as I am. He had moved to Austin from Chicago last year and we had planned this meeting since last fall. We played with his daughter, Emma, who is in high school and plays on her high school team.
Spanish Oaks was designed by Bobby Weed and opened in 2002. It was owned at one point by Discovery Land, and probably in the 2009-2011, the development went into receivership. It now seems to be bustling and thriving. Certainly the real estate activity level is high with magnificent homes under construction on the hills overlooking the holes in the valleys of the property. Sergio Garcia is building a home on the property and several other PGA Tour players already live there. Weed has renovated the course twice (and extended its length to make it more accommodating for the Tour members). It now plays to 7155 yards (par 71). Spanish Oaks has never made a USA Top 100 but in 2009 was #87 on GW's Modern Top 100 (and #187 on my merged list).
Because it (like the back nine at ACC and Canyons at Barton Creek) are built in Hill Country, they feel and play very differently than most courses in Texas...which tend to be very flat. They also can end up with long forced carries over gorges (e.g. #11 at ACC). But this is a well designed and very good course. I was tired but managed a 42 - 42 = 84, and was looking forward to a shower before my 6:55 flight home. I thanked Paul and suggested to Emma that she needs to concentrate more on her putting.
The drive to the airport was easy and my flight was about 40 minutes early. Monday morning (Memorial Day) I slept until just after 10am and then was off to Brookline to play in a "Chapman" (a form of alternate shot play created by the parents of a friend in Pinehurst) couples event...poor Pat had to deal with some the my tee shots as I put some in awful places. But it was a fun event and as always, great to be back home with her!!
Bucket List Status:
Top 100's etc:
--World Top 100 Ever (11 sources)--348 courses, played 342, 5 no longer exist ("NLE"), and just one to go (Huntercombe, near Oxford in England) to get back on top of this mountain;
--USA Top 100 Ever (6 sources)--371 courses, played 368, 2 NLE, and just one to go (Treetops, MI--Smith Signature where I played the wrong course!!) to climb this mountain for the first time;
--USA Top 200 Ever (3 sources):
--Golf Week 100 Classic & 100 Modern Ever--412 courses, played 393, 1 NLE, and 17 to play (including Treetops);
--Golf Digest 1966/67 "200 Toughest"--249 courses, played 150, 5 NLE, and 94 to play;
--Golf Digest 2013-19 200 Greatest (not on any other list)---25 courses. 13 played; 12 to go;
Hosts of Important Events and Other:
--Men's Majors: 129 courses, 122 played, 6 NLE, 1 to go (Ridgemoor-IL 1942 Hale America Nat'l Open)
--50 States: played in 50...DONE
--Senior Majors: 74 courses, 71 played, 3 to go
--Women's Majors: 88 courses, 78 played, 4 NLE, 6 to go
--5 Cups (Walker, Curtis, Ryder, Presidents, Solheim): 106 courses, 105 played, 1 to go (Denver CC)
--Am Majors (US Am, Mid Am, Senior Am, Amateur Champ); 178 courses, 170 played 3 NLE, 5 to go
--Player's Championship: 5 courses, 5 played...DONE
--Tour Championship: 8 courses, 8 played...DONE
--Other Fed Exp Playoff (& predecessors): 14 courses, 14 played...DONE
--WGC: 18 courses, 14 played, 4 to go
In Bold are Bucket Lists I have targeted...total to go: 43
Major accomplishments of this trip:
1. Playing Austin Golf Club brought me down to one to go for both the World Top 100 (11 sources) and USA Top 100 (6 sources)...getting close!
2. Playing Oak Hills CC finished off the Tour Championship host sites, as well as all courses that have held a Fed Exp Playoff event.
Onward and Upward!!
Harvey Penick started his career in golf as a caddy at ACC's original location and served the club for 82 years at all three sites. During his tenure he guided the careers of Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, and Sandra Palmer among others.
The course has never been included on a USA or World Top 100 but has hosted the World Golf Match Play Championship for the last four years. Many of you are familiar with the layout from TV coverage. The property has two distinctly different segments, known as "lowlands" (holes 3-7) alongside the Colorado River) and "highlands" (holes 1, 2, and 8-18) reflecting Texas Hill Country. It plays 7062 yards (par 71). Note: the hole numbers here reflect the normal layout of the course; for the Match Play Championship, the nines are reversed so the "lowlands" encompass holes 12-16.
I arrived at ACC at 1:00pm and was scheduled to play with Ed L., a Golf Digest Panelist who is a member. We teed off on #3 and played holes 3-11, then holes 1-2. Play was very slow (the club allows fivesomes on weekend afternoons) and I had to leave after these 11 holes in order to make my third round. We did see most of the remaining seven holes driving back to the clubhouse.
The PGA Tour requires the club to heavily overseed in order to ensure green fairways for the Match Play Championship. As with most things in life, there is no "free lunch" from overseeding and it leaves the fairways in questionable condition during the late spring transition period and very wet and slow during the fall overseed grow in period. This requirement is a source of controversy within the club (it also generates a hefty profit for the club, keeps dues lower, and helps the club maintain a full membership and a wait list). Not that it matters, but I know how I would vote! I also thought some of the forced carries off the tee (particularly on #11) were questionable.
Pete Dye is a highly controversial architect. He has always pushed against "boundaries"...in many directions and has created many brilliant courses in locations many other architects would avoid. A good number of today's best architects got their start "shaping" land on bulldozers working for Pete (including Bill Coore and Tom Doak). He never shied away from risks...and was willing to try almost anything. Generally that leads to both brilliant achievements and questionable results. My guess is that a survey of golfers who have played ACC will generate a good number of both responses. This had to be a difficult piece of land to work with, and he built a course that generates excitement for the PGA Tour, its players and fans. Others may say it is not "consistent" enough...its pieces do not "fit" together and some of its holes are far too penal. Like many things, there is no right answer.
Barton Creek Country Club, Canyons Course, May 25, 2019: The Canyons course at Barton Creek was completed in 1999 with Tom Fazio its designer. In 1986 he completed the Foothills course at Barton Creek (which I played in November 2016--see post #64). There are two other courses at Barton Creek, one designed by Arnold Palmer (finished 1986) and the other by Coore-Crenshaw (finished 1991). The Canyons has never made a USA Top 100 but did make the GW Modern Top 100 from 2002-2005 (highest rating was #71 in 2003).
I played it with another GD panelist, Tom V., with whom I played the Foothills three years ago. Like me he is no longer a young kid, but is filled with wonderful old golf stories and we traded a whole bunch of special one about the likes of Hogan and Trevino. No question I was a pretty tired. Played in carts all three round but especially at ACC and here the overall terrain meant there are some steep hills to and from the carts.
I liked the course a lot. The course fits nicely into some difficult terrain...better than Fazio did with Foothills IMO. It was not in great shape for good reason...Omni is planning a major renovation to commence later this year.
We finished the round just before sunset and had a quick dinner in the clubhouse. When we finished it was dark out. I had left my phone in my car during the round and the battery was down to 5% at the end of dinner but I knew I could charge it during the drive back to my hotel...or at least I thought so. After saying thanks again and goodbye to Tom, I got in the car and started driving...but the phone would not charge..and I had NO idea how to get back to the hotel...only that I needed to head east and a little south. I have no idea what caused the problem but the phone would not take a charge. I drove around for an hour before getting near where I knew the hotel was...and was much relieved when it started charging fine in the hotel room...at around 10:30pm!
Oak Hills CC, May 26, 2019: Had to get up early for a 70 minute drive south to San Antonio for this one. Was well worth it. Oak Hills hosted the first Tour Championship in 1987 (won by Tom Watson) and by playing it, I had completed all of the Tour Championship host sites (a total of 8 different sites). It also has hosted 23 Texas Opens, the 2001 US Junior Championship, and 9 Senior Tour SBC/AT&T Championships. In total, 12 major champions have won events at Oak Hills. Designed by A. W. Tillinghast, it opened in 1922 as Alamo Country Club and after closing for WW II, reopened as Oak Hills CC. It has just completed a restoration/renovation by Tripp Davis, whose restoration work I have admired at Brook Hollow (TX--Post #62) (another Tillie), Meadow Brook (NY--Post #86), Sunnehanna (PA--Post #115), Whippoorwill (NY--Post #46), and Wichita (KS--Post #85).
Davis has done another superb job here. The club is aptly named as the course is dominated by grand oak trees and a major hill upon which the clubhouse sits and from which the course rolls off. The oak trees are huge and really have a major impact on the course's six dogleg holes...where it is critical to either be long off the tee or play away from the corner of the dogleg to allow access to the green complex on your approach shot...therby lengthening the hole considerably. The new bunkers are beautiful and, as one would expect at a Tillie, quite deep. Some of the greens (sodded with Champions Bermuda) are having trouble coming in, but I would expect this issue to be resolved shortly. One interesting aspect of the design is that both nines end with a par 3.
Overall I liked the course a lot...it is simple, fair, tough and classic...everything laid out in front of you, simply waiting for you to make a mistake. I had a good 41 - 40 = 81 (par is 71...6886 yards) and was pleased with my game. I again played with another GD panelist, Richard L., who did his undergraduate work at Carnegie-Mellon a few years after I was there for business school, and was nice enough to play with me at 7:15am (I awoke around 4:15am and was at Oak Hill by 6:15am...and proceeded to get a good 45 minute nap in my car!).
By 10:30 I was on an 80 minute drive north heading toward Spanish Oaks CC.
Spanish Oaks CC, May 26, 2019: I arrived just before noon and quickly found Paul R. (no, not me) a GolfWeek rater who is almost a nuts as I am. He had moved to Austin from Chicago last year and we had planned this meeting since last fall. We played with his daughter, Emma, who is in high school and plays on her high school team.
Spanish Oaks was designed by Bobby Weed and opened in 2002. It was owned at one point by Discovery Land, and probably in the 2009-2011, the development went into receivership. It now seems to be bustling and thriving. Certainly the real estate activity level is high with magnificent homes under construction on the hills overlooking the holes in the valleys of the property. Sergio Garcia is building a home on the property and several other PGA Tour players already live there. Weed has renovated the course twice (and extended its length to make it more accommodating for the Tour members). It now plays to 7155 yards (par 71). Spanish Oaks has never made a USA Top 100 but in 2009 was #87 on GW's Modern Top 100 (and #187 on my merged list).
Because it (like the back nine at ACC and Canyons at Barton Creek) are built in Hill Country, they feel and play very differently than most courses in Texas...which tend to be very flat. They also can end up with long forced carries over gorges (e.g. #11 at ACC). But this is a well designed and very good course. I was tired but managed a 42 - 42 = 84, and was looking forward to a shower before my 6:55 flight home. I thanked Paul and suggested to Emma that she needs to concentrate more on her putting.
The drive to the airport was easy and my flight was about 40 minutes early. Monday morning (Memorial Day) I slept until just after 10am and then was off to Brookline to play in a "Chapman" (a form of alternate shot play created by the parents of a friend in Pinehurst) couples event...poor Pat had to deal with some the my tee shots as I put some in awful places. But it was a fun event and as always, great to be back home with her!!
Bucket List Status:
Top 100's etc:
--World Top 100 Ever (11 sources)--348 courses, played 342, 5 no longer exist ("NLE"), and just one to go (Huntercombe, near Oxford in England) to get back on top of this mountain;
--USA Top 100 Ever (6 sources)--371 courses, played 368, 2 NLE, and just one to go (Treetops, MI--Smith Signature where I played the wrong course!!) to climb this mountain for the first time;
--USA Top 200 Ever (3 sources):
--Golf Week 100 Classic & 100 Modern Ever--412 courses, played 393, 1 NLE, and 17 to play (including Treetops);
--Golf Digest 1966/67 "200 Toughest"--249 courses, played 150, 5 NLE, and 94 to play;
--Golf Digest 2013-19 200 Greatest (not on any other list)---25 courses. 13 played; 12 to go;
Hosts of Important Events and Other:
--Men's Majors: 129 courses, 122 played, 6 NLE, 1 to go (Ridgemoor-IL 1942 Hale America Nat'l Open)
--50 States: played in 50...DONE
--Senior Majors: 74 courses, 71 played, 3 to go
--Women's Majors: 88 courses, 78 played, 4 NLE, 6 to go
--5 Cups (Walker, Curtis, Ryder, Presidents, Solheim): 106 courses, 105 played, 1 to go (Denver CC)
--Am Majors (US Am, Mid Am, Senior Am, Amateur Champ); 178 courses, 170 played 3 NLE, 5 to go
--Player's Championship: 5 courses, 5 played...DONE
--Tour Championship: 8 courses, 8 played...DONE
--Other Fed Exp Playoff (& predecessors): 14 courses, 14 played...DONE
--WGC: 18 courses, 14 played, 4 to go
In Bold are Bucket Lists I have targeted...total to go: 43
Major accomplishments of this trip:
1. Playing Austin Golf Club brought me down to one to go for both the World Top 100 (11 sources) and USA Top 100 (6 sources)...getting close!
2. Playing Oak Hills CC finished off the Tour Championship host sites, as well as all courses that have held a Fed Exp Playoff event.
Onward and Upward!!
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
128. Trip North from Pinehurst, NC to Milton, MA
128. Trip North from Pinehurst, NC to Milton, MA
It has been over three months since my last post (#127 on March 7, 2019). These weeks have not exactly been filled with golf. In the fall of 2017 I learned that I had a heart murmur due to a defective aortic valve. At that point my doctors expected that I would need to replace my aortic valve within 4-5 years...but with only on "data point" this had to be a "guesstimate."
This past November, tests indicated that my valve my deteriorating more quickly than previously anticipated, and while I had been asymptomatic, by late February symptoms were starting to become noticeable. On April 2, I underwent a TAVR procedure (look it up on Google), approved for use by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration about eight years ago. Suffix it to say it is far easier on the patient than open heart surgery. I was discharged from the hospital about 50 hours after the procedure concluded, was taking walks of 2-3 miles about 10 days later, and playing 18 holes of golf (walking 9) within three weeks. Such are the miracles of modern medicine.
During the 4-5 weeks prior to the procedure, I stayed inside as much as possible and did not play golf. Aside form noticing some symptoms, I wanted minimize any chance of catching a cold or the flu. I tried to keep busy...filing 2018 taxes "helped" with that task. I was also able to rebuild part of my "Top 100" spreadsheet (to be introduced within a few weeks) as well as organize my collection of scorecards and yardage books (which readers may recall will fuel the world's largest barn fire should I predecease Pat). I found that I was missing some 180 yardage books from the 1128 courses I had played to this point and have been working to reduce this list (which currently stands at 145 missing).
International Country Club. May 3, 2019: At about 6am on Friday May 3, Pat and I departed Pinehurst. I dropped her off at RDU airport for her flight to Boston and then continued northward on a trip that would last until Thursday May 9...with a wee bit of golf along the way. My first stop was at Reston (VA) National (formerly Reston-South) one of my "missing scorecards" from a round played in late 1982. After that I went 5 miles south to International Country Club, also in Reston. I was playing it because it was included on Golf Digest's "USA 200 Toughest" lists in 1966 and 1967. To my knowledge, these lists were the first course rating lists ever published...and they represent an example of how hard it is to start something new with no "footprints in the snow to follow." In those days, people did not travel anything like they do today, there obviously was no internet, and the media's footprint was far far smaller ("the good old days"). A total of 249 courses made one or both of these lists, and of those 249, fully 135 have never appeared on any other Top 100 list since that time. Criticizing these lists is easy, but it is a little like criticizing a Commodore personal computer or a Model A Ford automobile.
I arrived at International around 11:50am. I should note that my bride Pat and her ex-husband Vic were members here in the late 70's when they lived in Reston (she was a very good tennis player back then...never set foot on the golf course). I played at 12:10 with two members. The club was founded in 1961 and operated out of two locations. Its clubhouse and a 9 hole course were located just inside the beltway on leased property and the present course had been constructed on owned land in Reston. Seven years later the lease inside the beltway expired and a new clubhouse had been constructed next to the Reston course. The course was designed by Ed Ault and Al Jamieson and had to be modified in later years (by Bill Love and Tom Clark in 1992 and then by Bob Cupp in 2005) when the club was forced to sell some its land under eminent domain proceedings.
The course now totals 6816 yards (par 71)...it was 6959 (143 yards longer...same par 71) in 1967. It is a good golf course but frankly would not sniff a top 100 or 200 today...but that really is not an insult. There are maybe 150 courses that should be considered for a USA or World 100...that is about 1.0% of the number of courses in the USA and about 0.4-0.5% of the number of courses in the world...pretty lofty status. Best hole by far was #7 a 448 yard par 4 downhill off the tee, then flat then uphill to the green...with a creek left that cuts right at the base of the hill before the green. I had a very strong par 4 there.
Shot a 41 - 42 = 83. Wanted to finish quickly to avoid as much of the DC rush hour as possible...stupid of me...it would do no good.
Quaker Ridge Golf Club, May 4 2019: I pulled out of International CC around 4:00pm and made good progress for about 18 miles (using the toll high occupancy lanes on the beltway) and then I hit a WALL...the next 10 miles took about 1 hour 45 minutes!! So much fun! I finally arrived in Westchester at about 10:15 pm, slightly exhausted.
Up early wondering about the weather on Saturday morning. Arrived at Quaker around 7:45 and ran into old friends. The place looked simply fabulous. I was here in May 2018 (Post #110) for the Century Conquerors Club meeting (now the Global Golf Centurions Club) but could not play because of a recent skin surgery. As I have covered QR in prior posts (#59 and #1005) I will not go into great detail here, but it was in superb shape and Gil Hanse's brilliant restoration literally has worked miracles.
Observing the changes at Quaker and other course over the years, I have learned a bit about how many "Golden Age" courses lost some of their "mojo" over the decades and how restorations bring it back. During World War II, due to rationing of fuel, all clubs (irrespective of the extent of their resources) were forced to minimize use of scarce resources such as fuel. As a result, at almost every club, maintenance staffs learned to cut the greens in a circular pattern. As a result, greens shrunk and the "corners" of the greens...home of many of the interesting pin placements...were lost, and eventually forgotten. Bunkers, which are costly to maintain, were also removed through the years. Through careful study of old aerial photos and other sources, Gil (and other superb restorers) figure out original green (and bunker) dimensions and placement, and this is key (along with significant tree removal) to the restoration process. Best green changes by Gil at QR are #1, 10, and 15 IMO.
I played with three old QR friends, Michael F. (who is almost as much of a golf nut as I), Steve S., and Larry L. Of course the best thing was catching up with caddymaster/starter Richie, and Ziggy in the locker room. I hit it well and had a 42 - 40 = 82 with three doubles. And I walked about 2/3 of the way with no "symptoms"...good sign!
Had a great lunch, said goodbye until next year (hopefully) and headed to Sleepy Hollow.
Sleep Hollow Country Club, May 4, 2019: My original plan was to play Quaker on Saturday, and Sleepy Hollow and Rockaway Hunting Club near JFK airport on Sunday. However, the forecast for Sunday was horrendous...steady rain all day long virtually guaranteed. I was staying with Jim G. who belongs to Sleepy, and he was able to switch our round from Sunday morning to Saturday afternoon.
I first played Sleepy in 1974 and my last round there had been in 2014 (see post #1005---go back and read if you are interested as I will not be repeating the same points). In 2014 Gil Hanse was about half way finished with his renovation and now the work is close to "done" (in quotes because golf courses are living growing things...and there always is more work to be done). The tree removal, green expansion, and bunker redo efforts have been hugely successful IMO. He has successfully converted what was a "half Macdonald-half Tillinghast" into a "full Macdonald". These changes could not have been easy as the course is build on top of huge boulders sweep down from the north during the last ice age, so "moving dirt" is not a simple task here and in many cases is close to impossible. This course is now one of the really superb courses in the NY area. But I still have issues with the par 5 6th (see Post #1005) as well as the par 3 10th (even though I parred them both this day). The green at the par 3 16th ("Short") is much improved with a deeper thumbprint in the center. It may be the finest "Short" in the entire collection of Macdonald/Raynor/Banks tracks...and I am pleased to report I posted a birdie 2 there. Overall my play was poor on the front and good on the back (46 - 41 = 87). No walking here unless one is a nanny goat!
All in all, not many days in my life playing two courses of this caliber. And somehow the threatened rain held off all day.
We drove back to Jim's house...less than a mile from my old house in Purchase...then to dinner with Jim and his bride Wendy at Alba's in Portchester...site of the first dinner at the CCC/GGCC meeting last year. Our waiter looked at me with a "I know you " look and I filled him in. Another fabulous meal there.
"NO GOLF", Sunday, May 5, 2019: As predicted, this a was a day with steady continuous rain. I called Rockaway Hunting Club...and they were open but no caddies no carts and apparently harder rain than in Westchester. Head pro and I quickly agreed another date would be more appropriate. According to my weather site, they had a mere 2.41" of rain that day!
Spent part of the morning driving around picking up "missing" scorecards around Westchester, then drove south to Atlantic City get to my hotel and be ready for golf in New Jersey on Monday. Had 7 courses scheduled for Monday-Thursday and lots of driving, so this day of rest was much appreciated.
Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis, May 6, 2019: Located about 15 miles (as the crow flies) north of Atlantic City, this is a municipal course (and always has been) designed by George Fazio (Tom's uncle, who played a lot on the Tour in the 50's) a highly successful architect in the 1960's and 70's (Jupiter Hills-FL, Butler National-IL, Champions GC-Jackrabbit-TX, Hershey-East, National GC of Canada-ON, Moselem Springs-PA, and Edgewood Tahoe-NV). I also loved Wild Dunes (SC) which today gives primary credit to Tom Fazio...but I first played it in 1983 and I recall (perhaps incorrectly) George Fazio getting the lead credit back then...who knows? Course was fabulous when it first opened but then ruined by close-in housing and Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Ocean County was remodeled by Hal Purdy in 1992.
Ocean County has seen better days. It is clear that it is suffering from maintenance cutbacks...plus the heavy rainfalls of the past 12 months and especially the day before did not help. But it was interesting to see signs of "good bones" on a number of holes, especially around the greens. It had been included on GD's 1966/and 1967 "200 Toughest lists but never reappeared on any other Top 100.
I had an excellent front and awful back nine (38 - 44 = 82). Plays 6848 yards, par 72. Afraid this one was not worth a stop...
Buena Vista CC, May 6, 2019: After a 40 mile drive southwest (including a quick stop to pick up a "missing scorecard" in at Seaview in Atlantic City) I arrived at Buena Vista. This is now a public course and suffers from the same neglect as Ocean County. Opened in 1957 and designed by William Gordon (Saucon Valley-Grace and Sunnybrook in PA and Stanwich in CT) and his son David (same as his dad, plus Saucon Valley-Weyhill), BV was also on the same GD Toughest lists as Ocean County. But I must report that if it originally was blessed with good bones, they have deteriorated over the years. The course had standing water on about 30-40% of its fairway acreage and was is very poor condition. I did get my 18 holes in, and then proceeded north after a lackluster 43 - 39 = 82.
After the round it was north to the Princeton area (after one "missing scorecard" stop). The next morning I had breakfast with one of the true founders of our Global Golf Centurions Club, John Sabino. John created the website that first listed those of us who had completed a Golf Magazine World 100. Early in May 2018, he learned he had acute myeloid leukemia...with a genetic defect that made his case much worse. John spent as horrifying a 9-11 month period as I can imagine, and kept enough of a sense of humor (and life) to document it on his blog (Google "Playing the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World" if you get down and want two find out how lucky you really are!). It was simply wonderful to catch up with John...the last time I saw him was May 3, 2018 at University of Pennsylvania Hospital, just before he started his chemo routine and went into deep quarantine. He has recovered and attended The Masters with The Wife last month! Seeing him well was no question the highlight of the trip!!
Ridge at Back Brook, May 7, 2019: In recent years most of the magazines responsible for "top 100" lists have expanded their lists (cynics would say in quest of greater advertising $$ but of course I am not a cynic). About 8 years ago, GolfWeek expanded its Top 100 Modern and Top 100 Classic lists to 200 each, and in 2013 Golf Digest expanded its USA 100 Greatest list to 200. To date, I have resisted siren calls to expand my bucket lists but on this day ventured to play Ranch at Back Brook in western NJ (close to the PA line) which was #182 on GD's USA list published earlier in 2019. Before leaving Pinehurst, I learned that good friend of ours in Pinehurst (Mike and Gay F.) were founding members of Ridge at Back Brook (need to find an abbreviation or shorter name of my fingers will get worn out) when it opened in 2002...Mike warned me it was a tough course. Might be one of Tom Fazio's toughest.
Well, after 6 holes I had five bogeys and a double bogey (playing from 6003 yards...the course plays to 7215 from the tips), and I was tired (playing in a cart). I found my game on #7 and played the last 12 holes with 8 pars and 4 bogies (overall 44 - 39 = 83 or 11 over par). The course is tough...especially holes 3-5 which can wear you down. Hole #3 plays 438 yards turning left, with water all the way down the left side. The approach is to an elevated green angled to the back left and protected by two large front bunkers...simply brutal with that day's pin position...back left. Hole #4 (431 yards) drops down off the tee and then is strongly uphill doglegging right toward the green.
Overall the course is visually spectacular and offers great challenges for scratch players, has some superb holes, is in excellent condition, and boasts a gorgeous clubhouse. The land moves very well with some 150' of elevation changes and multiple rock outcroppings. On the other hand, it is not a course I would consider "fun", and certainly not a course I would want to play every day. The superb holes are off set by many long walks from green to tee. The club's website cites the fact that the no one broke 75 for a US Open qualifier. If that is a statement of greatness in a course, the game is in trouble (at least in my opinion). Beautiful to see, interesting to play one time, but not on a steady diet!
Ridgewood Counter Club-East/West, May 7, 2019: I first played the 27 holes (East-West-Center) in late 1979, and then played it for a second time about a dozen years later, so I had not been back for almost 30 years.
The club as founded in 1890 and its present facility opened in 1929. In includes 27 holes by A. W. Tillinghast and a Norman styled clubhouse designed by Clifford Wendehack...a powerful pair of architects. Tillinghast also designed great courses such as Winged Foot, Quaker Ridge, Somerset Hills, San Francisco, Bethpage-Black & Red, Baltusrol, Baltimore, Mountain Ridge, Aronimink, Newport and many others. Wendehack designed magnificent clubhouses including those at Winged Foot, Bethpage, Mountain Ridge, Park CC, and Hackensack.
From my round there in 1979 I remember a tight course with trees lining almost every fairway. Several years ago the club completed a restoration project led by Gil Hanse, and the results are quite magnificent. Thousands of trees are gone leaving the beauty of grand individual specimen trees. the quality of the turf is superb, and the sights are simple yet classic. This course is now classic, fun, challenging, and fair. Playing it requires careful thinking, as there are optional ways of playing almost every hole, each with its own set of risks and rewards. Best holes IMO are #2 East, #5 West (fabulous green setting!), and #8 West. The greens are outstanding and the conditioning no less than superb. Better bring your thinking cap here...just hitting it to an opening doesn't always work.
Over the years Ridgewood has hosted the 1935 Ryder Cup, 1974 US Amateur, 1990 US Senior, three Barclays/Northern Trust events, and the 2016 US Girl's Amateur among others and celebrated winners such as Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Vijay Singh, and Kathy Whitworth. Over the years a number of different composite courses have been utilized during important championships at Ridgewood...I counted six different combinations. And back in the 1930's it employed an assistant pro by the name of Byron Nelson!
In terms of ratings, Ridgewood has never made a World Top 100, and its position on USA top 100 list has generally hovered in the 80's and 90's (its highest current rating is #82 in Golf Magazine). If it is missing anything, it is a spectacular setting and a couple of spectacular holes...tough to find in northern NJ. But as a pure golf course, I would rate it as a top 75 in the world.
I was supposed to have dinner with a fellow GM panelist, Steve L., but traffic was its usual horrendous self, so we passed and I stayed in Paramus. Would have been good to catch up with Steve but frankly I was a bit tired.
Hackensack Golf Club, May 8, 2019: Readers may recall my trip to Tucson in December 2018 (Post #125). I played The Gallery-North with member Cyrus W., a very good play and guy, who asked if I had played his club in NJ, Hackensack GC. I told him that I had not played it and that I was embarrassed to say that I had not heard of it. He advised that it was a Raynor/Banks, being restored, and worth a look. Interestingly, two other people I knew mentioned Hackensack to me this winter, so I made sure to include it on this trip north.
That was a superb decision (for which I deserve zero credit). I arrived around 7:30, and my walk through the clubhouse (designed by Clifford Wendehack) stirred my senses...clearly the place had a sense of history. As I walked onto the back terrace, I turned to my right and saw the following view of the recently renovated first hole:
I think I stood there staring for about three minutes. Hole #1 is a fairly simple long straight par 4 (442 yards, slightly down hill, then up a bit to a slightly raised round green surrounded on three sides by deep bunkers). It was love at first sight!!
The club started renovating its holes after receiving copies of original plans (I believe from Chicago GC). They are doing 2-4 holes per year and have about three holes to go to finish the work. I could not play #7 as it had recently been sodded and was not ready. It was great fun to see some of the "unrenovated" holes next to the renovated ones. The differences in bunkering was dramatic, with shallow uninteresting bunkers still in place on the former.
There are some wonderful other holes here, aside from #1...the third is a great Biarritz (green 77 yards deep),
#12 a wonderful Redan, and #16 a superb punch bowl. Charles Banks' plans included a huge bunker (150 yards long and 7-8' deep along the right side of #11 (a 441 straight and level par 4), but the bunker was never built. During the renovation process it was added and dominates the hole in a very positive way (not sure I would be saying that if I had hit my drive into it).
Echo Lake Country Club, May 8, 2019: After the round I drove south about 30 miles to Echo Lake CC. I was able to grab a good lunch there and then get right off.
The club was founded in 1921 as the merger of two smaller clubs (Cranford GC and Westfield GC). In 1913 Cranford has retained Donald Ross to build an 18 hole course at the present location. Over the next two years Echo Lake sold off 32 acres of its golf course and purchased an adjoining parcel of 32 acres...this swap enabled the course to gain needed length. Architect Robert White then built six new holes (today's holes 11-16). In 1928 Willard Wilkinson build three other new holes (6, 7, and 9 and a practice range). The resulting course has remained in this approximate configuration since 1928...essentially with 9 holes by Donald Ross, 6 by White, and 3 by Wilkinson. Recently, it was renovated by Rees Jones.
Echo Lake hosted the 1934 Met Open (at that time generally considered to have been a "major") as well as two USGA Championships, the 1994 Junior Boys' Championship and 2002 Junior Girls' Championship. It has never been included on any Top 100. Today it plays 7116 yards from the tips (par 71)...a healthy yardage. I had a 43 - 40 = 83 playing poorly on the front and reasonably well from 14 in.
The clubhouse, pro shop, and first tee sit atop a bluff facing east. The course was in very good condition. A number of the greens are good examples of Ross' superb work, but others built by White and Wilkinson and more mundane. Additionally there are a large number of parallel fairways and overall the course lacks design variety. Best holes are #6, 9, and 16 IMO.
After the round I drove back to Westchester (and picked up more "missing scorecards"). One more round on the schedule on Thursday morning and then drive home to my bride!
Metropolis Country Club, May 9, 2019: During all my years at Quaker I had never played Metropolis (which is about 7 miles away). As it was on the GD 200 Toughest lists in 1966 and 1967 I decided to rectify that error. It was founded in 1922 in its present location with a courses designed by Herbert Strong (Canterbury-OH, Engineers-NY, Saucon Valley (Old)-PA; and Nassau-NY). Over the following 90 years the course was altered by A. W. Tillinghast, Joe Finger, and Ken Dye. Then in 2013 Ron Forse was retained to bring the course back to its roots with the help of the course superintendent, Davis McCaffrey. The results are really very good, with 4 excellent par 3's (although they could use more variety in terms of playing length), and a very good flow and collection of holes on a site contained by lack of space and probably having a bit too much in the way of elevation changes.
Holes I liked the most were the par 3's (see two pics below), as well as uphill dogleg right par 4 #3,
long par 4 #7, and short drivable par 4 #17. Course was in excellent condition. Only thing I do not understand is how it has been ignored by the "top 100" community since 1967. BUT...last minute correction: GolfWeek for certain years published a Classic Top 200 and a Modern Top 200 (use in case you were wondering what happened to inflation) and included Metropolis as Classic #190 in 2015 and 2016. The "200" lists were not published in 2017 or 2018 but just were published for 2019 where Metropolis moved up slightly to #188.
Metropolis has had a superb collection of head pros through the years, including Paul Runyan (PGA Champ in 1934 and 1938 and Golf Hall of Fame inductee) from 1931-1942, Jackie Burke, Jr. (Masters Champion and PGA, both in 1956, co-founder of Champions Golf Club in Houston, TX, and Golf Hall of Fame inductee) from 1948 to 1950, "Lighthorse" Harry Cooper (31 Tour victories and Golf Hall of Fame inductee), and Gene Borek (who fired a 65 at Oakmont in the 1973 US Open...two days before Johnny Miller's 63 ...which came after rains softened the course!).
I had a tired 45-45=90 to end the trip...and was anxious to get back to Pat and home. Stopped for a few "missing scorecards" and arrived home around 5:15pm. Trip was about 1550 miles and 10 golf courses in just under 7 days. Straight drive from our home in Pinehurst to our hole in Milton, MA is 800 miles, so I was doing a lot for zigging and zagging in NY and NJ!
Overall, played 7 new courses, thereby knocking off 4 of my missing from the GD 1966/67 lists (now missing 94), and on host of a US Girls' union and US Boy's Junior Championships. Golf-wise the highlights were finding another Hidden Gem (Hackensack), returning to Quaker again, and revisiting a beautifully restored Ridgewood. Over all highlight was seeing a healthy John Sabino.
The course now totals 6816 yards (par 71)...it was 6959 (143 yards longer...same par 71) in 1967. It is a good golf course but frankly would not sniff a top 100 or 200 today...but that really is not an insult. There are maybe 150 courses that should be considered for a USA or World 100...that is about 1.0% of the number of courses in the USA and about 0.4-0.5% of the number of courses in the world...pretty lofty status. Best hole by far was #7 a 448 yard par 4 downhill off the tee, then flat then uphill to the green...with a creek left that cuts right at the base of the hill before the green. I had a very strong par 4 there.
Shot a 41 - 42 = 83. Wanted to finish quickly to avoid as much of the DC rush hour as possible...stupid of me...it would do no good.
Quaker Ridge Golf Club, May 4 2019: I pulled out of International CC around 4:00pm and made good progress for about 18 miles (using the toll high occupancy lanes on the beltway) and then I hit a WALL...the next 10 miles took about 1 hour 45 minutes!! So much fun! I finally arrived in Westchester at about 10:15 pm, slightly exhausted.
Up early wondering about the weather on Saturday morning. Arrived at Quaker around 7:45 and ran into old friends. The place looked simply fabulous. I was here in May 2018 (Post #110) for the Century Conquerors Club meeting (now the Global Golf Centurions Club) but could not play because of a recent skin surgery. As I have covered QR in prior posts (#59 and #1005) I will not go into great detail here, but it was in superb shape and Gil Hanse's brilliant restoration literally has worked miracles.
Observing the changes at Quaker and other course over the years, I have learned a bit about how many "Golden Age" courses lost some of their "mojo" over the decades and how restorations bring it back. During World War II, due to rationing of fuel, all clubs (irrespective of the extent of their resources) were forced to minimize use of scarce resources such as fuel. As a result, at almost every club, maintenance staffs learned to cut the greens in a circular pattern. As a result, greens shrunk and the "corners" of the greens...home of many of the interesting pin placements...were lost, and eventually forgotten. Bunkers, which are costly to maintain, were also removed through the years. Through careful study of old aerial photos and other sources, Gil (and other superb restorers) figure out original green (and bunker) dimensions and placement, and this is key (along with significant tree removal) to the restoration process. Best green changes by Gil at QR are #1, 10, and 15 IMO.
I played with three old QR friends, Michael F. (who is almost as much of a golf nut as I), Steve S., and Larry L. Of course the best thing was catching up with caddymaster/starter Richie, and Ziggy in the locker room. I hit it well and had a 42 - 40 = 82 with three doubles. And I walked about 2/3 of the way with no "symptoms"...good sign!
Had a great lunch, said goodbye until next year (hopefully) and headed to Sleepy Hollow.
Sleep Hollow Country Club, May 4, 2019: My original plan was to play Quaker on Saturday, and Sleepy Hollow and Rockaway Hunting Club near JFK airport on Sunday. However, the forecast for Sunday was horrendous...steady rain all day long virtually guaranteed. I was staying with Jim G. who belongs to Sleepy, and he was able to switch our round from Sunday morning to Saturday afternoon.
I first played Sleepy in 1974 and my last round there had been in 2014 (see post #1005---go back and read if you are interested as I will not be repeating the same points). In 2014 Gil Hanse was about half way finished with his renovation and now the work is close to "done" (in quotes because golf courses are living growing things...and there always is more work to be done). The tree removal, green expansion, and bunker redo efforts have been hugely successful IMO. He has successfully converted what was a "half Macdonald-half Tillinghast" into a "full Macdonald". These changes could not have been easy as the course is build on top of huge boulders sweep down from the north during the last ice age, so "moving dirt" is not a simple task here and in many cases is close to impossible. This course is now one of the really superb courses in the NY area. But I still have issues with the par 5 6th (see Post #1005) as well as the par 3 10th (even though I parred them both this day). The green at the par 3 16th ("Short") is much improved with a deeper thumbprint in the center. It may be the finest "Short" in the entire collection of Macdonald/Raynor/Banks tracks...and I am pleased to report I posted a birdie 2 there. Overall my play was poor on the front and good on the back (46 - 41 = 87). No walking here unless one is a nanny goat!
All in all, not many days in my life playing two courses of this caliber. And somehow the threatened rain held off all day.
We drove back to Jim's house...less than a mile from my old house in Purchase...then to dinner with Jim and his bride Wendy at Alba's in Portchester...site of the first dinner at the CCC/GGCC meeting last year. Our waiter looked at me with a "I know you " look and I filled him in. Another fabulous meal there.
"NO GOLF", Sunday, May 5, 2019: As predicted, this a was a day with steady continuous rain. I called Rockaway Hunting Club...and they were open but no caddies no carts and apparently harder rain than in Westchester. Head pro and I quickly agreed another date would be more appropriate. According to my weather site, they had a mere 2.41" of rain that day!
Spent part of the morning driving around picking up "missing" scorecards around Westchester, then drove south to Atlantic City get to my hotel and be ready for golf in New Jersey on Monday. Had 7 courses scheduled for Monday-Thursday and lots of driving, so this day of rest was much appreciated.
Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis, May 6, 2019: Located about 15 miles (as the crow flies) north of Atlantic City, this is a municipal course (and always has been) designed by George Fazio (Tom's uncle, who played a lot on the Tour in the 50's) a highly successful architect in the 1960's and 70's (Jupiter Hills-FL, Butler National-IL, Champions GC-Jackrabbit-TX, Hershey-East, National GC of Canada-ON, Moselem Springs-PA, and Edgewood Tahoe-NV). I also loved Wild Dunes (SC) which today gives primary credit to Tom Fazio...but I first played it in 1983 and I recall (perhaps incorrectly) George Fazio getting the lead credit back then...who knows? Course was fabulous when it first opened but then ruined by close-in housing and Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Ocean County was remodeled by Hal Purdy in 1992.
Ocean County has seen better days. It is clear that it is suffering from maintenance cutbacks...plus the heavy rainfalls of the past 12 months and especially the day before did not help. But it was interesting to see signs of "good bones" on a number of holes, especially around the greens. It had been included on GD's 1966/and 1967 "200 Toughest lists but never reappeared on any other Top 100.
I had an excellent front and awful back nine (38 - 44 = 82). Plays 6848 yards, par 72. Afraid this one was not worth a stop...
Buena Vista CC, May 6, 2019: After a 40 mile drive southwest (including a quick stop to pick up a "missing scorecard" in at Seaview in Atlantic City) I arrived at Buena Vista. This is now a public course and suffers from the same neglect as Ocean County. Opened in 1957 and designed by William Gordon (Saucon Valley-Grace and Sunnybrook in PA and Stanwich in CT) and his son David (same as his dad, plus Saucon Valley-Weyhill), BV was also on the same GD Toughest lists as Ocean County. But I must report that if it originally was blessed with good bones, they have deteriorated over the years. The course had standing water on about 30-40% of its fairway acreage and was is very poor condition. I did get my 18 holes in, and then proceeded north after a lackluster 43 - 39 = 82.
After the round it was north to the Princeton area (after one "missing scorecard" stop). The next morning I had breakfast with one of the true founders of our Global Golf Centurions Club, John Sabino. John created the website that first listed those of us who had completed a Golf Magazine World 100. Early in May 2018, he learned he had acute myeloid leukemia...with a genetic defect that made his case much worse. John spent as horrifying a 9-11 month period as I can imagine, and kept enough of a sense of humor (and life) to document it on his blog (Google "Playing the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World" if you get down and want two find out how lucky you really are!). It was simply wonderful to catch up with John...the last time I saw him was May 3, 2018 at University of Pennsylvania Hospital, just before he started his chemo routine and went into deep quarantine. He has recovered and attended The Masters with The Wife last month! Seeing him well was no question the highlight of the trip!!
Ridge at Back Brook, May 7, 2019: In recent years most of the magazines responsible for "top 100" lists have expanded their lists (cynics would say in quest of greater advertising $$ but of course I am not a cynic). About 8 years ago, GolfWeek expanded its Top 100 Modern and Top 100 Classic lists to 200 each, and in 2013 Golf Digest expanded its USA 100 Greatest list to 200. To date, I have resisted siren calls to expand my bucket lists but on this day ventured to play Ranch at Back Brook in western NJ (close to the PA line) which was #182 on GD's USA list published earlier in 2019. Before leaving Pinehurst, I learned that good friend of ours in Pinehurst (Mike and Gay F.) were founding members of Ridge at Back Brook (need to find an abbreviation or shorter name of my fingers will get worn out) when it opened in 2002...Mike warned me it was a tough course. Might be one of Tom Fazio's toughest.
Well, after 6 holes I had five bogeys and a double bogey (playing from 6003 yards...the course plays to 7215 from the tips), and I was tired (playing in a cart). I found my game on #7 and played the last 12 holes with 8 pars and 4 bogies (overall 44 - 39 = 83 or 11 over par). The course is tough...especially holes 3-5 which can wear you down. Hole #3 plays 438 yards turning left, with water all the way down the left side. The approach is to an elevated green angled to the back left and protected by two large front bunkers...simply brutal with that day's pin position...back left. Hole #4 (431 yards) drops down off the tee and then is strongly uphill doglegging right toward the green.
Overall the course is visually spectacular and offers great challenges for scratch players, has some superb holes, is in excellent condition, and boasts a gorgeous clubhouse. The land moves very well with some 150' of elevation changes and multiple rock outcroppings. On the other hand, it is not a course I would consider "fun", and certainly not a course I would want to play every day. The superb holes are off set by many long walks from green to tee. The club's website cites the fact that the no one broke 75 for a US Open qualifier. If that is a statement of greatness in a course, the game is in trouble (at least in my opinion). Beautiful to see, interesting to play one time, but not on a steady diet!
Ridgewood Counter Club-East/West, May 7, 2019: I first played the 27 holes (East-West-Center) in late 1979, and then played it for a second time about a dozen years later, so I had not been back for almost 30 years.
The club as founded in 1890 and its present facility opened in 1929. In includes 27 holes by A. W. Tillinghast and a Norman styled clubhouse designed by Clifford Wendehack...a powerful pair of architects. Tillinghast also designed great courses such as Winged Foot, Quaker Ridge, Somerset Hills, San Francisco, Bethpage-Black & Red, Baltusrol, Baltimore, Mountain Ridge, Aronimink, Newport and many others. Wendehack designed magnificent clubhouses including those at Winged Foot, Bethpage, Mountain Ridge, Park CC, and Hackensack.
From my round there in 1979 I remember a tight course with trees lining almost every fairway. Several years ago the club completed a restoration project led by Gil Hanse, and the results are quite magnificent. Thousands of trees are gone leaving the beauty of grand individual specimen trees. the quality of the turf is superb, and the sights are simple yet classic. This course is now classic, fun, challenging, and fair. Playing it requires careful thinking, as there are optional ways of playing almost every hole, each with its own set of risks and rewards. Best holes IMO are #2 East, #5 West (fabulous green setting!), and #8 West. The greens are outstanding and the conditioning no less than superb. Better bring your thinking cap here...just hitting it to an opening doesn't always work.
Over the years Ridgewood has hosted the 1935 Ryder Cup, 1974 US Amateur, 1990 US Senior, three Barclays/Northern Trust events, and the 2016 US Girl's Amateur among others and celebrated winners such as Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Vijay Singh, and Kathy Whitworth. Over the years a number of different composite courses have been utilized during important championships at Ridgewood...I counted six different combinations. And back in the 1930's it employed an assistant pro by the name of Byron Nelson!
In terms of ratings, Ridgewood has never made a World Top 100, and its position on USA top 100 list has generally hovered in the 80's and 90's (its highest current rating is #82 in Golf Magazine). If it is missing anything, it is a spectacular setting and a couple of spectacular holes...tough to find in northern NJ. But as a pure golf course, I would rate it as a top 75 in the world.
I was supposed to have dinner with a fellow GM panelist, Steve L., but traffic was its usual horrendous self, so we passed and I stayed in Paramus. Would have been good to catch up with Steve but frankly I was a bit tired.
Hackensack Golf Club, May 8, 2019: Readers may recall my trip to Tucson in December 2018 (Post #125). I played The Gallery-North with member Cyrus W., a very good play and guy, who asked if I had played his club in NJ, Hackensack GC. I told him that I had not played it and that I was embarrassed to say that I had not heard of it. He advised that it was a Raynor/Banks, being restored, and worth a look. Interestingly, two other people I knew mentioned Hackensack to me this winter, so I made sure to include it on this trip north.
That was a superb decision (for which I deserve zero credit). I arrived around 7:30, and my walk through the clubhouse (designed by Clifford Wendehack) stirred my senses...clearly the place had a sense of history. As I walked onto the back terrace, I turned to my right and saw the following view of the recently renovated first hole:
 |
| Hackensack #1 from clubhouse porch |
I think I stood there staring for about three minutes. Hole #1 is a fairly simple long straight par 4 (442 yards, slightly down hill, then up a bit to a slightly raised round green surrounded on three sides by deep bunkers). It was love at first sight!!
The club started renovating its holes after receiving copies of original plans (I believe from Chicago GC). They are doing 2-4 holes per year and have about three holes to go to finish the work. I could not play #7 as it had recently been sodded and was not ready. It was great fun to see some of the "unrenovated" holes next to the renovated ones. The differences in bunkering was dramatic, with shallow uninteresting bunkers still in place on the former.
There are some wonderful other holes here, aside from #1...the third is a great Biarritz (green 77 yards deep),
 |
| Hackensack 3rd hole Biarritz |
#12 a wonderful Redan, and #16 a superb punch bowl. Charles Banks' plans included a huge bunker (150 yards long and 7-8' deep along the right side of #11 (a 441 straight and level par 4), but the bunker was never built. During the renovation process it was added and dominates the hole in a very positive way (not sure I would be saying that if I had hit my drive into it).
Fun coincidence...while playing #16 I ran into Cyrus, who was back in NJ for a short trip (he only is here for a few rounds per year). I reiterated my invitation for him to come up to Brookline.
One important historical note...it turns out that Hackensack is either mostly or totally a Charles Banks design. Many of you are well aware that Seth Raynor was the construction supervisor for C. B. Macdonald's courses. When CBM retired from golf course architecture, he turned over his book of business to Raynor, who quickly grew into one of the finest architects in history (despite, or perhaps because he had never played the game). Raynor hired Banks to be his construction supervisor. When Raynor died in January 1926, Banks completed his unfinished projects and became an architect of high renown. As there were ongoing tax disputes between the club and local authorities when Raynor passed away (in January 1926), the club did not gain title to the property until July 1926, thus it is likely that this was Banks' first solo design.
Rack this one up as a hidden gem for sure, even in its unfinished state. Hopefully we will see it move up the ratings ladder...it would be well deserved (to date it had never been on a USA 100...until today...as it was #190 on GolfWeek's 1-200 list of Top Classic courses that I received by email this morning!!). Hackensack has hosted a Metropolitan Open (1973) and three Met Ams (1964, 1994, and 2009).
Oh...I had a 35 - 40 = 75...the front nine aided to some degree by the 7th hole being closed (I posted an 80 for handicap purposes). Plays 7001 yards, par 72
Oh...I had a 35 - 40 = 75...the front nine aided to some degree by the 7th hole being closed (I posted an 80 for handicap purposes). Plays 7001 yards, par 72
The club was founded in 1921 as the merger of two smaller clubs (Cranford GC and Westfield GC). In 1913 Cranford has retained Donald Ross to build an 18 hole course at the present location. Over the next two years Echo Lake sold off 32 acres of its golf course and purchased an adjoining parcel of 32 acres...this swap enabled the course to gain needed length. Architect Robert White then built six new holes (today's holes 11-16). In 1928 Willard Wilkinson build three other new holes (6, 7, and 9 and a practice range). The resulting course has remained in this approximate configuration since 1928...essentially with 9 holes by Donald Ross, 6 by White, and 3 by Wilkinson. Recently, it was renovated by Rees Jones.
Echo Lake hosted the 1934 Met Open (at that time generally considered to have been a "major") as well as two USGA Championships, the 1994 Junior Boys' Championship and 2002 Junior Girls' Championship. It has never been included on any Top 100. Today it plays 7116 yards from the tips (par 71)...a healthy yardage. I had a 43 - 40 = 83 playing poorly on the front and reasonably well from 14 in.
The clubhouse, pro shop, and first tee sit atop a bluff facing east. The course was in very good condition. A number of the greens are good examples of Ross' superb work, but others built by White and Wilkinson and more mundane. Additionally there are a large number of parallel fairways and overall the course lacks design variety. Best holes are #6, 9, and 16 IMO.
After the round I drove back to Westchester (and picked up more "missing scorecards"). One more round on the schedule on Thursday morning and then drive home to my bride!
Metropolis Country Club, May 9, 2019: During all my years at Quaker I had never played Metropolis (which is about 7 miles away). As it was on the GD 200 Toughest lists in 1966 and 1967 I decided to rectify that error. It was founded in 1922 in its present location with a courses designed by Herbert Strong (Canterbury-OH, Engineers-NY, Saucon Valley (Old)-PA; and Nassau-NY). Over the following 90 years the course was altered by A. W. Tillinghast, Joe Finger, and Ken Dye. Then in 2013 Ron Forse was retained to bring the course back to its roots with the help of the course superintendent, Davis McCaffrey. The results are really very good, with 4 excellent par 3's (although they could use more variety in terms of playing length), and a very good flow and collection of holes on a site contained by lack of space and probably having a bit too much in the way of elevation changes.
Holes I liked the most were the par 3's (see two pics below), as well as uphill dogleg right par 4 #3,
 |
| Metropolis #9--158 yards |
 |
| Metropolis #13--183 yards |
long par 4 #7, and short drivable par 4 #17. Course was in excellent condition. Only thing I do not understand is how it has been ignored by the "top 100" community since 1967. BUT...last minute correction: GolfWeek for certain years published a Classic Top 200 and a Modern Top 200 (use in case you were wondering what happened to inflation) and included Metropolis as Classic #190 in 2015 and 2016. The "200" lists were not published in 2017 or 2018 but just were published for 2019 where Metropolis moved up slightly to #188.
Metropolis has had a superb collection of head pros through the years, including Paul Runyan (PGA Champ in 1934 and 1938 and Golf Hall of Fame inductee) from 1931-1942, Jackie Burke, Jr. (Masters Champion and PGA, both in 1956, co-founder of Champions Golf Club in Houston, TX, and Golf Hall of Fame inductee) from 1948 to 1950, "Lighthorse" Harry Cooper (31 Tour victories and Golf Hall of Fame inductee), and Gene Borek (who fired a 65 at Oakmont in the 1973 US Open...two days before Johnny Miller's 63 ...which came after rains softened the course!).
I had a tired 45-45=90 to end the trip...and was anxious to get back to Pat and home. Stopped for a few "missing scorecards" and arrived home around 5:15pm. Trip was about 1550 miles and 10 golf courses in just under 7 days. Straight drive from our home in Pinehurst to our hole in Milton, MA is 800 miles, so I was doing a lot for zigging and zagging in NY and NJ!
Overall, played 7 new courses, thereby knocking off 4 of my missing from the GD 1966/67 lists (now missing 94), and on host of a US Girls' union and US Boy's Junior Championships. Golf-wise the highlights were finding another Hidden Gem (Hackensack), returning to Quaker again, and revisiting a beautifully restored Ridgewood. Over all highlight was seeing a healthy John Sabino.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
127. Go West Old Man...
127. Go West Old Man...
By early February it was time to hit the road again. I had several areas of concentration that were available...but a bunch of these (Michigan with 5, Washington/Oregon with 8, and the Rockies with 4) were not exactly in hospitable of climates this time of year. And with some of the others (Phoenix, California, and Texas) I had to be careful about the schedules for the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, and Women's Tour as visiting an area when a tour was in town would create major difficulties for securing tee times.
After some study and poking around regarding accessibility and availability, I decided to spend the week of February 4-8 wandering around Phoenix and California. Phoenix and Scottsdale had three tracks I needed to play, and California a total of 5. Additionally Las Vegas had one, and there were two others in Arizona within about 100 miles of Phoenix that were possible. But I did not want to leave until early February 4 (the morning after the Super Bowl), and I promised Pat to head back Friday night February 8. Those constraints, less daylight in the northern hemisphere this time of year, and heavy play in these areas during February, meant my maximum number of courses would be nine (including one on Monday February 4). My target areas became the California Desert, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Phoenix/Scottsdale...including one course about 110 miles east of Phoenix.
After numerous emails and quite a bit of help from some friends, my itinerary was set...but daunting. I would start off departing Raleigh-Durham airport at 5:32am on Monday February 4, which would require setting the alarm for 2:15am...remember, the Super Bowl ended around 10pm, and we had to get home from a party!
Mission Hills Country Club (Tournament Course) February 4, 2019: Since early 1972, the LPGA Tour has played a tournament at Mission Hills' Tournament Course. The event was founded by entertainer Dinah Shore and Colgate-Palmolive's chairman David Foster, and attracted lots of attention by initially offering a purse more than double the purse of the then US Women's Open or LPGA Championship. The event's official name included "Dinah Shore" through 2000 and has been commonly referred to as "The Dinah Shore" throughout. Since 2015 the event's official name has been the "ANA Inspiration" after the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways became its official sponsor in late 2014. As The Dinah Shore became a Women's Major in 1983, I needed to play the course for my Women's Major Venue bucket list.
After connecting flights at Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, I arrived in Palm Springs, CA around 10am. Fortunately, I was able to catch some sleep on both flights, check into my hotel room early, and catch a short nap there. My tee time was 1:34pm, and I hoped the course would not be too crowded as sunset was at 5:18pm.
The Tournament Course opening in 1971 and was designed by Englishman Desmond Muirhead (who, with Jack Nicklaus, also designed Muirfield Village located outside of Columbus, OH). Mission Hills has two other courses which opened in 1979 and 1988. Since 1971 the California Desert (located about 125 miles east of Los Angeles) has grown tremendously and now includes some 120 courses. One of the course's great attributes is the fabulous views of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains to the southwest of Palm Springs. Somehow the course is perfectly located...not too close and not too far from these mountains which provide a wonderful backdrop.
Muirhead moved a lot of dirt to convert dead flat desert terrain into a rolling course with hills up to 50-75 feet in height. It also is built around three large and two small artificial lakes. From the back tees it plays 7250 yards and for The Dinah Shore about 6770 yards. By far its best known hole is the par 5 #18, a flat dogleg left to an island green that stretches 98 yards from front left to back right (more below). The course is way too green and overwatered for my tastes, and has a number of very good holes, although I still am trying to figure out its par 4 6th hole. The greens are very well contoured and demanding.
My hopes for a relatively empty course were dashed when I arrived. I played the front nine with a couple who were fun golfers but it was slow for our threesome...and the course was totally jammed in front of us. However, a number of golfers were only playing nine holes and the back nine moved somewhat faster. I just managed to finish at 5:28, ten minutes after sunset, in not a lot of light, and playing through two groups (with permission) on the last two holes. My game was rustly at first and then improved after 7 holes...shooting a 41 - 39 = 80.
After the round, I headed to dinner with two old friends from Quaker Ridge (Michael F., another certifiable golf nut, and Mickey T.) at a wonderful Italian restaurant (Mitch's on El Paseo, in Palm Desert) where we told all sorts of golf stories of which at least 3.2% were true. I was able to get to bed by around 10pm (almost 23 hours since I awoke). Today was easy with just 18 holes and not much driving. The next four days would be tougher.
The Madison Club, February 5, 2019: After my last visit to the California Desert two years ago, I wrote the following (Post #71):
To my mind, desert golf to date is divided into three “eras”:
1. startup phase that featured Thunderbird, Tamarisk, La Quinta, and Eldorado;
2. “growth” era bringing huge developments with courses by Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus and others, which started with La Quinta Resort and PGA West and received nationwide attention with the advent of the televised “Skins Game” each Thanksgiving weekend; and
3. “over the top/boom-bust” era that has seen a new “king of the hill” club open about every five years proclaiming to be the latest and greatest (in order: Vintage, Quarry, Stone Eagle, and Madison Club) and today's world with no “full” clubs in the desert.
I am not sure which of the four is presently "king" but Madison is certainly in the running. Rumored to have cost around $200 million (when completed in 2007), Madison is the creation of Discovery Land Company, which specializes in extremely high end clubs with courses maintained in "perfect" condition, beautiful to behold, generally designed by Tom Fazio (as is Madison), and offering the very highest standards in amenities. Food stations abound serving just about everything one could hope for (although I did not see my Fiber One offered). Some might call the offerings "over-the-top" but I shall avoid such crass statements.
Although I am not a big "fan" of most Discovery Land clubs, the golf course here is certainly one of their finer offerings. It stretches to a hefty 7426 yards (at sea level) and one never has the feeling of playing in the desert. Rumors also claim that Fazio moved some five million cubic yards of dirt to build it. If true, and assuming the course covers 200 acres, that means an average of 15' 6" of dirt for all 200 acres! Think about that!! Only course I have ever seen on a similar scale is Shadow Creek in Las Vegas (played in 20122 before I commenced blogging).
Although I am not a big "fan" of most Discovery Land clubs, the golf course here is certainly one of their finer offerings. It stretches to a hefty 7426 yards (at sea level) and one never has the feeling of playing in the desert. Rumors also claim that Fazio moved some five million cubic yards of dirt to build it. If true, and assuming the course covers 200 acres, that means an average of 15' 6" of dirt for all 200 acres! Think about that!! Only course I have ever seen on a similar scale is Shadow Creek in Las Vegas (played in 20122 before I commenced blogging).
I was the guest of a friend of a friend. Originally from South Africa, Colin H. now splits his time between The Desert and a northwest suburb of Los Angeles. He is a wonderful player and even better gentleman. We played in some tough winds (a strong storm had hit overnight with wind gusts of 60+mph resulting in downed palm trees) but we were lucky that the winds calmed down to more manageable speeds (10-15mph) by our 8am tee off.
I played from 6048 yards...a fairly long course for me especially with 10-15mph winds but hit it very well (41 - 39 = 80)...with sixes on the par 5 8th and short par 4 9th marring what could have been a very good round. All in all I was very pleased with my game, and it was great to meet Colin.
This will never happen, but if Madison got real firm and fast, and widened its fairways to increase options and angles, IMO it could really be special. Favorite holes were #9 (despite my stupid double!) and #12. But who knows...these are a matter of taste...and I was glad to be able to see it and play it.
So why was I here?...Madison was on the Golf Week Modern 100 in 2018...and you will of course recall that I am trying to be the first to play the Golf Week Modern 100 + Classic 100 EVER (since you asked, as of today, this totals 411 courses, of which 9 no longer exist...so really 402).
So why was I here?...Madison was on the Golf Week Modern 100 in 2018...and you will of course recall that I am trying to be the first to play the Golf Week Modern 100 + Classic 100 EVER (since you asked, as of today, this totals 411 courses, of which 9 no longer exist...so really 402).
After the round, had to rush off for Newport Beach, CA, a drive of 127 miles.
Big Canyon Country Club, February 5, 2019: Fortunately (and miraculously), hit zero traffic going from La Quinta in the Desert to Newport Beach in Orange County. I arrived at Big Canyon a little early and had no idea how wet the course would be...this was a week of teeming rains in Southern California.
I was here as the guest of a member (Kit) who is a close friend of a fellow Golf Digest Panelist (Doug). Kit is an attorney with his own firm in the area, and was already at the club when I arrived. We were just about the only non-ducks out on the course this day...and there were some real water flows on this course (think of the club's name and the rain...). For obvious reasons, it was cart path only this day, and BCCC was a tiring course to play in these conditions.
From the back tees it plays 7061 yards (par 72) and features many uphill approach shots to raised greens...and on this days there was zero roll. The course winds through canyons with high end homes lining most fairways. It opened in 1971 and was also designed by Desmond Muirhead (architect at Mission Hills) and Ted Robinson, Sr. Known for decades as a high end club in Orange County, in recent years it also has hosted two USGA Championships (2000 US Women's Mid Amateur and 2014 US Senior Amateur).
On the front nine I put together a very smooth 46, followed by a somewhat improved (but still very ugly) 43 on the back...allowing me to break 90 by a hair. Of course, all of my scores here are based on ESC or "equitable stroke control" where a golfer at my level cannot take a score higher than a double bogey. This procedure prevents (or at least makes it more difficult for) golfers to maintain artificially high handicaps in a "get rich scheme". Given the stakes I generally play ($2 or $5 on the front, back and combined 18) getting rich or poor is tough, but golf can be played at very meaningful stakes.
Overall I liked the course but it was hard to really judge in these conditions. Some of the rain storms I saw on the news (and for brief periods experienced in my drive) would have put about any course underwater so judging the conditions based on this day would be unfair. But at least I got this one in...continuing my fortunate streak weather-wise (knock on wood). This trip would prove to be a tough one as days are still short in early February, I had some tough long drives between courses, I was dodging the West Coast's typical winter rainstorms the first two days, and would face a cold front and frost delays the next three days.
After the round I had a short (6 mile) drive to nearby John Wayne Airport to catch a 7:30 flight to Sacramento, CA. Frost delays and a a tight schedule were to be my issue the next day. I was scheduled for two private clubs, the first (Granite Bay GC) in Sacramento's suburbs just northeast of the city, and the second (Winchester CC) some 25 miles further northeast and lying half way between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.
My flight was on time but was be a long day even without delays.
Granite Bay Golf Club, February 6, 2019: I was up early and the weather was very cold...in the high 30's which pretty much guaranteed frost. I was scheduled to do off around dawn (7:00am) but that was not going to happen. Two weeks ago I had been setup for for an early start by an assistant pro (Michael Berry) and that made scheduling this day possible.
Upon arriving I learned that they we're projecting an end to the frost delay at 10am...which meant getting in 36 would be impossible (with a 5:30pm flight to Phoenix). But experience taught me to just plow ahead and hope for the best. I knew nothing about Granite Bay (or Winchester) except that both had briefly appeared on the Golf Week USA Modern Top 100 in the late 1990's or early 2000's. Both were designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Granite Bay has a neat men's locker room with sections named after some historical greats of the game (Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, etc.).
I met the Greens Superintendent who asked who had set up my game...a question I answered honestly. At that point he mentioned that the rains had made the course impossible to rate, there was some ongoing construction, and that my request should have been reviewed by him. I knew I was stepping into an issue between the pro shop and course maintenance and I knew to tread carefully (even though I had followed correct protocols...at least this one time). I told the superintendent that I always ignore ongoing construction since it was obviously temporary, and if the course was overly wet I would not submit a rating as I fully understood the extent of the rains. Then as soon as possible I teed off on #1 before anyone changed their mind!
As many of you know, I am not a huge fan of R T Jones, Jr.'s architectural efforts. And for the first two holes at Granite Bay I sensed another disappointment. The first is a decent but ordinary par 4 protected by water left, and the second a very difficult and tight dog leg right par 4 (422 yards) to a blind green sloping sharply from front to back. I thought the green was way too difficult to hold (in normal conditions) for the hole.
To my surprise, what followed was a series of very good to superb holes over the rest of the course...with the best being #3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 16-18. After a very weak bogey, double bogey, double bogey start, I ended up shooting a semi-respectable 42 - 41 = 83. I was also able to play in 2:15 even with cart path only rules. A call to Winchester revealed that most tee time bookings had canceled and that the course was wide open...perhaps 36 might be possible.
After the round I found Michael Berry...who was originally from NY and was a baseball player who had switched to golf. He asked if I was a Mets fan and I told him "no...Brooklyn Dodgers." That brought a chuckle. I told Michael how much I liked the course and asked him to tell the superintendent I planned to submit a very very good rating for a really fine course (even with the questionable second green). That seemed to smooth his day. I really meant it...this unheralded track is really good...not great..but really good. As I have written before, highlights for these trips almost always center on finding "hidden gems."
Had to run to get to Winchester if I was to make the 5:50 flight.
Winchester Country Club, February 6, 2019: About 40% of the way between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe lies Winchester CC. It opened in 2000 and was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Jr. It sits at about 1800' in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and is intertwined among some 400 real estate lots. Not surprisingly, the development went through bankruptcy about 10 years ago and was subsequently sold to a Colorado developer. I had the sense that the project is on stronger footing and so long as the real estate market continues to be OK, will eventually be built out. There are a good number of beautiful homes overlooking the course...creating long cart drives from green to following tee.
Given the rains that had hit California this week, this round was not productive in terms of evaluating the course (but it did allow me to "check off" another course from there GolfWeek USA Top 100 Modern EVER list). It was soaking wet with water run-offs visible all over the course. Built on very hilly terrain it would be very difficult to walk, and my guess is that in decent conditions it would be reasonably good, but not close to a Top 100 level. I teed off on #10 and had a horrendous back nine and a good front (46 - 39 = 85 in order of play). The back nine is generally on flatter (but not "flat") land on rather open fields while the front nine is very hilly and cut through forests. I was able to play in about 2:25 as the course was almost empty, and hence had no problem catching my flight to Phoenix which departed Sacramento at 5:50pm.
Must say the Sacramento airport terminal is fabulous. Opened in 2011 and is actually not crowded. On the other hand, arriving in Phoenix was a big contrast. The terminals there have a tough timer handling the traffic...certainly at this time of the year.
I was staying with Rich & Sally L. in their home in Paradise Valley. Rich is an old Citibank friend and they had finished their new house about 2 years ago, and it is simply fabulous. But it was late when I arrived at their home and Rich and I were playing the next morning at 8am (although it was almost certain that frost would delay the tee off).
Whisper Rock Golf Club (Lower), February 7, 2018: I was here in April 2017 (Post #75) and played the Upper Course designed by Tom Fazio with Rich and my old neighbor from Purchase, NY, Chip W. I remembered starting very well (I was one over through 6 but finished with an 81).
My schedule for Phoenix both 2/7 and 2/8 was tight but very doable unless I faced some sort of weather delay...and frost was just about guaranteed for both days. I has lucked out so far this trip, but it was looking like the end of the lucky road as our tee time was moved back from 8:00 to 9:40.
The Lower was the first course built at WR, and was originally designed by Phil Mickelson. From the back it plays 7390 yards, but I moved up just a bit and played it from 6021 yards. Both courses have been on GolfWeek's Top 100 Modern, but neither has made the Golf Week Merged 100. The Lower is not as dramatic as the Upper, but it tests one's game just as well or even more so. The greens can be very tough...but the degree of difficulty is clearly a function of the day's pin placements. Every green is loaded with sites that would be brutal to get near, and punishing to miss. Fortunately, on this day most of those locations were being rested.
After a double bogey on #1, I started to shoot lights out and was even par for the rest of the front nine. After playing 10-16 two over, I messed up with doubles at 17 and 18 turning what should have been a great round into an 80...I think that is spelled "g-o-l-f"!
As I stated in Post #75, as good as the golf courses are at Whisper Rock, the club is even better. Absolutely superb without going over the top is tough to accomplish...but this place does it.
When we finished 18 I had to run if I was to get down to Superstition Mountain in Gold Canyon, AZ (about 50 miles to the southeast). As I was stopped at a light I checked my emails, which included an email from the head pro at Mirabel, GC, located about 2 miles from Whisper Rock, advising that due to the frost forecast for Friday, they they would have a shotgun start will everyone teeing off around 11am...which meant I could not get in 36 tomorrow. I quickly pulled over to think through my golfing schedule for the next 30 hours and realized there was a way to get in all three rounds. I quickly called Mirabel to see if they could accommodate me in about 30-60 minutes...and their answer was yes!! Then I called Superstition Mountain and they said yes to Friday afternoon. Deal done and also saved me over 100 miles of driving!! Said it before and I'll say it again...always have to have a plan B and be flexible...there usually is a way.
Mirabel Golf Club, February 7, 2019: The property where Mirabel sits was originally to house a tough, high end daily fee course designed by Greg Norman, called Stonehaven. After Stonehaven was fully built and in the grow in stage (approximately 2000), the entire development was sold to Discovery Land Company (same company that developed and owns The Madison Club in the California Desert...see above). Discovery Land decided the course was too tough for its concept, brought in Tom Fazio, plowed Stonehaven under, and built Fazio's course in its stead. So, $8 million or $15 million later (depending on whose account you believe), Mirabel Golf Club opened for play as a very high end private club...and seems to be doing very well.
I arrived around 1:0gr and was off tee #10 shortly thereafter, playing nine holes with a couple who were members, and the front nine by myself. My good play continued and in the afternoon I avoided costly double bogeys and had a superb feel with my putter. The result was a solid 37 - 39 (in order of play) = 76. Hit 13 of 14 fairways, 9 of 18 greens, and required just 31 putts. The course is very good, but not one of Fazio's best. It is beautiful to behold, but to my mind, does not excite a golfer's senses. Lots of folks worship Fazio's work, I am just not one of them.
All in all, could not complain about the day. Despite the frost, got in all 36 holes (and had a doable 36 for the next day), two good rounds, and finished it off with a wonderful dinner with Rich at their other club, Paradise Valley CC. Tomorrow is to start off with a long drive east past Globe, AZ, then to Superstition Mountain, followed by a dinner with an old roommate from business school, and then, unfortunately, a long night on a red-eye.
Apache Stronghold Golf Resort, February 8, 2019: The drive east to Apache Stronghold was about 100 miles and took almost two hours but it was worth it. I arrived around 8am and my start was delayed by frost but I was able to start play around 9:15.
Designed by Tom Doak and opened in 1999, the course is owned by a Casino (next door), and there ain't much else around it. The course is built in true AZ desert land, filled with natural desert washes and rolling land. This is a wonderful minimalist design...very little "dirt" was moved in constructing it, but the brilliance of its design is unfortunately camouflaged by poor playing conditions due to lack of sufficient cash flow. At one time (shortly after it opened) it was included on GW's Top 100 Modern list, but given economic realities, the clear likelihood is that those days are long gone.
I played fairly well (38 - 41 = 79) and wished I had more time to study and appreciate the beauty and simplicity of this design. In some ways it reminded me of my favorite AZ course...Coore & Crenshaw's We-Ko-Pa Saguaro Course...but one had to look through the conditions to see that. Best holes are #4, #7, #13, and #14...simply loved the setting of the short dogleg left #13 to an elevated green, built on found naturally formed for this hole! In any case, if you are an architecture buff, it is worth the journey through some beautiful desert natural desert countryside.
After the round I had a 75 minute drive back west to Superstition Mountain, the last of nine courses on this five day journey.
Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club (Prospector), February 8, 2019: Superstition Mountain boasts two Jack Nicklaus courses. Prospector was the first build (opened 1999) and was designed by Jack and his son Gary, while Lost Gold followed and was designed by Jack and his son Jackie. Those were the days when Jack Nicklaus and Lyle Anderson owned the Phoenix golf scene.
In 2002 Prospector hosted the Senior Tour's Tradition Championship, won that year buy Jim Thorpe, hence it's place on one of my bucket lists (Senior Tour Venues Ever).
I arrived around 1:00 but frost in the morning moved my 2:20 tee time back to 2:50pm...and with sunset scheduled for 6:05pm, 18 holes was looking dicey at best. I was playing alone and was able to finish the front nine by 4:40. Luckily, a number of groups dropped out of play after 9 holes,. and I bolted around the back before running into a group at 15...so I rushed ahead of them to 16, played 16-18, then got back to 15 to finish the 18 holes by 5:45pm. Had a so-so 41 on the front (slow play never is good for my game), started the back with bogies on 10 and 11 and played the last seven even for a 37 on the back (total 78). Not a bad way to finish the trip.
The course is good but, with the exception of Muirfield Village in Ohio, I am just not a Nicklaus golf architecture fan. It is located right next to Superstition Mountain and there are stunning views on some of the holes. And its conditioning was very good.
Had time to thank the golf staff, take a quick shower and re-sort my luggage. Then drove west for dinner in Scottsdale with Dick Ardern. Dick and I spent two years in Pittsburgh together at Carnegie Mellon University's business school. He went off to IBM (where he spent all of his career before retiring), and we had not seen each other since March 2000 when we had try chance to play Cypress Point Club together. Next time you see me be sure to inquire about my round and how I played #16 that day!
After dinner it was time to head to the airport for my 11:59pm flight to Charlotte, followed by a flight to Raleigh Durham and arrival home on Saturday February 9 around 10:30am. Was great to see Pat after these five days and good to have knocked 9 courses of my list! One thing for sure...golf was not on my agenda for Saturday or Sunday. Sleep was required!!
OK...time for an update:
Total Courses Played 1,128
Bucket Lists underway:
Senior Tour Majors Ever--4 to go
Women's Majors Ever--6 to go
Amateur Majors Ever--5 to go
Tour Important Ever--6 to go
Five "Cups"--1 to go
World Top 100 Ever--2 to go
USA TOP 100 Ever--2 to go
GOLF WEEK 100 + 100 Ever--20 to go
Total to go (excluding double counts)--44
Big Canyon Country Club, February 5, 2019: Fortunately (and miraculously), hit zero traffic going from La Quinta in the Desert to Newport Beach in Orange County. I arrived at Big Canyon a little early and had no idea how wet the course would be...this was a week of teeming rains in Southern California.
I was here as the guest of a member (Kit) who is a close friend of a fellow Golf Digest Panelist (Doug). Kit is an attorney with his own firm in the area, and was already at the club when I arrived. We were just about the only non-ducks out on the course this day...and there were some real water flows on this course (think of the club's name and the rain...). For obvious reasons, it was cart path only this day, and BCCC was a tiring course to play in these conditions.
From the back tees it plays 7061 yards (par 72) and features many uphill approach shots to raised greens...and on this days there was zero roll. The course winds through canyons with high end homes lining most fairways. It opened in 1971 and was also designed by Desmond Muirhead (architect at Mission Hills) and Ted Robinson, Sr. Known for decades as a high end club in Orange County, in recent years it also has hosted two USGA Championships (2000 US Women's Mid Amateur and 2014 US Senior Amateur).
On the front nine I put together a very smooth 46, followed by a somewhat improved (but still very ugly) 43 on the back...allowing me to break 90 by a hair. Of course, all of my scores here are based on ESC or "equitable stroke control" where a golfer at my level cannot take a score higher than a double bogey. This procedure prevents (or at least makes it more difficult for) golfers to maintain artificially high handicaps in a "get rich scheme". Given the stakes I generally play ($2 or $5 on the front, back and combined 18) getting rich or poor is tough, but golf can be played at very meaningful stakes.
Overall I liked the course but it was hard to really judge in these conditions. Some of the rain storms I saw on the news (and for brief periods experienced in my drive) would have put about any course underwater so judging the conditions based on this day would be unfair. But at least I got this one in...continuing my fortunate streak weather-wise (knock on wood). This trip would prove to be a tough one as days are still short in early February, I had some tough long drives between courses, I was dodging the West Coast's typical winter rainstorms the first two days, and would face a cold front and frost delays the next three days.
After the round I had a short (6 mile) drive to nearby John Wayne Airport to catch a 7:30 flight to Sacramento, CA. Frost delays and a a tight schedule were to be my issue the next day. I was scheduled for two private clubs, the first (Granite Bay GC) in Sacramento's suburbs just northeast of the city, and the second (Winchester CC) some 25 miles further northeast and lying half way between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.
My flight was on time but was be a long day even without delays.
Granite Bay Golf Club, February 6, 2019: I was up early and the weather was very cold...in the high 30's which pretty much guaranteed frost. I was scheduled to do off around dawn (7:00am) but that was not going to happen. Two weeks ago I had been setup for for an early start by an assistant pro (Michael Berry) and that made scheduling this day possible.
Upon arriving I learned that they we're projecting an end to the frost delay at 10am...which meant getting in 36 would be impossible (with a 5:30pm flight to Phoenix). But experience taught me to just plow ahead and hope for the best. I knew nothing about Granite Bay (or Winchester) except that both had briefly appeared on the Golf Week USA Modern Top 100 in the late 1990's or early 2000's. Both were designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Granite Bay has a neat men's locker room with sections named after some historical greats of the game (Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, etc.).
I met the Greens Superintendent who asked who had set up my game...a question I answered honestly. At that point he mentioned that the rains had made the course impossible to rate, there was some ongoing construction, and that my request should have been reviewed by him. I knew I was stepping into an issue between the pro shop and course maintenance and I knew to tread carefully (even though I had followed correct protocols...at least this one time). I told the superintendent that I always ignore ongoing construction since it was obviously temporary, and if the course was overly wet I would not submit a rating as I fully understood the extent of the rains. Then as soon as possible I teed off on #1 before anyone changed their mind!
As many of you know, I am not a huge fan of R T Jones, Jr.'s architectural efforts. And for the first two holes at Granite Bay I sensed another disappointment. The first is a decent but ordinary par 4 protected by water left, and the second a very difficult and tight dog leg right par 4 (422 yards) to a blind green sloping sharply from front to back. I thought the green was way too difficult to hold (in normal conditions) for the hole.
To my surprise, what followed was a series of very good to superb holes over the rest of the course...with the best being #3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 16-18. After a very weak bogey, double bogey, double bogey start, I ended up shooting a semi-respectable 42 - 41 = 83. I was also able to play in 2:15 even with cart path only rules. A call to Winchester revealed that most tee time bookings had canceled and that the course was wide open...perhaps 36 might be possible.
After the round I found Michael Berry...who was originally from NY and was a baseball player who had switched to golf. He asked if I was a Mets fan and I told him "no...Brooklyn Dodgers." That brought a chuckle. I told Michael how much I liked the course and asked him to tell the superintendent I planned to submit a very very good rating for a really fine course (even with the questionable second green). That seemed to smooth his day. I really meant it...this unheralded track is really good...not great..but really good. As I have written before, highlights for these trips almost always center on finding "hidden gems."
Had to run to get to Winchester if I was to make the 5:50 flight.
Winchester Country Club, February 6, 2019: About 40% of the way between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe lies Winchester CC. It opened in 2000 and was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Jr. It sits at about 1800' in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and is intertwined among some 400 real estate lots. Not surprisingly, the development went through bankruptcy about 10 years ago and was subsequently sold to a Colorado developer. I had the sense that the project is on stronger footing and so long as the real estate market continues to be OK, will eventually be built out. There are a good number of beautiful homes overlooking the course...creating long cart drives from green to following tee.
Given the rains that had hit California this week, this round was not productive in terms of evaluating the course (but it did allow me to "check off" another course from there GolfWeek USA Top 100 Modern EVER list). It was soaking wet with water run-offs visible all over the course. Built on very hilly terrain it would be very difficult to walk, and my guess is that in decent conditions it would be reasonably good, but not close to a Top 100 level. I teed off on #10 and had a horrendous back nine and a good front (46 - 39 = 85 in order of play). The back nine is generally on flatter (but not "flat") land on rather open fields while the front nine is very hilly and cut through forests. I was able to play in about 2:25 as the course was almost empty, and hence had no problem catching my flight to Phoenix which departed Sacramento at 5:50pm.
Must say the Sacramento airport terminal is fabulous. Opened in 2011 and is actually not crowded. On the other hand, arriving in Phoenix was a big contrast. The terminals there have a tough timer handling the traffic...certainly at this time of the year.
I was staying with Rich & Sally L. in their home in Paradise Valley. Rich is an old Citibank friend and they had finished their new house about 2 years ago, and it is simply fabulous. But it was late when I arrived at their home and Rich and I were playing the next morning at 8am (although it was almost certain that frost would delay the tee off).
Whisper Rock Golf Club (Lower), February 7, 2018: I was here in April 2017 (Post #75) and played the Upper Course designed by Tom Fazio with Rich and my old neighbor from Purchase, NY, Chip W. I remembered starting very well (I was one over through 6 but finished with an 81).
My schedule for Phoenix both 2/7 and 2/8 was tight but very doable unless I faced some sort of weather delay...and frost was just about guaranteed for both days. I has lucked out so far this trip, but it was looking like the end of the lucky road as our tee time was moved back from 8:00 to 9:40.
The Lower was the first course built at WR, and was originally designed by Phil Mickelson. From the back it plays 7390 yards, but I moved up just a bit and played it from 6021 yards. Both courses have been on GolfWeek's Top 100 Modern, but neither has made the Golf Week Merged 100. The Lower is not as dramatic as the Upper, but it tests one's game just as well or even more so. The greens can be very tough...but the degree of difficulty is clearly a function of the day's pin placements. Every green is loaded with sites that would be brutal to get near, and punishing to miss. Fortunately, on this day most of those locations were being rested.
After a double bogey on #1, I started to shoot lights out and was even par for the rest of the front nine. After playing 10-16 two over, I messed up with doubles at 17 and 18 turning what should have been a great round into an 80...I think that is spelled "g-o-l-f"!
As I stated in Post #75, as good as the golf courses are at Whisper Rock, the club is even better. Absolutely superb without going over the top is tough to accomplish...but this place does it.
When we finished 18 I had to run if I was to get down to Superstition Mountain in Gold Canyon, AZ (about 50 miles to the southeast). As I was stopped at a light I checked my emails, which included an email from the head pro at Mirabel, GC, located about 2 miles from Whisper Rock, advising that due to the frost forecast for Friday, they they would have a shotgun start will everyone teeing off around 11am...which meant I could not get in 36 tomorrow. I quickly pulled over to think through my golfing schedule for the next 30 hours and realized there was a way to get in all three rounds. I quickly called Mirabel to see if they could accommodate me in about 30-60 minutes...and their answer was yes!! Then I called Superstition Mountain and they said yes to Friday afternoon. Deal done and also saved me over 100 miles of driving!! Said it before and I'll say it again...always have to have a plan B and be flexible...there usually is a way.
Mirabel Golf Club, February 7, 2019: The property where Mirabel sits was originally to house a tough, high end daily fee course designed by Greg Norman, called Stonehaven. After Stonehaven was fully built and in the grow in stage (approximately 2000), the entire development was sold to Discovery Land Company (same company that developed and owns The Madison Club in the California Desert...see above). Discovery Land decided the course was too tough for its concept, brought in Tom Fazio, plowed Stonehaven under, and built Fazio's course in its stead. So, $8 million or $15 million later (depending on whose account you believe), Mirabel Golf Club opened for play as a very high end private club...and seems to be doing very well.
I arrived around 1:0gr and was off tee #10 shortly thereafter, playing nine holes with a couple who were members, and the front nine by myself. My good play continued and in the afternoon I avoided costly double bogeys and had a superb feel with my putter. The result was a solid 37 - 39 (in order of play) = 76. Hit 13 of 14 fairways, 9 of 18 greens, and required just 31 putts. The course is very good, but not one of Fazio's best. It is beautiful to behold, but to my mind, does not excite a golfer's senses. Lots of folks worship Fazio's work, I am just not one of them.
All in all, could not complain about the day. Despite the frost, got in all 36 holes (and had a doable 36 for the next day), two good rounds, and finished it off with a wonderful dinner with Rich at their other club, Paradise Valley CC. Tomorrow is to start off with a long drive east past Globe, AZ, then to Superstition Mountain, followed by a dinner with an old roommate from business school, and then, unfortunately, a long night on a red-eye.
Apache Stronghold Golf Resort, February 8, 2019: The drive east to Apache Stronghold was about 100 miles and took almost two hours but it was worth it. I arrived around 8am and my start was delayed by frost but I was able to start play around 9:15.
Designed by Tom Doak and opened in 1999, the course is owned by a Casino (next door), and there ain't much else around it. The course is built in true AZ desert land, filled with natural desert washes and rolling land. This is a wonderful minimalist design...very little "dirt" was moved in constructing it, but the brilliance of its design is unfortunately camouflaged by poor playing conditions due to lack of sufficient cash flow. At one time (shortly after it opened) it was included on GW's Top 100 Modern list, but given economic realities, the clear likelihood is that those days are long gone.
I played fairly well (38 - 41 = 79) and wished I had more time to study and appreciate the beauty and simplicity of this design. In some ways it reminded me of my favorite AZ course...Coore & Crenshaw's We-Ko-Pa Saguaro Course...but one had to look through the conditions to see that. Best holes are #4, #7, #13, and #14...simply loved the setting of the short dogleg left #13 to an elevated green, built on found naturally formed for this hole! In any case, if you are an architecture buff, it is worth the journey through some beautiful desert natural desert countryside.
After the round I had a 75 minute drive back west to Superstition Mountain, the last of nine courses on this five day journey.
Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club (Prospector), February 8, 2019: Superstition Mountain boasts two Jack Nicklaus courses. Prospector was the first build (opened 1999) and was designed by Jack and his son Gary, while Lost Gold followed and was designed by Jack and his son Jackie. Those were the days when Jack Nicklaus and Lyle Anderson owned the Phoenix golf scene.
In 2002 Prospector hosted the Senior Tour's Tradition Championship, won that year buy Jim Thorpe, hence it's place on one of my bucket lists (Senior Tour Venues Ever).
I arrived around 1:00 but frost in the morning moved my 2:20 tee time back to 2:50pm...and with sunset scheduled for 6:05pm, 18 holes was looking dicey at best. I was playing alone and was able to finish the front nine by 4:40. Luckily, a number of groups dropped out of play after 9 holes,. and I bolted around the back before running into a group at 15...so I rushed ahead of them to 16, played 16-18, then got back to 15 to finish the 18 holes by 5:45pm. Had a so-so 41 on the front (slow play never is good for my game), started the back with bogies on 10 and 11 and played the last seven even for a 37 on the back (total 78). Not a bad way to finish the trip.
The course is good but, with the exception of Muirfield Village in Ohio, I am just not a Nicklaus golf architecture fan. It is located right next to Superstition Mountain and there are stunning views on some of the holes. And its conditioning was very good.
Had time to thank the golf staff, take a quick shower and re-sort my luggage. Then drove west for dinner in Scottsdale with Dick Ardern. Dick and I spent two years in Pittsburgh together at Carnegie Mellon University's business school. He went off to IBM (where he spent all of his career before retiring), and we had not seen each other since March 2000 when we had try chance to play Cypress Point Club together. Next time you see me be sure to inquire about my round and how I played #16 that day!
After dinner it was time to head to the airport for my 11:59pm flight to Charlotte, followed by a flight to Raleigh Durham and arrival home on Saturday February 9 around 10:30am. Was great to see Pat after these five days and good to have knocked 9 courses of my list! One thing for sure...golf was not on my agenda for Saturday or Sunday. Sleep was required!!
OK...time for an update:
Total Courses Played 1,128
Bucket Lists underway:
Senior Tour Majors Ever--4 to go
Women's Majors Ever--6 to go
Amateur Majors Ever--5 to go
Tour Important Ever--6 to go
Five "Cups"--1 to go
World Top 100 Ever--2 to go
USA TOP 100 Ever--2 to go
GOLF WEEK 100 + 100 Ever--20 to go
Total to go (excluding double counts)--44
Monday, January 14, 2019
126. Trip to Florida...finish Golf Digest Top 100 EVER and work on Senior PGA Championship Venues
126. Trip to Florida...finish Golf Digest Top 100 EVER and work on Senior PGA Championship Venues
As most of you know I stood at year-end with 59 courses left on my various current bucket lists. Nine of these were in Florida and SE Georgia...but detailed research revealed that this number would grow to 12. Three of these targets would require playing an extra 18 holes:
As most of you know I stood at year-end with 59 courses left on my various current bucket lists. Nine of these were in Florida and SE Georgia...but detailed research revealed that this number would grow to 12. Three of these targets would require playing an extra 18 holes:
- I had one course left to finish the Golf Digest USA Top 100 EVER...Bonita Bay Club (Marsh), but the original 18 holes on their Marsh course was split up about 20 years ago and these holes are now holes 1-3 and 13-18 on Bay Island and holes 1-6 and 16-18 on Marsh; logistically with FL being packed this time of year, the only way to do it was to play the full Bay Island and Marsh courses;
- Different sources had different venues for the 1940 and 1941 Senior PGA Championships...some saying Bobby Jones Golf Course and some saying Sara Bay Country Club (both in Sarasota); as I was unable to get a definitive answer, only solution was to play both;
- Similar story regarding 1963 and 1974 Senior PGA played at Pt St. Lucie CC, which ceased to exist since 1974; the club had 36 holes known as the Saints 18 and Sinners 18, which are now split into a muni (Saints) and part of a Club Med franchise (Sinners). Sooo...who amongst you knew Club Med still existed?...not I. I have never been to a Club Med given the innocence of my 74 years...that may have to change! Please don't tell Pat!!
Twelve courses would have keep me away too long, so I cut it back to eight in four days, all in FL and commencing Sunday night January 6.
Dunedin Golf Club, January 7, 2019: I arrived at Tampa Airport around 10:30pm Sunday and the drive to Dunedin took some 30 minutes. The motel was fairly highly rated on Hotels.com and very cheap...when I arrived I immediately understood the cheap part. But it was late and it didn't look dangerous, so there I was and I survived. Dunedin was only 0.2 miles away so it was fairly convenient. Dunedin GC was formerly PGA National and hosted the Senior PGA from 1945-1962. Designed by Donald Ross it opened in 1927 and was re-grassed in 2006. Today it is a muni.
I teed off at 7:05am or 19 minutes before sunrise...so do not expect great descriptions of the first 2-3 holes. It plays to 6625 yards (par 72) from the tips and was in decent condition. I had a 41 - 40 = 81 and played in 2:05. Course has some mild elevation changes. Except for its place in history, not much to say about it.
Sara Bay Country Club, January 7, 2019: Arrived at Sara Bay around 10:15, well in advance of an afternoon shotgun that I was joining. I was greeted at the club by Assistant Pro Michael Brown...who had been an intern at CCNC last year! Michael had just arrived in the area and reported that so far all was good. I was able to have some breakfast (my Fiber One of course) and then met the head pro, Daren King. Daren brought me up to date regarding the very recent renovation (course reopened Oct. 6) lead by Kris Spence (who had renovated CCNC's Dogwood about 3 years ago). Previous resoration efforts were led by Brian Silva.
The club looked to be very active especially for a Monday. I played with Paul Barone, the club's GM, formerly its head pro, and for sure a wonderful guy, along with an old high school buddy of Paul's. I very much enjoyed the course. It was in very good condition, was fairly wide open with excellent angles/options, and fun to play. We started on the par 5 #7 and after my drive had to confront one of four "Principal Noses" (think fairway bunkers on hole #16 of The Old Course in St Andrews) in the right middle of the fairway. Kris had split a large bunker into two to create the Principal's Nose and I loved it:
The club looked to be very active especially for a Monday. I played with Paul Barone, the club's GM, formerly its head pro, and for sure a wonderful guy, along with an old high school buddy of Paul's. I very much enjoyed the course. It was in very good condition, was fairly wide open with excellent angles/options, and fun to play. We started on the par 5 #7 and after my drive had to confront one of four "Principal Noses" (think fairway bunkers on hole #16 of The Old Course in St Andrews) in the right middle of the fairway. Kris had split a large bunker into two to create the Principal's Nose and I loved it:
 |
| Sara Bay #7--Principal's Nose--pin over right bunker and I stuck 7 iron to 15' (missed birdie putt) |
I hit the ball well and had a 42 - 39 = 81. No question in my mind that this is one of the better courses along FL's west coast. Plays to 7062 yards from the back.
Never did get the full story of where the 1940 and 1941 Senior PGA's were played...but do know that playing Sara Bay and Bobby Jones (next day) would get these done. The club has a lot of history behind it. Originally known as Whitfield Estates CC (and for a while called Sarasota Bay CC), it opened in 1926 and was designed by Donald Ross (probably around the same time Ross did Dunedin). Mr. Robert "Bobby" Jones helped sell the real estate surrounding the club, and its first head pro was Tommy Armour (the "Silver Scot"). Joe Turnesa was resident teaching pro in the 1970's and 80's.
Put simply, clearly Sara Bay has been one of Florida's west coast's premier clubs...it is wonderful to see the results of a superb restoration bringing its golf course back to its glory days. If you are going to be near Sarasota, play it...this is a hidden gem!
Never did get the full story of where the 1940 and 1941 Senior PGA's were played...but do know that playing Sara Bay and Bobby Jones (next day) would get these done. The club has a lot of history behind it. Originally known as Whitfield Estates CC (and for a while called Sarasota Bay CC), it opened in 1926 and was designed by Donald Ross (probably around the same time Ross did Dunedin). Mr. Robert "Bobby" Jones helped sell the real estate surrounding the club, and its first head pro was Tommy Armour (the "Silver Scot"). Joe Turnesa was resident teaching pro in the 1970's and 80's.
Put simply, clearly Sara Bay has been one of Florida's west coast's premier clubs...it is wonderful to see the results of a superb restoration bringing its golf course back to its glory days. If you are going to be near Sarasota, play it...this is a hidden gem!
Bobby Jones Golf Club, January 8, 2019: Another Donald Ross creation in this part of Florida...this one opened in February 1927 and seems to have played a part in the 1940 or 1941 Senior PGA (or both). Since then it has expanded from its original Ross 18 to 45 holes...the American 18, the longer British 18, and a short executive 9 holes. Ross' original 18 is now comprised of the back nines on the British and American courses so that is what I played...hitting the 10th hole on American around 6:55 (again in almost pitch black) and then going over to British #10 after playing 10-18 on American. On the back nine, I was held up a little by some groups that has teed off earlier, but all let me through and I finished by 9:15.
Course was better than I expected (certainly better than there munis I played as a kid) but not really noteworthy. Like Dunedin and Sara Bay the Ross influence is noticeable in the raised greens sloping from back to front and the wonderful green contouring. It had been renovated in 2016 by Richard Mandell of Pinehurst and was in good condition.
My play was poor at best...after two nights without enough sleep and 36 yesterday. Now had a 90 minutes drive to Ft Myers and then another 18. Good news is that I should be able to get some decent sleep tonight.
Fort Myers Country Club, January 8, 2019: Another original Donald Ross, this one opened in 1916 and was renovated about five years ago under the guidance of Steve Smyers. Back 100 years ago the club was the FL club for Henry Ford and Thomas Edison...today a muni. Like the other on the first two days of this trip, Ross "fingerprints" are all over the greens. There is a water channel that runs through the property which affects play on about half the holes. Very much liked the par 5 11th hole.
This was a a round that I wanted to end quickly...but there was a foursome two groups ahead of us who had two full holes open ahead of them toward the end of the round. Our round took about 4:15 which always happens when you don't like a course!
Anyhow, after the round got to my hotel (this was one of those "new hotel each night" trips) and took pre dinner nap and got to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Bonita Bay Club, January 9, 2019: I had been sitting with just one course keeping me from finishing the Golf Digest USA Top 100 EVER list for almost seven months...that course was Bonita Bay-Marsh, which had been included in 1989 and 1991 (peaking at #60 in 1989). I finally found a member (Phil A.--a very good player from Westchester who has played a good number of times at Quaker Ridge) by looking though a panelist directory for GD, and we arranged a game for this date. We were joined by Phil's father, who is retired and also a member.
The original Marsh course was designed by Arthur Hills and Hills expanded the property shortly thereafter with 18 new holes merged with the original Marsh 18 to create Bay Island and the new Marsh. We played Bay Island first and then Marsh.
This is a very good club and tremendously active, but the courses I played certainly are not Top 100 material in today's world...and I also think the new 18 holes are better than the 18 from the original Marsh. I gather the members consider the two courses we played to be the two worst of the five...but for obvious reasons they are the ones I had to play.
Later, the club opened another campus about 5 miles east with two Tom Fazio courses which are generally considered to be the two best of the five. I did not play particularly well but did sink a 12' putt for par on 18 to close out this bucket list.
Phil and his father, Ken were delightful and I look forward to having them at Brookline this summer.
That evening I had dinner with Bob McCoy and his wife, Elaine. Bob is a wonderful guy and the one who played the World 100 20 years ago in a span of 100 days!! This was my first time meeting Elaine and she is simply delightful.
Then after dinner it was across Alligator Alley to my bride's hometown of Ft. Lauderdale. Had another 36 scheduled for Thursday and then a flight home.
Fort Lauderdale Country Club-North, January 10, 2019: A cold front and north winds arrived by the time I awoke on this morning. Temperature was about 50ยบ with winds approaching 20mph when I arrived at the course.
And it was back to the Senior PGA venues on this last day of the trip. Ft. Lauderdale CC was founded in 1926 and started with 18 holes. It was the old money course in Ft Lauderdale but this town has seen better days (after all it has been some 55 years since Pat lived there). Some 25 years later the North course was added and it hosted the Senior PGA in 1965 won by Sam Snead. The North was designed by Red Lawrence, a highly regarded architect from that period. The course was in absolutely perfect condition and played firm and fast. I thought the best holes were the short par 4 5th, as well as #13-15, especially #14.
I hit the ball OK and had a 41 - 41 = 82.
After the round, it was over to North Miami and Turnberry Isle...better known to me as Aventura.
Turnberry Isle--Soffer, January 10, 2019: I first visited this development 40 years ago in 1978. I had left Citibank the prior year to become CFO at Arlen Realty & Development Corp., a large real estate operator and developer and retailer (E. J. Korvettes). Arlen's largest single project was known as Aventura...a joint venture with Don Soffer. Arlen, however, was deeply troubled and we were forced to relinquish control of Aventura. The starter at the first tee told me he had been there since 1979...when I told him of my involvement, we traded stories about Arthur Levine, one of Arlen's two founders.
The Soffer course was originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and then renovated by Raymond Floyd in the 1990's. The course is frankly far from my favorite. It reminded me in some ways of Liberty National (and that is not meant as a compliment). Tons of water...it is the opposite of fun and interesting.
After the round I showered and headed to the airport. Might have been able to squeeze in another round but no thanks. Flight home was smooth and I arrived home by 12:05am. Got to sleep.
Bucket List Status:
Courses played: 1,118 (out of approximately 35,000)
States Played: 50 of 50
Bucket List Total NLE Net Avail Played Not Played Cum
World 100 Ever 348 348 346 2 2
USA 100 Ever 371 -2 369 367 2 3
GW 100+100 Ever 412 -1 411 385 26 27
Five Cups Ever 115 115 114 1 28
Men's Maj Ever 128 -3 125 125 28
Senior Maj Ever 86 86 81 5 33
Women's Maj Ever 91 -4 87 80 7 40
Amateur Maj Ever * 180 -2 178 172 7 47
Tour Important Ever** 44 44 38 6 53
Notes:
NLE-No Longer Exists
*US Am, US Mid-Am, US Senior Am, US 4-Ball, Amateur Championship ("British")
** Fed Exp Playoff sites, Players Championship sites, World Golf Championship sites
If I were to complete all of the above 53, the following additional "bucket lists" would remain outstanding:
US Junior's Championship (probably should be added to Amateur Maj Ever)...27 unplayed
Golf Digest 1966/67 200 Toughest...96 unplayed
Other Women's USGA Champ***...78 unplayed
Playing all the above 201 courses would complete all 14 current USGA Championships Ever. But frankly, at 74 years of age, 254 more courses (53+201) is too high a hill to climb!!
***US Women's Am, US Women's Mid-Am, US Sen Women's Am, US Girl's Jr, US Women's 4-Ball, US Senior Women's Open.
Course was better than I expected (certainly better than there munis I played as a kid) but not really noteworthy. Like Dunedin and Sara Bay the Ross influence is noticeable in the raised greens sloping from back to front and the wonderful green contouring. It had been renovated in 2016 by Richard Mandell of Pinehurst and was in good condition.
My play was poor at best...after two nights without enough sleep and 36 yesterday. Now had a 90 minutes drive to Ft Myers and then another 18. Good news is that I should be able to get some decent sleep tonight.
Fort Myers Country Club, January 8, 2019: Another original Donald Ross, this one opened in 1916 and was renovated about five years ago under the guidance of Steve Smyers. Back 100 years ago the club was the FL club for Henry Ford and Thomas Edison...today a muni. Like the other on the first two days of this trip, Ross "fingerprints" are all over the greens. There is a water channel that runs through the property which affects play on about half the holes. Very much liked the par 5 11th hole.
This was a a round that I wanted to end quickly...but there was a foursome two groups ahead of us who had two full holes open ahead of them toward the end of the round. Our round took about 4:15 which always happens when you don't like a course!
Anyhow, after the round got to my hotel (this was one of those "new hotel each night" trips) and took pre dinner nap and got to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Bonita Bay Club, January 9, 2019: I had been sitting with just one course keeping me from finishing the Golf Digest USA Top 100 EVER list for almost seven months...that course was Bonita Bay-Marsh, which had been included in 1989 and 1991 (peaking at #60 in 1989). I finally found a member (Phil A.--a very good player from Westchester who has played a good number of times at Quaker Ridge) by looking though a panelist directory for GD, and we arranged a game for this date. We were joined by Phil's father, who is retired and also a member.
The original Marsh course was designed by Arthur Hills and Hills expanded the property shortly thereafter with 18 new holes merged with the original Marsh 18 to create Bay Island and the new Marsh. We played Bay Island first and then Marsh.
This is a very good club and tremendously active, but the courses I played certainly are not Top 100 material in today's world...and I also think the new 18 holes are better than the 18 from the original Marsh. I gather the members consider the two courses we played to be the two worst of the five...but for obvious reasons they are the ones I had to play.
Later, the club opened another campus about 5 miles east with two Tom Fazio courses which are generally considered to be the two best of the five. I did not play particularly well but did sink a 12' putt for par on 18 to close out this bucket list.
Phil and his father, Ken were delightful and I look forward to having them at Brookline this summer.
That evening I had dinner with Bob McCoy and his wife, Elaine. Bob is a wonderful guy and the one who played the World 100 20 years ago in a span of 100 days!! This was my first time meeting Elaine and she is simply delightful.
Then after dinner it was across Alligator Alley to my bride's hometown of Ft. Lauderdale. Had another 36 scheduled for Thursday and then a flight home.
Fort Lauderdale Country Club-North, January 10, 2019: A cold front and north winds arrived by the time I awoke on this morning. Temperature was about 50ยบ with winds approaching 20mph when I arrived at the course.
And it was back to the Senior PGA venues on this last day of the trip. Ft. Lauderdale CC was founded in 1926 and started with 18 holes. It was the old money course in Ft Lauderdale but this town has seen better days (after all it has been some 55 years since Pat lived there). Some 25 years later the North course was added and it hosted the Senior PGA in 1965 won by Sam Snead. The North was designed by Red Lawrence, a highly regarded architect from that period. The course was in absolutely perfect condition and played firm and fast. I thought the best holes were the short par 4 5th, as well as #13-15, especially #14.
I hit the ball OK and had a 41 - 41 = 82.
After the round, it was over to North Miami and Turnberry Isle...better known to me as Aventura.
Turnberry Isle--Soffer, January 10, 2019: I first visited this development 40 years ago in 1978. I had left Citibank the prior year to become CFO at Arlen Realty & Development Corp., a large real estate operator and developer and retailer (E. J. Korvettes). Arlen's largest single project was known as Aventura...a joint venture with Don Soffer. Arlen, however, was deeply troubled and we were forced to relinquish control of Aventura. The starter at the first tee told me he had been there since 1979...when I told him of my involvement, we traded stories about Arthur Levine, one of Arlen's two founders.
The Soffer course was originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and then renovated by Raymond Floyd in the 1990's. The course is frankly far from my favorite. It reminded me in some ways of Liberty National (and that is not meant as a compliment). Tons of water...it is the opposite of fun and interesting.
After the round I showered and headed to the airport. Might have been able to squeeze in another round but no thanks. Flight home was smooth and I arrived home by 12:05am. Got to sleep.
Bucket List Status:
Courses played: 1,118 (out of approximately 35,000)
States Played: 50 of 50
Bucket List Total NLE Net Avail Played Not Played Cum
World 100 Ever 348 348 346 2 2
USA 100 Ever 371 -2 369 367 2 3
GW 100+100 Ever 412 -1 411 385 26 27
Five Cups Ever 115 115 114 1 28
Men's Maj Ever 128 -3 125 125 28
Senior Maj Ever 86 86 81 5 33
Women's Maj Ever 91 -4 87 80 7 40
Amateur Maj Ever * 180 -2 178 172 7 47
Tour Important Ever** 44 44 38 6 53
Notes:
NLE-No Longer Exists
*US Am, US Mid-Am, US Senior Am, US 4-Ball, Amateur Championship ("British")
** Fed Exp Playoff sites, Players Championship sites, World Golf Championship sites
If I were to complete all of the above 53, the following additional "bucket lists" would remain outstanding:
US Junior's Championship (probably should be added to Amateur Maj Ever)...27 unplayed
Golf Digest 1966/67 200 Toughest...96 unplayed
Other Women's USGA Champ***...78 unplayed
Playing all the above 201 courses would complete all 14 current USGA Championships Ever. But frankly, at 74 years of age, 254 more courses (53+201) is too high a hill to climb!!
***US Women's Am, US Women's Mid-Am, US Sen Women's Am, US Girl's Jr, US Women's 4-Ball, US Senior Women's Open.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)