Pinehurst No. 8

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There was quite a bit of anticipation when Fazio, a North Carolina favorite son,  got the nod to build his first course in Pinehurst to honor the Centennial Celebration of this golfing mecca.  The course he designed easily met all those expectations.  It is a spectacular but playable course meandering up and down through the tall pine trees and fresh water marshes.  The course is panoramic-many sweeping downhill holes where you can clearly see all the challenges in front of you.  Big segmented greens with good speed and  breaks that will challenge your judgment as well as your execution.  This is a thinking man’s golf course-approaching each hole with the right forethought can make a big difference on the scorecard.

Bunkering is plentiful but it is not overdone.  Most greens are accessible from one angle on the front-so pay attention to position your ball properly for the most advantageous approach.  The landing areas are always more generous than they appear-he often uses the change in elevation to mask the landing areas from view but if you look carefully at the yardage book you will see that he gives you plenty of room to play to.  The greens have significant slope-many fall off to one side or the other.  The shots into the greens need to take this into account to get your ball close enough for birdie opportunities.

Visual Par Three #8  (golf.com)

The course starts out kindly enough with a sweeping downhill dogleg left that reminds me of the first at Spyglass Hill.  The pace remains tepid for the next few holes until you reach the fourth which is a massive dogleg left par four which will change your mindset for the day.  What follows the rest of the front side are a series of very technical holes that demand you control your roll out to avoid the adjacent trouble.  The ninth is the angry sister of the fourth which it parallels in the opposite direction-big dogleg right with an uphill approach into a difficult green.

The back side starts quietly but from 11 through 13 you play a series of very difficult holes in an area where they turned a sand pit into a visually intimidating series of hazards.  From here in the challenge rachets up considerably.  The fourteenth is your classic warf style hole with water from tee to green on the left and a putting surface that seems to be hanging precariously above the water.

Around The Marsh #14 and 15    (www.pinehurst.com)

The last three holes work up and down the hillside that leads to the clubhouse.  In all cases you are tempted to hit it farther than you need to-like the ending of the front side it is all about controlling your ball flight and positioning.  The finishing hole brings you up the hill to rediscover the view of the clubhouse perched atop the hill.  The cool one that is waiting for you in the bar will be eagerly anticipated.

Final Stretch Begins #16    (theduncanlist.com)

He designed this to be a walking course-the greens and tees are in close proximity.  Make sure you arrange for a caddie ahead of time-the experience is enhanced considerably taking this one in from ground level with some local advice.

Pinehurst, North Carolina

Architect: Tom Fazio (1996)

Tees       Par     Yardage       Rating      Slope

Blue       72        6698              72.3       133

White     72        6302              70.2       130

(Click to see complete Pinehurst No. 8 hole-by-hole descriptions)

Oakmont Country Club

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Opening Hole Par 4 (golf.com)

Much like Merion, Oakmont is a total golf experience-the club house, the golf shop, the operations of the golf facility, the caddies, the whole nine yards are steeped with rich tradition oozing from every nook and cranny.  It is not just the impressive pictures of past champions who have won here like Jones, Sarazen, Snead, Hogan, Nicklaus, Miller, Els, Cabrera, Sheehan, and Creamer-it is not even the overwhelming appearance of the handwritten scoresheets from those events (little known trivia is that Calvin Peete finished fifth the year Larry Nelson won his U.S. Open here).  It is the whole aura of the place, creakie floors, un-airconditioned locker rooms, the porches wrapping the clubhouse and looking out over the golf course, all of it makes this an authentic relic that cannot be replicated.  When you go here you just have to take the time to meander around and take it in-breath some musty air-look closely at the wood lockers that have been there since the depression-talk to the help-they know the traditions and are glad to share.

#3 Pews Par 4 (whosyourcaddie.net)

From the golf design side, Henry Fownes clearly accomplished his goal of making this one of the hardest tests of golf in the country.  The large furrow marks in the bunkers are gone, but the lightening fast, undulating putting surfaces are there, the dense rough and the occasional heather field are there, the 160+ bunkers are there and in play throughout,  the hilly terrain that takes a shot hit without confidence to places you would rather not know is there.  The overall balance of an extremely difficult, fair test of golf is what you get.  The modern equipment may give you the extra distance to shorten some of the long holes, but truthfully the test is in tactics and execution not in distance.  Look at the list of winners-Melnyk, Nelson, Mahaffey, Sarazen-these were not men with prodigious length but men who hit it in play and can play around the greens.  The secret to Oakmont is hitting it in the fairway off the tee and pitching and putting to save pars from below the hole.

From the blue tees, length very seldom seems to be a factor.  Angle of attack or approach seems to always be a factor.  The driving areas are visually expansive but are always confined by bunkering usually on two sides.  You get none of the cloistered feeling of trees encroaching the playing area.  There are plenty of big old trees but most are just background.  Beside the bunkering plentitude, the greenside bunkers are very severe.  With a sixty degree you can get out of all of them but getting close will be a challenge.

#5 Testing Par 4 (GolfPublisher.com)

You cannot think of Oakmont without trembling at the thought of the warp speed of the greens.  Stimpmeter measurements aside they are just flat out fast.  I have heard criticism that the greens are too undulating considering how fast they are maintained and this is something I agree with.  But it is a characteristic of the course and you just have to accept it.  As troublesome as the downhill putts are I think the real challenge is hitting the uphill putts hard enough.  On all courses with fast greens the differential in absolute speed between a downhill and uphill putt is way greater than on a course with slow greens and this differential will drive you batty.  You just want to smack yourself upside the head with your Odyssey every time you leave an uphill putt short-and you will do it all day.

Besides keeping your drives out of the rough, and this is a must to have any chance for pars, I think effective pitching and chipping is where the scoring is at.  Again the fast greens will carry shots without conviction off to the aprons and you must be able to up and down from there to make pars you thought you deserved.

Storied finishing hole at Oakmont (courtesy of Alan Levine/Lowl Productions)

When you are done here you will likely feel beaten but not unfairly beaten just beaten because of lack of tactical conviction or shot execution.  Like the Gold Course at the Golden Horseshoe this is a course to play again and again-it will tantalize you and occasionally treat you kindly, more often than not you will walk away shaking your head at what could have been.  But then again that is the lure isn’t it.

Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Architect: Henry C. Fownes (1903)

Tees                           Par           Yards          Rating        Slope

Championship            71            7255            77.5            147

Blue                            71            6436            74               134

(Click to see complete Oakmont hole-by-hole descriptions)

The Eyes Have It

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In a year when all four majors were captured by first-time winners in a variety of dramatic scenarios, the PGA Championship may have proved to be the most dramatic of all.  25-year-old Keegan Bradley trumped the field with final round performance full of moxie and guile we would not have expected from a rookie on the PGA tour.

Keegan’s competitive career has always shown moxie-as a Nationwide guy last year he made the cut in 18 of his 28 events, finishing top 25 in 15 of those to earn his PGA card as the 14th ranked player on that tour.  His first year on the big tour has been much of the same-he made 16 cuts out of 24 starts including 2 wins, 3 other top tens, and 10 top 25s on his way to earning $3,432,000.  When this guy puts the stare on an event he intends to compete to the end and walk away with a serious pile of money.  Depending on how he does in the playoffs he has a real chance at the unheard of double honor of Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in the same year.

His performance yesterday was as riveting as his stare-you could tell that his playoff win at the Byron Nelson this year and his excellent showing in the WGC Bridgestone a few weeks ago prepared him well to deal with the unbridled pressure of winning the first major he ever played on a course that brought the best in the game to their knees, holding their head in their hands wondering what went wrong.

For Keegan, his birdie response in the final round on 16 and 17 after the train wreck triple bogey on 15 that left him five shots back of Jason Dufner was the seminal statement of the event.  Coupled with the good fortune Dufner conveyed by going three over in the last four hole gauntlet at the Atlanta Athletic Club, there was little doubt going into the three-hole playoff who was going to prevail.  Dufner hit it to six feet on the first playoff hole and Bradley one-upped him by stuffing it even closer and making the putt for birdie and a one shot lead.  On 17 and 18 Bradley fearlessly ignored the more conservative approach and took dead aim at the flag clearing the water by just feet on both approach shots.  The resulting pars seemed to deflate Dufner’s resolve and it was just a cool walk to the trophy ceremony for Bradley from there.  It should not go unnoticed that Bradley beat a host of twenty-something American hopefuls to a first major victory-guys like Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney, Rickie Fowler and others who have gotten all the press as the next great American golfing hope.

Kudos to Jason Dufner who displayed almost equal resolve as a relative unknown coping with the pressure of leading a major on the final day.  He showed real class after fumbling the trophy down the stretch saying,  “I’m disappointed now but there are a lot of good things to take from this week……I know the media tries to define careers of certain players…you did this…you didn’t do that….I want to be as good as I can be.  If that is 20th in the world with no majors or first in the world with ten majors or never win a Tour Event, I’ll be fine with that.  Hat’s off to Keegan, he played great to get into the playoff and played great in the playoff. He deserved to win”.  This is a guy with his head on straight who will build a solid career on the tour because he has proper perspective and ambitious expectation at the same time.

On a lighter note, after it was said and done, Keegan Bradley tweeted the interested masses that he was celebrating with  “3 Bud Lights, Cereal, and P.P. & J.”.  I have a feeling that once the check clears the account he will be looking at a serious upgrade in his post victory celebrations in the future.

August, 2011

Golf Magazine Top 100 Courses 2011

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The lists of 100 best courses are compiled every year by a variety of golf magazines in a very subjective process so what makes the list is in the eye of the beholder. But no matter how you slice it for a course to appear on the list at all means they are in a very exclusive group and it is worth taking notice.

Golf Magazine came out with their top 100 for the year in the U.S. and the World and many of the household names still dominate the top ten. Pine Valley is at the top, Augusta, St. Andrews, Oakmont, and Muirfield and in the top ten. But what is more interesting is what new sites have been added to the list. Enjoy a look at some of the new entries shown below.

Tom Doak and Jim Urbina designed a seaside treat in Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes in Oregon a tribute to the great Charles Blair MacDonald who designed some of the most memorable courses in the Golden Age of American design of the 20’s and 30’s. This one was number 43 on the U.S. List.

Old Macdonald Bandon Dunes, Oregon (John Henebry)

At number 70 in the U.S. Fazio did a stunning course called Grozzer Ranch on the treed rocky bluffs overlooking Lake Coeur d’Alene in western Idaho. Here he employed some very imaginative design features that only enhance an already breathtaking visual golf experience.

Grozzer Ranch Coeur D

In Arkansas Tom Fazio did an Augusta National like gem called The Alotian that is number 76 on the U.S. best 100 on a rolling, wooded tract studded with azaleas in spring and an ambiance of relaxed exclusivity.

The Alotian Arkansas (Rob Brown)

Some design tweaking to Caves Valley Golf Course outside of Baltimore, Maryland moved this Fazio design onto the U.S. list at number 82. This was the site of a Walker Cup and a U.S. Senior Open in the last decade but the members have continued to put a concentrated effort into refining the course and made it into something special.

Caves Valley Owings Mills, Maryland (Larry Lambrecht)

Looking at this list makes you understand how much catching up there is to do if you intend to play a significant percentage of the greatest courses in the world. So start making plans!!!

(Click here to see Golf Magazine’ World 100 Best Courses for 2011)

(Click here to see Golf Magazine’s US 100 Best Courses for 2011)

August 2011

Waterloo

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Napoleon would have felt right at home today at the Atlanta Athletic Club for the second round of the PGA Championship. The 18th hole in particular was taking no prisoners. In the last hour and a half of the day Adam Scott, Angel Cabrera, Nick Whatney, Phil Mickelson, Matteo Manassero, and Gary Woodland (twice) all saw their momentum drown in a watery grave on their approach shots into the final green.

David Feherty asked the question of the day, doesn’t the PGA think that the final hole of their most important tournament of the year should actually be playable by the best players in the world. This one clearly is not. It wasn’t about the wind, it wasn’t about the pin, it was just that the driving area was so confined the players could not find the courage to hit a driver far enough up the hole to give themselves a manageable shot at the green. As hard as the hole was in 2001 when David Toms chose to lay up on his second shot and rely on a wedge to get up and down to beat Mickelson in the PGA it has clearly been ratcheted up a notch in Rees Jones’s latest upgrade of the course for this year’s event. Tom’s strategy may the play du jour for the next two days if guys are in the hunt.

Maybe the real secret today was being fortunate enough to play the back nine first because Dufner and Bradley, the current leaders, both played the front as their inward nine and seemed able to close out their rounds without blunting their momentum. They will not have that opportunity tomorrow and will have to face the terror of fifteen through eighteen with the full pressure of trying to hold the lead in a major. Climbing over the battle casualties in front of them could be a huge mental challenge in that stretch.

August 2011

Play It As It Lies

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Tom Doak at St. Andrews      (www.renaissancegolf.com)

As Tom Doak points out in this article about his approach to golf course design, the rules of the game state that a player must play the ball as it lies.

He would argue the same thing should apply to course architects-they should seek out the natural features of the land to decide how to design a particular hole and not add artificial elements simply to make a  hole more challenging or visual.

He asserts that the best golf course architects out there “route as many holes as possible whose main features already exist in the landscape, and accent their strategies without overkilling the number of hazards.”  The object should be to create holes that challenge a shotmaker to use his judgment to help him succeed not to overwhelm him with a challenge that has only one solution.

Too many designers get carried away with creating artificial challenges instead of studying all the facets of a hole site-topography, vegetation, prevailing wind direction, and the like to choreograph existing conditions to present a challenge that will require the proper combination judgement and shot execution.  The best part is that these holes look like they are a product of the natural environment not of the architect’s far fetched imagination.

Those who have seen or played Tom Doak designs like Beechtree Golf Club (of blessed memory) in Aberdeen, Md, Old Macdonald in Bandon Dunes, Atlantic City Country Club, Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand, or Ballyneal Golf Club in Colorado understand that Doak has created very dramatic and very challenging courses that have a visual appeal and character that look like a natural product of their surroundings.

In an age where name architects seem to be more concerned with expressing their vast ego in their designs or simply creating inordinate challenges to emasculate the best players, there is something to be said for this minimalist approach to course design.

(Click here to read Tom Doak’s article The Minimalist Manifesto)

Tom Doak

http://www.renaissancegolf.com

Who Is Waldo?

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Sally Jenkins appropriately poses the question, has Tiger lost his identity in trying to overhaul his game and his image?  And exactly what is he finding in this personal search and what are we finding out about him?

To us he remains insulated, overly analytic, and has “the same old glacial arrogance”.  Add to that, he looks bewildered, uncomfortable, rudderless, and basically without a clue.

To Tiger, what does he see? We don’t know. But, if you accept Sally’s reasoning in this article, the answers cannot be pleasing him if he has any sense at all of reality.

(Click here to read Sally Jenkin’s article on Tiger Woods)

Sally Jenkins

Washington Post

August, 2011

Mystic Rock-Nemacolin

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This Pete Dye creation is another addition to the death defying style courses that the man likes to create.  It reminds me very much of Bulle Rock which is of the same vintage.  Sweeping panoramic holes with big intimidation factors but really only moderate challenge when you strip away the veneer if you play at an appropriate tee length.  If you choose to play further back do so at your own peril since the difficulty notches up considerably.

This place was the home of the PGA Tour’s 84 Lumber Classic for a number of years and they did substantial renovation and redesign in 2004/2005 to meet the challenge and conditioning requirements of the tour.  The black tees measure a whopping 7550 yards with a slope of 152-if you do not have your name embroidered on your bag you have no business playing back there.

Tranquil 10th Green Par 4 (www.caddybytes.com)

The basic lay of the course is very characteristic of its surroundings-rolling terrain with dramatic vistas and more rocks then you can imagine in any stone quarry.  The rocks accent the water hazards-the forced carries, the tee boxes-even the outhouses.  The stone budget alone would have built most courses in the sixties.

Signature Boulders 16th Hole Par 5 (www.caddybytes.com)

The green arrangements are really challenging.  Most involve a dramatic approach but all have bail out areas and alternate routes for the player not up for that challenge.  Lots of undulations, a few buried pacaderms, and, though some of the greens are in the 50 yard long range, you never get much depth to shoot at so you have to pay attention to the approach angles.

Tough Carry into 12th Par 3 (www.caddybytes.com)

The driving is the most challenging aspect of the course.  Wayward ones pay the ultimate price-re-teeing-but even the one that is slightly off line will make the approach to the green considerably more difficult.  You must pay attention to the hazards in the driving areas-if you have the nerve to play adjacent to them you will have a much easier approach at the flag.  At 6300 you do not need to jack them long-normal drives will leave you medium to short irons.  But the green sets will make you concentrate on those approach shots because there are some huge bunkers, swales, and even an occasional hazard you do not want to visit if par is your goal.

Farmington, Pennsylvania

Architect: Pete Dye-1997

Tees    Par   Rating    Slope    Yardage

Blue     72     73.8       138         6791

White   72     71.6       137         6313

(Click to see complete Mystic Rock hole-by-hole descriptions)

The Last Laugh

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In the aftermath of Adam Scott’s impressive win in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone CBS did the rarest of things, they decided to interview the winning caddy.  So Stevie Williams had a microphone in front of him and a world wide audience to which to crow that of the 140+ wins he has had as a caddie, 13 of them majors with Tiger Woods, “this is the most satisfying win I have ever had, there’s no two ways about it”.

His guy played flawlessly today with four birdies on the back side posting the low score of the final round and there is little doubt that Stevie was the elixir that kept Scott relaxed and focused helping him hold off a horde of young talent nipping at his heels.  Williams is one of the most accomplished caddies in the modern era, having worked successfully with Greg Norman, Raymond Floyd, and Mr. Woods and deserves a good deal of credit for helping Scott get to the finish line with the championship in hand.

While Scott was blistering the field with 21 birdies and only 4 bogies over four days, Tiger only broke par the first day and had 11 bogies and 2 doubles on the way to a mundane T-37 in the event, a full 18 shots behind Scott’s winning score of 17 under.  Tiger’s driving accuracy was 76th in the field of 76 and his putts per round stat was T43rd-not the winning combination he was looking for in his first competitive appearance in three months.

But I doubt that it was his role in Scott’s competitive revival that Stevie was referring to as the source of his satisfaction today.  He was clearly taking great pleasure in thumbing his nose at his former employer as if to say to Tiger, that hill you have to climb is going to be much steeper without me by your side.

The $140,000 share Stevie gets from this win will certainly make the steak taste very savory tonight, but I think it is the just desserts delivered to Tiger’s table that will sustain that sly grin on Stevie’s face for a good long while.

August, 2011