tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-204128962024-03-12T18:47:03.855-07:00Playing the Top 100 Golf Courses in The WorldHaving played the top 100 courses in the world I now have a new quest. To survive cancer and continue my golfing journey.Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.comBlogger232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-34970659799368543142023-03-05T06:13:00.048-08:002023-06-18T11:23:57.733-07:00Dumbarnie Links<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8rHx7qvhUxZiht45uzPmuDgBiG3AxGMF8De4ygAerpylhQSUlhZaE-PSICEeTvUh0yVw3nkz8CMCyI3Cig3uFIErEZBS53wkbA1_RqgzTq4NCC2oaEH0NPOoFdd_Tt82_DUy8gs9czlLWSCZLUAjDt5s9ss3kQ8U9JNm0c_hte-7n2vyRTA/s400/logo400x294.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="400" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8rHx7qvhUxZiht45uzPmuDgBiG3AxGMF8De4ygAerpylhQSUlhZaE-PSICEeTvUh0yVw3nkz8CMCyI3Cig3uFIErEZBS53wkbA1_RqgzTq4NCC2oaEH0NPOoFdd_Tt82_DUy8gs9czlLWSCZLUAjDt5s9ss3kQ8U9JNm0c_hte-7n2vyRTA/s320/logo400x294.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>I finally made it to Dumbarnie Links in the Kingdom of Fife, twenty minutes south of St. Andrews. I was originally scheduled to play shortly after the course opened in 2020 but covid had other designs on those plans. After countless reschedules and false starts I finally teed it up, and it was certainly worth the wait.<div><br /></div><div>Dumbarnie was designed by Clive Clark, a former professional golfer who played on the G B & I Walker Cup and Ryder Cup teams and finished third in the 1967 British Open tied with Gary Player, behind only the winner Roberto De Vicenzo and Jack Nicklaus. Clark was also the head professional at Sunningdale in the 1970s and '80s. He has done golf course architecture for decades and was a partner with Peter Alliss for many years jointly designing courses. Clark has thirty-five courses to his credit, but by far Dumbarnie is his crown jewel. Clark's design philosophy from his website, "We strive to frame holes, enhance their artistic and playable value and breathe life into them, expertly crafting balance, personality and a sense of spirit and soul." That certainly is a mouthful in terms of design philosophy.</div><div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbrfhkKtHwsuvHWc8UbTNjP6_SdjvlV-2C2SQMrVdkhOu6qakgnqG6e-CelMcYRvFuIhbs7n2V7UdSpuwhZMeg0_H6nDUHJ4WAcU2LSAVsrZ_frWZJwGS1ruI5oip0-moe_fR3c7mTgMf3vr4OimogPu9sLEzV4ZqZCudpyiMEMtxks4UVg/s1920/Dumbarni%201st%20tee.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbrfhkKtHwsuvHWc8UbTNjP6_SdjvlV-2C2SQMrVdkhOu6qakgnqG6e-CelMcYRvFuIhbs7n2V7UdSpuwhZMeg0_H6nDUHJ4WAcU2LSAVsrZ_frWZJwGS1ruI5oip0-moe_fR3c7mTgMf3vr4OimogPu9sLEzV4ZqZCudpyiMEMtxks4UVg/w640-h426/Dumbarni%201st%20tee.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> The striking setting of the 1st tee shot at Dumbarnie sets the tone for the day</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dumbarnie offers a unique starting proposition, a shot of Scotch whisky on the first tee for all players! After drinking a wee dram the golfer is presented with a striking first hole. The fairway on the first hole, like on the entire course, is a generous one. It is a relatively easy hole tee to green provided you miss the burn that snakes down the left side and separates the green from the fairway.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_xA23TmetpDn4jENeKfR3tlL_P5eKKYjXK-uC9pNW9e-J2XzACUj3cv5uMovWFpHpgbjvREwvyuqoV-dE8JvigtGMJU0AhxIs6FOfc0HTIFdvhGbkMzY0zHpGwcDwdG-k2YY9SLmiyls7lS5GOisEdXl0v2T2R9fnWHxrG-d3PKY86OuSA/s1920/Dumbarnie%202nd.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_xA23TmetpDn4jENeKfR3tlL_P5eKKYjXK-uC9pNW9e-J2XzACUj3cv5uMovWFpHpgbjvREwvyuqoV-dE8JvigtGMJU0AhxIs6FOfc0HTIFdvhGbkMzY0zHpGwcDwdG-k2YY9SLmiyls7lS5GOisEdXl0v2T2R9fnWHxrG-d3PKY86OuSA/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%202nd.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>Dumbarnie's 2nd, a par five of 569 yards</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The second hole also has the burn running through it, creating two distinct sections to the fairway and it also separates the green from the fairway. The punch bowl style green is artfully framed by sand dunes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dumbarnie is built on a massive 345 acres set on two different levels, connected by a steep slope joining the lower to the upper. Like its neighbor Kingsbarns, Dumbarie is a man made creation, sculpted by Clark and his team, rather than being entirely natural. Just like at Kingsbarns, the result is a delight. I am not a stringent unyielding purist who thinks that only courses built on entirely natural land forms are worthy ones. The course is both visually stunning and bewitching.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSV83WYXRbmBIybwZ5RFrbadm1NnTTqTnpnstv7hij_qjxXpeyuci-zeQm-ax4nDkYvHdzlCLmmf8JzJHDm0IYCuYmf0sI_9ClwoSLoJHnLe4Ep4W7dIZiu6zAJyW8DWfRXRrTAV2hX7066NiCONbgtmUtE001MHRdsLwUy3n5ZfAXfRQe7g/s1920/Dumbarnie%203rd%20from%20tee.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSV83WYXRbmBIybwZ5RFrbadm1NnTTqTnpnstv7hij_qjxXpeyuci-zeQm-ax4nDkYvHdzlCLmmf8JzJHDm0IYCuYmf0sI_9ClwoSLoJHnLe4Ep4W7dIZiu6zAJyW8DWfRXRrTAV2hX7066NiCONbgtmUtE001MHRdsLwUy3n5ZfAXfRQe7g/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%203rd%20from%20tee.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>Dumbarnie's 3rd hole from the tee</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The third hole, a par four, plays from an elevated tee and is a dog-leg to the left. It creates an interesting risk-reward decision early in the round as you decide how much of the corner to cut. The green is very well protected by dunes, tiny pot bunkers and a large sandy bunker short left.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNE_T5T1LpepAJaI2I7WUnna8KLPDekkBOisrCGAxREO2w7TB27LiSEIkcOnYlgopCLbc9JYg3pPtaUmHsP7XiMOwxjQIlBkZPXA0xUFTaSl7v-m9_4gYR7DTBP6Qz-gp1A8N_anA5MLLn5pFUc7V8pujbK37tzpcfHta0mX9pN9WwA-HTtw/s1920/Dumbarnie%20approach%20to%203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNE_T5T1LpepAJaI2I7WUnna8KLPDekkBOisrCGAxREO2w7TB27LiSEIkcOnYlgopCLbc9JYg3pPtaUmHsP7XiMOwxjQIlBkZPXA0xUFTaSl7v-m9_4gYR7DTBP6Qz-gp1A8N_anA5MLLn5pFUc7V8pujbK37tzpcfHta0mX9pN9WwA-HTtw/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%20approach%20to%203.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A closeup view of the third green from the fairway</i></div></i><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8BxmCzPRNUHkJr5Y6xYGTFehBgWuPBthLwT4vCsTjdWGDDSE9i1LvQqAIUNbeLzNQMPT0YPic707ao6FaI-2Wk9xwAnM4_YhYKY9tIpRANPQKCXCqSpZf8YRRm9VEadFtakxE9-_zX_ETBDC5B7eF67kT_G4hYRobE4HGLVpciEakrhKtg/s1920/Dumbarnie%206th%20par%203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8BxmCzPRNUHkJr5Y6xYGTFehBgWuPBthLwT4vCsTjdWGDDSE9i1LvQqAIUNbeLzNQMPT0YPic707ao6FaI-2Wk9xwAnM4_YhYKY9tIpRANPQKCXCqSpZf8YRRm9VEadFtakxE9-_zX_ETBDC5B7eF67kT_G4hYRobE4HGLVpciEakrhKtg/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%206th%20par%203.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>Dumbarnie's Par 3 6th</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The sixth, a downhill par three of long iron-hybrid length has a sparkling view of the Largo Bay with the Firth of Forth and views to North Berwick and Edinburgh in the far distance. It is said that the course offers water views from every hole and it probably does, although on some holes you have to turn around to see the water because they play away from it. Thirteen holes play directly towards the water, more than any course I can recall. The setting is an enchanting one, part of a larger 5,000 acre estate that has been in the same family for 400 years. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64daPErRX5wSNvH3Ui3IAxH5PJDl-mssl526WJAHtIOIH9-gWfHAy7mDIu-4Te40aS3zshY8Tw4reMR3V08XPiDKS5SRFLG0-ILeTXfyceBmHbT2H93MoFRfbEwfA8ynFO2DBWup5QN-Jy9Bf7AS35MzvYzRpS3bRVa5cdmgqN-xTNneWxA/s1920/Dumbarnie%207th%20approach%20to%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64daPErRX5wSNvH3Ui3IAxH5PJDl-mssl526WJAHtIOIH9-gWfHAy7mDIu-4Te40aS3zshY8Tw4reMR3V08XPiDKS5SRFLG0-ILeTXfyceBmHbT2H93MoFRfbEwfA8ynFO2DBWup5QN-Jy9Bf7AS35MzvYzRpS3bRVa5cdmgqN-xTNneWxA/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%207th%20approach%20to%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Dumbarnie's 7th hole, approach to the green</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The seventh, the second par five on the front nine, begins the transition away from the coastal holes to the holes set on a higher plateau. The hole isn't overly taxing provided you avoid that pot bunker seen in the middle of the picture, which is 50 yards short of the green.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfAQyPUtyhKq4NExgZcPCw4MVXIGFdjxeuPRjYr-NAw15zoThkSd_R1QJtB66eHSxWbSlWya72MGBc2SdmIueyOgrq_esmqwLDoL8QB8ZtKe6TsEyqFlqe5MIkXrYZD7QL03iG_ncxrBdTzyQ1lP_ySj21jqHtIZu64-lD9ZV6zTyQ4pSFw/s1920/Dumbarnie%20view%20off%207.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfAQyPUtyhKq4NExgZcPCw4MVXIGFdjxeuPRjYr-NAw15zoThkSd_R1QJtB66eHSxWbSlWya72MGBc2SdmIueyOgrq_esmqwLDoL8QB8ZtKe6TsEyqFlqe5MIkXrYZD7QL03iG_ncxrBdTzyQ1lP_ySj21jqHtIZu64-lD9ZV6zTyQ4pSFw/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%20view%20off%207.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In addition to impressive water views throughout, the countryside of Leven, where the course is located, is also charming. This view is on the left side of the seventh fairway</i></div></i><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWxMHvQxxXXm2_zM0_r9ircXyuEcxCC99E_oZEY7EClGvcA6p-fgw80nH2SUA5qdvdCf31_4uHGvD7CPCxx9oauMYr_HDoet8pI-dxYyJSzn14C4bBQOp1UjZpRpUP7ggkS4WfCowZFap4zggy-id-RlCu6qfnQB3yYlmowcumu1f8QJuQg/s1920/Dumbarnie%20Par%203%208th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWxMHvQxxXXm2_zM0_r9ircXyuEcxCC99E_oZEY7EClGvcA6p-fgw80nH2SUA5qdvdCf31_4uHGvD7CPCxx9oauMYr_HDoet8pI-dxYyJSzn14C4bBQOp1UjZpRpUP7ggkS4WfCowZFap4zggy-id-RlCu6qfnQB3yYlmowcumu1f8QJuQg/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%20Par%203%208th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>The perfectly situated par three 8th hole</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The 8th is a beautifully framed par three, consistent with Clark's philosophy of framing holes and giving them spirit and soul. I frankly don't care whether all this was created by the gods and discovered by the architect or entirely sculpted by bulldozers. The end result is the same. Malcolm Campbell, who wrote a book identifying what makes a course a true links course, has given the thumbs up to Dumbarnie. It is in fact one of only 247 true links courses in the world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The 8th personifies Dumbarnie more than any other hole and highlights Clark's self proclaimed title of "an artist among golf course designers." The hole is of short to mid iron length and the green is narrow and well bunkered. Jack Nicklaus isn't a fan of elevated fairways or greens and it seems neither is Clark, most tee shots and shots to the par threes play down hill.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Completely by chance I met Clive Clark while coming off the 18th green and had a chat with him about his design philosophy. Above all he wants golfers to have fun and to enjoy themselves, and his creation here delivers in spades. More designers should adopt this philosophy, which is ultimately why we play the game, as opposed to getting too caught up in golf architecture snobbery and looking down on new courses not done by the latest in vogue architects. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1ZF7rwMO5rtoNLIziTbXveGUjfJ7Hh0L20ThjUxTrR9tnEDEPWlGMQRrF_8MsczfiQ9AUxtM5JZLuIJjGpIN89kkZRM9HNCkI1xvhw6AqDpOMUT-7dYITN0dIpgNMOhXQYSkvcDdpx_QrbjJiKTOql2Ra8JO000wAsF-aErZcefa49ao7g/s1920/Dumbarnie%2011th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1ZF7rwMO5rtoNLIziTbXveGUjfJ7Hh0L20ThjUxTrR9tnEDEPWlGMQRrF_8MsczfiQ9AUxtM5JZLuIJjGpIN89kkZRM9HNCkI1xvhw6AqDpOMUT-7dYITN0dIpgNMOhXQYSkvcDdpx_QrbjJiKTOql2Ra8JO000wAsF-aErZcefa49ao7g/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%2011th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>Dumbarnie's 11th green</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The 11th is another short risk-reward par four, only 294 yards, protected by a swale in front of the green and a two tiered putting surface. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8Vb7NVOEZizI-cwDgwPZr-TnkV5KiTdy0SFg6kM_gTyLuutkAUB2E5Mflc-ZeDRRlRq8JW-oF0nzwRL4dRiq2BZ_GeAOFk6CfLhQegDD9GTTN3uWHS-utsXBFUyP_yl4r9tmMZtHIiAd0sY3XnZ6oQHJOrvilgOUyh2HBnav0WuTfdqwqQ/s1920/Dumbarnie%2017th%20off%20tee.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8Vb7NVOEZizI-cwDgwPZr-TnkV5KiTdy0SFg6kM_gTyLuutkAUB2E5Mflc-ZeDRRlRq8JW-oF0nzwRL4dRiq2BZ_GeAOFk6CfLhQegDD9GTTN3uWHS-utsXBFUyP_yl4r9tmMZtHIiAd0sY3XnZ6oQHJOrvilgOUyh2HBnav0WuTfdqwqQ/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%2017th%20off%20tee.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The 17th off the tee</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The seventeenth hole is far and away the best one on the course. There is a 300-year old farmer's stone wall running through the property that Clark took exceptional advantage of. The hole plays 358 yards from the black tees and you can choose to either hit very safely to an elevated fairway left off the tee, or you can try to carry the stone wall and a myriad of tall grasses and gorse to attempt the hero shot.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAAgf0HInIf00mLD2uqJGITwjyZXClauAN8GNfZHn2bCn5KE-UAM3FIM62Mfl2ll8YZqt_xYRecKNtTyZeZD2GdJzCoa7V2NVk7tKoCcrNA7909gHwvBLvCiXx8eW8eo8iMP3FRceObg4YozpoFpSa0TVINGmVjQyrotQyuZ_6Ov4qR5LPw/s1920/Dumbarnie%2017th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAAgf0HInIf00mLD2uqJGITwjyZXClauAN8GNfZHn2bCn5KE-UAM3FIM62Mfl2ll8YZqt_xYRecKNtTyZeZD2GdJzCoa7V2NVk7tKoCcrNA7909gHwvBLvCiXx8eW8eo8iMP3FRceObg4YozpoFpSa0TVINGmVjQyrotQyuZ_6Ov4qR5LPw/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%2017th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>The 17th as seen from safe fairway area to the left</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">I played it safe and to the left which is why I was able to capture these pictures. My playing partners all tried to carry the wall and the hazards into the wind. Their shots were less than ideal which gave me plenty of time to snap lots of pictures. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8eRfZbX5sA0GCK-9q3q-yRz3o_lGVoKFnFHPevL7opSv1Zh_pveAsk5CBLDs4IFmS420nu97u1pCyZj9S3imppH-tQbcdg_UCHZtlpiqDvE8W79WQypvxuBCmkbr4Xu8C4Oiw0S1u8t-3FpZSAuAhRDOFoolYvFPz4PWg7EQvFB0tv22Sw/s1920/Dumbarnie%2017%20view%20to%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8eRfZbX5sA0GCK-9q3q-yRz3o_lGVoKFnFHPevL7opSv1Zh_pveAsk5CBLDs4IFmS420nu97u1pCyZj9S3imppH-tQbcdg_UCHZtlpiqDvE8W79WQypvxuBCmkbr4Xu8C4Oiw0S1u8t-3FpZSAuAhRDOFoolYvFPz4PWg7EQvFB0tv22Sw/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%2017%20view%20to%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The 17th, approach to green</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The pot bunker seen in the foreground is 35 yards from the green, leaving a demanding sand shot to the elevated green. From tee the green the hole offers scores of strategic playing options.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwAl3vfFrdxPU069xBM2kf_ZlOI6Mt0gi97CYIFGl1G-sz9Aa17tC7eWUGcybWw5SIucmokEk5eH-y7bxoYcG92UpGqOiMskzOtI2n-Paay0ZwZ4bbCDeKGQUCsjjsmZcZh-AJ-l5j8Ob_uaz5m4x9tvbKZAjssdR_m_2f--22Nl9EfYzHA/s1920/Dumbarnie%2017%20close%20to%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwAl3vfFrdxPU069xBM2kf_ZlOI6Mt0gi97CYIFGl1G-sz9Aa17tC7eWUGcybWw5SIucmokEk5eH-y7bxoYcG92UpGqOiMskzOtI2n-Paay0ZwZ4bbCDeKGQUCsjjsmZcZh-AJ-l5j8Ob_uaz5m4x9tvbKZAjssdR_m_2f--22Nl9EfYzHA/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%2017%20close%20to%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The 17th, approach to the green up close</i></div></i><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3TWWybA4ExYZGSMjNcq5D624zedwNWfR6vAgd2mBGfLelVpYgUo4oKu7PdmbQxMZozgkmNmCJ5HItwclU-BHnY6p8hrHJtMPUGdhTzRc1ww0qLVgRHiYWsTsPuoG-qQCCgLII0BSCUweepVIM2aabzJMYlU3oojnpHaY-B7WOnoczFai4Q/s1920/Dumbarnie%20clubhouse.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3TWWybA4ExYZGSMjNcq5D624zedwNWfR6vAgd2mBGfLelVpYgUo4oKu7PdmbQxMZozgkmNmCJ5HItwclU-BHnY6p8hrHJtMPUGdhTzRc1ww0qLVgRHiYWsTsPuoG-qQCCgLII0BSCUweepVIM2aabzJMYlU3oojnpHaY-B7WOnoczFai4Q/w640-h426/Dumbarnie%20clubhouse.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The clubhouse at Dumbarnie</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At first glance the clubhouse at Dumbarnie is totally out of character with Scotland and specifically with traditional clubhouses you see in Great Britain. This is true. The beauty is felt once you are inside. The clubhouse is not meant to look pretty or traditional from the outside, but to offer outstanding views to the course, the firth and beyond. It is a great to sit inside after the round to savor the experience, as is sitting outside the clubhouse in the beautiful Scottish sunshine. I went from being a critic of the clubhouse to really liking it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aPAwGI2iH0hPpOcNyhpHMpV4WJj0MtZGJlWGgPL2pltWmTt9MaVy_un9eD4reptPPisdLNg_06l8u2qR722MkxzhrZMudGPqFhK2qC8LNgnH5lg1BnAUKTUjH2ACHkzMUUm1Rl0ne5SQNhM3PMRB3JyNTUOloNEHmMrOyg70R_10N4BAlg/s1440/Revised_Master_Plan_Oct_2019(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="1440" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aPAwGI2iH0hPpOcNyhpHMpV4WJj0MtZGJlWGgPL2pltWmTt9MaVy_un9eD4reptPPisdLNg_06l8u2qR722MkxzhrZMudGPqFhK2qC8LNgnH5lg1BnAUKTUjH2ACHkzMUUm1Rl0ne5SQNhM3PMRB3JyNTUOloNEHmMrOyg70R_10N4BAlg/w640-h440/Revised_Master_Plan_Oct_2019(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The routing of Dumbarnie</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The course routing graphic above shows how artfully it was done. Take a closer look and you will find no two consecutive holes play in the same direction. In fact, you will have to work hard to find any two holes that play along the same point of the compass. This is a welcome break and was a real juxtaposition after playing traditional courses such as North Berwick on this trip where we had 3-4 holes, sometimes more, in the same direction playing into the wind, which grind a golfer down. In this regard Dumbarnie is better than nearly Kingsbarns, which I also love, however, having just played it with a wind coming off the water, there were no downwind or upwind holes. Every hole played into a cross wind because the holes run parallel to the water. Castle Stuart similarly has holes that run largely parallel to the water. The routing at Dumbarnie, like that at Carnoustie, is something special with its continual change in direction.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dumbarnie is the 35th course I have played in Scotland and I thank god in all his grace for allowing me to get past most of my health issues to be healthy enough to enjoy so much of what is good in life and to do so with my friends.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I reflect back on my favorite courses in Scotland and try to rank them, it always turns into a fool's errand. Hide the women and children before you look at what I wrote here, because you will find it appalling that the Old Course at St. Andrews isn't anywhere to be found. Sorry, I just don't like it. Cruden Bay would be at the top of my list, followed by North Berwick and Prestwick. I love the old school courses with blind shots and quirkiness. Carnoustie would make the top five. I love the routing and the variety of holes, and the difficult finish. Despite the current owner Turnberry would be next, followed by the triumvirate of new courses Castle Stuart, Dumbarnie, and Kingsbarns. Loch Lomond would be in the top ten even though it has had issues with the location it was built on and is by no means a traditional Scottish course. And Dornoch has to be in any top ten in the country. Such a list in inevitably misleading because when I rank my top 50 courses in the world, all of these also make the cut, a testament to how strong the golf in Scotland is.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div>Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-43891772031175480322023-02-05T07:03:00.001-08:002023-02-05T07:03:00.167-08:00Silloth-on-Solway - England's Cruden Bay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBaapXOmwUkgHhrgCCe6DAt26WlzRzbu4J2vcm2TJ0xEpuJCsLtnLN9THl1K4K2Lc1Y8ByyH8mNVwPQVpyHrjhFP2gcL84Kz3Fxbcx2iXKB_kLq8ZtTV41FJ9OkhMwM3rf4Dg0lIh3cCwwtWv_tSE0fh5QC2MpR58Qh5DsLDyTZHtDrifdA/s1920/Silloth%20Clubhouse.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBaapXOmwUkgHhrgCCe6DAt26WlzRzbu4J2vcm2TJ0xEpuJCsLtnLN9THl1K4K2Lc1Y8ByyH8mNVwPQVpyHrjhFP2gcL84Kz3Fxbcx2iXKB_kLq8ZtTV41FJ9OkhMwM3rf4Dg0lIh3cCwwtWv_tSE0fh5QC2MpR58Qh5DsLDyTZHtDrifdA/w640-h426/Silloth%20Clubhouse.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><i>The clubhouse at Silloth with the Union Jack at half mast to mark the Queen's passing</i></p><p>America has some phonetic place names that roll off the tongue in a lyrical manner: Tucumcari, Sheboygan, Walla Walla, Valparaiso, Kokomo, and Ronkonkoma come to mind. They not only mark a location on the map, but conjure up images in the wandering mind of far off places that an itinerant traveler would love to see one day (although from personal experience I can tell you there is no need to visit Ronkonkoma). Many were taken from Native American names and are rhapsodic. </p><p>While America has some amusing locales, the mother ship remains England. After all, a land that produced Shakespeare, Milton, and Chaucer has a birthright in the field of toponymy. The upstart colony can’t compete with a country that has towns named Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Virginia Water, Barrow-in-Furness, Preston-under-Scar, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Goring-by-Sea, Wells-next-the-Sea, and Branksome Chine. Many of these towns take their name from a mixture of Old English and Old Norse, and in my view they can’t be beat.</p><p>Okay, enough of the diversion, back to the topic at hand, which is golf, and specifically a new find called Silloth-on-Solway. What? Another one of those barmy place names. Silloth means roughly “sea barn,” and Solway is the body of water the town is located on, as in Solway Firth, part of the Irish Sea. The golf course is located directly on the Firth with clear views across the water to Scotland, with the rounded peaks of the Galloway Hills in the Southern Highlands only eight miles away. The area has been designed by the government as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.</p><p>Sandwiched above the Lake District of England, with its sweeping views of the Cumbrian Mountains, and below the Scottish Borders region, Silloth is not a course you happen upon by chance. Located almost three hours from Prestwick to the north or two and a half from Royal Birkdale to the south, this is destination golf. Silloth had its heyday during the Victorian Era, when it was a beach holiday town. </p><p>Even when you are intent on finding Silloth-on-Solway, it is a challenge, as the course is hidden behind the town. The GPS system on our car couldn't find Silloth and left us on a dirt path near the outskirts of the course. You have to take a circuitous route to finally get to the clubhouse, which is located behind an industrial park. </p><p>I have yet to find a Willie Park, Jr. designed golf course I didn’t like. I went out of my way to play at Silloth because I love Park’s designs at Sunningdale and Maidstone. It was also recommended by three golf aficionados whose opinions I trust, beginning with Ran Morrissett who wrote an enticing profile on Golf Club Atlas, albeit it accompanied by some dated pictures. Another motivator was the fact that Darius Oliver included the course as one of the top 100 courses outside the United States in his <i>Planet Golf </i>book, where we writes glowingly about the course, “Silloth is less conventional and full of hidden greens, blind driving zones, large central hills that obscure targets on par fives and small plateau greens on long, downwind par threes . . . golf at its most raw and the game is poorer for the fact that courses like this are no longer being built.” Finally, my friend Fergal O’Leary, implores rabid golfers to visit, “PLEASE GO TO SILLOTH! You’ll be immensely rewarded! I will forever vote this course comfortably within the Top 100 courses in the World.”</p><p>I took Fergal’s advice and went to Silloth and was indeed rewarded. It has one of the best opening stretches of any golf course in the world.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhulWe7kVesxXxUaEiZmH044VclNwnx9gt5sK3edGWVPqug44YLHiU8qRCXjVTOCs-B_pnptHRwQA6Zl0WHu5jTu1AgrcCcYcpXYCaZq1soVGnn0j5OLqORZ7hhmpZwbY17BGk_6PdN49RSlAmyPvegt5ooExrL3NbfoUdAwAMi0WgPWpkBA/s1920/Silloth%201st%20Fairway.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhulWe7kVesxXxUaEiZmH044VclNwnx9gt5sK3edGWVPqug44YLHiU8qRCXjVTOCs-B_pnptHRwQA6Zl0WHu5jTu1AgrcCcYcpXYCaZq1soVGnn0j5OLqORZ7hhmpZwbY17BGk_6PdN49RSlAmyPvegt5ooExrL3NbfoUdAwAMi0WgPWpkBA/w640-h426/Silloth%201st%20Fairway.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The 1st fairway to Silloth</i></div><p>You know Silloth is going to be different right from the get go. The picture above shows the first fairway with its natural undulations among the dunes. The approach on the first green is blind with a long pole sticking up so you have an aiming point. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNF8gx2GBApzohKx9aGHzGZtPFoqs4ZtHskYNjuxQfGIy1fGdgk1KJoQ0eZo0seoXnSM0VVvvTN6Kk-3sBJoO5UH-_ja731y6limCZVkmUdX8TfZTF-KvIHLj9n1SROtbOqEP9Vil4SFNxxcJC8INIUEbcX4r0c24W_oWmtFP61O2kDx2rVA/s1920/Silloth%201st%20green%20looking%20from%202nd%20tee.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNF8gx2GBApzohKx9aGHzGZtPFoqs4ZtHskYNjuxQfGIy1fGdgk1KJoQ0eZo0seoXnSM0VVvvTN6Kk-3sBJoO5UH-_ja731y6limCZVkmUdX8TfZTF-KvIHLj9n1SROtbOqEP9Vil4SFNxxcJC8INIUEbcX4r0c24W_oWmtFP61O2kDx2rVA/w640-h426/Silloth%201st%20green%20looking%20from%202nd%20tee.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The 1st green at Silloth set among the sand dunes</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first green at Silloth is a "Dell," green. Dell greens take their name from the original par-3 5th hole at Lahinch, and they are holes almost completely surrounded by dunes with only a small portion visible to the unwary golfer trying to hit the green from the fairway (or tee). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The 2nd, a par four of only 315 yards, plays from an elevated tee and the green is also of the Dell variety. The image below also shows off the other ubiquitous feature of Silloth, namely its abundance of gorse bushes. The course is routed among sand dunes topped with gorse.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht0Gr_RAWQTVIfothpIt6aERQmh8RqOg--F3wQ99bl55o-W8mUjLkbox2jJtOFv1VOJxuEc5gA4Nxr4bA3153C3qxd93Eb49ojG1MV5z5tIqtIWIQbxFqYnVY4JWQ50D27fvbzwNMV5fYIVsg4inPi2SUvuxTF1MW59NaJGgo43yHkSbmApw/s1920/Silloth%202nd%20from%20tee.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht0Gr_RAWQTVIfothpIt6aERQmh8RqOg--F3wQ99bl55o-W8mUjLkbox2jJtOFv1VOJxuEc5gA4Nxr4bA3153C3qxd93Eb49ojG1MV5z5tIqtIWIQbxFqYnVY4JWQ50D27fvbzwNMV5fYIVsg4inPi2SUvuxTF1MW59NaJGgo43yHkSbmApw/w640-h426/Silloth%202nd%20from%20tee.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>Silloth's difficult to hit 2nd fairway</i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAqkv8mT11g_EVh2TZnuzlzuIWpN0Hhg8Vb7-ZQk_6WdPm5z89dOqpD5o-RtfGlOSEGTEwmnUkDnNNuYr6-EqvxS_yzqiOwtLEcNuQfKhlEa3_3B8JdzeRejjm_goUxAPsZgkO02-n2m4H7k1Jucsy83oC9uH2amc1HzZQ3JSXcbIucFc0w/s1920/Silloth%202nd%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAqkv8mT11g_EVh2TZnuzlzuIWpN0Hhg8Vb7-ZQk_6WdPm5z89dOqpD5o-RtfGlOSEGTEwmnUkDnNNuYr6-EqvxS_yzqiOwtLEcNuQfKhlEa3_3B8JdzeRejjm_goUxAPsZgkO02-n2m4H7k1Jucsy83oC9uH2amc1HzZQ3JSXcbIucFc0w/w640-h426/Silloth%202nd%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>The 2nd green, like the 1st, is set among the dunes</i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mnNoX_CHVyQFLiMRlY55bEiiVIDa585NxFjW0_d6CC0z-1Iqe0Tu9qGkqQtZVFeI9VsqlnJerrn3JWX9ZyV8-4DxhlRto4WeRQj27N3l69pggA5YWJLqU0mLDmF2576FHrV3IPJy-1TFtlbQd7Wm_TMHBjfab95rs5pMTNcf06N5fV-iCg/s1920/Silloth%203rd%20tee%20from%20observation%20tower.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mnNoX_CHVyQFLiMRlY55bEiiVIDa585NxFjW0_d6CC0z-1Iqe0Tu9qGkqQtZVFeI9VsqlnJerrn3JWX9ZyV8-4DxhlRto4WeRQj27N3l69pggA5YWJLqU0mLDmF2576FHrV3IPJy-1TFtlbQd7Wm_TMHBjfab95rs5pMTNcf06N5fV-iCg/w640-h426/Silloth%203rd%20tee%20from%20observation%20tower.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The winding 3rd fairway to Silloth, set among the healthy gorse bushes</i></div><p>The third hole is a dogleg left with a wildly undulating fairway--you won't find many flat lies on the course--set between two lines of dunes. The image above was taken from the top of an observation ladder you climb to see if the coast is clear, because it is yet again another blind shot. You can start to get a sense of why I called Silloth England's Cruden Bay, because of its abundance of blind shots and because of its routing among the dunes. The unconventional course is rough and tumble with a sense of spirit that is rare to find in golf.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPlsHiC6AJcKfJ_1CEhB_ynPHCtPhyeAigTGBVtpHuiU5Qy5ko9HZB-PhYMIuhW_pvIXjIP84gCNcsuEl_3FDgYGqNx1_o3d8SnXpMzzOfNIy9j8jerGpN3daldu171SSnhuHYkZKcsdaJa3RqSA5gcoxFZ9_ZPwmEVqH-lxXYw-H_uqkWw/s1920/Silloth%203rd%20fairway.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPlsHiC6AJcKfJ_1CEhB_ynPHCtPhyeAigTGBVtpHuiU5Qy5ko9HZB-PhYMIuhW_pvIXjIP84gCNcsuEl_3FDgYGqNx1_o3d8SnXpMzzOfNIy9j8jerGpN3daldu171SSnhuHYkZKcsdaJa3RqSA5gcoxFZ9_ZPwmEVqH-lxXYw-H_uqkWw/w640-h426/Silloth%203rd%20fairway.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The 3rd fairway at Silloth, note the zany fairway humps and another aiming pole in the distance for your approach to the green</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGb1GRNuATgka-KGfihkyAGEwhtVkgJcLLhq4IiDXo0w18pFF-wpp1hnYp5-QdQagY_SkZ0rSySVn_MJbt2bk7ciGzbYNP65hWbUD5eY61b_LvjwCA4g7SaKiZWUXG4nar1mCfNxIZYOHxtw1BST65FZyzrBzSAGMu1kfUCuvkZc0EjdC_w/s1920/Silloth%203rd%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGb1GRNuATgka-KGfihkyAGEwhtVkgJcLLhq4IiDXo0w18pFF-wpp1hnYp5-QdQagY_SkZ0rSySVn_MJbt2bk7ciGzbYNP65hWbUD5eY61b_LvjwCA4g7SaKiZWUXG4nar1mCfNxIZYOHxtw1BST65FZyzrBzSAGMu1kfUCuvkZc0EjdC_w/w640-h426/Silloth%203rd%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The elevated third green requires the golfer to hit a precision shot to carry a swale in front</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHp7junSAIFktUxlasHq0kl38KCyAo5pT6c9tIm6dLLhQT-YFSOQvo_OSwyc9_dymGp0DxjT5zuUMrSik5zUWAukLHpRTSvuO9NnLx91V4zg6pCd6Qa_pclU6s8RgbfJNXcncSS5G6B9fJR1RrzhYkE4kIizb6z35S9sEPjLiVDEz4wzm7Q/s1920/Silloth%204th%20view%20toward%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHp7junSAIFktUxlasHq0kl38KCyAo5pT6c9tIm6dLLhQT-YFSOQvo_OSwyc9_dymGp0DxjT5zuUMrSik5zUWAukLHpRTSvuO9NnLx91V4zg6pCd6Qa_pclU6s8RgbfJNXcncSS5G6B9fJR1RrzhYkE4kIizb6z35S9sEPjLiVDEz4wzm7Q/w640-h426/Silloth%204th%20view%20toward%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The seemingly simple approach to the 4th green at Silloth</i></div><p>There is another aiming pole off the tee for the blind approach to the 4th green. It is at this point that you either fall in love with the golf course or hate it. I like blind shots since they introduce an element of surprise, but some people hate them. Two of my playing companion friends hated it and it felt like there were too many blind shots, particularly because there is so much gorse to contend with. They aren't opposed to blind shots per se, but it is the combination of the abundance of blind shots with the penal nature of the gorse that they thought was unfair. In my mind you have to put yourself back in time. After all, the course was built in 1892 when blind shots were common. If you want to play the most recent Tom Fazio course without blind shots, go ahead, Silloth probably isn't for you. While many of the world's best courses have blind shots including Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Prestwick, Lahinch, National Golf Links, and New South Wales, the combination of an abundance of blind shots <i>with</i> the gorse does make Silloth particularly challenging. It didn't bother me, in fact, I found the unconventional nature of it exhilarating.</p><p>In addition to a blind tee shot on the 4th, the unsuspecting golfer has no clue as to what is to come on this bunkerless hole. Hit the green and there are no worries. Miss the green and you will face a challenge unlike almost any other in the world of golf.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZlADxprdJglPDf_0EwbtJWAygdYaobJJ4r6_UNO6HR41dqzYihEUQhstTdgwGXmflNnACNc6fhoMCel7YFaNpOEP4Y3AudscAlRZZmCaoU2KWuqv9iRgkkzDgljPpyLlouqWcoulcRmeCasURDD_znXmldlPlhPeuPmTpJM6ATN1J7bQ7g/s1920/Silloth%204th%20green%20-%20left%20side.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZlADxprdJglPDf_0EwbtJWAygdYaobJJ4r6_UNO6HR41dqzYihEUQhstTdgwGXmflNnACNc6fhoMCel7YFaNpOEP4Y3AudscAlRZZmCaoU2KWuqv9iRgkkzDgljPpyLlouqWcoulcRmeCasURDD_znXmldlPlhPeuPmTpJM6ATN1J7bQ7g/w640-h426/Silloth%204th%20green%20-%20left%20side.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The deep grass hazard to the left of the green...</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2cWRCs9ouVMhygbU6hCCVQpcaYr8EGTm40JSun1K08PeGZ-CB8B8wMxwILkqYrhpj684qlLUWjn9KdZ6CDSh4Yc-Alafh5M5xsv6eP_bYAXkzT-sjyVtOSEaIkelhFtRHlG6KqOWX8i-U4RcSfAdITTl-Ojtf73y17hzVuHTHW-o8nWoYQ/s1920/Silloth%204th%20green%20-%20right%20side.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2cWRCs9ouVMhygbU6hCCVQpcaYr8EGTm40JSun1K08PeGZ-CB8B8wMxwILkqYrhpj684qlLUWjn9KdZ6CDSh4Yc-Alafh5M5xsv6eP_bYAXkzT-sjyVtOSEaIkelhFtRHlG6KqOWX8i-U4RcSfAdITTl-Ojtf73y17hzVuHTHW-o8nWoYQ/w640-h426/Silloth%204th%20green%20-%20right%20side.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>...is matched with an equally deep grass hazard right of the green!</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The fourth is a hole that sticks in the mind long after you play it.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XQSQQnWSf5qV-AZF_1ZOTPOrQevZpkPKXqswjaeC1OszMYnhDKJi-WhCS-1AD5r6pvHRLSQniUDhdDV1q70-pbbFbFdNLnJCcDsL8RAPmf2nicO2gg_vavlVI7snhgXi-EGunCAs_h7MyhV0Y9ysPQX5xsxNNsCMICggWpHNIDH04YY4xw/s1920/Silloth%20-%205th%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XQSQQnWSf5qV-AZF_1ZOTPOrQevZpkPKXqswjaeC1OszMYnhDKJi-WhCS-1AD5r6pvHRLSQniUDhdDV1q70-pbbFbFdNLnJCcDsL8RAPmf2nicO2gg_vavlVI7snhgXi-EGunCAs_h7MyhV0Y9ysPQX5xsxNNsCMICggWpHNIDH04YY4xw/w640-h426/Silloth%20-%205th%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The green of the par-5 5th hole with pot bunkers</i></div><p>The par-5 fifth hole is the first one on the course that doesn't feature a blind shot. In addition to blind shots and gorse hazards, the course also features strategically placed pot bunkers as seen here on the fifth, which hugs the beach from tee to green.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ44IU3FwYiNVQDuJVVEfzP6tOuC4yBS0QPMZELFS6pm2jRL1oKrQjtK1dc0Pm7g9HowrazpqzHScOoeSYfMkRGdtmO4EFD3ms6oLSq80pIT8QUOZQT0BPZAo8bEu2gtPklz_YEBpAEvnEuGX7SEq5JzekxZW9fnhkZwRxHVd0zluE3FPBog/s1920/Silloth%20-%20Par%203%206th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ44IU3FwYiNVQDuJVVEfzP6tOuC4yBS0QPMZELFS6pm2jRL1oKrQjtK1dc0Pm7g9HowrazpqzHScOoeSYfMkRGdtmO4EFD3ms6oLSq80pIT8QUOZQT0BPZAo8bEu2gtPklz_YEBpAEvnEuGX7SEq5JzekxZW9fnhkZwRxHVd0zluE3FPBog/w640-h426/Silloth%20-%20Par%203%206th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>An expansive view of the par-3 6th from the tee. The hole plays over a disused railway line you can see running in a straight line in front of the green</i></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYkKeNQed8B4i-fBo0M_w2faSxQZV4yofrTZyqBFFsYomShNpNneVCl6OkqQrau1HAAxNUyJ8DX0Zf81TAyXvgB4F7raJl2h3O6Q044OJfEtXb8Vx8EKQ6IbQL55RNHJmGgRbmSWnczo9TebHe7AzN4yJbijGY5YMVqER823sxunsL5gZ4A/s1920/Silloth%20-%207th%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYkKeNQed8B4i-fBo0M_w2faSxQZV4yofrTZyqBFFsYomShNpNneVCl6OkqQrau1HAAxNUyJ8DX0Zf81TAyXvgB4F7raJl2h3O6Q044OJfEtXb8Vx8EKQ6IbQL55RNHJmGgRbmSWnczo9TebHe7AzN4yJbijGY5YMVqER823sxunsL5gZ4A/w640-h426/Silloth%20-%207th%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The green of the difficult par-4 7th hole at Silloth</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The 7th hole plays 415 yards up a rising, humpy fairway and sports another blind shot to a Dell green set in the dunes. This shot also shows to good effect the nature of the greens at Silloth, which as you can surmise, are not flat.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyPE9c652V6L788fiYW-MusDKKpzGZmxuILARqE1vd2p_P9ZRVPpgHkCPpjETp_6Tk7DP-um3ArQoj2lHYGMPX9SR0aGWloKqq-WuLKPljB5APUczOSq_hq9DbwgPoZLdAHfazmUjTLQaUNZglC52w06eHw9b1Z0KovNtO1h76RGrV2_gQ8Q/s1920/Silloth%20-%209th%20par%203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyPE9c652V6L788fiYW-MusDKKpzGZmxuILARqE1vd2p_P9ZRVPpgHkCPpjETp_6Tk7DP-um3ArQoj2lHYGMPX9SR0aGWloKqq-WuLKPljB5APUczOSq_hq9DbwgPoZLdAHfazmUjTLQaUNZglC52w06eHw9b1Z0KovNtO1h76RGrV2_gQ8Q/w640-h426/Silloth%20-%209th%20par%203.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The par-3 9th hole has a well-defended postage stamp green that falls off sharply should you hit to the right</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjc9ilRwgZ2hRgIxkfAks1B06WbPNyGAXrllBGMzPf50_woIdII69oYK8LXZuDgXHGlMxu3EDyMHtmP4MdQMWYZ7RTeX2mm28-UFonswIqaqctqrrWB-PpnzrHmQm40rLvoWZu3zKHbzJvnNby__WYvWV6GZnx4Xrk4P54ea56o4vg-aI9Q/s1920/Silloth%20-%2011th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjc9ilRwgZ2hRgIxkfAks1B06WbPNyGAXrllBGMzPf50_woIdII69oYK8LXZuDgXHGlMxu3EDyMHtmP4MdQMWYZ7RTeX2mm28-UFonswIqaqctqrrWB-PpnzrHmQm40rLvoWZu3zKHbzJvnNby__WYvWV6GZnx4Xrk4P54ea56o4vg-aI9Q/w640-h426/Silloth%20-%2011th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The approach to the par-4 11th plays over this hill seen on the right</i></div><p>The drive off the 11th hole features . . . drum roll please . . . you guessed it, a blind shot! Unless the tee shot is positioned to the left it blocks the golfer out from the green.</p><p>The club calls the 13th hole, nicknamed Hog's Back, its signature, but I thought it was one of the poorest designs on the course. A par-5 of 509 yards, the drive is a forced carry over heather and gorse and for someone who hadn't played the course before I wasn't sure whether the fairway was to the left or the right on the second shot. It's to the left, and the third shot plays to a goofy elevated table top green that is inconsistent with the rest of the greens on the course.</p><p>The back nine features three par fives, including two back to back. The back nine is inevitable a letdown after the excitement of the start. The front nine has five holes with blind shots (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th) and the back only has one (11th), in addition the back has less gorse and less severe dunes. It also plays more inland and further away from the Firth. The finishing hole at Silloth is a card wrecking par 4 that we played into the wind, making it a real tester.</p><p>Although I mentioned that the course is a design of Willie Park, Jr., as is frequently cited, it was actually laid out by Davie Grant with an assist by Mungo Park, Willie's uncle and the winner of the Claret Jug in 1874. Park, Jr. made his changes around the turn of the 20th century and Alister Mackenzie consulted for the club just prior to the First World War, but due to financial difficulties the only imprint from the Good Doctor is today's third green and fourth tee. The club's history gives the majority of the credit to Grant, "the major influences in the design of the Silloth course have been Davie Grant, in his original layout, and the Greens Committees of the 1900s. The more celebrated Willie Park Jr., Willie Fernie and Alister Mackenzie appear to have been supporting players."</p><p>It is interesting to fantasize about composite courses, a compilation of the best holes you have played made into one fantasy course. Well, Silloth-on-Solday has many of the holes all here in one place. The 5th hole resembles the 9th at Maidstone; the blind par three Dell hole at Lahinch is replicated often on approach shots; the 6th hole, with its sea of gorse off the tee like County Down’s 4th hole; the 7th is reminiscent of the first at St. Enodoc; the 13th is like the 10th at Maidstone; and the 14th has the rippling fairway reminiscent of the 8th at Prairie Dunes. Ran Morrissett describes the 4th as similar to the opening hole at Pine Valley as well.</p><p>I’m in total agreement with my friend Fergal's thoughts about Silloth, “I’d like to end this with a very strong opinion I personally hold as follows. I get so frustrated when people say 'if X course was located closer to Y city/region, then it would be rated so much higher.' This lazy attitude is insulting to the course and the club should never suffer in the rankings just because of its location. If the course is worthy of merit and is architecturally superior to a list of overrated courses, then give credit when credit is due! Making the extra effort to find the best courses on earth is the exciting part! We frequently rank courses in Tasmania that are essentially at the end of the earth, so don’t tell me the northwest of England is too far out of the way.” Of course, he is 100% right. Courses in Ayrshire like Troon, Prestwick and Turnberry are naturally clustered together for a golf trip as are the courses around St. Andrews, thus they get a lot of notoriety. Silloth stands alone in the far north of England, therefore it doesn't get the accolades it deserves.</p><p>The course suffers from what I call a lack of “Instagram” appeal. Magazines and websites tout the newest cool thing, which you can’t fault them for since it supports their business model and advertisers. Some clubs, especially new ones, go out of their way to court raters, bending over backwards to accommodate them. Silloth suffers from opening in 1892, and not 2022, thus there is no fanfare about it and no sexy marketing campaign to engage in. </p><p>Bernard Darwin wrote in <i>A Round of Golf:</i> “I never more violently fell in love with a course at first sight. There never was a prettier or more truly golfing beginning to any course than there is at Silloth, a tee shot down a shallow valley, with sand a hillocks and heather on either side—a little reminiscent of some of the shots at Formby or Birkdale. Fascinating greens that go dodging about amid delicious country.”</p><p>We should treat old historic courses like this with more respect, and a three hour drive among delightful country is hardly an imposition. Silloth has heart and soul and a unique character and is worth the journey!</p><div><br /></div></div>Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-3868030397186735382023-01-05T10:29:00.001-08:002023-01-05T10:29:00.162-08:00Torwoodlee Golf Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX92Ezlnt-qiagZw8ZvfJnf-iUHsizjSwq4IjtmefEuzJDCDkI4V9Qk6QQb3xLx2tmBKw3o11Y6bs9Nv09hQLX3Nf8pbfS3Ehn71tzFmh63hunncFvwIivewjyNzZwejFMQx8yyEBHEKwGRJZfoeGHEZTpc6j06xbsk4Afe6O6gNVgD7biog/s1744/IMG_5739-001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1744" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX92Ezlnt-qiagZw8ZvfJnf-iUHsizjSwq4IjtmefEuzJDCDkI4V9Qk6QQb3xLx2tmBKw3o11Y6bs9Nv09hQLX3Nf8pbfS3Ehn71tzFmh63hunncFvwIivewjyNzZwejFMQx8yyEBHEKwGRJZfoeGHEZTpc6j06xbsk4Afe6O6gNVgD7biog/w400-h250/IMG_5739-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>On my (um . . . many) trips to the British Isles I like to play a couple of unheard of or below the radar courses in addition to playing the best and the most renowned courses. It creates some variety, and I always learn something.</div><div><br /></div><div>My most recent trip included a first visit to the Scottish Borders, a county south of Edinburgh and just north of the English counties of Cumbria and Northumberland. Most Scottish golf trips are naturally clustered in one of three areas: around St. Andrews; on the Ayrshire coast near Troon, Prestwick, and Turnberry; or in the Highlands visiting such gems as Dornoch and Castle Stuart. You have to go out of your way to visit the Scottish Borders. In my case it was a stop on the way to Silloth-on-Solway in Cumbria. Torwoodlee was midway between Fife and Cumbria so it was a logical place to stop. The course is located five minutes outside of Galashiels, the largest town in the Borders.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like in all of Scotland, there is a rich selection of courses in every region, the Borders being no exception. I chose Torwoodlee because I like to play as many courses as possible designed by Willie Park, Jr., one of my favorite architects.<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fHL5vkYzl3AyexdECrOa_1YOle_0VMZwRKGjjaq1uH6i4c4c0vK91PRw7ssYkJy3YHqdiFDgs17FvpHXib3DITkFrYbMlh48ZWQ7XCBkVo0lPHfE033tZr-SkEesbOK7EI9eNMrUXRG2sTkPOhoVJC06fzP42jYZDObwtPM6XWtaNdcLaA/s1920/Torwoodlee%201st%20crossbunker.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fHL5vkYzl3AyexdECrOa_1YOle_0VMZwRKGjjaq1uH6i4c4c0vK91PRw7ssYkJy3YHqdiFDgs17FvpHXib3DITkFrYbMlh48ZWQ7XCBkVo0lPHfE033tZr-SkEesbOK7EI9eNMrUXRG2sTkPOhoVJC06fzP42jYZDObwtPM6XWtaNdcLaA/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%201st%20crossbunker.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>1st fairway with a favored Park hazard: cross bunkering</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The course was built in 1895, giving a rare opportunity to see what courses were like 125 years ago when the game was just taking hold. Most of the course, except those immediately near the clubhouse is essentially set on the side of a large hill, consistent with the topography of this part of the Borders. It plays 6,021 from the back tees. According to the club's centenary history there were 114 members (78 gentleman and 36 ladies) when Torwoodlee opened. Park mentioned that the "absence of hilly ground makes it particularly suited to lady members," providing a hint to which holes on the course are Park original holes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The course is organized into two distinctive segments. The holes between the Gala Water and the railway line are on relatively flat ground and are distinct from the holes after you cross over the old railway bridge and play on much hillier ground. The flatter holes are the the remnants of the original nine laid out by Willie Park, Jr., that is, the ones between the river and the railway. The course acquired an additional 45 acres in 1992 and expanded the course to eighteen holes, with only a handful of Park holes surviving, most notably the first, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first hole plays on flat ground near the clubhouse and is a pretty simple affair ,with a cross bunker as the only significant hazard, although it doesn't really come into play today.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_Q7Ldw-FCh1XAb4EW55KtyRYIe38nlj-xM_eUpDkeUAwWXKsNcPe1ayidUpQZKl3RaMM3idnQ6fEV5fGkQhYJ-B73JfltETSkxeonZNnKI_2zq3L4zeIOotGxACdT7yzwcuABiXEIH46JTxqtWOWQXVhkk56eZptbNJQlgcGPT7q_usJoQ/s1920/Torwoodlee%202nd%20-%20sloping%20fairway.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_Q7Ldw-FCh1XAb4EW55KtyRYIe38nlj-xM_eUpDkeUAwWXKsNcPe1ayidUpQZKl3RaMM3idnQ6fEV5fGkQhYJ-B73JfltETSkxeonZNnKI_2zq3L4zeIOotGxACdT7yzwcuABiXEIH46JTxqtWOWQXVhkk56eZptbNJQlgcGPT7q_usJoQ/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%202nd%20-%20sloping%20fairway.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>View from the 2nd tee shows the hilly nature of the property Torwoodlee is build on</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The second hole is a lot meatier, playing 401 yards up the side of a sloping hill. The course is well maintained, although the grass appears to be cut about once a week, thus the greens were a phenomenon and ran about 3-4 on the stimpmeter!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The club hired Ben Sayers from North Berwick in 1902 to suggest improvements and he added bunkers to the original 4th, 5th, 7th, and 9th holes. In 1925, James Braid was brought in to suggest a number of improvements to the course as well. In the early years the course was cut using a horse pulling a set of blades behind it. After that the course was kept by a flock of sheep grazing on its grass.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqs1TpCMoYB9TqtqLl2Tu_Gx0LSh59vKn4ssqDtCkrpW0smGWZN-JF_lbGU2QdrpvdazG2d6hXApDarVlIMFAZgKYGxyikiMNAnSIcuMO0jcmj3za0MbhiR38-QFCaQaiC4ppKEeGvaryaz68tgd4TgdTlDiZUDmBDQDJKa3r8t-clHju8w/s1920/Torwoodlee%205th%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqs1TpCMoYB9TqtqLl2Tu_Gx0LSh59vKn4ssqDtCkrpW0smGWZN-JF_lbGU2QdrpvdazG2d6hXApDarVlIMFAZgKYGxyikiMNAnSIcuMO0jcmj3za0MbhiR38-QFCaQaiC4ppKEeGvaryaz68tgd4TgdTlDiZUDmBDQDJKa3r8t-clHju8w/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%205th%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View of the 5th green from the fairway</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The heart of the course and the three most interesting holes are in the recently added nine holes: the fifth, sixth, and seventh. The fifth is easily the #1 stoke index hole and plays up the largest hill on the property, 418 yards from top to bottom. The green juts out from the mountain and is built up on three sides, making it difficult to hold and hit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoKbH8W5wsxgCiOjihlGrZuFnOEsgDiO2HuUxzXldNyY-7ssMWGTm5RyyEp16MTvCjA7mx9U0VC7Jj-dBN84nxmo7cF2Mz9rTjLg7PB3GKrPPCTsQyLtKdOGe7WcrH41oSAiU5GCz_CwpEPn2eZ7HeSK_o9jua3UiFReoE9Uj6LyNXAG3Zw/s1920/Torwoodlee%205th%20from%20back.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoKbH8W5wsxgCiOjihlGrZuFnOEsgDiO2HuUxzXldNyY-7ssMWGTm5RyyEp16MTvCjA7mx9U0VC7Jj-dBN84nxmo7cF2Mz9rTjLg7PB3GKrPPCTsQyLtKdOGe7WcrH41oSAiU5GCz_CwpEPn2eZ7HeSK_o9jua3UiFReoE9Uj6LyNXAG3Zw/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%205th%20from%20back.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A view of the 5th green from the rear shows off the difficultly of hitting and holding the putting surface</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJtK11dELqaksEGCFTckMZi1Rl_pq9n6pHQi0WDNDMeNZXntprBh906HanGyhYERCtS7sd0oUJWgwLkIQo6Bx4LE7kgUlw7TathRGmKoWu4dUlBsSbLNKQWyM-3j77Fw5qUgGTmGbP-p6nfJIGmp3QZpIhNkdMQUSdvuVHpnjGHQoxdqR5w/s1920/Torwoodlee%206th%20view%20from%20tee.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJtK11dELqaksEGCFTckMZi1Rl_pq9n6pHQi0WDNDMeNZXntprBh906HanGyhYERCtS7sd0oUJWgwLkIQo6Bx4LE7kgUlw7TathRGmKoWu4dUlBsSbLNKQWyM-3j77Fw5qUgGTmGbP-p6nfJIGmp3QZpIhNkdMQUSdvuVHpnjGHQoxdqR5w/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%206th%20view%20from%20tee.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The view off the 6th tee shows the beauty of the Scottish Borders region</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The sixth tee box is the high point of the property and the view seen above is typical of those in the Scottish Borders with its rolling hills dotted with agricultural farmland punctuated with pastureland used by grazing sheep and cows.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtvkTUw7L88WOYe61hHfkDb2klWQ4pU89_YqD1Xu_gYlOjWDwDshvYZ4slskVwsEfPvj96z30XyfRbcpaLU4RBDKa1WRnAesuN_jVz2fZYOM3Iq_yDw5NwRhIDjJGRMCHz6goSZ4_36rNfMK0A7n-wmVmduCWSqteG9H89AxRJoHPyQLygw/s1920/Torwoodlee%206th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtvkTUw7L88WOYe61hHfkDb2klWQ4pU89_YqD1Xu_gYlOjWDwDshvYZ4slskVwsEfPvj96z30XyfRbcpaLU4RBDKa1WRnAesuN_jVz2fZYOM3Iq_yDw5NwRhIDjJGRMCHz6goSZ4_36rNfMK0A7n-wmVmduCWSqteG9H89AxRJoHPyQLygw/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%206th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>This view greets the golfer from the 6th tee. The green is between the two trees on the left, far far down the hill</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once you soak up the views on the tee and focus on the challenge of the sixth hole, the golfer is thunderstruck by what lies ahead. Below you, probably the drop of a ten story building, at least 150 feet, likely more, is a hole that plays over a fenced in sheep pasture and two trees to a small green tucked away on the left. It is unlike any golf hole I have ever seen and quite interesting. You can choose either to try and drive the green on the left or play it safe and hit to the right. Guess what we all did? Why not got for it; how often are we going to visit Torwoodlee, so it wasn't a real consideration to lay up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuK--hRAFRJP0tpgvtM16KkzVSRgcw4QHfQ0L4OAbzmq0QfN6NJRec4Jd6tJwU7B0RkRV8ZCTE7rWx8mg8cAmKPm6abkFjRs2R-IIfIYAXOamWJzOBADA3qlgGyp_Z8M9oAl42TSMn6r6PJmJTR32z1h3jhdYaKDmkpa7-K_S5vCCyp7eg-Q/s1920/Torwoodlee%206th%20sheep%20off%20back.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuK--hRAFRJP0tpgvtM16KkzVSRgcw4QHfQ0L4OAbzmq0QfN6NJRec4Jd6tJwU7B0RkRV8ZCTE7rWx8mg8cAmKPm6abkFjRs2R-IIfIYAXOamWJzOBADA3qlgGyp_Z8M9oAl42TSMn6r6PJmJTR32z1h3jhdYaKDmkpa7-K_S5vCCyp7eg-Q/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%206th%20sheep%20off%20back.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The view looking backward from the 6th green shows off the idyllic nature of Torwoodlee</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ultimately golf is a game that gets you outdoors for some fresh air and exercise and to commune with nature. Golf at Torwoodlee is that and more. The course gets very little play. We were probably the first Americans to visits in a decade or more. The air in rural Scotland is so fresh and clean, and the sweeping views force you to take it in and relax. The sixth hole helps you maximize all that and more. It was such a treat to soak it all in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvCk1b0rDfK9_KjqSzbD6eF0LuOJlyYjH1qMpoXhB6FU9pXv-6a8tUoE85O3nSTT_sCPRn0GOxlCFwIVMHKSoSPxekKQl61ldbuQNCpdidfdxP6wsSDyXTfHFbn2nVZsCkEjhpZqqDKp91gpr6uj3jLdDGDLWiSp0PlsNhAMoa0wY0rsxww/s1920/Torwoodlee%206th%20tiny%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvCk1b0rDfK9_KjqSzbD6eF0LuOJlyYjH1qMpoXhB6FU9pXv-6a8tUoE85O3nSTT_sCPRn0GOxlCFwIVMHKSoSPxekKQl61ldbuQNCpdidfdxP6wsSDyXTfHFbn2nVZsCkEjhpZqqDKp91gpr6uj3jLdDGDLWiSp0PlsNhAMoa0wY0rsxww/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%206th%20tiny%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The tiny 6th green</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On a course with relatively small greens, the sixth might be the smallest, quite fitting for a 355 yard hole.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXMlJ8pvCIF0HDaguDiO67_42RQ-7V3C_1VLmEvy5ZuznvLHs6Bkp73mnM3Vo5osKjpbfSFL2kL1IERlYyMPOQmgatXEGUk7zmdAY-YFxiFj4pgNxiyEfg_6bssMG-USx7tFDxcs6-dX-e-G1lrDETS1MipGjppZGHewMANq8a6JhXgAq_Q/s1920/Torwoodlee%207th%20-%20blind%20par%203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXMlJ8pvCIF0HDaguDiO67_42RQ-7V3C_1VLmEvy5ZuznvLHs6Bkp73mnM3Vo5osKjpbfSFL2kL1IERlYyMPOQmgatXEGUk7zmdAY-YFxiFj4pgNxiyEfg_6bssMG-USx7tFDxcs6-dX-e-G1lrDETS1MipGjppZGHewMANq8a6JhXgAq_Q/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%207th%20-%20blind%20par%203.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The par-3 7th from the tee. The golfer can see the flag but not the green</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The seventh is a demanding 152 yard blind par three that plays significantly longer up a hill to a putting surface you can't see.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio153xxT9kZpBYpuwDXZGAeDsLQBIup24i0TMuFTUXUxYwALk9anc3b3qH42ko5cAVLJsepxnQerq_NCDpmw9lDG-OGqV-MdznnF2SNnDjIZsnrR9ugSSCP7uLjhATkmlCZWsfrGo6-2w44Hcy-YWpArksNuMA8uqrHCBmZukYk15OMvIp5A/s1920/Torwoodlee%20double%20green%208-13.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio153xxT9kZpBYpuwDXZGAeDsLQBIup24i0TMuFTUXUxYwALk9anc3b3qH42ko5cAVLJsepxnQerq_NCDpmw9lDG-OGqV-MdznnF2SNnDjIZsnrR9ugSSCP7uLjhATkmlCZWsfrGo6-2w44Hcy-YWpArksNuMA8uqrHCBmZukYk15OMvIp5A/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%20double%20green%208-13.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The double green shared by the 8th and 13th holes</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The course has two sets of double greens. The 8th and 13th holes share a set of greens as do the 1st and the 15th. After playing the 13th hole the golfer crosses back over the railroad bridge back to the original Park holes near the clubhouse.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3bkS7JhkNt-mcR99V4vpTRFoUQx9Xmk9tDFhjwLf3jIucTfElNByHbjOs-zsHSmVMvocuZ01Jr22zPGizAI7EgKdNkK9zXx-3GQfVd0iFno5cCQiK0MpNJOJvg_w2uOfdixA2I2pwU0bbp8aHU0LKg2a6Ef5-y6hV25Y9TnJJAWVPxBahw/s1920/Torwoodlee%2018th%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3bkS7JhkNt-mcR99V4vpTRFoUQx9Xmk9tDFhjwLf3jIucTfElNByHbjOs-zsHSmVMvocuZ01Jr22zPGizAI7EgKdNkK9zXx-3GQfVd0iFno5cCQiK0MpNJOJvg_w2uOfdixA2I2pwU0bbp8aHU0LKg2a6Ef5-y6hV25Y9TnJJAWVPxBahw/w640-h426/Torwoodlee%2018th%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The 18th green set in front of an old stone bridge on the entry drive</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The 18th is a very narrow hole that plays along Gala Water, a tributary of the River Tweed. The heart shaped green is beautifully framed by the original stone bridge that is part of the entry drive into the course.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Throughout our round we kept wondering, why would a golf course be built in such a remote area? How much demand could there have been for a club to sustain a membership in 1895 and be viable? Apparently it was more than viable. In 1901 Harry Vardon played James Braid at an exhibition match at Torwoodlee, and in 1903 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle became a member. I told you I always learn something playing out of the way courses. Who would have thought?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Galashiels, where the course is located ,is a town of roughly 15,000, apparently large enough in golf crazed Scotland to support a course. I find this very impressive, and it is no wonder Scotland has more golf courses per capita than anywhere else in the world. In the United States there is a CVS pharmacy within a five mile drive of 70% of the people in the country. It seems to me in Scotland it is the same way with golf courses, there is a course always at hand. The Scots have it right!</div></div><br /> <p></p></div>Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-48642434218720230692022-12-05T06:17:00.001-08:002022-12-05T06:17:00.174-08:00Panmure Golf Club<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmnbhZp-0EPyhFHemqVaiPkC6Tf7ni4fLIBwnSjC9TAVUE54J5NJUgGl0LqFrF4V0Wh2P3f_aQVPJIQFXIA-yfH4mEosUJ7zv4s5WFKPfM1KgsCMCgjta5KVvPx2Npmrg4IsrVbjffIUB2WanJVSLHaC8FK87jmL8CsWLdomUL4RZjpADfA/s1920/Panmure%20clubhouse%20(2).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmnbhZp-0EPyhFHemqVaiPkC6Tf7ni4fLIBwnSjC9TAVUE54J5NJUgGl0LqFrF4V0Wh2P3f_aQVPJIQFXIA-yfH4mEosUJ7zv4s5WFKPfM1KgsCMCgjta5KVvPx2Npmrg4IsrVbjffIUB2WanJVSLHaC8FK87jmL8CsWLdomUL4RZjpADfA/w640-h426/Panmure%20clubhouse%20(2).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>On the other side of the railroad tracks, a bit further west than Carnoustie lies Panmure, one of the oldest courses in the world, with origins dating back to 1845. Panmure features an out and back layout, one of the most striking out and back courses I have played since Western Gailes on Scotland's west coast. </p><p>Allan Robertson and Alexander Pirie came from St. Andrews and laid out the original nine holes. The course was then known as the Monifieth Links. The club had trouble the first few years with the tenant of the Monifieth Farm who claimed a right of pasturage on the links and complained about the club's use of the land. The club promised to pay for any damages done to the land or to any of his livestock. The tenant farmer did not accept their proposal and brought about legal action. The farmer, James Maule, died in 1852 and the interdict was removed allowing the golfers to chase around their fragile feathery balls once again.</p><p>By 1893, there were a number of clubs all playing on Monifieth Golf Course, and due to the congestion it was agreed to look elsewhere, and in 1899 the club moved to its present site at Barry. The original Monifieth course still exists and is directly west of Panmure. </p><p>Although the current course is sometimes described as an original Old Tom Morris design, the evidence of such is scant. In the <i>Golf Courses of Old Tom Morris</i> Robert Kroeger says, "it is doubtful that Morris had much input in the early stages of the course. Club minutes don't mention any fee paid to him. It is possible he was traveling to another destination and stopped here as a favor to someone. It seem that the original members should be given credit for the initial construction of the course and its early development."</p><p>James Braid was brought in to lengthen the course in 1923, which is set on a narrow strip of land and plays among low rounded sandhills, which make excellent sites for tees and greens. The first six holes go out, all in the same direction into the prevailing wind, number seven is the first hole that plays in a different direction and holes thirteen through eighteen play back in the opposite direction.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp04BlTEMflBWEAjU1dlZYtb9kavu0OWfimKe33iB5J9C4uV-zzj0QE8OFVPiwH6U4ulB0m-lDBruzmwxH-krvUN5zy7SaDTflqNmXEkeVEmPblvrx2f3G0PP4ZYNQeRSBeMYUh-AAxtkxoryJWXOVnoeKhZt5oGd8DgvpQlqhzld3hFK5iw/s1920/Panmure%20layout.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp04BlTEMflBWEAjU1dlZYtb9kavu0OWfimKe33iB5J9C4uV-zzj0QE8OFVPiwH6U4ulB0m-lDBruzmwxH-krvUN5zy7SaDTflqNmXEkeVEmPblvrx2f3G0PP4ZYNQeRSBeMYUh-AAxtkxoryJWXOVnoeKhZt5oGd8DgvpQlqhzld3hFK5iw/w640-h426/Panmure%20layout.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Play well, move quickly. Playing badly, play quicker. Horray!</i></div><p>The first four holes at Panmure lull you into a sense that the course doesn't have much to it. Three par fours and a par five all running in the same direction, none particularly taxing, especially if played down wind like the conditions on the day I played them, the opposite of what is normally blowing. The course starts to get interesting at the par three 5th which has a punchbowl green.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lQwgo88Y07un96-ccY3Hr2kM5lW7hJRcQwFlTAAM7EbSrYXlxvAT9WO-Bbt2rzW1epGkscTiss4p9X6dZuq0ryKNQhi-AewkX0lZBYOe3f7lj2p4_AWZdIiPnDDk1iEjZP1K_e5TwiqoYpi3t-9KAu2CXImpAKvHuDwvCfOFASAGwT1EzQ/s1920/Panmure%206th%20-%20blind%20tee%20shot.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lQwgo88Y07un96-ccY3Hr2kM5lW7hJRcQwFlTAAM7EbSrYXlxvAT9WO-Bbt2rzW1epGkscTiss4p9X6dZuq0ryKNQhi-AewkX0lZBYOe3f7lj2p4_AWZdIiPnDDk1iEjZP1K_e5TwiqoYpi3t-9KAu2CXImpAKvHuDwvCfOFASAGwT1EzQ/w640-h426/Panmure%206th%20-%20blind%20tee%20shot.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Panmure's 6th hole, a par four of 414 yards has a blind tee shot . . .</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsydTmDeyk6HhuYjDKwTUMM-FzsAnmCVb2sWuslE6g_qUEzO80aKmRq3yMQp3f9sZOdF2HFNmMnc8oXJJe41cPDmkjLIQrByVxnW3KTJnrZi0VHg1RZ4cO80JuYnIhuY-h83gl_nJ1d_1gy5fKgYo3sa1nudfbgrFPtsid1desm0iMJOGrkw/s1920/Panmure%206th%20-%20blind%20approach.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsydTmDeyk6HhuYjDKwTUMM-FzsAnmCVb2sWuslE6g_qUEzO80aKmRq3yMQp3f9sZOdF2HFNmMnc8oXJJe41cPDmkjLIQrByVxnW3KTJnrZi0VHg1RZ4cO80JuYnIhuY-h83gl_nJ1d_1gy5fKgYo3sa1nudfbgrFPtsid1desm0iMJOGrkw/w640-h426/Panmure%206th%20-%20blind%20approach.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>. . . followed by a blind approach unless you hug the right side of the fairway</i></div></i><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_SLcX5VF-KZpooHy3a4-h4LRro4Drf3_Jb4q0AXCOySbnwLtHlaqe0P9cx3MR2ZkHU5bkU2gDiRcsL07UvuLpQNM0NYF2XiQqbq-Skul63PRTU223G9EBi-hxGCrAQoRz7p-R5Ur92gzbD1MFN8JhJWVhzml5K8IWH6Gi2bEBbuWI8vk1A/s1920/Panmure%206th%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_SLcX5VF-KZpooHy3a4-h4LRro4Drf3_Jb4q0AXCOySbnwLtHlaqe0P9cx3MR2ZkHU5bkU2gDiRcsL07UvuLpQNM0NYF2XiQqbq-Skul63PRTU223G9EBi-hxGCrAQoRz7p-R5Ur92gzbD1MFN8JhJWVhzml5K8IWH6Gi2bEBbuWI8vk1A/w640-h426/Panmure%206th%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><i>The elevated, well protected green on the 6th</i></p><p>The sixth hole was a favorite of Ben Hogans when he used Panmure as his warmup course before winning the 1953 Open Championship at Carnoustie, which is adjacent to Panmure. He played there for two weeks prior to the Open. At the time the British used a smaller ball, so he was both getting used to links golf and the smaller ball. 1953 would be his only trip to the British Isles. Hogan chose Panmure to practice at because at the time it was an extremely private club and this allowed him to go about his business out of the eye of the eager public and press, who wanted to follow his every move.</p><p>During Hogan's visit Panmure did not have a practice area so he did his practicing on the 17th hole, never using more than a dozen balls at a time. One day Hogan asked the head greenkeeper if the blades of the mower could be lowered to shave the green a little to make it more like the speed of the Carnoustie greens. The greenkeeper, William Falconer, replied, "Here's the mower, Mr. Hogan!" Hogan cut the green himself and even cleaned it before giving it back. Hogan was invited to use the dining room and lounge, but he declined, instead taking all his meals in the kitchen because he didn't want to create any trouble, since at the time the club professional wasn't allowed into the clubhouse.</p><p>The sixth begins the first of seven holes at the end of the property that, unlike the outward four and the incoming six, play at all different directions on the compass.</p><p>The eighth is another hole with a blind tee shot and it is a great 361 risk-reward par four that plays to a well protected green.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRK8SJ-kAd32NbcxfTOt-cZfVUCvzFjAWhBIQX8sLG2eRPnDCvaklE0vwwcdcwgSkT_EBt-qzk439JG-1bhf-eiIy5VsNBiHUtAzGuuhmxLDhbscitou1Ya6hfLP9UuaWWAyAzf9LmblF6wtJDloV1uVTiUIyzwY3RQqYH6oC5zXev-wRIw/s1920/Panmure%208th%20blind%20approach.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRK8SJ-kAd32NbcxfTOt-cZfVUCvzFjAWhBIQX8sLG2eRPnDCvaklE0vwwcdcwgSkT_EBt-qzk439JG-1bhf-eiIy5VsNBiHUtAzGuuhmxLDhbscitou1Ya6hfLP9UuaWWAyAzf9LmblF6wtJDloV1uVTiUIyzwY3RQqYH6oC5zXev-wRIw/w640-h426/Panmure%208th%20blind%20approach.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The 8th hole has a blind approach from the right side that offers this view to the golfer</i></div></i></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkq0WW_W0WSqlgCTIe_PMZMpIlyRxBqXbUQrDC1dFoDHIoWfFCNJtsnXsauQuxDaKqx5vns_SvLeR-OvQPerPmKBWcXJoobwqEfAGXJB3QqzyaR1K95lb0EX14q_RTROlCWQMNc0bzjo3PBn8uq0TmRgUgYa7ak99CT25W0eGE52daYvORVw/s1920/Panmure%20par%203%209th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkq0WW_W0WSqlgCTIe_PMZMpIlyRxBqXbUQrDC1dFoDHIoWfFCNJtsnXsauQuxDaKqx5vns_SvLeR-OvQPerPmKBWcXJoobwqEfAGXJB3QqzyaR1K95lb0EX14q_RTROlCWQMNc0bzjo3PBn8uq0TmRgUgYa7ak99CT25W0eGE52daYvORVw/w640-h426/Panmure%20par%203%209th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Par-3 9th hole, 180 yards from the back tees</i></div></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ePNMJaEVsNSHIHom_zq1u6j7o9HGI1Oa2OdQJ8oowrNoxy2c5znE89CxEkim-d64-uJgTpdo1xYUlZXz_X1aSW5kN2M-cKcynR6LLLUgvEw73GXH5WYiU1dObdSUAwWVOR2w5TzsZgcN7ed0aIM1fag8mhhfUpNUt3-UpKGP2qRMSRU2WQ/s1920/Panmure%2012th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ePNMJaEVsNSHIHom_zq1u6j7o9HGI1Oa2OdQJ8oowrNoxy2c5znE89CxEkim-d64-uJgTpdo1xYUlZXz_X1aSW5kN2M-cKcynR6LLLUgvEw73GXH5WYiU1dObdSUAwWVOR2w5TzsZgcN7ed0aIM1fag8mhhfUpNUt3-UpKGP2qRMSRU2WQ/w640-h426/Panmure%2012th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The 12th hole, a par four of almost 400 yards has the Buddon Burn protecting the approach to the green</i></div></i></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4ncoUNdPuLB6QvUoR5O8kyclh6ETt-8lJ4l2_5Qm7V2vVZm_8munhZi5kxlQ-12YixeHIQSoPJjPMCEQ4xYFqfjCJbtwChBH8MwepLgZqVxj-YTohLOFEz-s1dx8iZ0DHQdaqZbWaQuR_AL2eXo1V1IjP8iYYtWSljB4iDffy_04JjNmDg/s1920/Panmure%2012th%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4ncoUNdPuLB6QvUoR5O8kyclh6ETt-8lJ4l2_5Qm7V2vVZm_8munhZi5kxlQ-12YixeHIQSoPJjPMCEQ4xYFqfjCJbtwChBH8MwepLgZqVxj-YTohLOFEz-s1dx8iZ0DHQdaqZbWaQuR_AL2eXo1V1IjP8iYYtWSljB4iDffy_04JjNmDg/w640-h426/Panmure%2012th%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The pin flag on the 12th green nestled behind a sand dune</i></div></i><div><p>Panmure has eleven holes that have out of bounds and with the wind blowing, as it normally is, the course is no pushover.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTLO_ELGlFfIEwUFW8HhDrsAxA6BXNICRpogqrTJRFH-HdQar_yv8z233tZ2G8jT-q-A85w17AH24Q0iZ-K_H1W4LlB8kgyIJSCIZUMfAzdZEMNpkB4rAN9AFdF9RCjjSzFtf1VnmxXFVlrQpXtCbW-E0fjLRAtlsYgHOIFqdb1xEQtHPqg/s1920/Panmure%20clubhouse%20(2).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTLO_ELGlFfIEwUFW8HhDrsAxA6BXNICRpogqrTJRFH-HdQar_yv8z233tZ2G8jT-q-A85w17AH24Q0iZ-K_H1W4LlB8kgyIJSCIZUMfAzdZEMNpkB4rAN9AFdF9RCjjSzFtf1VnmxXFVlrQpXtCbW-E0fjLRAtlsYgHOIFqdb1xEQtHPqg/w640-h426/Panmure%20clubhouse%20(2).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>The clubhouse is a replica of the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in India, and was built in 1871. The reason they have a clubhouse modeled after one in India is because Panmure, and the larger city of Dundee 20 miles away, was a hub of jute (rope or twine) trading with merchants in Calcutta. The club's history states that large numbers of jutewallahs (traders of jute) were Panmure members.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC1queoTT0nQD6SUEZlI6IwLAqdD0CJCKS42zZR8o6QG7QALrscrifaOjQWVsLmi0uELTKqEfz2A9D0rl2Jr5keAZZwQEtoG_Ly0sGSY5cl3ThFwm0gL_kgzu3ZxcUSP1eUAriFEsNV7f97S245SgmwmkT7xSa9ujoyUhaBTjUpsrk0OuXGA/s1920/Panmure%20Locker%20Room.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC1queoTT0nQD6SUEZlI6IwLAqdD0CJCKS42zZR8o6QG7QALrscrifaOjQWVsLmi0uELTKqEfz2A9D0rl2Jr5keAZZwQEtoG_Ly0sGSY5cl3ThFwm0gL_kgzu3ZxcUSP1eUAriFEsNV7f97S245SgmwmkT7xSa9ujoyUhaBTjUpsrk0OuXGA/w640-h426/Panmure%20Locker%20Room.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The historic locker room at Panmure</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpyrazyzOV6UhJk82GrsKfG4OhjMLyrieZJkNDOKDJgOoRBCBK21tNq-Y7Pbdqy-jKfy_ynRh_Jg94NzKGjz-26oW6E_DgvDmFZ6gh_51wk2Fl7rypKN5A6JNPrgU2FX-lcFGn454jBL5Ea74JlvOibDX2dBP2GBxRwkG6_tUm0VZviYHZQ/s1920/Panmure%20main%20room.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpyrazyzOV6UhJk82GrsKfG4OhjMLyrieZJkNDOKDJgOoRBCBK21tNq-Y7Pbdqy-jKfy_ynRh_Jg94NzKGjz-26oW6E_DgvDmFZ6gh_51wk2Fl7rypKN5A6JNPrgU2FX-lcFGn454jBL5Ea74JlvOibDX2dBP2GBxRwkG6_tUm0VZviYHZQ/w640-h426/Panmure%20main%20room.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>There are few 19th holes as welcoming and comforting as Panmures</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYMHiLTGooZGyLtCjMnVaAJ3a-6dYimrBXuigRTX8PfxC180XlUKaKZT2-gR5lI8DwarAW8CZtp9Kn1UaBBX1F1hc-XDlQm1iLSw04LB9137sw7dS4ZTH64cF2zE_XpMMVtWkkn9gL8r8OiUWR_v0j1G5L9E7fCXBJqo1r-PFnsyqFYrRDA/s1920/Panmure%20Hogan%20Room.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYMHiLTGooZGyLtCjMnVaAJ3a-6dYimrBXuigRTX8PfxC180XlUKaKZT2-gR5lI8DwarAW8CZtp9Kn1UaBBX1F1hc-XDlQm1iLSw04LB9137sw7dS4ZTH64cF2zE_XpMMVtWkkn9gL8r8OiUWR_v0j1G5L9E7fCXBJqo1r-PFnsyqFYrRDA/w640-h426/Panmure%20Hogan%20Room.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The Hogan room in the clubhouse</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3luvMm2WHyfvIxjD37LvrqRyyOkDPT93RoijZwwgCritcf1Sqj5KezvNXIFYryNhilYEOWeWnOjoVWnlH__tEJyY0vindqjTRHj4vxtRiTzhORZEoMsDo4mJPKPr3v7b9QPC1ADo4Rs_ffwBWTsdxUyjQlLjVIFm6HEo_p1KI8_FRoUsLpw/s1920/IMG_5653.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3luvMm2WHyfvIxjD37LvrqRyyOkDPT93RoijZwwgCritcf1Sqj5KezvNXIFYryNhilYEOWeWnOjoVWnlH__tEJyY0vindqjTRHj4vxtRiTzhORZEoMsDo4mJPKPr3v7b9QPC1ADo4Rs_ffwBWTsdxUyjQlLjVIFm6HEo_p1KI8_FRoUsLpw/w640-h426/IMG_5653.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>Past club captains on display in the clubhouse, dating back over 160 years</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Many golfers, myself included up until this point, don't give a lot of consideration to adding Panmure to a golf trip to Scotland. With a rich variety of choices of within an hour of St. Andrews it is understandable that Panmure gets overlooked. If it does get mentioned it is as the course that Hogan used to warm up on in 1953. It's too bad that Panmure gets overlooked because it is a great and interesting golf course and I enjoyed my visit there immensely. In addition, there are few places that treat guests better and whose plush, museum-like sprawling clubhouse is historic and comfortable. Panmure deserves more respect.</div><p><br /></p></div>Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-2295191591900620572022-11-02T08:28:00.000-07:002022-11-02T08:28:34.979-07:00Huntercombe Golf Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aFKaYQOUdxNteQ7Nm95KLP7L5p5KJycIAXx7OSaY8xID7_BZKpQTdLRWM02laLmNPfBQUOWtOR6SdxZm61A9s0raaf9I_sXgsjvjMdlAuq6JkJXx-bYuZ2O3cI_6jioB1kZ0IepEw7Oo8CUMIQWW-Hmw6nxtgSDizrcU8ObiQjdoEqJAKg/s1490/IMG_5740-001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="973" data-original-width="1490" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aFKaYQOUdxNteQ7Nm95KLP7L5p5KJycIAXx7OSaY8xID7_BZKpQTdLRWM02laLmNPfBQUOWtOR6SdxZm61A9s0raaf9I_sXgsjvjMdlAuq6JkJXx-bYuZ2O3cI_6jioB1kZ0IepEw7Oo8CUMIQWW-Hmw6nxtgSDizrcU8ObiQjdoEqJAKg/w400-h261/IMG_5740-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>The rules at Huntercombe Golf Club in Oxfordshire:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>No tee times</li><li>We are delighted to welcome visitors throughout the year, but you will have to forgive our idiosyncrasies. We like to keep play moving and are essentially a 2-ball course</li><li>No four balls</li><li>Lunch, no dinner</li><li>In the dining room gentlemen should wear a jacket and tie</li></ul><p></p><p>Well, well, well. A proper English golf club, playing the game in the proper way. Huntercombe has long been on my bucket list and I am thrilled to have finally played it.</p><p>Maidstone, the Old Course at Sunningdale, Huntercombe. All the work of Willie Park, Jr., one of my favorite designers. Park was the Open Champion in 1887 at Prestwick and again in 1889 at Musselburgh. He was the first person to pursue golf course architecture as a profession, designing 160 courses in total. Huntercombe was not only a golf course he designed, it was also his baby, so to speak. An aspiring businessman as well as an architect, he purchased the 724 acre Huntercombe Manor in 1900 and set out to develop it as the Chiltern Estates, which was to include a 100 bedroom hotel.</p><p>In an advertisement for Huntercombe, Park described the club as "A perfect seaside course, Inland. Grand old turf, gravel and sand subsoil, health-giving breezes, an ideal course for London golfers." As an added enticement to get men in the City to join the club arranged "motor cars," to meet the 9:50 am and 6:30 pm trains from Paddington Station when they arrived at Henley. Since my health hasn't been great over the last few years I particularly looked forward to playing Huntercombe for those health-giving breezes!</p><p>Park's business acumen was lacking and in 1924, the club, having financial difficulties, was sold to William Morris, Lord Nuffield, founder of the Morris Motor Car Company, whom the club has previously declined to admit as a member (awkward). He owned and ran the club until shortly before his death in 1963, selling it to the members for £1. Nuffield was wildly successful and philanthropic, establishing Nuffield College at Oxford in 1937. The Chiltern Estates and 100 bedroom hotel were never built, leaving Huntercombe in a delightfully rural environment.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xWKdYxUux5QTxuUobBZCFgkSNgsr6xc5zUz9xNLgCa7w8Gqtd-6TxDYZCa8RvBkut0gs8_sNtBS6IcBXuQPEZ_jpVczNV8FCDt98YYO-JOITN8RoX5VNDmPBjGHJ1ZnIITVxKAJlgiGccYCFGOOcVCY5f5R7OZGgFCcTiU3qtVHH5tuRhA/s1920/nuffield%20place.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xWKdYxUux5QTxuUobBZCFgkSNgsr6xc5zUz9xNLgCa7w8Gqtd-6TxDYZCa8RvBkut0gs8_sNtBS6IcBXuQPEZ_jpVczNV8FCDt98YYO-JOITN8RoX5VNDmPBjGHJ1ZnIITVxKAJlgiGccYCFGOOcVCY5f5R7OZGgFCcTiU3qtVHH5tuRhA/w513-h225/nuffield%20place.jpg" width="513" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The quintessential English home of Lord Nuffield in Oxfordshire</i></div><p>Huntercombe is located in Henley-on-Thames in the tony county of Oxfordshire. Henley-on-Thames is the site of the most famous regatta in the world, the Henley Royal Regatta, a rowing version of Royal Ascot, and an occasion, with well dressed patrons decked out in their best finery and hats.</p><p>Huntercombe has views of the Chiltern Hills, which doesn't mean much to most of us. The Chiltern Hills are designated by the British Government as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is an apt description. Think quintessential rolling English countryside, with farm fields dotted with hedge rows. Below is an image of Huntercombe's fourth green as seen from a drone, with the Chiltern Hills in the distance. Pretty enticing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zkCHWJQItEKUO4KCfjcDNMXACZ-p-ECWyDZD_H-l-H6fPtTFbugjaf78Mb8cgmlx8l78mniA0fN_lnlIVyQ-GQMqDNBlsadzdnrNdssTt14DK6gS1ryZ_NCSzcWyOkxURMYxhIIzUNXPBP0k9IkprhfLsAgCLgLknQ8nHZy3pOwUDx77yA/s2048/huntercombe.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zkCHWJQItEKUO4KCfjcDNMXACZ-p-ECWyDZD_H-l-H6fPtTFbugjaf78Mb8cgmlx8l78mniA0fN_lnlIVyQ-GQMqDNBlsadzdnrNdssTt14DK6gS1ryZ_NCSzcWyOkxURMYxhIIzUNXPBP0k9IkprhfLsAgCLgLknQ8nHZy3pOwUDx77yA/w647-h364/huntercombe.jpg" width="647" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Photo credit: Hutercombe Golf Club's Twitter feed</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_sXUweuAeawxSbeJaftiUVcuuJRhBEBPqfjkdB0QgRYnb8N8BgPPZ9F9SMSbeVGovzEhqeJqPlKbuAHTxJKV9RR-XMWpE7062svoo8oQnGekS9mp1bwoZWskJILhWTGSYf6C7k-odtF3NQTQMuxhpUXBiQ8Pim-HXtcHUt2RehIWS78jww/s1920/1st%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_sXUweuAeawxSbeJaftiUVcuuJRhBEBPqfjkdB0QgRYnb8N8BgPPZ9F9SMSbeVGovzEhqeJqPlKbuAHTxJKV9RR-XMWpE7062svoo8oQnGekS9mp1bwoZWskJILhWTGSYf6C7k-odtF3NQTQMuxhpUXBiQ8Pim-HXtcHUt2RehIWS78jww/w640-h426/1st%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The 1st green at Huntercombe</i></div></i><p>The first three holes at Huntercombe are set apart from the remaining fifteen. The first three play just away from the clubhouse and run down and then up a steep hill. The remaining fifteen holes play on a different piece of topography and are flat. The first, a par three, starts with a large two-tiered green, which sets the tone for the day regarding the putting surfaces. Although the hole is only 142 yards long, from the tee you can see the pin flag but not the hole.</p><p>The course starts on a par three not by design, but because when the new clubhouse was built it was near this hole. The original starting hole is today's fourteenth, which was adjacent to the original clubhouse, Huntercombe Manor, which is still there today and is a private residence. Huntercombe is one of the few courses I am aware of that plays shorter today than when it opened. The course opened at 6,500 yards and today plays as 6,319 yards; holes two, three, five, six, and eleven having been shortened.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSW26EX9X_RbfZ8Le1Tjcdj4QzuCxsCqn7XdSWW4xDwQ_3QFuoheB2-lQR6E6FaRjJg-iNeKHwysgetl9dkTbDqaVTC05P3_qapOmLH2TdB0rrTtixJvGAPSYCaPq0JmkZ0U60BcbQr1QKjEpdSxfn1QKEyViX5PCW9lh_WcLFZ0zc0OALUA/s1920/2nd%20fairway.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSW26EX9X_RbfZ8Le1Tjcdj4QzuCxsCqn7XdSWW4xDwQ_3QFuoheB2-lQR6E6FaRjJg-iNeKHwysgetl9dkTbDqaVTC05P3_qapOmLH2TdB0rrTtixJvGAPSYCaPq0JmkZ0U60BcbQr1QKjEpdSxfn1QKEyViX5PCW9lh_WcLFZ0zc0OALUA/w640-h426/2nd%20fairway.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The second at Huntercombe, a difficult par four, sweeps down a broad hill</i></div></i><p>The second hole, a par four of 416 yards, plays down a broad hill with a dramatic drop in elevation from an elevated tee. The hole also slopes right to left with out of bounds on the left. It is difficult to describe how far right you have to hit the ball off the tee in order to have it run down the hill a bit. On the day I played the conditions were fast and firm to say the least, and <i>any</i> ball hit on the fairway ended up running down to the left in a collection area, taking all the strategy out of playing the hole. I imagine in more normal conditions the design brings more risk-reward into play.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhI8T5GgLxbS3ygVcyWrR8r7s2f_QJJSQDm2T92RL2VnTSHsTFKgy6Y3GCo91JbvrsDagWP-fTSejjQnHDJHEQbn7Glf63Iv0HmXdXmbQokv8GONY160yZjNSLaTQtoXPnAJ8GxE9qP0ggdyU6HhH5OmzsQwU3J35zM_XouX5mozTMrnMfg/s1920/3rd%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhI8T5GgLxbS3ygVcyWrR8r7s2f_QJJSQDm2T92RL2VnTSHsTFKgy6Y3GCo91JbvrsDagWP-fTSejjQnHDJHEQbn7Glf63Iv0HmXdXmbQokv8GONY160yZjNSLaTQtoXPnAJ8GxE9qP0ggdyU6HhH5OmzsQwU3J35zM_XouX5mozTMrnMfg/w640-h426/3rd%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The zany, two-tiered third green</i></div><p style="text-align: left;">After walking through a stand of trees you stumble upon the third hole, a par four of 368 yards that plays much longer, climbing the same steep terrain you just descended. A mirror opposite of the second, any ball hit to the right side of the fairway on this hole will run down the hill to collection areas on the left. The green is tucked into the side of the top of the hill on the left and features another dramatic two tiered green.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Hmm . . . three holes and three two-tiered greens. I am not that bright but I'm spotting a trend here.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_j2sScghqo3s89yPwGpF9y1o6JENQiKat1gl8jbJwjuXSVbsVu_QMsorWuq-W0KEYcvlsEwNDyE3n0pzfPmbWgF6px2FJGfkwx3kNbtmM6oexlEYkXafEGSqYRizsJdapl0-hf296fUmJbLlqWwk2zKewWZe3FuJUBdk6pgdbfegmQuxPw/s1920/4th%20hole%20near%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_j2sScghqo3s89yPwGpF9y1o6JENQiKat1gl8jbJwjuXSVbsVu_QMsorWuq-W0KEYcvlsEwNDyE3n0pzfPmbWgF6px2FJGfkwx3kNbtmM6oexlEYkXafEGSqYRizsJdapl0-hf296fUmJbLlqWwk2zKewWZe3FuJUBdk6pgdbfegmQuxPw/w640-h426/4th%20hole%20near%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Grass hazard short of the 4th green on the right side at Huntercombe</i></div></i><p style="text-align: left;">The fourth hole is a relatively easy one that plays 331 yards downhill. It is also the golfer's true introduction to the hazards of the golf course. Huntercombe only has 13 sand bunkers, but has scores and scores of grass bunkers, or as the course calls them, "Pots." They are big, sometimes unsettlingly deep ditches and hollows without sand and they can prove a surprisingly effective hazard.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDQTwKp12EFwSDJ5ps18ypVqEvhUXPsuqGQb3W5jhaxvMIwYu6yD1DNxcT7TWNhviZjNJ3hDhvQnl3Rq4t6et61dXOBKDKaRGiC50E9T96bEH-JJ8aRwjjpeAEwqpNl0OvdfHR8pI8kthth4Ws8SSt5N6rjFj-Kuq8D53AXG7M_0FWMxgsA/s1920/4th%20green%20(2).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDQTwKp12EFwSDJ5ps18ypVqEvhUXPsuqGQb3W5jhaxvMIwYu6yD1DNxcT7TWNhviZjNJ3hDhvQnl3Rq4t6et61dXOBKDKaRGiC50E9T96bEH-JJ8aRwjjpeAEwqpNl0OvdfHR8pI8kthth4Ws8SSt5N6rjFj-Kuq8D53AXG7M_0FWMxgsA/w640-h426/4th%20green%20(2).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Huntercombe's 4th green</i></div></i><p>Huntercombe 4th green, like the first three, is multi-tiered and features a pronounced depression in it as seen above.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHVOiq9O1logCtSiLSK1JrMOkeW882wfSTAXKRR7RCNdMoE0au9vZeZFGo6wUrhIdIaSzV2J096HThpbdumougrDs-DR0ITPdN-07E2eijvi9BMpzgzxTf4gz1zLdj4Okei_p2UPPnrr6wuKv_vFA7rGxYg5AJ-O9Tr64h1V2Ncz9JQopQg/s1920/4th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHVOiq9O1logCtSiLSK1JrMOkeW882wfSTAXKRR7RCNdMoE0au9vZeZFGo6wUrhIdIaSzV2J096HThpbdumougrDs-DR0ITPdN-07E2eijvi9BMpzgzxTf4gz1zLdj4Okei_p2UPPnrr6wuKv_vFA7rGxYg5AJ-O9Tr64h1V2Ncz9JQopQg/w640-h426/4th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>This grass bunker guards the left side of the 4th green</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbdOb8Zkd5pxeuixKqEsl2U75KPiI5kh2n3tR_MIT_GrUEXXcCdjhH8C7NYn_HsBLMdVW7mySZKFN97NX2HX9jKCrXmY4Jmv0S_h7GOAc_agsfNHMcZbtQN_ggkPyyCH2K5atvMktLtVPXzOEyU0YQvBnS5Fx34ZmWRttn8wwVoT3PoHxwQ/s1920/6th%20grass%20bunkers.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbdOb8Zkd5pxeuixKqEsl2U75KPiI5kh2n3tR_MIT_GrUEXXcCdjhH8C7NYn_HsBLMdVW7mySZKFN97NX2HX9jKCrXmY4Jmv0S_h7GOAc_agsfNHMcZbtQN_ggkPyyCH2K5atvMktLtVPXzOEyU0YQvBnS5Fx34ZmWRttn8wwVoT3PoHxwQ/w640-h426/6th%20grass%20bunkers.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A large grass hazard guards the sixth hole approach </i></div></i><p>As you can see from the image above, course conditions were not optimal when I played in September 2022, after a long and persistent drought. While greens and tee boxes were in excellent condition from an irrigation system, fairways and grass hazards were in a tough state, something I had to look past all day long to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of Huntercombe's design.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihME2ogNApCzyaZv4-HjNgMY1O8mKUILvKZmsGMhUiVWMFZLXEyy2w96zLXQPpxcY1qVQNxoqLi-vWek2gDSzQdID0C6nwFr_KMKfWzOpF0DE60nh4OcHINyqgOg_tX5Ll8f-TXNXeglIOsU_IcCWBPtWhpaI6v0dY-3bULQdtumoaDmBehw/s1920/7.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihME2ogNApCzyaZv4-HjNgMY1O8mKUILvKZmsGMhUiVWMFZLXEyy2w96zLXQPpxcY1qVQNxoqLi-vWek2gDSzQdID0C6nwFr_KMKfWzOpF0DE60nh4OcHINyqgOg_tX5Ll8f-TXNXeglIOsU_IcCWBPtWhpaI6v0dY-3bULQdtumoaDmBehw/w640-h426/7.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The testing par-3 7th hole at Huntercombe</i></div></i><p>The seventh, the second par three on the front nine, a whopping 213 yards, is a real tester, not only because of its length but also because of the large mounding that protects the entrance to the putting surface.</p><p>People make pilgrimages from around the world to see the 8th hole, with its large, multi-tiered putting surface. A par four of 427 yards, it is the #1 stroke index hole. It helps to remember that this green was built in 1900 and Park's influence as a designer meant that greens such as this would be copied by designers such as Charles Blair Macdonald (who modeled a hole at the National Golf Links after a hole at Park's Sunningdale), and even modern day designers such as Pete Dye and Tom Doak.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUNUIoBA4v0Ym0iMlV-9v_mGVbNeKtWpoPM00lVbfTwY-yIllsXT1akD3HN_NTwFjCx5Y1wLtQq1ildaZGmlEuTp6z6YRPXT5D7q0yRTWER1gRrXLqojoowANH7VLjqmKpv-fUnPU1s_6dcOwJMETSqmJX3P6M1XqWBT0q6wBMmIafNjOWA/s1920/8th%20green%20broad%20view.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUNUIoBA4v0Ym0iMlV-9v_mGVbNeKtWpoPM00lVbfTwY-yIllsXT1akD3HN_NTwFjCx5Y1wLtQq1ildaZGmlEuTp6z6YRPXT5D7q0yRTWER1gRrXLqojoowANH7VLjqmKpv-fUnPU1s_6dcOwJMETSqmJX3P6M1XqWBT0q6wBMmIafNjOWA/w640-h426/8th%20green%20broad%20view.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>A broad view of the 8th green at Huntercombe</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijv_JjrckdetsnI0IIwlYQ_RIH7Wv4nchLg1cORrzUjv4UInWXINI37QeFgjFgNIwfUyy42MUtM_J4KVlIIscVqXRb69NEYHc1Iu9iTXoLmt6R0fgvwGvQe86olRKM8WFfgJCkD6KNtbRx0q79D8Rh0ewVjYjGXIny1C6HaKt9hjyf4Dh4pg/s1920/8th%20green%202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijv_JjrckdetsnI0IIwlYQ_RIH7Wv4nchLg1cORrzUjv4UInWXINI37QeFgjFgNIwfUyy42MUtM_J4KVlIIscVqXRb69NEYHc1Iu9iTXoLmt6R0fgvwGvQe86olRKM8WFfgJCkD6KNtbRx0q79D8Rh0ewVjYjGXIny1C6HaKt9hjyf4Dh4pg/w640-h426/8th%20green%202.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;">This close-up of the 8th green shows some of the dramatic sloping</div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The back tier, where the pin is placed here, is by far the smallest surface area of the green.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzWcTgY822gQqV9sk3Yj0sXI2kBl2d1fKyo1WF-GdDXjyhD1MOdYQsWzsaufmxIzXyrMi8EjgYyhEEPgk6yTRSm9caVsAgK0OJxlLOJJzQGV_CEVjefoqwKHjTE82hHpv1Eiyyk8lq22WMON5GFPQu7RVNp7o_1qhgah-Fx5JaUl8uq5JWQ/s1920/14th%20near%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzWcTgY822gQqV9sk3Yj0sXI2kBl2d1fKyo1WF-GdDXjyhD1MOdYQsWzsaufmxIzXyrMi8EjgYyhEEPgk6yTRSm9caVsAgK0OJxlLOJJzQGV_CEVjefoqwKHjTE82hHpv1Eiyyk8lq22WMON5GFPQu7RVNp7o_1qhgah-Fx5JaUl8uq5JWQ/w640-h426/14th%20near%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>The 14th green at Huntercombe is a sort of punch bowl style and surrounded by low mounding</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGv-MSDvg5JTyi-nZ0A8C2Y0MkwFcahmz6fd3Jf_gKIDGNV0dZFbmyISvHWQ1rIhRlUGD4H-e88k_wyNl_6s87kwh8hxRgnwl4m369Xn1QzH5q8A_BEb5-M4838VodQf3gn76528NAD-rUxcB_5Tfzu1I97xwCcyx0Hb2sPQ_bUFG2UndNw/s1920/16th%20grass%20bunker.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGv-MSDvg5JTyi-nZ0A8C2Y0MkwFcahmz6fd3Jf_gKIDGNV0dZFbmyISvHWQ1rIhRlUGD4H-e88k_wyNl_6s87kwh8hxRgnwl4m369Xn1QzH5q8A_BEb5-M4838VodQf3gn76528NAD-rUxcB_5Tfzu1I97xwCcyx0Hb2sPQ_bUFG2UndNw/w640-h426/16th%20grass%20bunker.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;">The 16th, a par five, features one of the deepest grass bunkers on the course. A bomb crater bunker.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The seventeenth was my favorite hole on the course but I wasn't able to get any good pictures of it. It is a 274 yard ball-busting risk-reward par four similar in playing style to the 17th at National Golf Links, one of my favorite holes in the world. It is full of very effective grass bunkers and plays to a well protected push up green, with several of the courses scant sand bunkers used as protection. I made a double bogey on it unfortunately.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ian Fleming was a member of Huntercombe and as such he tells us that James Bond played his golf “on courses around London – Huntercombe, Swinley, Sunningdale, the Berkshire. At the start of their famous golf match, Bond tells Goldfinger that he played off 9 at Huntercombe, which was Fleming's handicap. Fleming is my kind of golfer and used to play on Sunday mornings at 8:00am with a partner, and they were always done in under two hours. </div></div><p>The course remains popular among members of Parliament and high ranking government officials. The one-time head of MI6, Sir David Spedding, was a member of Huntercombe. While having lunch in the intentionally modest clubhouse I noticed a Marshal of the Air Force's name up on one of the club championship boards. The club's ambiance and culture is one befitting high profile people in search of peace, quiet, and discretion. Early golf course architects J .F Abercromby and C. H. Alison were members, as was the famed golf writer Henry Longhurst.</p><p>It was nice to finally visit Huntercombe and see the historic course with its crazy greens, grass hazards and proper English setting. It's too bad I hit it in sub-optimal conditions, which only means I have to come back someday when the grass is lush. I'm sure the club won't mind as long as I don't show up as a four ball!</p><p><br /></p>Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-91929208340441700202022-10-09T12:22:00.000-07:002022-10-09T12:22:30.010-07:00Hankley Common Golf Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQgxZU4khFyGztAcHfLcSF7O7MTy0YbJpp-wyLaAeCrQqHN_UWLGzYExkmXtYgdZn8PJHdYvYY-Z-QUs1v31RhyFHHmp3vys5iJl_z3GnqMFnt2JZmelxQP6y_7XIW-pEN87HsofZdDZklpJMuSiVQurvSS-9BV0x5nHW-84xj49xDLjHTw/s224/hc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="224" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQgxZU4khFyGztAcHfLcSF7O7MTy0YbJpp-wyLaAeCrQqHN_UWLGzYExkmXtYgdZn8PJHdYvYY-Z-QUs1v31RhyFHHmp3vys5iJl_z3GnqMFnt2JZmelxQP6y_7XIW-pEN87HsofZdDZklpJMuSiVQurvSS-9BV0x5nHW-84xj49xDLjHTw/s1600/hc.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><p>I have an internal debate with myself often (sad, isn't it?) about which area of the world has the best golf mile for mile. Long Island is surely in the discussion, and probably wins if I'm honest, although Scotland could also win the race. However, when you analyze all the fantastic golf within 90 minutes of Buckingham Palace, a very strong case can be made that greater London, on the strength of golf in Surrey, is the winner. Gems such as Sunningdale, St. George's Hill, Swinley Forest, Walton Heath, and Wentworth form quite a cluster. I am trying to slowly tick off as many courses as I can while my health (and wallet) holds up. Other courses on my bucket list are the Berkshire Red and Blue, New Zealand Golf Club, and the three W's: Woking, Worplesdon, and West Hill. Today's visit is to Hankley Common in Surrey. </p><p>Life is so rich and golf is so rewarding!</p><p>Anyway, to the golf course in a minute. First, I feel compelled to write about how much I love London. I had forgotten how extraordinary a city it is. As someone who has spent a lifetime working in New York City I had become deluded, like many New Yorkers do, that it is the greatest city in the world. Wrong. London is far better. I still love New York, but the frenetic activity, noise, dirt, pollution, and density are too much. London is so much greener with pocket parks scattered throughout the city in every nook and cranny. It is also greener from an environmental point of view with electric vehicles and buses greatly cutting down on pollution. And it is <i>so</i> much quieter than any American city. Brits, even taxi drivers, don't lean on their horns. People are more patient, polite, and quieter. The city is cleaner, more civilized and more genial than any American city I am familiar with. I spent thirty plus years traveling extensively to almost every city in the States and the quality of life in London is superior in my view.</p><p>On the down side, it is an expensive city to live in. The cost of living is through the roof. I also have fantasy agendas when I go the Britain, visiting all the posh places and sampling the best the city has to offer. On this trip I stayed off the Kings Road in Chelsea near Sloane Square. It is a delightful neighborhood. The other thing that jumped out at me again is how dog crazed the English are. There were scores and scores of people in Central London walking and pampering their dogs. </p><p>Hankley Common began as a nine hole course laid out by James Braid in 1897 on Surrey's natural heathlands. Braid advised on the addition of nine more holes in 1922, then H. S. Colt remodeled the course in 1936, so the pedigree is about as good as can be. I drove the ball very well at Hankley but pulled a lot of my approach shots. It made for a long day for one reason and one reason only: heather. Heather makes the course a pleasure to look at but it serves as a very effective hazard, causing the loss of at least one stroke if you end up in it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihITDGQ0q2kPoNYXa4q0fXT5RHgVNIDXFnkuXL86mgEZFfIXPkUP-Bvgc2xs22ppgewKN9x4WjSCouzzqadk6eDeICT2Fgs9VC474YPWmC27vfSj9I57b-eZcDIpJKPoC9JJnoCt-FGiSfhTewAdQqtBQY1b65z9OoyrlqkQQChhte9aY7KQ/s1920/Hankley%201st%20green%20.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihITDGQ0q2kPoNYXa4q0fXT5RHgVNIDXFnkuXL86mgEZFfIXPkUP-Bvgc2xs22ppgewKN9x4WjSCouzzqadk6eDeICT2Fgs9VC474YPWmC27vfSj9I57b-eZcDIpJKPoC9JJnoCt-FGiSfhTewAdQqtBQY1b65z9OoyrlqkQQChhte9aY7KQ/w640-h426/Hankley%201st%20green%20.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The first green at Hankley Common</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The course starts gently enough with an easy par four that plays on flat ground. The blind green is set down in a hollow and doesn't present too much of a challenge to hit with a good approach shot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_wAUK4QARQvEhq4P1tjZEgFl2QABm5cCWOFw7hn3gq0LXnxj20mETgpor5ZPvXGzdIeQOHUAkK5i8BEKEz2SPqopZ1_fmM30gR-JdiF9BoG0-ucwtFmmt3I5fXjRIF5eR5ubfy_WuswB-wWp6zvjAJqSP9E3nFRZ6uxrksI78lwGwS4ysA/s1920/Hankley%202nd%20-%20Par%203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_wAUK4QARQvEhq4P1tjZEgFl2QABm5cCWOFw7hn3gq0LXnxj20mETgpor5ZPvXGzdIeQOHUAkK5i8BEKEz2SPqopZ1_fmM30gR-JdiF9BoG0-ucwtFmmt3I5fXjRIF5eR5ubfy_WuswB-wWp6zvjAJqSP9E3nFRZ6uxrksI78lwGwS4ysA/w640-h426/Hankley%202nd%20-%20Par%203.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The par-3 second hole at Hankley</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The par three second hole also isn't overly taxing, requiring a mid iron shot to a receptive green. The course starts to show its natural beauty on the par three second, with a green perfectly situated in a corner of the property.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtTzu-mYiEYfbRdmA7e_MtnKRdKEpTC0w-zh9n29NHQWUfFo_x8Q1OXq-bKCSxLbm-voQxBRYHBRz3OMro8HrCrCajzvCjsANhxx52vC-sjmrERHQ7EttAx7ri2gr1Ctribkh8lCE9ffqbnFp718Q8y87XTouWaaiztNbqXmJfckc0pZ2lw/s1920/Hankley%203rd%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtTzu-mYiEYfbRdmA7e_MtnKRdKEpTC0w-zh9n29NHQWUfFo_x8Q1OXq-bKCSxLbm-voQxBRYHBRz3OMro8HrCrCajzvCjsANhxx52vC-sjmrERHQ7EttAx7ri2gr1Ctribkh8lCE9ffqbnFp718Q8y87XTouWaaiztNbqXmJfckc0pZ2lw/w640-h426/Hankley%203rd%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Hankley's third green framed by gorse bushes on the left side</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The third hole is a par four of 347 yards and offers a generous fairway, as do most holes. The trick here is to be on the right side of the fairway to avoid a semi-blind shot into the two tiered green.</div><div><br /></div><div>The fourth hole shouldn't be that hard, but it is. The green sits near the clubhouse and we watched golfers trying to hit the green as we had lunch before our round. I thought to myself, why is everyone approaching from the left side and missing the green? Well, I know the answer now. I did the same thing and hit left off the tee, which sets you up that way because the fairway is so narrow. It is simply the wrong angle to approach the oblong green from, particularly if you end up in the heather like a knucklehead, as I did. What a great design for a 327 yard hole. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9XW5TtA0VfCR2SdD3NWHjAaRIY1gCmdTb5YowxT3exCTTD-QUfPhZyJbFYiIoDHcAJC_Wx5gymq4x_SlsPA8lZf00RusRAqzdRnJxkIP6__dY9XRg2TMFPjKGbZwx97-yXCtZP1krRhbOA7Jv4YUaGr__Alv4e-qdYk-8fhxFRgAGAHbDg/s1920/Hankley%205th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9XW5TtA0VfCR2SdD3NWHjAaRIY1gCmdTb5YowxT3exCTTD-QUfPhZyJbFYiIoDHcAJC_Wx5gymq4x_SlsPA8lZf00RusRAqzdRnJxkIP6__dY9XRg2TMFPjKGbZwx97-yXCtZP1krRhbOA7Jv4YUaGr__Alv4e-qdYk-8fhxFRgAGAHbDg/w640-h426/Hankley%205th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The fifth hole at Hankley as seen from the tee</i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The fifth hole, a par four of 381 yards, is the most difficult hole on the front. The hole bends to the left around strategically placed bunkers, seen in the distance to the left. I landed in the heather on the left, which is sub-optimal to say the least. Being on the right side of the fairway is essential to properly approach this very tricky, narrow green, seen below:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvXqc2ZWfBat6_HrKS_2HoI_ptSJMAEmZdePe-P0m-7x3mC1iuxnQVJBz8vT1w9M7NkXCoIGc29vA88jjUjvQpxUjh5pbs_sOLIccT11h8QaNzmD28HU-Nx4JVJidxNSqruQplV0eAWjeNUn3LQ0y9QxW--cxGL4shzMw4fRo_bPS-X6rTA/s1920/Hankley%205th%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvXqc2ZWfBat6_HrKS_2HoI_ptSJMAEmZdePe-P0m-7x3mC1iuxnQVJBz8vT1w9M7NkXCoIGc29vA88jjUjvQpxUjh5pbs_sOLIccT11h8QaNzmD28HU-Nx4JVJidxNSqruQplV0eAWjeNUn3LQ0y9QxW--cxGL4shzMw4fRo_bPS-X6rTA/w640-h426/Hankley%205th%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The tricky fifth green at Hankley Common</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5KJEIZhkL2mDCml5PEBWb5_Y0lxeim4VDA-nRGvTwNSRTvzpgjPFAqhsPheNySCfafNwIhQ-KSbWtKe4ddIFDdJ5HIIVUQA3gtvnZtNd6U9YRwNOmyOAsr_86I7usQ3lgxMO9jWBikX8NMK473do34MKY3udl33yddavSHdhQ0QbldpTjA/s1920/Hankley%207th.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5KJEIZhkL2mDCml5PEBWb5_Y0lxeim4VDA-nRGvTwNSRTvzpgjPFAqhsPheNySCfafNwIhQ-KSbWtKe4ddIFDdJ5HIIVUQA3gtvnZtNd6U9YRwNOmyOAsr_86I7usQ3lgxMO9jWBikX8NMK473do34MKY3udl33yddavSHdhQ0QbldpTjA/w640-h426/Hankley%207th.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The world-class par three 7th hole at Hankley with foreboding skies above</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The difficult par three seventh hole is one of the best on the course and one of the best par threes in the Surrey region, which is saying something given the quality of golf here. It plays 183 yards on the card, but as you can see, the green is perched on top of a hill. The day we played there was roughly a two club wind. It must be something quirky about where the hole is situated with the green on the apex of a hill, but it was far windier on this corner of the course, making it an even greater challenge.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqCutPSQYAh6T5FhxNsC8e0oAH2Vqwxk-SXxiKSY4ANdfdxh1WyP64osWsLRDM8p90A3xFa9PoOZa2PVn_LoYgYpi6IaHf7_wjqaNqVvTA3OwAQ57AxECrWlXureguo5aVwEjlZMBkkrWLmcm4zwZ4px4BJqpZmYlyc2C50jn5x1w4cMU2Q/s1920/Hankley%207th%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqCutPSQYAh6T5FhxNsC8e0oAH2Vqwxk-SXxiKSY4ANdfdxh1WyP64osWsLRDM8p90A3xFa9PoOZa2PVn_LoYgYpi6IaHf7_wjqaNqVvTA3OwAQ57AxECrWlXureguo5aVwEjlZMBkkrWLmcm4zwZ4px4BJqpZmYlyc2C50jn5x1w4cMU2Q/w640-h426/Hankley%207th%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The unfortunate golfer (moi) that hits their tee shot to the right side of the seventh green will face this daunting blind shot to a tough green</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-q0CYo5aSDR3kKSf87w-UlDENWnGfeEBtfY7TzsrpxxzJyvE-nix9RsU_cPHT35AybPqiwMT31ELcsU-kK5pLe3Lm1kkmTQduhbp0LkpEyNRHw77haD3Eph710J5XVn-39PlI3i5X99OtZunIwJYpwcZHm-Jlj4f7Q8iuIkCaXhzgA9oACQ/s1920/Hankley%208th%20from%20tee.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-q0CYo5aSDR3kKSf87w-UlDENWnGfeEBtfY7TzsrpxxzJyvE-nix9RsU_cPHT35AybPqiwMT31ELcsU-kK5pLe3Lm1kkmTQduhbp0LkpEyNRHw77haD3Eph710J5XVn-39PlI3i5X99OtZunIwJYpwcZHm-Jlj4f7Q8iuIkCaXhzgA9oACQ/w640-h426/Hankley%208th%20from%20tee.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The vista of the appealing eighth hole from the tee box</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><p>The eighth hole, a par five, plays from the top of the same hill that the seventh green is on and it offers the best vista of the day, showing off the handsome nature of Hankley with its heather and Scots Pine trees.</p><p>My preference is to walk a golf course if I can. Due to a deteriorating chronic lung condition as a result of my transplant, I can't walk up hills or steep inclines anymore so I took a cart at Hankley, and I'm glad I did because I wouldn't have been able to traverse the terrain the course is artfully routed over. </p><p>The club owns a staggering 850 acres, offering panoramic views throughout the day. Let's pause for a minute and think about 850 acres. Not a small amount of land anywhere, but in Surrey! Not bad, especially considering that they paid £800 to buy it from the estate owner in 1942. As in classic English fashion, this club is probably quite well off, but is equally understated. The golf course itself only occupies 164 acres; the club leases a good chunk of the land the British Ministry of Defense which uses it as a training ground for their armed forces. Troops built an Atlantic Wall here during the Second World War and practiced their D-Day invasion. Three James Bond movies have also used parts of Hankley Common, (the broader Common, not the golf course) for their films.</p><p>Holes ten, eleven, and twelve are known as Colt's Corner since they are the holes he designed. Since I spent most of the time looking for my ball in the heather during that stretch I didn't get any pictures of them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78s4Q9o-BfQ4XDcVDm5SBM0eHHQPWyngnemTJ3XKt115baY8-hC3Tjt-Imx6r713S2U2RX1sZ91HqcEJZbuIKBbmsb_CbIS3rl1ZN1iZP791Jug8rIS64ofND38_C-gEz6pr7GKQoEBfswAMAdeLtUhM8kONp5S4FwasoqZ2Cg6gZH6XEOg/s1920/Hankley%2018th%20approach.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78s4Q9o-BfQ4XDcVDm5SBM0eHHQPWyngnemTJ3XKt115baY8-hC3Tjt-Imx6r713S2U2RX1sZ91HqcEJZbuIKBbmsb_CbIS3rl1ZN1iZP791Jug8rIS64ofND38_C-gEz6pr7GKQoEBfswAMAdeLtUhM8kONp5S4FwasoqZ2Cg6gZH6XEOg/w640-h426/Hankley%2018th%20approach.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The cracking finishing hole at Hankley Common</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The finishing hole at Hankley is one of the most interesting I have seen in all my travels. The tee shot on this 432 yard hole is a forced carry over heather. The unsuspecting golfer has no idea what is coming. As you walk (or ride, as I did) the crest of a gentle hill you see the challenge to come. There is a treacherous gully protecting the green.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0N0sALUZuD44ddzknnZ-bC_tmhwW6wF1Ey2-zV-KRssI1IS9htrlWRdECfvTIzeAK3f9jTyIzjqeJm4NWzehgrgY7CHhAMdgV82wrWv5o5A7U-PdTty5dQr9sbyb3Wjl4pVXqdqwfU0uNNewiaK3vpcT1vjTNjbF6_zQaYFtNpA-MnJpPQ/s1920/Hankley%2018th%20looking%20back%20from%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0N0sALUZuD44ddzknnZ-bC_tmhwW6wF1Ey2-zV-KRssI1IS9htrlWRdECfvTIzeAK3f9jTyIzjqeJm4NWzehgrgY7CHhAMdgV82wrWv5o5A7U-PdTty5dQr9sbyb3Wjl4pVXqdqwfU0uNNewiaK3vpcT1vjTNjbF6_zQaYFtNpA-MnJpPQ/w640-h426/Hankley%2018th%20looking%20back%20from%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The 18th hole at Hankley Common seen looking backward from the green shows the tricky nature of the hole</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The fairway bends slightly to the right after you crest the hill, and if you smash your drive you are left with a downhill lie that requires a long iron or hybrid club over the gully to the green. <i>Bon chance</i>. I was forced to lay up because, shockingly, my tee shot landed in the heather. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuzDsOYC53uE1tUllf7O-WaCtWce4gifyIKuzRZFCVWlAt-ciCXTzGbjlDSVOVxW3yLFa_IPLuBRSaVXuFQHJcqvMtkt667fnVteFaiJWpYWXlW0giZV2mY3u4VKMspwmUFtuWrEPsF5oZLNbLFuUXtpMFS0nH8DaCO_e9-QIVYvR-wHsng/s1920/Hankley%20ditch%20short%20of%2018.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuzDsOYC53uE1tUllf7O-WaCtWce4gifyIKuzRZFCVWlAt-ciCXTzGbjlDSVOVxW3yLFa_IPLuBRSaVXuFQHJcqvMtkt667fnVteFaiJWpYWXlW0giZV2mY3u4VKMspwmUFtuWrEPsF5oZLNbLFuUXtpMFS0nH8DaCO_e9-QIVYvR-wHsng/w640-h426/Hankley%20ditch%20short%20of%2018.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A close up of the grass bunker/hazard/ditch short left of the last green at Hankley</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxGowMlwmd99dsD4FMhpOkc6zqCn8L5LwsfWpqDcYjJUUBjHrPDJKz8BzsJvgDXAr9-UOwwejJd2WpenSag2xK7sTeEbFxxSRnYTp53I6bo9zzjbA8j06UIP3hcJdiFnGgEBS-s8jDHjdp6UAVcZqh0nyrLIOMJu58I0lqQ3v4biG1LyTXg/s1920/Hankley%2018th%20green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxGowMlwmd99dsD4FMhpOkc6zqCn8L5LwsfWpqDcYjJUUBjHrPDJKz8BzsJvgDXAr9-UOwwejJd2WpenSag2xK7sTeEbFxxSRnYTp53I6bo9zzjbA8j06UIP3hcJdiFnGgEBS-s8jDHjdp6UAVcZqh0nyrLIOMJu58I0lqQ3v4biG1LyTXg/w640-h426/Hankley%2018th%20green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>A view of the menacing 18th hole up close shows the hazards you have to carry to land on the relatively small green</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I mentioned in the opening, the course has a gentle start, with easy holes over the opening stretch. It more than makes up for that on the finish. I liken it to the last at Pine Valley, which also challenges the golfer with a shot from a downhill lie over a demanding hazard (in the case of Pine Valley, water) to a testing green.</div><p>Tom Doak gives the course a 5 in his <i>Confidential Guide</i> and says, "there is the nagging suspicion that there are a few too many holes where the fairway runs too straight and too long without any bunkers to liven up the proceedings. A few diagonal cross hazards would do wonders here." He knows a lot more about architecture than I do and it is a fair observation.</p><p>Hankley Common is the most dog friend course I have ever been to. When you walk up to the door of the clubhouse there is a water bowl for dogs. Same thing on the back porch, where we had lunch: water bowls for man's four legged friends. I would say at least half the members who were out playing had their canine pals with them. On one hole there were two golfers teeing off and each had a dog. The dogs sat about 30 yards ahead of the golfers perfectly positioned facing the tee box to see their masters hit their drives. What a country. Woof!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-22559325109471046812022-09-26T08:12:00.005-07:002022-09-26T09:17:29.802-07:00North Berwick Golf ClubAfter postponing my trip twice due to the pandemic, I was finally able to return back to the style of golf I love the most, which is that in the magical British Isles. Although I have written about North Berwick before, I couldn't resist doing another because I hit the course on a sparkling day which was very accommodating to picture taking. Even though I played the course three years ago and it is difficult to choose which courses to play when organizing a trip, I included it on my itinerary again. It my fifth time playing the historic links and I can't get enough.<div><br /></div><div>Minimal words . . . maximum pictures . . . especially of the 13th "Pit" hole . . . remarkable . . .<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXh96OkaIDVEBIpnGro1f7G1itogvRFjSGbv9OxoloFswZlbWBu7Zkmg2w1BZh7Y8A90nulxJTeaNXNC3l6VwHZXNoCTbpEgm6YENKAhioAiu61awycSN7I-t83LmK0ONFdiXp9Fk5boFNhdB_BsshL0HKayKySaolCb2SAvnFGuRLYSrqg/s1920/NB2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXh96OkaIDVEBIpnGro1f7G1itogvRFjSGbv9OxoloFswZlbWBu7Zkmg2w1BZh7Y8A90nulxJTeaNXNC3l6VwHZXNoCTbpEgm6YENKAhioAiu61awycSN7I-t83LmK0ONFdiXp9Fk5boFNhdB_BsshL0HKayKySaolCb2SAvnFGuRLYSrqg/w640-h426/NB2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The roly-poly second fairway at North Berwick sets the tone for the day</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYTgS3bKye5Unfer2PuCUAMuMFODja-ywaK7wkhqkpSwTXUyz3fmTD_omVHgqc1HSUS6wazifjX50Hz4YVrewRgDc4YqRc9nLnqTxJZ8tZ2f7w_fbcNHsUhVSlBs6TW1Sxcs5yHit5JcaYO9D2rHq4l3JEsPbl_YrpPUO1ROecBnN0x2tiA/s1920/NB3-1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYTgS3bKye5Unfer2PuCUAMuMFODja-ywaK7wkhqkpSwTXUyz3fmTD_omVHgqc1HSUS6wazifjX50Hz4YVrewRgDc4YqRc9nLnqTxJZ8tZ2f7w_fbcNHsUhVSlBs6TW1Sxcs5yHit5JcaYO9D2rHq4l3JEsPbl_YrpPUO1ROecBnN0x2tiA/w640-h426/NB3-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The third hole is the golfers introduction to one of North Berwick's defining features, the old stone walls</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tP4dEp2qKY63dzmYGMnwlKdsloMzzTG1Y97QGF0gu3WU5E1f5tfBFFwIdfskcoqcJg6IFLmbh_6QgSTr9omEiCC65ExMA5q_aADgKiokC0KaCuzrtYH1CJSsIcnRlkohHo0I-m3-wYnHIVmzJn5hlTLk23hvN9DqYoQiMeRaZPIu10dRxQ/s1920/NB4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1tP4dEp2qKY63dzmYGMnwlKdsloMzzTG1Y97QGF0gu3WU5E1f5tfBFFwIdfskcoqcJg6IFLmbh_6QgSTr9omEiCC65ExMA5q_aADgKiokC0KaCuzrtYH1CJSsIcnRlkohHo0I-m3-wYnHIVmzJn5hlTLk23hvN9DqYoQiMeRaZPIu10dRxQ/w640-h426/NB4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The green on the par three 4th hole</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUWuAR79gVghgZLFrb4DVoG5WG7Ab_UyQLnT0kUCz2hyx0rmvgn4XcFPEy557k7xcZ1EAUgpZtDYxnPN0_tCZx9fYxayf11SYegIzVRqyf55pxW7Yl9sqcNko40u7T4vKE2_A1qrZyGKMaavFOd3HOHwhItsSNDJbXsqtrLRpjj4fa0dIbA/s1920/NB12-1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUWuAR79gVghgZLFrb4DVoG5WG7Ab_UyQLnT0kUCz2hyx0rmvgn4XcFPEy557k7xcZ1EAUgpZtDYxnPN0_tCZx9fYxayf11SYegIzVRqyf55pxW7Yl9sqcNko40u7T4vKE2_A1qrZyGKMaavFOd3HOHwhItsSNDJbXsqtrLRpjj4fa0dIbA/w640-h426/NB12-1.JPG" width="640" /></i></a></div><i>The brilliance of the Firth of Forth is the backdrop for aptly named "Bass" hole, the 12th, with its namesake rock in the distance, right</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cTOyTEPGVoe_aHXubZ2ow7k2RcPsA5_vnQHPFHPT7EQVc3ZpLffFudb4dDgrAjRgcJpHaNZeuohdE6GJTRQqEa8H83ViNv3N8SWMxB9I65Tw5cykVnbkEFy3DAdBMk4pHQ74CCfTEhC9EjMLABheuvxTRJfB0qfp594zUv7eM8kA1imn-g/s1920/NB13-1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cTOyTEPGVoe_aHXubZ2ow7k2RcPsA5_vnQHPFHPT7EQVc3ZpLffFudb4dDgrAjRgcJpHaNZeuohdE6GJTRQqEa8H83ViNv3N8SWMxB9I65Tw5cykVnbkEFy3DAdBMk4pHQ74CCfTEhC9EjMLABheuvxTRJfB0qfp594zUv7eM8kA1imn-g/w640-h426/NB13-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>When one looks to narrow down the hundreds of thousands of golf holes in the world to the best handful, North Berwick's 13th ("Pit") is on the short list. Seen here from the fairway at a distance</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhghDjTbsQuKR-n4_oCH7Tm7t4aNqobp7wx93tIXKDLEi_m6CzfFN1h2xJ1WBxez1o7tfYl07P5sEAX3-WemidQwlWspH5WCVx_RUbxnonPWSojtNQG4BtfQtBPNOYd4JQVyOjApTMpT1kJmnQcRCTZt2Fd0MoQjOgQdGUDR5e01qBpuVnw/s1920/13th%20approach.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhghDjTbsQuKR-n4_oCH7Tm7t4aNqobp7wx93tIXKDLEi_m6CzfFN1h2xJ1WBxez1o7tfYl07P5sEAX3-WemidQwlWspH5WCVx_RUbxnonPWSojtNQG4BtfQtBPNOYd4JQVyOjApTMpT1kJmnQcRCTZt2Fd0MoQjOgQdGUDR5e01qBpuVnw/w640-h426/13th%20approach.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>The approach to the 13th as seen from a bunker on the far left side of the fairway, with the green tucked behind the stone wall</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCySFaJCRSJGU054Fjs1hefp3WZGaG3oBCDAtGcz8Ymw-w2MUH_z78DXtiUjfg9qm17PhjvSnaUTrxncG96N72zCVnLx9Hsk5UoMSGvCHMCFkDFguObAPjJDYSg2hkijX7ut4_paawhMeujCUOa-dbjJ-MjKFu51B2ZBnapr2PIp7i7fOyg/s1920/NB13-4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCySFaJCRSJGU054Fjs1hefp3WZGaG3oBCDAtGcz8Ymw-w2MUH_z78DXtiUjfg9qm17PhjvSnaUTrxncG96N72zCVnLx9Hsk5UoMSGvCHMCFkDFguObAPjJDYSg2hkijX7ut4_paawhMeujCUOa-dbjJ-MjKFu51B2ZBnapr2PIp7i7fOyg/w640-h426/NB13-4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>The green as seen from behind, shows the absolute genius of the design, and its sheer fun</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8kcdF1oIb3TnlNKlvGCSA3qwS1y44CiU4aKrtvPm9bxTNFHLKDNwRCI3CSyZg_RXAXoVMF4DnbH7xW5SLb66eEq8-Lm66vDOM6UIvbOwprRS0gh9gzMTk8IcgP1WcDv9zVYyqGIzk95bhhb2jGrTb-ibLSjBDsV7cfAsBsK7EZQjkcmykA/s1920/NB13-5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8kcdF1oIb3TnlNKlvGCSA3qwS1y44CiU4aKrtvPm9bxTNFHLKDNwRCI3CSyZg_RXAXoVMF4DnbH7xW5SLb66eEq8-Lm66vDOM6UIvbOwprRS0gh9gzMTk8IcgP1WcDv9zVYyqGIzk95bhhb2jGrTb-ibLSjBDsV7cfAsBsK7EZQjkcmykA/w640-h426/NB13-5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>Did I mention I liked the hole? Another shot with a wider view of the beach</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I missed taking any pictures of the Redan hole, but did make a par, which I am thrilled with. Hit the ball eight feet from the cup. The trick was to aim at least thirty yards right of where the flag is. Difficult to do but rewarding. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHSJrDTrCqyRJuCKZaoUiFSphT3xf80GD-il6vwBCJgQuoURz7MsN_OCATTPnwgOFuetk1lYpP2yOGaGj3zVjWNrXf3ZAg8uniqHI5oMGT3KhFOvBq6b_nDrBPIN9iTwyYDaGgnGyHAQYeHk1TBRl_WqYp8xbHzebCgKmVAczWxOXBqt9nQ/s1920/NB16.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHSJrDTrCqyRJuCKZaoUiFSphT3xf80GD-il6vwBCJgQuoURz7MsN_OCATTPnwgOFuetk1lYpP2yOGaGj3zVjWNrXf3ZAg8uniqHI5oMGT3KhFOvBq6b_nDrBPIN9iTwyYDaGgnGyHAQYeHk1TBRl_WqYp8xbHzebCgKmVAczWxOXBqt9nQ/w640-h426/NB16.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>The par four sixteenth with one of the craziest greens in the world</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWC2Nl4QNp4-n2fQ7HU_D53jw-8F29qrSnQFfB_KwEoLnLMoTVdjM_bJMTNExLUijGkZOFQQWvB1Toh5qJrj8A7p3aZVZ-bcitbXhhCu3YF2emL20M_pVzTTbn3iPMKg6uyVNtLhaZQCQWOG1As4-DvoaYhZMV3jfKEEVycWkuJbdnjID4g/s1920/NB16-1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWC2Nl4QNp4-n2fQ7HU_D53jw-8F29qrSnQFfB_KwEoLnLMoTVdjM_bJMTNExLUijGkZOFQQWvB1Toh5qJrj8A7p3aZVZ-bcitbXhhCu3YF2emL20M_pVzTTbn3iPMKg6uyVNtLhaZQCQWOG1As4-DvoaYhZMV3jfKEEVycWkuJbdnjID4g/w640-h426/NB16-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>My ball is the one closest to the camera. I was here in two but am too embarrassed to tell you my score. Sadly it was not a three or a four </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ6Yo48REkAWxtKnTfJVQelMGcCshEmUvqkpgYR2MQenihs9-hFHc_RacK9Api5DKK4Kivi4Rl6JqBSLZBThLug2GTlZZi5KaC_EFY8EvHS0Sl-D2RLbhs-6Ae6NnjaqC3WXizXae4LA6t895jB3UMPfDOSYdRfs5nqttP7qHCrNHhrvPrQ/s1920/NB18.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ6Yo48REkAWxtKnTfJVQelMGcCshEmUvqkpgYR2MQenihs9-hFHc_RacK9Api5DKK4Kivi4Rl6JqBSLZBThLug2GTlZZi5KaC_EFY8EvHS0Sl-D2RLbhs-6Ae6NnjaqC3WXizXae4LA6t895jB3UMPfDOSYdRfs5nqttP7qHCrNHhrvPrQ/w640-h426/NB18.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i>The "Home," hole. Very easy but one of the most satisfying in the game to play</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">Traveling for me these days is a production. I had to take an extra suitcase to carry all my medicines and I brought everything I might need should something go wrong. The eye drops I use need to remain frozen/refrigerated and the inhaler machine I use for my lungs takes up a lot of space. All this rigmarole is like an umbrella: if you don't bring it, it's sure to rain. It worked, and I warded off Murphy's Law from coming into play, so it was worth it to ensure a successful trip. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I am blessed to be able to travel to Scotland and play such fantastic courses.</div><i><br /></i></div><br /> <p></p></div>Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-22631835900228654282022-06-14T01:26:00.002-07:002022-06-14T01:28:23.774-07:00A Dozen Fun Facts about Merion Golf Club's Wicker Baskets<p>Merion Golf Club's East Course is one of the best in the world, noted for its strategic layout, difficulty, and the timeliness of the design. One of the things that adds to the cache of the club are the distinctive wicker baskets the club uses instead of traditional pin flags.</p><p>Merion recently hosted the 2022 Curtis Cup amateur women's tournament and there was a nice article about the wicker baskets in the program written by Tom Mackin, which inspired me to write about them. It was great to be back at Merion and to see firsthand the improvements that Gil Hanse has made renovating the course. It was as beautiful and well conditioned as I have ever seen it.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/52144867915/in/dateposted-public/" title="IMG_0253"><img alt="IMG_0253" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52144867915_66e5efa919_z.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We'll begin with a dozen fun facts about the baskets, drawn from the article.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>1. Merion’s wicker baskets are known as standards.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. The baskets on the front nine are red and the baskets on the back nine are orange; the poles are striped with red on the front nine and orange on the back nine. The orange color came about after World War II when the club’s agronomy department had left over orange paint they didn't want to waste.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. <i>The New York Times</i> says the baskets are egg shaped, although the <i>Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger</i> described them in 1915 as pear shaped.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. William Flynn, the greenskeeper at Merion in its early years, developed the baskets. He was issued a patent for them in 1916 and started a business selling them to the public: $50 for a set of 18 or $3 each.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. When Flynn approached the club's Green Committee and proposed using the baskets instead of flags, they told him to go ahead and use them. At his expense.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. If a ball becomes embedded in a basket, a local rule calls for the ball to be placed on the lip of the hole, without a penalty stroke. Some golfers would argue that it should be a hole in one, but that's not the rule. It seems more than fair to me, since more likely than not the ball would have gone well past the hole if it hadn't hit the basket.</div><div><br /></div><div>7. The baskets are made by Joni-Dee Ross of Handmade North Carolina Baskets, and have been done so for the last 25 years. Prior to Ross making them, a member of the greens staff used to weave them in the winter.</div><div><br /></div><div>8. For security reasons, all the baskets are removed from the course overnight to prevent theft.</div><div><br /></div><div>9. Every basket has an identifying mark for authentication purposes, known only to a select handful of Merion staff and members.</div><div><br /></div><div>10. Damaged baskets are burned!</div><div><br /></div><div>11. Baskets are worth a lot of money. The article states that occasionally, and without the clubs consent, Merion baskets will show up on auction sites, most notably, <a href="https://goldenageauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=32961">Golden Age Auctions</a>. Mackin says they sell for $5,000, although the latest auction for one in April of this year was for $9,200. Flynn would no doubt be proud that his $3 baskets are now worth such a fortune.</div><div><br /></div><div>12. 16 of 17 of the U.S.G.A. championships Merion has hosted have featured the baskets. The most famous event, Ben Hogan's 1950 U.S. Open victory, was the only one that used pin flags instead of baskets.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mackin notes that wicker baskets were used in the United Kingdom prior to those used at Merion, including at Prestwick in Scotland and Stokes Park near London. According the the <i>New York Times</i>, they believe the origin of the baskets was from the course architect Hugh Wilson, "There was even a meticulously detailed tale of how Wilson was spending time with the American ambassador at the Court of St. James’s, where there were three small putting greens. The ambassador’s wife had put three shepherd’s crooks topped with flower baskets in the holes, as the story went." Of the the club's histories, <i>Golf at Merion 1896-1976, </i>by Richard H. Heilman states that Wilson got the idea for the wicker baskets after visiting Sunningdale, outside London, although this is probably incorrect. There is no absolute certainty on the true origin of the idea.</div><div><br /></div><div>After his career as a greenskeeper at Merion William Flynn would go on to design golf courses and created several classic designs. Among his designs are the Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, the Kittansett Club in Rhode Island, as well as Lancaster Country Club and Manufacturers', both in Pennsylvania. Flynn also modified and help design Shinnecock Hills and the Country Club in Brookline, Mass.</div><div><br /></div><div>Flynn's patent for his "Golf Standard," is below. The shape appears less bulbous than the current baskets used by the club.</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/52144416106/in/dateposted-public/" title="US1173713-drawings-page-1"><img alt="US1173713-drawings-page-1" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52144416106_e09d511271_z.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It must take someone with a keen eye to tell the difference between the basket colors on the front and back nines. They all look red to me, I don't see the orange color no matter how hard I look. The point of using the wicker baskets is to make playing more difficult, since the golfer can't judge the wind direction or speed by looking at a flag.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Merion is not the only course that uses the wicker baskets today, although it is certainly the most famous. The Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course), in Georgia also uses them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/52144481143/in/dateposted-public/" title="SI 3 green"><i><img alt="SI 3 green" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52144481143_041e8a5f88_z.jpg" width="640" /></i></a></div><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/52144867915/in/dateposted-public/" title="IMG_0253"><i><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></i></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A wicker basket at the Sea Island Seaside course</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjArl3Kt02k2SZwXlgCrE4Bqu6IuJSCDDepZzZE9_DwD-4M1dpUZScbsD7mql15jIc_NVqXwNClPhFB5Zb6bhQyLxosXtPAaoclwUso9Jm9qQ6z4vwxlDNn0QqLwvFH4u71HQk9X3vXsPI41kr0VsDnx8exGlor8eTBC9W8l9mF7Nbl79QBdQ/s1195/IMG_5372-001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1195" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjArl3Kt02k2SZwXlgCrE4Bqu6IuJSCDDepZzZE9_DwD-4M1dpUZScbsD7mql15jIc_NVqXwNClPhFB5Zb6bhQyLxosXtPAaoclwUso9Jm9qQ6z4vwxlDNn0QqLwvFH4u71HQk9X3vXsPI41kr0VsDnx8exGlor8eTBC9W8l9mF7Nbl79QBdQ/w640-h448/IMG_5372-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>A treasure trove of Merion wicker baskets. Photo credit: 2022 Curtis Cup Program</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-52467396360113508452022-04-14T13:27:00.000-07:002022-04-14T13:27:00.849-07:00Chechessee Creek Golf Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ9iCxL1nnBEvD8KcLu7sAVzFOSGTRZSV1txLmBBCV3hYi4-kYL18I5VE_qfwHQOmCDSNauJtfBr2U5ZAswp9fmHKjtsYUiRsL3JhvodXK_xb06md-9qdKnWOvJEfm5hSdgL1uzr-tVfuM2sL_otmyeSoD7SsuwzJP5CJ_Gby5CUj0C7ZGA/s792/IMG_5203-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="507" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ9iCxL1nnBEvD8KcLu7sAVzFOSGTRZSV1txLmBBCV3hYi4-kYL18I5VE_qfwHQOmCDSNauJtfBr2U5ZAswp9fmHKjtsYUiRsL3JhvodXK_xb06md-9qdKnWOvJEfm5hSdgL1uzr-tVfuM2sL_otmyeSoD7SsuwzJP5CJ_Gby5CUj0C7ZGA/s320/IMG_5203-001.JPG" width="205" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Chechessee Creek Club logo features a feather with a golf pin and flag inset</i></div><br /><div>It has been a long time since I posted anything and it is nice to be back. The pandemic years have been trying for all of us and especially for me. With a <i>very</i> bad immune system I have to be overly cautious. She who must be obeyed (my doctor) gave me a very simple instruction, and I have followed it to the letter: don't get Covid<i>. </i>Hopefully this pandemic era is over and we can return to normal life. On the health front, I am doing well and am in remission, the ultimate blessing. The bargain you make when you have a bone marrow transplant following leukemia is to trade death for a series of chronic illnesses, something I have gladly done. My day is always focused around treating my afflictions and managing the pain. Gabapentin, a non addictive medicine to manage nerve pain for my feet and eyes, is a godsend. I have to do four inhaled medicines via a nebulizer daily for my lungs, and I take about twenty pills a day for various things. My biggest problem remains severe acute dry eye, which means I have to put in eye drops at least every hour, wear sunglasses at all times, and avoid high winds. Not ideal for a golfer, but damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead.</div><div><br />Despite all my ailments I have been playing golf at least twice a week and am excited this year to start traveling again. On the agenda are Friars Head, Maidstone and Westhampton, as well as (god willing) a trip to Scotland in September, finally, after postponing it three times.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today's post is about Chechessee Creek, located in the South Carolina Lowcountry, in the town of Okatie, which is roughly thirty minutes north of Savannah and thirty minutes west of Hilton Head. I am worn down living in New Jersey during the winter so we are building a house less than ten minutes from Chechessee, which I have joined. It is a dream come true. The Lowcountry is a geographic area along coastal North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia characterized by flat lands, often below sea level, filled with salt water tidal marshes thick with cord grass, and loads of coastal waterways. The Lowcountry has a unique culture with distinct architecture, traditions, and food. This area of South Carolina historically had an economy that relied on agriculture for hundreds of years. The main crops grown on antebellum plantations were rice, cotton, and indigo. 81% of the population in the county Chechessee Creek is located in were slaves in the 1860s, among the highest in the South. The articles of secession in the Civil War were drafted 15 miles away in Beaufort. This is the Deep South.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990715184/in/dateposted-public/" title="Chechessee Clubhouse"><img alt="Chechessee Clubhouse" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990715184_471d6835b9_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The clubhouse at Chechessee exudes Lowcountry charm </i></div><div><br /></div><div>Chechessee Creek was built in 2000 and the club has a distinctive feel to it. The club occupies a sprawling 300 acres among tall pine trees and centuries old live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. The secluded and semi-remote location gives the course a great understated vibe, with a nostalgic feel.</div><div><br /></div><div>The designers of the course, Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, said the following about the club, and they achieved their stated goal, "Our goal at Chechessee Creek Club was to create a golf course of traditional character that would reward thoughtful, imaginative and precise play; while utilizing and showcasing the magnificent oaks and pines of the Carolina Lowcountry." Chechessee was the brainchild of two Jims: Jim Chaffin and Jim Light, who were involved in the development of the original Sea Pines resort on Hilton Head Island. </div><div><br /></div><div>Chaffin, who played collegiate golf at the University of Virginia, also achieved the goal he set out for the club, "We built Chechessee to remind us of golf’s Golden Era. We wanted it to be about the contextual relationship with nature, about being in the elements. The love of the game was the overriding principle in every decision we made. It was always about the golf.” As he and his partner were designing the course, Ben Crenshaw visited other great South Carolina courses (Yeamans Hall in Charleston and Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, specifically) for inspiration in his Chechessee design.</div><div><br /></div><div>The course is beautifully routed through the tall pines, specimen oaks, and Palmetto palms, and over marshland. The first half dozen holes play inland and the seventh and eighth holes play along Chechessee Creek. The course then goes back through the trees to the clubhouse and then emerges again along the Creek at the thirteenth and fourteenth holes before routing back again through the trees. You can debate who the best modern architects are among Tom Doak, Gil Hanse, and Coore/Crenshaw, but I think that Coore/Crenshaw for sure win the prize for best routings. </div><div><br /></div><div>As they typically do, the architects give you a gentle opener (tee to green at least), a par four of 372 yards. The first hole might have the the smallest green on the course, raised off the ground a good distance for a course built on flat ground. To top off the challenging green, it also has a false front. It sets the tone for the day: wide fairways and elevated, pushed up greens with severe slopes left, right, and back. Coore and Crenshaw's courses always give generous landing areas off the tee. Driving the ball usually doesn't create too many problems, even if you are off line a little. The key is playing well around the greens to a much larger degree than courses designed by other architects. The number one rule when playing Chechessee is that if you are going to miss, miss short of the greens. They are all narrow and slope from back to front.</div><div><br /></div><div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990720374/in/dateposted-public/" title="bags on range"></a><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990720374/in/dateposted-public/" title="bags on range"><img alt="bags on range" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990720374_12f1b43cb1_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Bags and caddies on the range, awaiting a full day of golf. As a course with a large national membership, the caddies line up the bags in the morning for golfers eager to soak up the Lowcountry vibe</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Although the fairways are generous at Chechessee, that doesn't mean that simply hitting them will position you to hit the green. Case in point is the fourth hole, a 408 yard par-4 that plays as the #1 handicap hole. Being on the left side of the fairway positions your shot to the green more favorably. The same is true of the ninth hole. The finishing hole requires the opposite, a drive to the right side avoids the overhanging trees that come into play on the left. Such is the chess match that you will have all day trying to work your way around the course. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't really like the term signature hole because it slights other very good holes, but if there were a signature hole at Chechessee it would be the par three seventh, playing 178 from the tips. The three jagged bunkers in front of the green create an optical illusion and doubt, although unless you top your tee shot they don't come into play.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51989433487/in/dateposted-public/" title="7th green wide view 2"><img alt="7th green wide view 2" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51989433487_7ba46e2393_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The</i> <i>7th green from the tee with a panoramic view of Chechessee Creek along the left</i></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Darius Oliver, author of the <i>Planet Golf</i> series of golf books is a big fan of the par threes at Chechessee, "As strong as the longer holes are, it’s the par threes at Chechessee that elevate the golf to a higher level. As a set there are few better anywhere on flat land. The 7th is a glamorous hole played from beside the marsh and across a bunkered mound that partly obscures a clever false front green."</div><div><br /></div><div>As seen below, the seventh is a typical green at Chechessee with its back to front slope, and as Darius notes, a false front. As I said, short is always the best option for a miss.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51989434762/in/dateposted-public/" title="7th green closeup"><img alt="7th green closeup" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51989434762_36ba0fcbe6_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>7th green bunker on the right</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">A closeup view of the 7th green showing the slant of the green and a jagged bunker you don't want to mess with.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990718299/in/dateposted-public/" title="7th green left side"><img alt="7th green left side" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990718299_6e0d775c50_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>7th green bunker, left side</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The left side of the green is no easier, with two bunkers. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jim Chaffin's mandate to Coore and Crenshaw was to build a course that, "Felt like Raynor, Ross, Tillinghast, and McDonald might have come back in a time warp and have collaborated on." That's quite a mandate. While the course doesn't have any of the prototype holes that MacDonald/Raynor are famous for, nor none of the sparkling bunkers Tillinghast is known for, it somehow does have a throwback feel to it. This is probably due to the success of the routing, the ease which which you go about your round, the visual appeal of the course, and, most importantly, that intangible quality that is tough to put your finger on that makes Coore/Crenshaw courses so magical.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of all the designers mentioned in the brief the owners gave the designers, in my view the architect the course most closely resembles is Donald Ross because of the closely mown areas and fall offs on almost all of the greens, although the bunker styling is distinctively Coore/Crenshaw. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990985330/in/dateposted-public/" title="8th green left"><img alt="8th green left" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990985330_48ee7e149b_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>8th green, left side</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">The eighth hole is a par four of 440 yards and plays in the opposite direction of the seventh. It is a stern test of a golfer's ability to accurately hit a long iron shot to a demanding green. The picture above shows the penalty for missing left. The tricky part of getting up and down is that the green is narrow and designed to be approached from the front and not the side, thus, an accurate high sand shot that lands softly is required. Anything coming out of the sand that runs will likely leave you . . .</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51989429307/in/dateposted-public/" title="8th green right"><img alt="8th green right" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51989429307_c23c550d90_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>8th green, right side</i></div><div><br /></div><div>. . . either in the bunker seen above, or in the shaved area seen in front of the bunker. Whenever I play at Chechessee I always spend some time on the practice area hitting long lag putts from off the green because undoubtedly I have several during your round. </div><div><br /></div><div>The course plays 6,641 from the tips to a par of 70. Since the course is on flat ground and the next tee is always near the prior green, the course is a nice walk, even when it is hot and humid. You should always hope for a little breeze as protection against the bugs coming out of the marsh. The course, and especially the greens, are always in top notch condition. As an isolated course away from any hustle and bustle, playing is always a serene affair (unless there are morons playing music from their bag or cart, which I will never understand). When I go out first thing in the morning with a caddie, we are comfortably finished in 2 1/2 hours, the ultimate way to experience this great game.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990993740/in/dateposted-public/" title="11 green closeup"><img alt="11 green closeup" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990993740_7a0b5fba6c_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Par 3 11th green, left side</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The par three 11th (212 yards from the tips) is a challenging hole, once again, because landing on either side of the green leaves you a testing shot to a sloping green. The 11th is the start of the best four hole stretch on the course with two demanding yet varied par threes interspersed with two very different par fours, each presenting their own challenges. None of the holes are remotely similar and all four play to different points on the compass.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990986915/in/dateposted-public/" title="12th from tee"><img alt="12th from tee" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990986915_772ea3eb29_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Par 4 12th hole from the tee. One of the few forced carries on the course</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The 336-yard 12th requires the golfer to traverse the marsh between tee and fairway. Darius Oliver describes it better than I can, "It may be short, but the hole demands a nervy drive—a 165-yard carry over an inlet from all but the forward tees." </div><div><br /></div><div>Chechessee was blessed to have former Pine Valley president Ernie Ransome as the chairman of the club's advisory board in the early days. Jim Chaffin says that Ransome gets credit for the diabolical little bunker that pinches into the front of the 12th green, which slopes off steeply around it, “I’ve seen people putt into it from above the hole.”</div><div><br /></div><div>After the fun and challenging 12th, the course routes seamlessly back into the heavy forest. The flow is just so natural. Be on the lookout for fox squirrels, with their distinctive large ears; they are throughout the course, as are eagles soaring above.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990436841/in/dateposted-public/" title="13th"><img alt="13th" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990436841_9ec67e4b06_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The 13th green at dawn</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The view above is from the 13th tee, a 164 yard shot. Long is again the worst option; best to always play a little short if you have any doubt. This image also shows to good effect the push-up style greens Coore/Crenshaw designed on the flat property. Darius Oliver on the hole, "As with so many of the greens at Chechessee, the 13th seems simple from the tee and it’s only after walking off with yet another soft bogey that you appreciate just how well you have to hit the ball here in order to score well."</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990721624/in/dateposted-public/" title="14th green right side"><img alt="14th green right side" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990721624_10c1d8b69b_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
<i></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>14th green, right side</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The 14th hole, a 404 yard par four, has the most severe green on the property, and is another with a false front. There are no greenside bunkers, which is always a red flag that the green is going to be difficult because the architects are going to compensate for the lack of a sand penalty with a tough green. Once again, going long on the green leaves you a <i>very</i> difficult shot to get up and down, particular if the pin is in the back because the green slopes from back to front.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> </i>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990434141/in/dateposted-public/" title="14th green left side"><img alt="14th green left side" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990434141_03f00f6c3f_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>14th green, left side</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The shot above shows the left side of the green and the slope of the putting surface. It is no easier than being right or long. A precise flop shot with soft hands is required if you miss the green left, particularly with the pin location seen here.</div><div><br /></div><div>The 17th hole is short, but demanding. It is only 334 yards but is a classic risk-reward hole. Playing left is a safer bet since there is a sliver of fairway in the landing area. The right side of the hole has a marshy area jutting out into it that seems to attract tee shots. Big hitters can try to drive the marsh completely by playing down the right side, and if they make a good shot they will be rewarded by being near the green.</div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990990060/in/dateposted-public/" title="18th bunker other side of green"><img alt="18th bunker other side of green" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990990060_1e2c8a4053_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Bunker, right side of 18th green</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The finishing hole is a 442 yard par four and the golfer should once again follow the cardinal rule at Chechessee and not be long into the green. Even a scratch golf would have to use all their skill to get the ball close to the hole from over the green. Each side of the green has a jagged bunker like the one pictured above. The green is one of the longest and skinniest on the course, so good luck keeping the ball on the green when you splash out of the sand from either side.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/51990488898/in/dateposted-public/" title="18th back of the green"><img alt="18th back of the green" height="533" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51990488898_d21e017bcb_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>If you have hit over the 18th green, you have made a big mistake and requires a Mickelsoneqsue short game to get up and down. Oops! </i></div><div><br /></div><div>As a club with a large national membership, Chechessee caters to golfers who bring a group to play a few rounds. The lodge and cottages and comfortable, with classic Lowcountry features: screened in porches that are cigar friendly. a front porch to soak up the environment, and outside fire pits.</div><div><br /></div><div>The test of any Lowcountry club is their shrimp and grits, and the version here is excellent, as is the chowder. They also serve a proper Southern breakfast which includes biscuits and gravy. If you are on a guy trip, a great option for lunch or dinner if you want to be loud or watch golf while you eat is the men's locker room which is outfitted with nice tables, leather chairs, and flat screen TVs.The club also has a large and excellent caddie program, which in my opinion, always enhances the round of golf.</div><div><br /></div><div>In Tom Doak's <i>Confidential Guide to Golf</i> he ranks Chechessee Creek among the "Most Understated," along with Cypress Point and Yeamans Hall. Again, Darius Oliver hits the nail on the head describing the course, "Although holes like the 7th, 9th, 11th, 12th and 13th are undoubtedly first-class, Chechessee Creek is greater than the sum of its parts thanks to its lay-of-the-land design, stunning cottage-style clubhouse and pure golf-only focus." </div><div><br /></div><div>The last word goes to the two time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw: “It’s Lowcountry, but it’s low key. It’s a very quiet place to play golf. It’s really that simple." </div><div><br /></div>Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-27788963966144979652020-02-28T16:36:00.000-08:002020-02-28T16:36:00.896-08:00The Mid Ocean Club<div style="text-align: justify;">
Looking back over great courses that I've played but never written about, The Mid Ocean Club tops the list. This post corrects the oversight and hopefully will add some winter cheer.</div>
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In his, um, not so modest autobiography, <i>Scotland's Gift</i>, Charles Blair Macdonald gushed about the Mid Ocean Club, "I can assure my golfing friends, a more fascinating, more picturesque course than the Mid-Ocean when completed, will not be found in a pilgrimage around the world. There is nothing commonplace about it."</div>
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<i>The view from the third green at Mid Ocean Club, a testing par three along the Ocean. A hook for the right hand golfer is in the Atlantic. Mid Ocean is the perfect place to play when there is snow on the greens in Northern climates. </i></div>
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Macdonald was attracted to Bermuda because of Prohibition; a number of his friends went there so they could consume liquor, providing an excuse for him to visit. The strong willed golf pioneer picked an idyllic spot on the isolated island, an area called Tuckerstown, which contains, "delightful valleys winding through coral hills." Macdonald brought in his whole team to aid in the club's design and construction including Seth Raynor, Charles Banks, and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.</div>
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Completed in 1924, ironically, after Prohibition was repealed, the course was built on dramatic land set on a headland with sweeping views of the startlingly clear blue waters of the Atlantic all around. The challenge for the architects was that the soil is less than ideal for golf: solid coral rock being as difficult a surface as there is to build on.</div>
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Like its designer, the Mid Ocean
Club is big and bold, built on a scale that most golf courses never achieve,
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equipment, thus, Macdonald used the naturally hilly terrain to great advantage. </div>
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The course contains many Macdonald-Raynor prototype holes, including an Eden (the 3rd), a Short (the 7th), a Biarritz (the 13th), a Leven (the 14th), a Punchbowl (the 15th) and a Redan (the 17th). It meanders through various valleys and depressions, playing quite steeply at times. A good example is the 4th hole, below, named "Mangrove," the double-tiered green playing at a high elevation from the rolling fairway, making the approach shot blind.<br />
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<i>The par four 4th hole</i><br />
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The short (330-yard) par four 4th plays from an elevated tee with the Atlantic at your back and doglegs to the left. Although short, the hole is not easy. Pat Ward-Thomas describes it in <i>The World Atlas of Golf</i> as "A plunge-and-rise affair, narrow between the trees and not altogether appealing."</div>
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<i>The short par 4 eighth hole highlights the theme of using elevation in the terrain throughout the design, with a green elevated far above the fairway</i><br />
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The 8th hole plays to an elevated green and from the white tees is only 316 yards, making it driveable if downwind for long and accurate hitters. The course is also quite lush, which should be no surprise as it sits in a tropical location. As Macdonald noted, " . . . it is well wooded with cedars, oleanders, bougainvilleas and hibiscus, lending the most fascinating color scheme on the whole."</div>
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<i>The tenth hole, "Mercer Hill", has unforgiving terrain requiring skill hitting off Bermuda grass on an uneven fairway over a steep hill!</i><br />
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Part of the challenge at Mid Ocean, aside from navigating the hilly terrain, uneven lies, and testing greens, is the wind. Situated in the middle of the Atlantic and subject to the trade winds, most of the year the prevailing breezes average 10 miles per hour and spike up to about 13 miles per hour during the winter. Doesn't sound so bad, although, as we know, averages can be deceiving, and as an unprotected island there are times when the wind howls and the test of golf is stern.</div>
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<i>The par five 11th is routed through a small, isolated valley and reminded me a bit of playing through the bush at Durban Country Club in South Africa</i><br />
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At 451 yards the 11th isn't too demanding a hole on paper, provided you keep the ball in the slim fairway and play the dog-leg left smartly, not being too greedy by trying to find a shortcut to the green around the curving valley. The green is elevated and tricky, falling away on all sides. The 11th is a good example of how Mid Ocean was designed, routing through several small valleys and around rolling hills and plateaus.</div>
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<i>The 238-yard Biarritz hole, the 13th, is a testing specimen of this hole type, with the requisite hollow in the middle of the large green</i></div>
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<i>The par four <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>16th hole, after you hit over the sheer wall, then into a gully on the right side of the hole</i><br />
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I found the 16th to be a very difficult hole, and disorienting. The tee shot is blind, then, if you land in what is pictured above on the right side, you've pretty much thrown away a chance of par. The green slopes back to front and the green is ringed by bunkers all the way around. It's a great example of a hole that probably would be softened if built today with our ability to shape terrain at will, which Macdonald and Raynor didn't have the luxury of doing. Macdonald was cognizant of the fact that it would be difficult to route the course so that there wouldn't be too much "mountain climbing." He felt that he largely achieved it, with the notable exception being the sixteenth, which he called a "real climb." I'm with him on that. The 376 yard hole left me feeling like I do when taking a red-eye. In theory, it should be an opportunity for some respite on the way in, but I got so anxious that I didn't take advantage of it and walked off disappointed, a bit worn out and needing a nap.<br />
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<i>The view of the turquoise waters from the elevated 18th tee box, with the aquamarine waters of the ocean rolling nearby as you play at the edge of a cliff</i><br />
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<b>The 5th at Mid Ocean, the infamous "Cape" Hole</b><br />
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The most memorable hole on the course is the vaunted 5th, the “Cape" hole which plays from a high tee, over water, to a demanding green. A Macdonald invention that has been widely imitated in golf design ever since, the Cape hole here is the best rendition in the world. What makes it so is that it plays from such an elevated tee, and the fairway that you have to hit slants downhill towards the hole from top to bottom the entire way. Most copies of the hole replicate the risk-reward options over water to an angled fairway, but most play on flat terrain. It is the size and scale of the commanding hill that the tee sits upon at Mid Ocean that sets this Cape hole apart.<br />
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The trick, obviously, is to choose how much of Mangrove Lake you want to take on. Aiming left is a bold line and if you can carry your tee shot over the lake you have a much shorter shot to the green. The more timid player aims right and finds land instead of water, but has a very challenging second (and possibly third) shot on the 433-yard hole. It is classic. A prolific gambler and long ball hitter, Babe Ruth bet he could drive the green from the tee. After <i><u>eleven</u></i> balls (his entire stash) landed in the lake he walked off the course in a huff. The hole lives up to all its hype and is very good. Macdonald built his home in Bermuda overlooking the Cape Hole.</div>
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<i>The "Cape" hole from the tee</i><br />
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<i>The Cape hole looking backward up the hill from the fairway
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<i>The approach shot to the elevated green on the Cape hole
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<i>The hole doesn't get any easier when the golfer reaches the Cape green
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<i>I played the Mid Ocean Club more than a dozen years ago, when I was skinnier, had black hair and many bad habits, although I did try to blend in with the natives wearing my pink Bermuda shorts</i><br />
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For those that can't get on the super-exclusive National Golf Links of America or Chicago Golf Club, playing Mid Ocean is a worthy substitute, since the great man's genius shows through strongly at Mid Ocean. Macdonald himself compared his Southampton baby to his work in Bermuda, "I am confident the course will stand in golfing circles as an achievement in a semi-tropical climate as great as the National Golf Links of America has been in the temperate zone." Unaccompanied guests can play Mid Ocean if their round is arranged through select hotels on the island, but play is limited. A member may introduce a guest to play golf unaccompanied on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, by reservation only.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">Bermuda is a relaxing island to visit, it has a romantic charm to it and pink sand. Not surprisingly, although far from the homeland, the club itself has a British feel to it. If you go to Bermuda it is also worth playing the course at Tucker's Point.</span><br />
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Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-80699805763229304952020-01-30T10:49:00.000-08:002020-01-30T10:49:03.958-08:00Royal Worlington and Newmarket Golf Club - The Sacred Nine<div style="text-align: justify;">
Is it worth going out of your way to play a nine holer not located near other clubs that are destination golf courses? For example, it is easy to play all the great courses in Surrey (Sunningdale, Wentworth, St. George's Hill, Walton Heath) because you can stay in London and get to the courses with little stress. Same for the courses around Liverpool (Lytham and St. Annes, Royal Liverpool and Birkdale). What about a course located 30 minutes outside Cambridge, in Suffolk?</div>
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For me the answer was yes because I always wanted to see Cambridge and visiting the Royal Worlington and Newmarket Golf Club (also known as Mildenhall) gave me the excuse to do so. I have visited Oxford before and loved it, so visiting the other great university of the world was a no brainer. Like Oxford, Cambridge was also love at first sight, one of the prettiest cities I have visited, although most of its splendor is hidden in the courtyards under the arches, behind the building facades and through the loggia.</div>
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<i>University of Cambridge</i></div>
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<i>University of Cambridge</i></div>
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One reason I haven't visited earlier is that I wanted to have the full experience at Royal Worlington, which is to say, playing alternate shot, the club's preferred format. With my usual traveling companions, we are a threesome, so with a trip planned for four golfers, Royal Worlington at long last made the cut.</div>
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<i>The rules of the game at Royal Worlington, where fast paced play is a priority</i></div>
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I am an avid reader of golf books and it's amazing how many of the best writers--including the three greatest ever to write about the game--went to Cambridge, and played at Royal Worlington, only adding to my desire to tee it up at the historic course. When Bernard Darwin, Herbert Warren Wind, and Henry Longhurst sing the praises of a course, golfers should take note. Specifically, all three masters of their trade wrote eloquently about the fifth hole, one that is world renowned for its difficulty. It was with much anticipation that we set out to play, anticipating how each of us would tackle the testing par three. After all, how hard can a 154 yard hole without bunkers be?</div>
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<i>Modesty is the order of the day at Royal Worlington and Newmarket, a club that received its Royal patronage from Queen Victoria two years after its founding, in 1895</i></div>
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<i>The foursome ready to begin their high stakes match</i><br />
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American golfers rarely play anything but their own ball. Playing Royal Worlington gave us the chance to play a foursome match (alternate shot), and it is a tradition worth keeping alive, and it fact reviving, so that it is done more. Aside from being a lot of fun, the other beauty of it is that you can play nine holes easily in 90 minutes, or three hours for a full eighteen.</div>
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<i>A club employee with good cheer magically appears at the cubbyhole in the clubhouse when you pay your greens fee, need some toasted sandwiches, or a drink</i><br />
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<i>The first hole shows unremarkable land</i><br />
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Most new courses built today are described by the architect or the owner as something along the lines of "the greatest piece of property we have ever seen," or "this land was destined to be a golf course." Whether it is just pre-marketing hype or the truth we each have to decide when we play the course. No such claim was ever made about Royal Worlington. The course is built on very flat land, although, as the affable Secretary explained to us, it is sandy soil and thus is ideally suited for playing all year 'round. The first hole, pictured above, shows the flat nature of the terrain. Tee to green the course is reasonably easy, the real challenge begins near and on the greens. Many of the greens have swales in front and contain false fronts. The putting surfaces are anything but flat, allowing the course to fight back against low scoring.</div>
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<i>The third green, the perfect example of golf at Worlington. Doesn't look like much, but it is, with the swale in front and an exasperating putting surface</i></div>
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[Cambridge is the name of the University. It is made up of 31 separate 'colleges' which provide students their residence and administer their education. I have indicated which college each of the graduates attended.]<br />
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Herb Wind (Jesus College, '39) describes the third hole as having, ". . . a bowler-hat green, it rises from the fairway at a gentle angle and sweeps up on all sides to a flattish crown, on which the pin is almost always positioned."<br />
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The course has many idiosyncrasies, being squeezed into just 40 acres. One of them is tee boxes that play over the green you just completed. For example, the third tee shot plays over the second green several feet away. The sixth tee also plays over the fifth green. The fifth tee shot is the quirkiest of them all. To reach the green with a mid-iron you have to hit over not only the fourth fairway, but also the sixth.</div>
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Our match proceeded apace and we got into the gentle flow of the course, with many shots being thrown away around the greens, another joy of match play, because when it looks like you are seemingly out of the hole off the tee, unexpected shots happen that bring you back in.</div>
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<i> </i><i>The fifth green as seen from the left side</i><br />
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Finally, our match proceeded to the 5th, a gem with a long narrow green that falls off both to the left and to the right. The fall off to the left goes into a large hollow with a steep incline back up to the putting surface. The right side features its own plunge, but this time instead of a hollow, there is a small stream that you don't see off the tee. Precision is the order of the day.</div>
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<i>A closer look at the left side of the 5th green with its ominous fall off</i><br />
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Luckily, my playing partner, whose handicap is 10 digits lower than mine, hit the tee shot and landed on the front of the green. Although as we all learned, being on the putting surface means nothing in relation to what you are likely to take as your final score. Our opponents (single digit handicaps) were not so lucky and hit to the right of the green.</div>
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<i>The fifth green as seen from the right side with the small burn at the bottom of the slope</i><br />
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We won the hole with a four as our opponents chipped back and forth over the green! They would have their revenge during our second round in the afternoon when I actually putted off the green. I hit what I thought was a good firm putt up the hill, but it caught a ridge at the wrong angle and rolled down off the top of the green to the right. A couple of wedge shots later, with balls returning to our feet, and we lost the hole going down in flames. Golf writer and architect Donald Steel (Christ's College, '60) describes the fifth using a gymnastics analogy, which is never a good thing. His summary of the putting surface as being shaped like a vaulting horse is spot on. It is devilish. </div>
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<i>The putting surface of the green promotes balls rolling off either side of the ridges if not perfectly struck</i><br />
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Wind described the fifth as "exceedingly lean and falls away abruptly on both sides - on the right, to a stream, and, on the left, to a basin of thatchy rough, twenty feet below the green, called Mug's hole." </div>
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Henry Longhurst (Clare College, '31) wrote about the card wrecker in a disconcerting manner, "A diabolically narrow green sloping sharply away on both sides and the green itself like the dome of glass in a fairy tale. The flag sits on a little elevated 'postage stamp' section of the green, guarded within a few yards at the back by a row of firs. On the right the ground falls away to the rough, and, for a good high slice, a side stream. On the left it falls straight away to a deep grassy pit, and many is the man who, alternatively fluffing his pitch and watching the ball roll ignominiously back, and then, determined to be up, hitting it over the green and down the other side, has passed to and fro half a dozen times."</div>
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Bernard Darwin (Trinity College, '97): "To reach the green is one distinct feat; to hole out in two putts, when one has got there, is another."</div>
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<i>The sloping right of the green</i><br />
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Another Cambridge Blue, the poet Patric Dickinson (St. Catharine's College, '35), describes the fifth in his book, <i>A Round of Golf Course</i>s, in a pithy and poetic style that conjures up the appropriately fearsome image in the golfer's mind: "If you go right, or left, we will leave you ping-ponging away for a 6; for we have to hit the perfect tee shot . . . It is like pitching on a policeman's helmet."</div>
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<i>The fifth green as seen from the left side</i><br />
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The Cambridge golf team uses Royal Worlington and Newmarket as their home course. H. S. Colt, easily one of the three best architects ever to design courses, went to Cambridge (Clare College, '90) and served as the first captain of the Cambridge golf team in 1889.</div>
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Darwin dubbed Royal Worlington "The Sacred Nine" after the nine muses of Greek mythology and called it the finest nine-hole course in the country. For me, the course will always have a special place in my heart because after 22 months of fatigue it was the first time I was able to walk eighteen holes as I recovered from my health problems. Although I had taken carts (buggies as the Brits call them) during the first two courses visited on this trip, I was finally feeling good enough to walk the course unaided. Apparently, it was in God's plan for me to hit my stride at Worlington. The Sacred Nine indeed.</div>
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<i>The clubhouse is the best kind: intimate and cozy</i></div>
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The club Secretary told us before we went out (tongue in cheek I think, but maybe not), that the second nine was the harder of the two. I think he meant that ignorance is bliss and that when you don't know where the hazards are you can swing more freely. We did find it harder going around again because we tried to avoid (largely unsuccessfully) what we knew were penal places on the course. Dickinson sums up the course with elegant prose, "Mildenhall's nine diamonds need playing; need all the cutter's art to become brilliants--make no mistake, they have as many facets, highlights and angles as any diamond, and they are quite as hard."</div>
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I'm putting my neck on the line recommending Royal Worlington because not everyone will appreciate its charms or the historical context that the course has. The conditioning is not great, the land is flat, and there are no beautiful vistas. Nevertheless, those that appreciate the finer nuances of the game will appreciate Royal Worlington. It was worth going out of the way to play.</div>
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The British are rightly proud of their quirks and traditions. Royal Worlington is a keeper of those traditions. Longhurst said, "The charm of Mildenhall, both the course and the club, was the continuity. Day after day one went out from Cambridge and found it the same. Year after year one returned later, and it was the same." As the song says, "There'll Always Be an England." Royal Worlington is one of the standard-bearers for the cause and we should all be grateful for that.</div>
Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-84229153514679876602019-12-31T13:26:00.001-08:002022-06-26T17:02:06.195-07:00Lundin Golf Club<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>A sign near the 17th hole, named "Station" memorializes the spot where a now defunct train line used to run through the Lundin Links</i></div>
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On all my trips I always like to include a course that flies below the radar. I do this for two reasons. First, I never know when I will discover a hidden gem that will catch my fancy. And second, so I can immerse myself in the history of the game. Lundin Golf Club made the cut for a couple of key reasons: it is only 30 minutes outside St. Andrews; it was designed by Old Tom Morris and since we don't get to play his courses in the United States, I make it a point of playing some during my travels. And, finally, it has a hole that provided inspiration to Charles Blair Macdonald when he designed the National Golf Links of America.</div>
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Lundin Links is a private club but they welcome visitors.</div>
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<i>Drop your ball in this baby to establish the order of play</i></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717787921/in/dateposted-public/" title="1st tee"><img alt="1st tee" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717787921_b2f117c2b7_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The first tee showing the fairway set down in a valley to the right</i></div>
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The course features a relatively difficult first hole, at 420 yards, with an elevated green. The setting is ideal to get the golfer into the mood of links golf with beautiful views and broad vistas.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717451778/in/dateposted-public/" title="beach view from the 1st tee"><img alt="beach view from the 1st tee" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717451778_8977d916bc_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>The <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>view from the first tee on the left features a broad beach set on the half-crescent shaped Shell Bay</i></div>
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Luckily for us, on the day we played the wind turbines visible off shore were still!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717960222/in/dateposted-public/" title="2nd fairway"><img alt="2nd fairway" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717960222_4ace95419a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>View of the old-school humps and bumps as seen on the 2nd fairway</i></div>
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Lundin Links sits immediately adjacent to another Old Tom Morris links course, Leven Links. When the courses were built in the 19th century (1868) they were one course called Interleven, a classic out and back layout. They were split up in 1909 by James Braid, with half the original links holes going to Leven and the other half remaining at Lundin. The Braid holes play away from the seaside and up a hill and have a different character than the original holes. The original holes are better because they feature more natural movement in the land, the shape of the tousled, crumpled fairways being more pronounced.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717457768/in/dateposted-public/" title="4 back"><img alt="4 back" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717457768_e618c3c593_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>The <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>4th looking backward from the green shows the hidden swale that cuts in front, shafting the uninitiated golfer or the shot topper</i></div>
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There are several defining characteristics to Lundin Links, specifically burns invisible to the golfer from the tee and on approach shots; and, ravines cutting across the course. The fourth hole, above is a good example. The other defining characteristic is blind shots, a trait of Old Tom Morris courses in the same way that railroad ties define those of Pete Dye.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717448863/in/dateposted-public/" title="6th tee"><img alt="6th tee" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717448863_ae06692445_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>Lookout tower on the 6th tee box</i></div>
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The sixth tee has a ladder where the confused golfer can climb to see where they are hitting (and to make sure they don't hit into the group ahead). The next hole, the seventh, also has a ladder and features another blind tee shot over a distant sand dune.</div>
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The other moving hazard the course has is hikers. Coastal walking paths traverse the course in a couple of spots so you have to be on the lookout for people wearing boots and backpacks traipsing through and across a couple of holes.</div>
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<i>The view from the ladder on the 6th tee. Hit your tee shot over the striped pole and you'll be pleased</i></div>
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<i>The 7th green is characteristic of many on the course. Round and relatively small. </i><br />
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Our group didn't find the greens to be particularly difficult, most are relatively flat and round. We did find the course's two par fives to be challenging. At 555 yards and 499 yards both played into the wind.</div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>A view of the 10th green (sort of) with its baffling approach</i></div>
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My favorite hole on the course was the short tenth, named "Thorn Tree." The hole is only 352 yards long but you really don't see the green until you are essentially on it. The green is set off at an angle to the left of the fairway and is blocked by a mound with a circular bunker. Although I am no arborist, it looked to me that the other hazard blocking the green atop a hillock further up is a gorse bush rather than a thorn tree.</div>
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Since I have ADHD and like to repeat things, I'm showing three different views of the 10th so you can get a better feel for how it looks and plays.</div>
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<i>The tenth as seen from the golfer's second shot. It still offers no clue as to the size or shape of the green</i></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The tenth as you get close, with the bunkers and bushes blocking the view</i></div>
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Charles Blair Macdonald attended St. Andrews University about twelve miles north of Lundin, on the opposite side of the peninsula. When he designed the National Golf Links in Southampton he took inspiration from various holes that he was impressed with when traveling throughout the British Isles. One of my favorite holes at the National is the 17th, a short par 4 risk-reward hole that plays down hill with bunkers crossing in front, although not immediately next to the green. His inspiration for the hole was the 16th at Lundin Links, named "Trows."</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717974242/in/dateposted-public/" title="16 from tee"><img alt="16 from tee" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717974242_d98248ae4d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>View of the 16th hole at Lundin Links as seen from the tee. The green is set behind the smallish hill to the left.</i></div>
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I found the hole to be more than mildly disappointing. The only real similarity is that it is short, at 311 yards. Other than that it shares no characteristics with the 16th at the National Golf Links. The green here is blind and at the National it is not. The tee shot I suppose offers some risk-reward characteristics here, although not really. There is no change in elevation and no hazard crossing in front of the green. I was confused after playing the hole so went back to consult the bible on Charles Blair Macdonald, George Bahto's <i>The Evangelist of Golf.</i> Bahto describes the prototype hole "Leven" (remember when Macdonald played the course it was Interleven, thus the naming confusion), as having a fairway bunker or waste area that challenges the golfer to make a heroic carry for an open approach to the green. I guess in this context, at Lundin, that means keeping your ball right off the tee to avoid one bunker. He also notes that the green surface is usually a moderately undulating surface with the least accessible cup placement behind a sand hill. Certainly that exits here. But it doesn't on the National's Leven hole. Okay, what did I miss?</div>
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<i>The approach to the 16th green doesn't really cause much stress</i></div>
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<i>The fantastic driving range at Lundin Links, quite the view</i></div>
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Almost no golf courses in the British Isles have driving ranges. One of the quirks of playing here is that you just go out and play without any real warm up like we would have in the U.S. Sitting just outside the clubhouse, this green caged beauty is available to hit a couple of shots into before your round. You've got to love it.</div>
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I very much enjoyed my day at Lundin. They are welcoming to visitors, the greens fees are reasonable and the members we spoke to after the round in the clubhouse while having pickle and cheese sandwiches are rightly proud of their course and its heritage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://bit.ly/32AGnoh">football</a></div>
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<br />Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-83441425830769444272019-11-21T02:58:00.000-08:002019-12-01T09:46:13.301-08:00St. George's Hill Golf Club<div style="text-align: justify;">
Entry to the St. George's Hill Golf Club requires the visitor to pass through a guard gate, something that is rare in the United Kingdom. Once you pass muster with the resolute guard wearing his peaked hat, the barrier rises and you granted entry into this tony club, which is part of a 964 acre private estate located in Weybridge, Surrey, 25 miles from Buckingham Palace. To give some context on how ritzy the neighborhood is, two Beatles have lived there: John Lennon lived at St. George's Hill at the peak of his career and Ringo Starr was a resident in the mid 1960s, buying his first home near John on the exclusive housing estate.</div>
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Its 440 homes are set in a fantasy-level country setting dominated by tall pine trees and towering walls of rhododendrons. You and I couldn't afford to live there--unless you have £10m to spare--as the estate is popular among the global elite. In addition to British aristocrats, the locale is popular among Russian oligarchs, movie stars (Kate Winslet being one example), and Asia's super-wealthy looking to buy property overseas as a store of value. After I got home I went and looked at some of the real estate listings for homes in St. George's Hill and these people aren't messing around. The homes feature reception halls, gyms, drawing rooms, walled gardens, indoor pools, staff accommodations, leisure complexes, and six car garages. As Phil Rizzuto used to say, "Holy cow!"</div>
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The architect Fred Hawtree says that St. George's Hill was the prototype of English golf and country club estate development, the earliest of its kind. In fact, I believe it was the first joint golf-housing development ever built anywhere. It is tastefully done with the <strike>houses</strike> mansions set back, and few in number.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48723589592/in/dateposted-public/" title="Clubhouse"><img alt="Clubhouse" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48723589592_267f2941f4_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>The fortress style clubhouse seen above a sea of heather on the closing hole</i></div>
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The golf course was designed by H. S. Colt and it is a gem. To establish Colt's credentials, look no further than Pine Valley. When George Crump was looking for assistance designing Pine Valley it was Colt he called on. </div>
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<i>Welcome to St. George's Hill, which demands strong and straight tee shots from the get go. The first hole plays up a broad hill</i></div>
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The course has three sets of nines, although the Colt designed holes are the Red and the Blue, which is the course I played. The first hole sets the tone for the day and is not for the faint of heart. The card shows yardage of 382 yards, but the hill is steep and the green sits at the top. Tom Doak describes it perfectly in his original rendition of <i>The Confidential Guide</i>: "A smash across a valley and the entrance road to a rising fairway, with a saddled green at the top of the opposite ridge."</div>
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The defining characteristics of St. George's Hill are: 1) Its visually stunning beauty; 2) Elevated greens with false fronts; 3) More than its fair share of hump backed or undulating greens and 4) Cross-bunkering set at obtuse angles to the line of play. The course was carved from dense forest in the 1910s. The back breaking work was done with horses, hand-operated crosscut saws, and one solitary wood-burning steam engine.<br />
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Like the first, the second hole is also a tester, of 458 yards, that plays over the rise of a hill to a fairway that is blind to the golfer. It then follows a hill that rolls down into a valley over a burn to an elevated, difficult green. Colt clearly wasn't a believer in the easy start.<br />
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<i>The testing second hole with its sloping fairway, heather and cross bunkering</i><br />
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<i>The Redan-style par three third hole, seen with a mansion poking out from behind the trees</i></div>
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The third is a long Redan style hole (birdie, thank you very much!).</div>
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<i>An absolute beauty, this 272 yard par 4 comes early in the round as the 4th hole</i></div>
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The fourth captures the essence of the fun of playing a short par four hole. Colt says in his treatise, <i>Some Essays on Golf Course Architecture,</i> that the best form of a green for such a hole is a plateau, as he did here. He did fail to mention that it would be a heavily trapped plateau that falls off on all sides! What should be an easy hole becomes anything but when you stand over your wedge shot and contemplate hitting such a small target.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48723590162/in/dateposted-public/" title="5th cross bunkering"><img alt="5th cross bunkering" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48723590162_4fb8469c9c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>Magnificent cross-bunkering on the par four 5th hole shows that Colt was an artiste </i></div>
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The fifth shows off <i>all</i> of Colt's usual design characteristics in one hole. A par four of 388 yards, it requires a forced carry over heather and has substantial cross bunkering far short of the green. The design hoodwinks the golfer because it throws off their depth perception as they are hitting from a valley and the bunkering is above them. The green complex features a false front and more than mild undulations on the putting surface. Add to that the fact that it is eye candy and it's no surprise that it is a joy to play. </div>
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Colt describes his philosophy further in his book, "The longish carry, also, played up to the green over a cross-hazard, should on no account be omitted, as there is a neck-or-nothing thrill about it which is scarcely equaled by any other stroke, and which is enjoyed by golfers of any handicap, although playing it from very different ranges."</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48723420711/in/dateposted-public/" title="5th green false front"><img alt="5th green false front" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48723420711_3cf2a4ba50_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>The 5th green, like many at St. George's Hill, features a characteristic false front</i><br />
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No doubt you've heard the expression first tee jitters to describe how nerves come into play when you hit your first tee shot of the day, especially if there are people watching or you are playing a special course for the first time. How about eighth tee jitters? As we walked off the 7th green I could hear my three friends start to proclaim superlatives as we walked to the 8th tee. It was one of the few times I was left slack-jawed on a golf course. I had nothing to say. It was mesmerizing.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48723588727/in/dateposted-public/" title="8-2"><img alt="8-2" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48723588727_bc379c8932_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>The 179-yard par three eighth hole, unequivocally one of the great one shot holes in the world</i></div>
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Colt describes how he chooses green sites when laying out a new golf course, "The architect will next proceed to walk over the ground, taking with him a map on which he will note the position of any natural features. In the course of this examination he will record all those sites which Providence has intended mortals to putt on." It seems clear to me that divine inspiration hit him when he found the eighth hole at St. George's Hill. It is far and away one of the best par threes I have ever seen or played. You play from an elevated tee across a valley to a demanding green. As you can see, shots hit short are cause for serious worry. <span style="text-align: start;">Tom Doak was impressed as well; from his <i>Confidential Guide</i>, " . . . the yawning bunker in front of the green was one of the most memorable hazards I've encountered in the game." </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Robert Hunter, who knew a thing or two about golf architecture, having designed the Valley Club of Montecito and assisted Alister MacKenzie in the design of Cypress Point, features the 8th hole in his seminal work on how to design a golf course, <i>The Links</i></span>, in 1926. In his chapter on how to lay out hazards Hunter gave a special shout out to Colt's work here, describing it as a "bold hazard, well designed." The image from his book, below, shows that the hole was even more fierce in the early days with the gargantuan bunker sizes having been shrunk down over the years, no doubt to avoid complete debacles among member play. After all, these nice chaps have come out for a friendly game, and didn't sign up for lifetime imprisonment if in a hazard.</div>
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<i>The 8th hole as seen in the 1920s with bunkers even more severe than todays</i></div>
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It was at this point during the round I began to scratch my head and wonder why St. George's Hill doesn't get more notoriety or exposure. It was one of the best golf courses I have ever played and I hadn't even seen ten of its holes yet. Bernard Darwin said about St. George’s Hill, “The prettiest
courses are also the best and certainly one of the prettiest and best is St.
George’s Hill.”<br />
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<i>The closing hole of the front nine, a 389 yard par 4 playing up the hill. This doesn't suck</i></div>
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<i>The deceptively placed cross bunker on the difficult par 4 tenth throws off the golfer's depth perception</i></div>
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The 434-yard par four tenth continues the theme of difficult starting holes should the golfer begin their round playing the Blue nine. Although the tee shot is very satisfying because you again play from the high hill near the clubhouse into a valley, the trouble begins on the second shot. Colt again employs his signature cross-bunkering, this time with half of it cut into a heather-covered hill.</div>
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Doak on the tenth hole: "The par 4 tenth is one of the best "Alps" type blind par 4 holes I've ever seen, with a diagonal ridge running across the fairway from left to right, so that the drive down the right-hand edge may get a glimpse of the green and a favorable kick off the slope to the left of the green, while the drive to the left makes the second shot inclined to kick into a bunker short right of the green." I can personally attest to the latter.</div>
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The large clubhouse was used as a military hospital during the First
World War, and during the Second World War the roof of the clubhouse was used
as an observation post for the home guard. A German bomb fell to the left of
the cross bunker on the tenth during the war. The crater it left is still there.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48723085133/in/dateposted-public/" title="par 3 11"><img alt="par 3 11" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48723085133_313d5cd5b2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>H. S. Colt, the master of the one shot hole. This is the 119-yard 11th</i></div>
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<i>The par 4 sixteenth from the tee, with its fairway canted from right to left. The back nine is just as good as the front</i></div>
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St. George's Hill is a Colt classic that should also be a cult classic. There are other golf courses that have cult followings, namely, Sand Hills, National Golf Links of America, The Old Course at St. Andrews, Cruden Bay, and St. Enodoc. Sometimes you are so impressed by a golf course you don't just play and enjoy it, you join a cult; you've taken a vow to evangelize about it and defend it against heretics. I am now a St. George's Hill cult member. What a place. The visual beauty combined with such a classic, strategic golf course make this one of the finest places in the game to play.<br />
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And to show that I am serious about my new mission and I'm not just overly excited by my visit to the club, I am having some new custom made clothing made up. My usual attire when flying is a sharp looking crimson colored athletic-style track suit with matching jacket and trousers adorned with white stripes down the side. I'm having a custom set made up with an outsized version of the club's logo--which is a knight on a horse slaying a dragon--emblazoned on both the front and the rear. So if you ever notice me strutting through a busy airport shamelessly making my own personal fashion statement please feel free to stop me and allow me to tell you all about my St. George's Hill fetish in person. No selfies of the encounter, please.</div>
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I'm also still scratching my head on how the course has flown below the radar for so long and eluded my notice. Maybe I haven't been paying attention. Perhaps I focus too much on <i>Golf Magazine</i>'s top 100 list. After all, Tom Doak did select it as one of his 31 favorite courses in the Gourmet's Choice section of his first <i>Confidential Guide</i>. The website <a href="https://www.top100golfcourses.com/golf-course/st-georges-hill-red-blue" target="_blank">Top100golf courses</a> lists it as the 7th best in England and Darius Oliver in his <i>Planet Golf </i>book ranks it number one among English courses, although I would personally rank it second, behind only Sunningdale's Old Course. It's a travesty that this doesn't make the cut on <i>Golf Magazine</i>'s list. It is better than<i> at least</i> three dozen courses currently ranked. By all measures St. George's Hill is a top shelf golf course.</div>
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<i>The sign on the first tee shows the match formats on busy days. Something to be emulated, as it promotes fast play. Notice that 4 balls are in the minority</i></div>
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Over a lunch of tea sandwiches, filled rolls, and smoked haddock soup in the clubhouse after the round I had a chance to reflect back on how lucky I am to be able to play a course like this, to enjoy the camaraderie of good friends, and to appreciate all that life has given me. Every day is a gift and should be treasured.</div>
Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-73152130457553909832019-10-12T10:29:00.000-07:002019-10-12T10:29:27.681-07:00Swinley Forest Golf Club<div style="text-align: justify;">
The patrician Swinley Forest Golf Club has long been a course I wanted to play, but there is so much good golf around London that I was never able to fit it into an itinerary.</div>
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<i>The picture perfect view of the clubhouse perched on a hill looking up the 18th fairway at Swinley Forest</i></div>
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Harry Shapland Colt describes his philosophy of situating the clubhouse on a golf course: "In selecting a site for the club house . . . it is highly desirable that the aspect from its windows should be attractive, so that the player may get a favourable impression when he first arrives, and may also get the greatest possible enjoyment out of intervals of rest. To achieve this result at its best, if possible, to create an atmosphere of large and unrestricted space, which is the most delightful contrast to the cramped and restricted streets and offices of a large town." On any scale or metric you use Colt was wildly successful achieving his goal at Swinley Forest, as this player, for one, was very impressed. The course was designed by Colt in 1909 and he famously referred to as his "least bad course."</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717339083/in/dateposted-public/" title="1st tee"><img alt="1st tee" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717339083_43a1948520_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>The first hole from the elevated tee</i></div>
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The first hole is my favorite kind. It plays from an elevated tee down into a valley, with a wide fairway, and when we played it was down wind. It's good for the ego to start your round feeling like a stud.</div>
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<i>The second hole from the tee</i></div>
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In addition to the hilly terrain, the second hole shows off another of the course's defining characteristics, which, like many courses in Surrey and Berkshire, is that it is covered in a sea of heather. The course is routed over land from the Crown Estate and carves its way through a thick pine forest. These heathland courses, with their large swaths of heather, add another dimension to the game's enjoyment. Golf courses are things of beauty to begin with, with various shades of green grass set off against blue skies and white clouds. Adding purple into the mix takes it to another level.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717682096/in/dateposted-public/" title="3rd tee heather"><img alt="3rd tee heather" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717682096_f12ebda4dd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>Like his routing at Pine Valley, the third hole at Swinley features a Colt signature, a forced carry off the tee</i></div>
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<i>The uphill par three Redan-style fourth hole plays 198 yards tee to green. It's a difficult hole, but the image of it is so beautiful, it is borderline golf porn</i></div>
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Colt never used the term golf porn because that would be beneath a Cambridge educated gentleman, but he did design his courses to intentionally provide the golfer with a pleasing environment. From his book,<i> Some Essays on Golf Course Architecture</i>: "It is by no means so widely recognized that the "landscape" aspect of actual construction plays an important part in securing the popularity of a golf course. The appreciation of pleasant surroundings is often subconscious, and many golfers are no doubt under the impression that while they are playing they are entirely engrossed in the game. When the golfer has left a grimy city for a few hours' relaxation he wishes to find rest and pleasure in the scenery of the country."</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717348338/in/dateposted-public/" title="5th from elevated tee"><img alt="5th from elevated tee" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717348338_eef7414a17_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The par five 5th hole plays from an elevated tee and not only features a forced carry, but also the strategic use of another of Colt's hallmarks, the dreaded cross-bunker</i><br />
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The golfer whose senses have been aroused by the stimulating environment that Swinley provides should not confuse beautiful with easy. The fairways tend to kick balls into the seductive purple plant, never to be seen again. Our foursome lost a significant number of balls in the lush plant.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717857867/in/dateposted-public/" title="7th cross bunkers"><img alt="7th cross bunkers" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717857867_333b04d793_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The 7th hole also features cross bunkers set on a hill that sweeps from left to right. Your shot to the green is either blind or semi-blind and hit from an uneven lie</i></div>
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One of my favorite golf books, <i>Legendary Golf Books of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland</i> profiled Swinley Forest and described it as "a gentle course for gentleman," and that's spot on. Part of the mystique of the club is its membership. Its aristocratic roots run deep, although we should all be thankful that, unlike in America, the tradition of these great clubs, although limited, is to allow visitor play. The book outlines how the club membership includes Dukes, Marquises, Viscounts, Earls and Lords, and the members tend to have been educated at either Eton or Harrow and Oxford or Cambridge. </div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717351273/in/dateposted-public/" title="9th from tee"><img alt="9th from tee" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717351273_ef2f1f37c0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The 464-yard par four 9th from the tee</i><br />
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There is a cute, tiny half-way house before you start the back nine. They have a home-made sausage roll there that is delightful, and the perfect cure for jet lag.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717688886/in/dateposted-public/" title="12th from tee"><img alt="12th from tee" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717688886_8fd5c5f6c7_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The dog-leg left 12th, par 4 hole is one of the best on the course</i></div>
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Colt explains why he likes to use forced carries off the tee, "For testing the long driver, and also for putting a premium upon accuracy, it is highly desirable to include a considerable number of long optional carries in the round, and also to provide opportunities for the bold and straight driver to play close past the edge of a hazard which he cannot carry. In all such cases it will be arranged that the player who has brought off the drive successfully should gain a substantial advantage over his more timid or less skillful opponent."</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717862337/in/dateposted-public/" title="12th green closeup"><img alt="12th green closeup" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717862337_776dc21ac2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>Not only is the 12th demanding from tee to green, the putting surface is more than challenging </i></div>
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The 12th green demands respect because of all the movement on the surface. The putt I left myself had so much borrow in it that it exceeded my credit limit and I hit it on too low a line, leaving it woefully distant from the cup. The greens at Swinley Forest were pure, and the rest of the course was in top condition as well. The club's policy is that you can take preferred lies at all times. Is that wrong, especially if you are a golf purist? Maybe if you're Jack Nicklaus competing in a PGA tour event. For the rest of us, it shouldn't be a bother. As the expression goes, when in Rome do as the Romans do. It is, in fact, the club's rule, so honoring their tradition provides an enjoyable day's golf.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Rhododendrons thrive in this part of England, due to the fertile mixture of soil that they call Bagshot sand. It contains flint, grey sand, clay, and black soil and it is rhodo heaven, allowing the plants to grow to enormous proportions, sometimes as large as a house. The examples seen behind the 12th green are some of the smaller ones in and around the course. </span></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717355093/in/dateposted-public/" title="15th green 2"><img alt="15th green 2" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717355093_34466b5c57_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The 15th green, with its multiple tiers, shows that Colt doesn't give the golfer any respite when they are using the flat stick</i></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48717812022/in/dateposted-public/" title="IMG_2008"><img alt="IMG_2008" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48717812022_e478ec9bfe_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i> </i></div>
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<i>Happy is the golfer that is greeted with this sign for a day's golf </i></div>
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The club's 2008 history, <i>The Swinley Special</i>, describes the club as follows, "Swinley has always been an extension of the country house party, the City boardroom and the regimental mess. There are no handicaps and no medal competitions, just golf with friends." Dogs are also encouraged at Swinley Forest. The club is an anachronism and still operates as if they were in the Edwardian period, and that is a big part of its charm.</div>
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I liked Swinley a lot and with each additional Colt
course I play I appreciate his genius design abilities even more. Putting aside the mystique of the club and the idyllic setting, the golf course taken on its own is one of the best. If you can't relax and enjoy the game at Swinley Forest, you should be playing tennis and not golf. Colt was right. Swinley is his "least bad" indeed!</div>
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<b>Post Script</b><br />
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I splurged in the pro shop and bought a nice navy blue fleece zip-up
vest with the Swinley logo on it. I plan on wearing it when I'm visiting the city so I can channel my inner
Goldman Sachs or J. P. Morgan investment banker look.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-73760357240844930722019-09-19T10:39:00.000-07:002019-09-19T10:39:02.600-07:00My Purity of Essence Returns!<div style="text-align: justify;">
There is a scene in the movie, <i>The Bucket List</i>, where Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are lying next to each other in their beds in the oncology ward reviewing what's on their respective bucket lists. I dreamed about doing many things during "the Troubles," and now that I am able, have decided to pursue my own bucket list, which includes many non-golf related items, and some additional golf pursuits. The odds of my cancer staying in remission are high if it doesn’t come back within the next year, so my timing is perfect. God willing, I will live a long and productive life. In not, there are no do overs, so my thought is that it's the perfect time to pursue my list with zeal. In the best case scenario I'll live to a ripe old age and my kids will have to work harder because I’ll blow through their inheritance!</div>
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Back in January I started to plan a trip to the British Isles in anticipation of getting better, with some new bucket list courses on the itinerary. At the time, it was a stretch and both “the wife” and my oncologist would roll their eyes when I told them what I wanted to do. Even as late as July it was touch and go, I was still having blood transfusions three times a month and the fatigue wasn’t flagging. I had faith and determination that I would go on my trip. Low and behold because of the wonder drug I took in August--Rituxan--my blood counts returned to normal, (specifically, my hemoglobin, which went above 14!!!), and with them my energy levels. I know, what other blog is so exciting that you can learn about medicine and your precious bodily fluids while reading about golf, but such is my plight. Stanley Kubrick and Sterling Hayden would be proud.<br />
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So it was that I was able to fly across the Atlantic on September 2nd, wearing my respirator mask and wiping every surface in sight down with disinfectant wipes. I must say that my routine was very effective at keeping people away from me in the airport, and the poor woman in the seat next to me on the plane was so frightened that I got all the elbow room between us on the seat divider.</div>
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As you know if you have been following my travails, I have had world-class care and my medical team has patched me up and brought me to a good place. The body is healing and I continue to make great progress every day. It was in Scotland that my spirit was restored as well. Even though I am of Italian-Irish heritage, my spiritual homeland is Scotland. I find every minute on Scottish soil invigorating and just love everything about the country, especially the people, the scenery and the language and accents. We just don’t have teahouses, filled rolls, Sunday roasts, brambles, and rolling hills punctuated with old stone walls in New Jersey. It was in the Kingdom of Fife that my soul was renourished and my mindset shifted from that of a patient to that of a hopeful survivor.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48731955906/in/dateposted-public/" title="48730720026_f7020ec5ea_o"><img alt="48730720026_f7020ec5ea_o" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48731955906_cdff3914bc_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>My home base in Scotland, the former home of the Duke of Fife, built in 1596</i></div>
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I also love to drive on the opposite side of the road and through roundabouts. It was on a beautiful morning when I was driving from our base in St. Andrews to our round at Kingsbarns that the pall of my troubles lifted. Mozart was playing gently on the car radio, I was with my good friends and we are rolling through striking countryside dotted with bales of hay glistening in the humidity-free, crisp air. It was magic and I could feel the weight of a year and a half of stress lifting. It was good to be home. </div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48731957511/in/dateposted-public/" title="back road"><img alt="back road" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48731957511_d01b640ee9_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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Our round at Kingsbarns, one of my favorite courses, was rejuvenating. I had an Italian caddie, Romano, and he and I were simpatico. My soul mate and I were in synch on everything, and this Renaissance man was born to read putts. As a result, I had the best round of golf I played in at least 10 years as we shared stories of our favorites foods, regions of Italy, and golf courses. Since being sick I have set my intention every morning when I wake up to embrace life to the fullest, living large and appreciating everything I have been blessed with. <i>La dolce vita!</i></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48731997071/in/dateposted-public/" title="1st green"><img alt="1st green" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48731997071_e7369dd471_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>The opening hole at Kingsbarns</i></div>
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I will be posting a half dozen or so new posts over the coming months highlighting new courses, including two English beauties that are among the best I have ever played.
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Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-49133417946244106082019-07-30T14:03:00.000-07:002019-08-11T13:59:38.049-07:00Double Eagle Golf Club<div style="text-align: center;">
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>Double Eagle’s fierce looking logo</i></div>
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I’m back to posting about new golf courses, having just completed one of my most satisfying rounds ever. The combination of being healthy enough to play, teeing it up at a captivating club, and doing so with friends, is a winning combination.<br />
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I still can’t fly, so “the wife” and I happily made the eight hour drive from New Jersey to Columbus, Ohio, for my first post-apocalypse outing to meet up with some fellow golf fanatics.<br />
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Two years ago those of us who completed playing the top 100 golf courses in the world decided it would be a good idea to get together occasionally to play, so we formed a club: the aristocratically named Global Golf Centurions Club. A handful of members were getting together and I was invited to join. My destination was the Double Eagle Golf Club. Double Eagle was not on the top 100 course list that I played, although for eight years it was ranked in the world top 100, with a peak ranking of 74 (note: statistics provided by the inimitable genius and MIT graduate <a href="http://rudogolf.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Paul Rudovsky</a>).<br />
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I timed the trip perfectly, juggling infusions so that I had peak energy for the round. The weather also cooperated, it was in the high seventies with some light cloud cover, enough to allow the UV index to dip low enough so that someone who takes 22 pills a day to ward off bad things can go into the sun, albeit with long pants, long sleeves, two gloves, a big straw hat and SPF 50 (which has the viscosity of thick glue and dries looking like white paint) on the face. Visualize a ghost who is dressed like he’s going to appear on <i>Green Acres</i> and that’s me when I play these days, but at this point in my journey I don’t need to worry about getting style points.<br />
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<b>The Golf Course</b><br />
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Double Eagle is one of the most unique places I have played with its combination of optimum course conditioning, a noteworthy routing and exclusivity. There are not many members, and the course flies the below the radar. Our caddie told me that they usually have less than ten groups playing per day; if there were twenty total golfers on the course when we played it was a lot. The 340 acre property is also enchanting and feels like a wildlife sanctuary with broad expanses of wild flowers throughout.<br />
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The course plays 7,300 yards (6,500 from the members tees) and is eminently playable. The key design characteristics that stand out at Double Eagle are: 1) No two holes in the same direction; 2) The fact that approach shots to greens often have to carry over a ravine or swale or plantings/flowers; 3) The greens are usually elevated and have closely shaved areas around them, and; 4) The design forces you to have to think backward from the green to decide what kind of shot you have to hit. A lot of courses are said to be shot makers courses, but I found this to be a dominating factor to take into account while playing here. It did not seem to be a bomb and gouge layout because of the trouble in front of the greens. On more than a handful of holes you have to lay back and not hit with maximum power so that you position yourself with the correct club to the green, or so that you are not out of position on a dog-leg and block yourself out of the best approach.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48396353231/in/dateposted-public/" title="1st hole approach best"><img alt="1st hole approach best" height="534" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48396353231_94bd12b4fa_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The approach shot on the opening hole at Double Eagle</i></div>
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The first hole is indicative of the playing style at Double Eagle. It is a par 4 of 390 yards with an approach over a particularly deep swale.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48396497262/in/dateposted-public/" title="Flowers Near 1"><img alt="Flowers Near 1" height="534" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48396497262_d07fe87652_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>Flowers near the 2nd tee shows off the pleasing setting of Double Eagle</i></div>
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The course setting is idyllic and it achieves a degree of isolation that only a handful of courses achieve, i.e., Pine Valley, Yeamans Hall, Morfontaine, and the nearby The Golf Club are notable examples. This type of real isolation is rarer than you think. Many great courses are not isolated, for example, San Francisco Golf Club, East Lake, and Los Angeles Country Club are within cities (or in the case of Pinehurst or North Berwick, within villages or towns) and the nearby urban environment is omnipresent when you play. Others have houses around them, like Wentworth and Winged Foot. Even some of the top of the heap tracks have roads running through them, like Merion, Maidstone, Shinnecock and Pebble Beach, even Cypress Point.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48396358151/in/dateposted-public/" title="2nd green elevation best"><img alt="2nd green elevation best" height="534" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48396358151_68d94d7bec_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The approach to the par five second shows the elevated green with closely mown areas in front</i></div>
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The 475 par five, dog-leg second doesn’t have a low point or hollow on the approach to the green but it is elevated with shaved areas. Its challenge is a stream running through the midpoint of the hole, forcing the golfer to have to think through how far to hit both their first and second shots to make sure they don’t end up in the middle of the flora that surrounds it. There are also alternative fairways to choose off the tee, split by massive bunkers, adding to the strategic nature of the challenge.<br />
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>View of the approach shot to the 3rd green at Double Eagle</i></div>
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The par four 3rd hole returns to the theme of a green protected by a ravine. I’ve probably played 200 or so courses that have ever been ranked among the top in the world. As I go about my travels I keep track of certain characteristics so I can compare them. One category I track is the best greens. To date I have only listed five on my website and in my book as having the best greens: Augusta, Winged Foot, Carnoustie, Peachtree and Camargo. The reality is that almost none of these top courses have bad greens, but these five stood out to me as being exceptional. Double Eagle’s greens, like the rest of the course, are impeccable, and I am adding them as the sixth course on my list. It was difficult to find grain on the greens and they rolled very true, although I found they almost always broke less than they looked like they would.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48396502197/in/dateposted-public/" title="6th back"><img alt="6th back" height="534" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48396502197_8b11ff875a_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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<i>The 505-yard par five 6th hole looking back from the green, with a little stream guarding the approach against loose shots</i></div>
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The course was designed and built in 1992 by Ohio native Tom Weiskopf and his partner Jay Moorish. I am too young to have followed Weiskopf’s career but he sounds like a fierce competitor with a fiery temper, who played at the game’s highest level. He was a winner of 16 PGA tour events including the 1973 Open Championship at Troon. A steely combatant, three of his PGA tour wins were achieved by beating Jack Nicklaus by one stroke. Moorish apprenticed under Robert Trent Jones for four years and worked for Nicklaus Golf Design for ten. This dynamic duo had their peak year in 1992, designing Loch Lomond in Scotland (another course I love) the same year they designed Double Eagle. Their other noteworthy works are in Arizona: Troon North, TPC Scottsdale and Forest Highlands.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48396361281/in/dateposted-public/" title="7th approach best"><img alt="7th approach best" height="534" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48396361281_b08a25db36_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The tight approach to the 360 yard seventh hole, my favorite on the course, requires a precision shot, as does the drive to the small fairway</i></div>
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Tom Doak mentions in his <i>Confidential Guide</i> that the bunkering style here is similar to San Francisco Golf Club and Riviera, although I didn’t notice that at all.<br />
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The 8th hole, a par 3 of 180 yards, shows the forced carry/ravine theme and the blissful setting</i></div>
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I found the course to have three distinct feels to it. The first eight holes are the most distinctive holes on the property and the ones I liked the most. This part of the property also has the most elevation change. Holes 9-14 play over a flatter part of the property, although they are still quite interesting. The final four holes bring water into play and represent a challenging finish. I personally liked the front nine more than the back.<br />
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Like at Loch Lomond, Weiskopf and Moorish maintain the design philosophy of continually changing direction. The course plays along every point on the compass and no two holes go in the same direction, an underrated principal in golf course design. One of the courses that Weiskopf admires and that influences his design is Muirfield, which, similarly, has great variation in hole directions.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48396506672/in/dateposted-public/" title="15th hole 2"><img alt="15th hole 2" height="534" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48396506672_065fffd663_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The green on the challenging 15th hole shows the generally flatter nature of this part of the property</i></div>
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The 15th is a Cape-style par four of 440 yards, with a fairway that sweeps to the left, and the golfer has to decide on the tee how much of the lake to cut the corner on. Water also comes into play on the par three 16th as you shoot at a perched green, and greenside on 17 and 18.<br />
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Tom Weiskopf is credited with the introduction of the modern drivable par four into course design, and it is his signature. I do remember the split fairway 14th hole at Loch Lomond is a gem of a drivable par four. At first blush the 17th at Double Eagle doesn't seem drivable at 340 yards, but once you look at the nuances of the hole it becomes apparent that for a stud it's possible to land a ball on or near the green off the tee. The hole's defining obstacle is plain to see off the tee: three large trees splitting the fairway, with the more generous portion being on the left and a narrow sliver of fairway on the right. You have to decide if you want to go left or right of the trees from the tee, and if you go to the right, it’s only about 300 yards to the large green, although that choice brings into play the water that juts into the fairway near the green. The 17th gets several accolades from George Peper in his book the <i>World’s 500 Greatest Golf Holes,</i> notching up rankings in the categories of ‘best short par four’ and ‘holes most nearly impossible to get on.’<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48396366436/in/dateposted-public/" title="17th"><img alt="17th" height="534" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48396366436_a0e586991b_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>Three mature specimen trees on the 17th provide quite a defense on a short par four</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48396508087/in/dateposted-public/" title="17th backward"><img alt="17th backward" height="534" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48396508087_2e6e0ded3e_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The 17th as seen from the green looking back, showing the split fairway, although there is water on the left short of the green isn’t visible in the picture</i></div>
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The challenging 18th, a par five finisher of 525 yards, is another example of how the course rewards precision over length, where just bombing a couple of shots is not the optimal way to play the hole.<br />
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><i>The third shot to the 18th green needs to be played with exactness or you’ll be watching water splash as your ball sinks to the bottom</i></div>
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<b>The Club</b><br />
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Our round was leisurely and idyllic, the only sounds were leaves rustling gently in the wind and birdsong. The combination of having a pristine golf course to ourselves during the height of the summer, with perfect temperatures and a light breeze is tough to beat. With respect to Mark Twain, this was not a good walk spoiled. It was a round to remember. As there was no one else remotely near us, we played a fivesome at a comfortable pace. In addition to the world-class golf course, the club also has one of the best vibes of any I have visited. It is a peaceful enclave from the outside world and a club you’d want to be a member of in a minute. There is no pomp and circumstance and it has a laid back feel. Getting the right ambiance (exclusivity without pretension, and a focus on golf and service) is a tricky thing that doesn’t happen that often, but when it does, you know it. I rank Double Eagle among a very select group of clubs that have the whole package and that make you truly feel like you are at home away from home. [San Francisco Golf Club, Maidstone, Somerset Hills, Myopia Hunt Club and Los Angeles Country Club being the others in the U.S.]<br />
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I was also fortunate to do an overnight stay in the lodge and it brought back fond memories of staying at dormie houses and club housing at other great clubs. There is nothing like it in my book because you don’t have to rush off anywhere and can immerse yourself in the experience. It is a joy to lose track of time and to stay up late into the night talking golf with likeminded nuts.<br />
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The fact that Double Eagle is not currently on Golf Magazine’s top 100 world list is a travesty, this course screams to be back in its appropriate place among the best; it is better than at least 20 courses I’ve played that are on the list. Serious golf fanatics should put Double Eagle on their bucket list of courses to play.<br />
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We all have our own thing that helps define us. My thing is traveling to play golf and enjoying not only great courses, but also the camaraderie and joy of a stag trip. Thank you to Mark, Paul, Mel, Tom and Keith for making my return to the golf world so special. It’s hard to articulate how good it was to get back into my routine and to re-enter the bubble! I can’t wait to do it again. Next up: a return to Myopia Hunt Club and the Country Club. Hopefully I can peak at the right time again and hope that the pros at both clubs aren’t scared off by the frightening look of my thick white sun-screened face and will let me play.<br />
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I would note that my opinion has evolved and that Ohio is a serious contender for the best golf state in the country. I have previously boasted about how great New Jersey is, anchored by the #1 course in the world. It’s also hard to make a case against California, and Long Island carries New York into final contention in any conversation. Collectively, though, the courses of Ohio are as good as any. Consider just those in the Columbus area: Muirfield Village, Double Eagle, The Golf Club and Scioto. Add on Camargo, Inverness, Canterbury, Kirtland, Moraine, NCR and Firestone, and if I were betting at poker I’d go All-in with that strong a hand.<br />
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The club has such an enjoyable culture because it was established in the benevolent dictator model followed at other unique courses. It was the brainchild of local boy John McConnell. If you thought steel magnates went away in the 19th century with the likes of Andrew Carnegie, think again. McConnell was a legitimate steel magnate, founding Columbus based Worthington Industries. A real-life Horatio Alger story, McConnell started out by borrowing $600 worth of steel using his 1952 Oldsmobile as collateral and built the business into a NYSE traded company, making himself wealthy along the way. God Bless America, the land of opportunity! His passions included golf, and he founded the club with the right attributes to be a special place to enjoy the game and the great outdoors.<br />
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McConnell has since passed away, but in my mind, he left a lasting legacy here on how to do things right. Like when Bobby Jones and Cliff Roberts set up the Masters, no detail was small enough to be overlooked. There is not one thing at Double Eagle that I can find fault with. That doesn’t happen often. McConnell set up a near perfect club that amplifies nature in a setting where golf is a true joy to play.<br />
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It’s good to be back!
Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-75664589854633761902019-07-04T11:58:00.000-07:002019-07-04T11:58:10.627-07:00Returning to Golf!It has been a while since I provided an update, so the 4th of July seems like a good time. First, thank you all for your kind words of encouragement. All-in-all I am doing well and am still in remission. Every day is a blessing to be enjoyed.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/48198742247/in/dateposted-public/" title="Peddie"><img alt="Peddie" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48198742247_36603da1e3_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div>
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<i>My home course, 7th green, twilight, July 3, 2019</i></div>
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One of my goals is to play golf again as soon as practical and I’m giving it a real go. One big side effect of a bone marrow transplant is fatigue, and in my case, it is sometimes acute because my red blood cell count keeps dropping, and will do so until my blood type changes to my brothers. As a result, I have to time my forays into golf with precision so that I pursue the game when I have maximum energy. Since I need a blood transfusion about every ten days I have to calibrate my golf escapades with an appropriate hemoglobin count, which limits me to three potential days a week.</div>
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I have approached the task with my usual gusto, primarily hitting balls and trying to get back my swing after such a long hiatus. I lost a lot of strength laying around for a year so I have to adjust to the ball traveling a shorter distance. As if I don’t have enough going on I also thought it was a good time to take some lessons to at least make sure I’m practicing the right things. Oy Vey, I forgot how hard it is to make changes, but I think it was the right decision because I plan on playing golf for a long time.<br />
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I also have a side effect called chronic GVHD which prevents me from being in the sun, so I am limited to cloudy or rainy days, or playing at dusk or twilight. The great news is I’ve gotten to play, sometimes walking three or four holes, sometimes taking a cart for nine holes. And it feels fantastic to be playing again. I am fighting this insidious disease so hard for family, friends, and myself, and having something to strive for and dream about helps beyond measure. There is still nothing like hitting a crisp iron shot from the fairway on a beeline to the flag, or hearing the ball drop to the bottom of the cup on a thirty-foot twisting putt! As is my nature I sometimes push too far. I went out one Sunday at sunset with my red counts low and had to lay down on the fairway between shots to catch my breath. “The wife” accuses me of sneaking out and says that I’m insane and what I’m doing is too much, and I’m sure my doctor would not approve, but I’m thrilled to have a do over, and it beats laying in a hospital bed.<br />
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Mine is an interesting life right now, with exaggerated highs and lows. When I’m in a down cycle I can only muster enough energy to lay on the couch and speak at the same volume Marlon Brando did in The Godfather. Hitting bottom is never fun. One slow afternoon I was almost to the point of desperation from boredom and I began dreaming of going to a Michael’s Store to pick up some materials to start a craft project – then luckily, I woke up in a cold sweat.<br />
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I am planning a special trip to Boston to meet some friends in August and hopefully to play a little golf (hoping for heavy cloud cover) and to get a dispensation to ride in a golf cart for courses that otherwise don’t allow it. My doctor also has a couple more tricks up her sleeve for stubborn cases and she will soon give me a wonder drug (Rituxin) that should accelerate my blood type changeover and continue my path to recovery and sustained high blood counts.<br />
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As the tee shirt says #lifeisgood.
Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-17263297751452618482019-04-24T14:46:00.002-07:002019-04-24T14:49:05.482-07:00The 2019 Masters and Update<div style="text-align: justify;">
First, thank you for all the nice comments, tweets, emails and messages, I appreciate them. I made it back to Augusta National. A little fatter, more haggard and fatigued than normal, but none of that matters, it was a dream come true again! Praise the lord for all he has blessed me with.</div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/47690731191/in/dateposted-public/" title="IMG_0996"><img alt="IMG_0996" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47690731191_254f61e1b3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<i>The fat boy returns to Amen Corner</i><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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We got to follow Tiger for a couple of holes, although it is so difficult to do with the crowds following him like never before. </div>
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Tiger practicing on the 17th green<br />
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It was great to catch up with friends from all over the world and to see the perfect property again. While the wife was off buying stuff in the best retail merchandising operation in the world I snuck in a pimento cheese and egg salad sandwich. Although I'm only allowed to technically eat food that's been freshly prepared within the hour, I correctly bet that Augusta's food operation was safe and they wouldn't poison me. </div>
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The highlight of the trip was that "the wife" got to stand a few feet from her boy on his nemesis hole. It doesn't matter than his game is off the boil because he's "so cute."</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Spieth on the 12th</i></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I got spectacular news yesterday when my transplant nurse removed my PICC line after being in my arm for 50 weeks, and gave me the all clear to play again. I already have a blister on my finger from hitting too many balls this morning! Looking forward to getting out a playing a few holes (in a golf cart for now) over the coming weeks.</span></div>
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Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-3210482644754034282019-04-05T08:59:00.000-07:002019-04-05T12:34:55.739-07:00My New Augusta National Quest - Post 7 - "The Remission Road Trip!"<br />
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<i>This home bound golf fan has studied the 2019 Masters program from beginning to end</i></div>
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I have a very gracious friend who lives in California who serves as a gallery guard at the Masters and he gives me his tickets every year for the practice rounds. “The wife” and I are setting out on our road trip to Augusta tomorrow to attend the practice rounds. Technically she doesn’t even call it the Masters, she says “we’re going to see Spieth.” She has a minor obsession with the young man and was heartbroken to learn that he got married last year.</div>
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So, even though he has been playing poorly of later we will be following Spieth, which I’m perfectly happy to do. Just being on the hallowed grounds is a privilege. I expect we'll be sitting in grandstands far more this year than in prior visits, but I’m thrilled to be there at all.</div>
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One unintended consequence of having cancer is that you get a lot of mail. Over the last ten months I’ve gotten at least a half dozen bills, statements, disclosures or explanation of benefits documents per week. Stacked end to end, all the papers related to my treatment measure over 6 inches in height. Contained within that half a foot of paper is $1.4 million of bills related to medical treatment, the cumulative cost so far. The $1.4 million includes 54 days spent in the hospital, 22 bags of red blood received through transfusions, 36 outpatient visits to the hospital, two emergency room visits, 72 visits from my home nurse and 5,230 pills. Sound like a burden? Truth is it’s a blessing. I’m alive and feeling good.</div>
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And my cancer is in remission.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/39967046933/in/dateposted-public/" title="DSCF1610"><img alt="DSCF1610" height="480" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4907/39967046933_7f2e9297a4_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>I will be following Karen around the course as she follows her boy</i></div>
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How do I know all the statistics above with such precision? “The wife, Karen.”
We all deal with stress in different ways. I personally just let go and turn myself over to the care of the professional and assume that they are skilled in their ways and that god has a plan for me, and that worrying over every little thing isn’t really going to change the outcome. “The wife” is the opposite. She kept notebooks throughout my hospital stay writing down the name of everybody who came into the room. She grilled every doctor, nurse, and pharmacist and had them explain every single thing and every side effect. She keeps spreadsheets of all the pills I have taken. Not only can she tell you that I’ve taken 5,230 pills, she can also tell you the specific dosage and what time of day I took them, bless her soul.</div>
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I am also enrolled in an FDA trail for a drug called Gilteritinib that has shown promising results in keeping my particular type of leukemia at bay. Modern medicine is full of miracles. And miracles don’t come cheap. The list price of Gilteritinib is $360,000 per year and I am beyond blessed that I don’t have to pay out of pocket. While disruptive tech companies that let you order pizza without getting off your couch or to hail a taxi faster get a lion’s share of the press attention, recent advances in medicine have been even more dramatic. If I had gotten this dreaded disease 25 years ago my outcome likely would have been very different. And advances coming in the next regarding 25 years in areas like immunotherapy, genomics and allogenic cell therapy promise even better, more advanced medicine, something I think is important to keep in perspective when skeptics tell you have bad everything is. Truth is, it's a fabulous time to be alive.</div>
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They say there are no atheists in foxholes. Well, the same is true for those being treated on an oncology floor in the hospital (or in the case of Penn, the dozens of floors). There is a lot of faith and praying golf on. It is by far the most egalitarian environment I have been in. There are no Republicans or Democrats, you don’t notice or care about someone’s skin color, ethnicity or background. You just have empathy for your fellow sufferers and admiration and trust in the people caring for you. Can cancer ever be a good thing? I don’t really think so, but it has changed my outlook on life and given me the perspective to see things very differently now.</div>
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I don’t know if technically you can get PTSD from a long and traumatic hospital stay, but sometimes I do feel traumatized. My self-prescribed treatment for curing it is to visit the Augusta National Golf Club and to soak up the Masters with “the wife.” We’ll keep you posted along the way. Karen has her notebooks and spreadsheet at the ready. I’m sure I’ll be able to tell you how many miles we drove to and from Augusta and how many steps we took while on the property!
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Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-18759450369499737372019-03-25T12:42:00.000-07:002019-03-25T12:42:00.583-07:00My New Augusta Nation Quest - Post 6 - "Freedom"<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>I'm getting closer to the technicolor of Augusta . . .</i> </div>
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Returning home after a traumatic hospital stay is a big
deal. I’m trying to mentally shift focus and it’s more complicated than I
thought it would be. My white blood cell count yesterday was 4 (which is good)
and I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow at 10:45am. My focus now is
to break through and establish a new normal. I don’t want to be a patient any
more, I want to live an everyday life, spend time with family and friends and play
golf. There was a time when a 4 represented a good score on a two-shot hole and
when 10:45am represented a tee time, and not a clinical exam time. I want my old
life back. Seeing the lush green rolling hills of North Georgia and smelling
pine needles would be the ultimate shock treatment to allow me to hit the reset
button and get that done. It would certainly be a stark contrast to the muted grays
and browns of a hospital environment and a step up from smelling bleach all
day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Having new DNA and a new lease on life is like being born
again. In fact, the nurses at the hospital call your transplant day your new
birthday. They say that you should appreciate the little things in life and it
is both true and a cliché. Sitting on my back deck watching the sun rise and
listening to the birds chirping is more satisfying that just about anything in the
world these days. I’ve also allowed myself the permission once again to
reimagine that by mid-summer I can again experience the sound of golf shoes crunching
on gravel, of clubs clicking against each other with a bag on my back, and to listen for the magical soft sound the ball makes when it falls into the hole and then rattles around. I'm dreaming of hearing and experiencing sounds that I previously wouldn't haven given a second thought to. I can't wait to hear the snap and crackle of Velcro when I unfasten my golf glove again for the first time. I also hope to one
day return to links golf and listen to its distinctive sounds: the inevitable
wind blowing through the long fescue in the dunes, the cawing of seagulls floating overhead, the flag fighting to stay upright in a stiff breeze and the sound of distant waves.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the end, the lessons from my near-death experience aren’t
that complicated. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Live the golden rule.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Be nice to people. Give and
you shall receive. Watch <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It’s a Wonderful
Life</i> and it’s all there; friends and family are far more important than
power or money.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Being back home has been a liberating experience especially
as my doctor lifts some restrictions. I have begun to ease back into
normal routines like showering without permission, cooking, reading the
newspaper without needing to wear gloves, and staring idly into the fireplace
for hours on end. The temptation to hit a few balls here and there is also
quite compelling. As I mentioned in a previous post I still have a PICC line
protruding from my arm so that I can give and receive blood easily. PICC lines
are not conducive to physical activity, including golf. Compared to tennis or
running, though, golf isn’t that physically taxing and I don’t see how it could
interfere with my treatment. They told me no contact sports when I was
discharged, and golf isn’t a contact sport. How harmful can it be to hit a few
chip shots in the backyard?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Moron.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I ended up having to go to the emergency room one sun-splashed Sunday morning in the late fall after I developed a blood clot in the same
arm that my PICC line is in. I’m not saying there is a correlation between
hitting balls and the blood clot. In fact, I’m going to exercise my Fifth
Amendment right against self-incrimination because technically there is no
proof that I actually hit balls. The blood clot could have developed for other
reasons. And besides, the medical literature offers conflicting research on the
impacts of the golf swing, peripherally inserted central catheters and blood clots.
Most studies don’t prove a correlation, at least when the golfer is just hitting
wedges. If I had snuck in a couple of drives, well that may be a different
story and potentially could have caused some damage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In any event, the penalty for (allegedly) golfing with a
PICC line is a self-administered needle to the stomach every day with an
anticlotting drug. The penalty doesn’t seem to fit the innocent nature of the crime.
A two-shot penalty would have been sufficient, but 120 days (and counting) of shots to the abdomen seems a bit much for such a small infraction of the rules.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The wife” says I like to complain and I probably do.
Although I count my blessings every day, after half a year at home you do start
to go stir crazy. While I didn’t have to wear an ankle bracelet like Bernie
Madoff or Dominique Strauss-Kahn did during their house arrests, the injustice
of the situation has begun to weigh on me mentally the more time progresses.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To add insult to injury I have to follow a restricted diet
(called Neutropenic) because my body can’t ward off infection yet. Among the
foods in the bad category are fast foods, including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In-N-Out Burger</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jimmy Johns</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jersey Mike’s</i>. A sub sandwich, or “cold cuts,” as the doctors describe them with a menacing tone, could kill me
because the meats sit out all day and grow bacteria on them. They warn you off
eating an Italian Hoagie as if your finger were on the pin of a
hand grenade. Kill joys. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also can’t
have sushi. Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are to be avoided like kryptonite. But the indignities
get far worse. The greatest indignity of all is that I can’t eat unpasteurized
cheese. This includes blue cheese, brie, and Gorgonzola. The ultimate
horror is that I can’t eat fresh Pecorino Romano or Permagiano-Reggiano. I get
the sense that transplants are easier for people of Anglo-Saxon descent; telling someone of Italian heritage they can’t eat fresh grated cheese is the ultimate indignity. At
least I suffer in good company; my Jewish brethren also suffer because having a
bagel with lox is also forbidden. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At my stage in this nightmare leukemia journey there is no
sense of a permanent peace. Although my prognosis to date has been good, unfortunately,
the disease can come back, so there is always a small voice in the back of my mind that I can't silence. For now, I have to block all that negativity out because we’re
gearing up to go to the Masters. I hope I have enough stamina to walk the
grounds a few hours a day. After going so long without exercise I am in a
weakened state, although I am looking forward to cautiously walking up and down the steep hills and
breaking a sweat for the first time in almost a year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-76030891579130694042019-03-15T05:00:00.000-07:002019-03-15T05:00:37.768-07:00My New Augusta National Quest - Post 5 - "House Arrest"<div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156215577@N06/46107528824/in/dateposted-public/" title="#13 looking back"><img alt="#13 looking back" height="600" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7806/46107528824_d31eaaa5f6_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> </div>
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<i> Is there better therapy in the world than visiting Augusta with the shrubs in bloom?</i></div>
<br />
I was discharged with a decent short-term prognosis just after Labor Day. The drill for the foreseeable future was to remain at home in an environment that is as sterile as possible, with no visitors. Because of the chemotherapy and transplant my immune system was still non-existent. I survived by taking 20 or so pills a day, having a home nurse come twice a week, and visiting the doctor at the hospital once a week. I was sent home with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line) in my right arm so that I could get IV medication and so that the nurse didn’t have to prick my hand or find a new vein every time she needed blood.<br />
<br />
A PICC line is one of the unnoted miracles of modern medicine. It allows patients who would otherwise be hospital-bound to go home and get their medication there. Among its disadvantages is that it inhibits you from swinging a golf club, not that I had much energy to do so anyway. Transplants take a long time to work and one of their primary drawbacks is that you have extreme fatigue almost all the time because your body has to convert over from your own DNA to that of your donor. The body has roughly 37 <i>trillion</i> cells, so that takes a lot of energy. One of my doctors said that if I committed a crime the police could convict my brother based on DNA evidence, because post-transplant his DNA is my DNA. The other voodoo aspect of the transplant is that my blood type will change from A positive to B positive once it is complete.<br />
<br />
Despite the restrictions, it is obviously far better to be home than in a hospital. In addition to my visit to intensive care there were other low points of my stay. “The wife” and I agreed that one was when we were sitting in the hospital room on a murky afternoon watching reruns of the <i>New $10,000 Pyramid </i>on TV. Daytime TV is a vast wasteland and this felt like a nadir if there ever was one. The other low point was when my white blood cell counts began to rise. By design, some of the chemotherapy you are given obliterates your white blood cells and brings their count down to zero or near zero. This is a good thing because these were the bad cells that caused the leukemia. Your body eventually re-generates new white blood cells and I was given a drug called Neupogen, which helps stimulate their growth.<br />
<br />
Bone marrow is created primarily in the big bones of your lower back and in your thighs. Once the Neupogen starts to kick in and your white blood cells start to grow again it brings on pain with such an intensity that you can't function. Did you ever hit yourself in the ankle or shin with a wedge when you were walking off a green or coming out of a bunker? Intensely painful, right? The pain of your bone marrow generating white blood cells anew is like that pain times one thousand, and it is one that doesn’t last a minute, but hours. The onset of the pain caused me to curl up in bed and sob, the pain of such intensity that I would have preferred death during those moments.<br />
<br />
Enter the miracle pain drugs: opioids. Prior to my cancer, the strongest medicine I would ever take was Advil. I am not a pill popper and my philosophy is that it is better to tough it out, that most pains were transient, and the side effects of most medications usually don’t outweigh the benefits. Not so in this instance. I started with a morphine pump, another miracle of modern medicine. To kill the pain I was given a bag of morphine (an opioid narcotic) attached via an IV tube to a release button that controlled its flow. When you experience pain, you simply push the button and the morphine goes directly into your bloodstream through the IV. As Martha Stewart says, “it’s a good thing,” and the fact that the pain goes away immediately is far better than any craft project or fancy cupcake icing design she ever did.<br />
<br />
Opioids can be bad and can be addictive. We all know that now, and it’s easy to judge people who become addicted to them. All I can say is that in my hour of greatest need when taking my next breath was a struggle, they provide needed relief and helped me get through to see the next sunrise.<br />
<br />
It turns out that one of the reasons Secretariat was such a successful horse was that his heart was abnormally large. During the depths of my hospital troubles I was saved emotionally not by a doctor, intern, fellow, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant or registered nurse, but by a nurse’s aide. Alana was her name, an angel from Trinidad. Her job was to take vital signs in the middle of the night, to change sheets and to perform other support functions for the broader medical team. Aside from getting world-class treatment, a big part of fighting through this disease is emotional. Keeping a positive attitude, which is easy to preach, is far more difficult to put into practice when you’re attached to IVs around the clock and it's two in the morning and you're lying awake in the dark. Alana understood that staying connected to reality and not losing sight of what you are fighting for are supremely important. She has the most positive attitude of anyone in the City of Brotherly Love, and it was infectious. Simple things like calling me "sweetie" or telling me I looked great when I knew I was a mess made a big difference. Before I was taken to intensive care she sat next to my bed and held my hand, offering positive encouragement and her prayers.<br />
<br />
The University of Pennsylvania Hospital has a rich heritage. It was the first medical school in the country, founded in 1765 by Benjamin Franklin. It has countless PhD’s, distinguished professors and medical prize winners. In my book, Alana is the Secretariat of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, and one of the most tremendous human beings I ever met. May god bless her loving soul.<br />
<br />
My last visit to the doctor brought very good news. She said the “the wife” and I could go to the Masters, with some limitations. I can’t fly. Technically I can, but since my immune system remains weak I’d have to wear a respirator and wipe down the area around me on the <strike>flying germ factory</strike> airplane. Boarding a plane dressed like a fireman and behaving like Felix Unger aren’t my cup of tea, so we’re happily going to make the long drive. We’re going to take it slow on the way there and the way back, doing a tour of Southern cities so as to not stress ourselves out trying to drive too much in one day.Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-12932422139367499442019-03-01T04:05:00.000-08:002019-03-04T09:43:57.258-08:00My New Augusta National Quest - Post 4 - "Lucky"<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>Despite my current dietary limitations, I am longing to eat one of these
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I responded well to the first and second rounds of chemo and the next step toward getting the disease in remission was to find a donor for a bone marrow transplant. Even though the chemotherapy completely wipes out the source of the problem, which is rogue white blood cells, given that I had the FLT-3 mutation, the incidence of recurrence is unfortunately high, and replacing the body’s bone marrow is the preferred course of action. The reason the doctors want to replace the bone marrow is because that is how the body generates blood cells, and the theory is to cut off the problem at its source. In what my doctor rightly describes as voodoo medicine, treatment has advanced to the point where they can give you a shot that tells your body to replace your own bone marrow with that of your donors. How it works is beyond description for a lay person. Lending money and buying stocks is God’s work? Not exactly. This voodoo medicine is God’s work.<br />
<br />
For some people finding a donor is a stressful ordeal. The best case is to have the donor be a family member. For those that can't find a blood relative donor, they try via a pool of donors. The donor base statistically favors those of Western European descent. As one of Italian-Irish lineage the transplant specialist felt I would have a good chance of finding a match. Those in other ethnic groups apparently haven’t built up a huge base of donors so it is more of a challenge and potentially life threatening. It turns out that I didn't need to go to the donor pool because I was very lucky: my younger brother was a perfect match as a donor. The transplant team looks to match ten different criteria and the closer you can get to all of them, the better the chances that the transplant will be successful. My bro was 10 out of 10, which is better than birding the 12th hole at Augusta National!<br />
<br />
My actual transplant was thankfully a non-event, even anti-climactic. I got an injection and a bag of the life-saving marrow and that was it, the entire procedure completed in less than two hours. Mental note: Osso busso is off the menu from now on.<br />
<br />
Transplant complete, now the fight against the disease shifted to the mental. Although the transplant itself was relatively non-invasive, I had to remain in isolation for between 20 and 30 days. Isolation, as in restricted to your hospital room, which has been completely sterilized and scrubbed down. Anyone entering my room had to put on a gown and gloves to keep the environment germ free because my immune system didn’t exist. An infection or virus could kill me. You also have to take an impressive list of medications day and night, and take fluids through IV, including blood transfusions as needed. In the long list of complaints a leukemia patient can have, having to just sit around in a locked hospital room ranks relatively low, although it requires the patience of a saint, something I’m not naturally suited for. The one small act that saved my sanity is that the doctors allow you out of the room, but not off the floor, for a brief time after 10pm and before 6am when the activity level in the hallways has decreased.<br />
<br />
On May 1st, I was leading a normal life; four months later I was a vampire: locked in a room 23 1/2 hours a day, consuming blood and coming out for only 30 minutes in the middle of the night. Not that I’m complaining, because the efforts by the medical team are astonishing and I’m above ground with much to be grateful for.<br />
<br />
With nothing but free time I got to watch the PGA championship from beginning to end, just as I did in May with the Players Championship. I watched every single shot of the tournament and the <i>Golf Channel</i>’s coverage before and after the rounds. To state the obvious, your choices of entertainment laying in a hospital gurney are limited and it was nice to imagine being out in the sunshine, walking on lush fairways with the wind blowing, rather than smelling cleaning solvents, eating hospital food and watching my hair fall out.<br />
<br />
Since the golf bug bit me decades ago I have always been obsessed with the game. To me it's not a recreational activity I pursue in my leisure time, but instead it is a way of life. I love the beauty and serenity of being out in nature chasing around a little white ball. I love the camaraderie, the friendships, the etiquette, the challenge, and the self-knowledge you get from embracing golf. Laying in my hospital bed for extended periods of time breathing recycled air really made me lust to get out in nature again. Honestly, just being able to take a walk in the park or to feel the sun beating down on me would be enough. Golf would be a huge bonus.<br />
<br />
Being cooped up for such a long time gave me a lot of time to think. And time to dream. Part of the way I managed to get through the first part of this ordeal was to dream about getting out on a golf course once again. I’m still hopeful that I can get to the point where I can make the trek to Augusta next month to watch the Masters. I have to remain patient and take it one day at a time and to remember that I have a lot to be grateful for.<br />
<br />
I would remain in isolation in the same room for twenty straight days, although I was lucky because I was on the short end of the range. I’m not sure I could have endured another 10 days. I used to think that the greatest words in the English language were, “Mr. Sabino, you’re on the tee,” while in a special place like Cypress Point or Royal Dornoch. What a fool I was. The greatest words in any language are “Mr. Sabino, you’re discharged.” Finally, I was free to go home and was able to walk out of the hospital without assistance.
<br />
<br />
And I was one step closer to getting back to Augusta and to playing the game again.Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-55437879853455676842019-02-15T01:59:00.000-08:002019-03-10T16:03:53.919-07:00My New Augusta National Quest - Post 3 - "Nadir"<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>Hope springs eternal, and I'm hopeful to see this in person in April</i></div>
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Entering the alien world of cancer treatments was an eye-opening experience at all levels. I have been a long-time reader of the works of Atul Gawande, an Oxford and Stanford educated surgeon and Harvard Medical School professor who writes for the <i>New Yorker</i>. He espouses the importance of following a defined protocol and of a seemingly trivial thing: using checklists. He espouses it for the same reason Sully Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles immediately went to their emergency checklist after hitting a flock of birds after taking off from LaGuardia Airport. Because they work.<br />
<br />
Maybe Bryson DeChambeau is on to something with his scientific and methodical approach to the game. He is continually rising on the money list with his checklist approach to golf.<br />
<br />
One of the reasons I had great care around the clock is that everyone was reading from the same playbook and religiously followed their procedures and checklists. Even if each individual practitioner is of the highest caliber, the system is only as good as its weakest link. The way they all worked together on an integrated basis and handed off seamlessly from shift-to-shift is because they follow their protocol. This was an eye-opening lesson for me.<br />
<br />
Although I was in a fog, during those first few hospital days I noticed that the doctors kept saying that I would hit “nadir” on about day 14 of treatment. I wasn’t exactly sure what nadir meant since this isn't the kind of word we typically use in Jersey. My closest prior association with the word Nadir is the activist Ralph. I ended up getting a master class in the meaning of nadir during my initial hospital stay. In retrospect, the reason that use such a fancy term is so they don’t scare the hell out of you. Nadir means hitting rock bottom. Everyone at the hospital works really hard to keep the environment upbeat. Using phrases like “rock bottom” or “crashing” don’t fit the construct.<br />
<br />
I also learned during my trial by fire that it’s not the disease that necessarily kills you, sometimes it’s the treatment or side effects. My initial induction chemo included three different drugs and their side effects were far ranging. The evil nemesis that got me is a dastardly condition called mucositis. The <strike>chemicals</strike> poisons you are given are designed to wipe out a large part of your existing cells but they don’t perfectly discriminate and sometimes attack cells that you need to survive. I developed a severe case, with sores in my mouth and esophagus. As a consequence, I couldn’t drink or eat and eventually had a difficult time breathing because my tongue swelled. At one point I was a real-life patient at the center of a Thomas Eakins painting, encircled at close range by a cluster of white lab-coated Philadelphia doctors, which is not something anyone should ever aspire to.<br />
<br />
Nadir for me was when they transferred me off the specialty oncology floor and into intensive case. If the hospital environment itself was an alien environment, the ICU is the real-world version of being in a Twilight Zone episode. It’s a high stress environment that is crowded, has bad light and acoustics, and poor air. There are a lot of monitors and nothing to eat. Come to think of it,
it’s a lot like traveling through Terminal A at Newark Airport.<br />
<br />
Unlike a regular hospital floor, there is no idle chatter or banter among the practitioners.The doctors and nurses in ICU behave like Tiger does when holding the lead in a tournament. It’s game day and everyone has their game face on all the time. My doctors were baffled by my particular set of symptoms so they assembled a multi-disciplinary team to discuss my case. It was truly a surreal scene. Due to my condition I couldn’t speak, but I could see ten doctors assembled around my bed in a “U” formation and they spoke of me as if I weren’t there. The team included a pharmacist, my oncology team, and specialists from Infectious Disease, ENT, Allergy, Radiology, Neurology, Gastroenterology and Intensive Care. It seemed like every department was weighing in except the Obstetrics and Gynecology team, although I was in such a daze they could have been there too and I just missed them.<br />
<br />
Even with all that firepower they couldn't figure out what precipitated my rapid demise. I will spare you the gory details, but the ICU doctors saved my life. I had to be intubated first through the nose (not for the faint of heart) and then when there were complications, through the mouth, and it was touch and go for a while. God bless everyone who helped save me and “the wife,” who literally stood by my bed for 72 straight hours. It's affirming to recount the story now, after the fact, with a good outcome, but I can assure you in the moment, when you have that many talented people trying to identify the problem and failing to come up with a definitive answer, it is terrifying.<br />
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As if I didn’t have enough problems with the cancer, one of the consequences of being in ICU for three days is that I came back to the oncology treatment floor a basket case. Since I couldn’t eat, they had to feed me something that looked like wallpaper paste intravenously (it’s called TPN). It turns out that TPN has <i>a lot</i> of sugar in it, so I developed diabetes. In addition to all the other IV medications and pills I was taking, I had to be pricked several times a day to have my blood sugar level checked and given an insulin shot in the stomach to correct any imbalances. I began May looking like a poorly aging version of Keith Hernandez. In a short period of time I was doing a pretty good impression of a fasting Mahatma Gandhi: mustache still intact, but bald and frail, my days spent largely in bed while occasionally shuffling around in a white sheet.<br />
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Ever the optimist, rather than viewing the debacle I went through as problematic, I felt lucky to be in the care of such experienced and determined people who excelled at what they do.</div>
<br />
Since I spent the entire month of May in my room, which overlooked the University’s central quad, I got to watch the preparation for the graduation festivities and to dream of one day getting better and being able, first, just to go outdoors, and then, of being able to golf once again. Barring further complications, I’m still hopeful that things can come together and that “the wife” and I will make it to the Masters this year.<br />
<br />
<b>Post Script </b>- For the physician readers among my followers, two weeks after the incident I got a visit from the Allergy doctor, a professor at Penn who was part of the bedside huddle. Frustrated by not being able to help, he wouldn't let my case go and went away and did research in the medical textbooks. After reviewing my blood work from the time he concluded that I had a rare condition called 'acquired angioedema' brought on by the leukemia, and he found a specialty medicine to treat me if the condition ever returns.<br />
<br />
We live in a time of heightened animosity across many parts of our life these days, especially in the political arena. The cable news driven tribalism that is dividing us is troubling. It is easy to become cynical and have a lack of trust. This is a busy guy, he could have easily gone on to other things after my condition passed. He didn't, which is encouraging to say the least. He is just one small example of people who go above and beyond and shows there are plenty of good hearted, caring souls among us. Among other life lessons he reinforced, such as, persistence matters, he has helped reorient me to focus on the positive and not the negative, something that is increasingly difficult to do in the negative media environment we live in.<br />
<br />Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-52668745709699636942019-01-30T12:07:00.000-08:002019-01-30T12:07:16.315-08:00My New Augusta National Quest - Post 2 - "Induction"<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>I'm fighting hard every day to get back here</i></div>
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Despite the density and its negative reputation, I have always found New Jersey to be a pleasant place to live. Granted, I don’t live in <i>Jersey Shore</i> country, nor near Bada Bing! Think about the benefits: living one hour from New York City and one hour from Philadelphia offers access to the best pastrami sandwiches and cheesesteaks in the world. From a golf standpoint, it’s also nice to be able to have a short drive to both Pine Valley and Merion and to be a couple of hours from the National Golf Links and Maidstone. I have been healthy my whole life and prior to my diagnosis never gave much thought to medical care. I consider myself lucky that I was treated at the University of Pennsylvania, a sophisticated teaching hospital.<br />
<br />
They say you want to be treated by someone who specializes in whatever your particular affliction is. So, if you need have knee surgery you want to go to someone who only does knees, all day, every day. It turns out that Penn is one of the best hospitals in the world for treating my type of leukemia, called AML. They have a large team of doctors who do nothing but treat this insidious disease all day. After my initial 48-hour rapid response I started to receive care from an impressive group of doctors and nurses. The results of my bone marrow biopsy revealed that I had a particularly virulent strain of the disease known as an FLT-3 mutation. As the great Yankee Lou Gehrig said, I caught a bad break.<br />
<br />
Leukemia isn’t hereditary and there is no good predictor for it. It just comes, literally, in the case of AML, out of the blue. The standard course of treatment for my mutation is three regimes of chemo followed by a bone marrow transplant. AML is the same form of leukemia that tragically took the life of Australian PGA golfer Jarrod Lyle at age 36. That brave soul first had the disease as a teenager and had it come back twice more, going through the standard course of chemo treatment and a transplant each time. That poor courageous man, may he rest in peace. How anyone could go through this ordeal three times defies imagination and would tax even the most optimistic of us.<br />
<br />
You know the odds of survival aren’t great when the doctors and nurses hesitate or look away when you ask them what your life expectancy is with this disease.<br />
<br />
It depends.<br />
<br />
The worse thing in the world you can do is to Google any disease. You only read the horror stories and of high mortality rates. “The wife” has wisdom and implored me to ignore all of them. Medicine has advanced significantly in the last 10-15 years; the statistics can be misleading or not applicable, and there are new treatments and drugs coming onto the market all the time. Ignore it all the wise one said. Even if there is just a small percentage of survival, you truly must believe that you are among that group and you have to fight for your life every day.<br />
<br />
My entire month of May was spent tethered to one or more IV machines. I was getting medication 24 hours a day 7 days a week. And for those who have been lucky enough not to endure an overnight stay in the hospital, count your blessings. Make it a life goal never to do so. Sleep is a luxury, as is normal food. Privacy and personal space don’t exist. It is an artificial, antiseptic bubble that is the anthesis of normal life, although I must say that commuting for so many years through the dungeon that is Penn Station in New York did prepare me somewhat for the ordeal. Between the pain, the chorus of machines beeping and the nurses taking your vital signs or administering medicine every four hours, it is an alternate reality to anything I have ever experienced. I am not complaining, to the contrary, I am exceedingly lucky to have had 24-hour medical care by experienced providers and these people are true heroes.<br />
<br />
Between my golf quest and my occupation, I have lived in a bubble the last 25 years. I work in the finance world, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blanfien infamously said in 2009 that he was doing “God’s work.” The thing is, a lot of people that work in finance believe that what they are doing is noble. “I help people save for retirement or for their kid’s education,” you will hear people say, or we “help raise capital for people to start companies and create jobs.”<br />
<br />
It’s a righteous way to describe pushing paper around and using other people’s money. It’s hardly noble or “God’s work.” Nurses caring for cancer patients in the middle of the night is God’s work and far more saintly than working on Wall Street. I’m in a bubble no more. The attendant in the ambulance that took me to the hospital was lamenting how she had to work two jobs and recently had her car repossessed. When I asked the nurses why they worked the night shift the answer was almost universally because it paid more money. The Hopi Indians have a word that describes how we value caregivers: <i>Koyaanisqatsi. </i><br />
<br />
It means life out of balance. How is it as a society that people who put their lives on the line for us, run into burning buildings, and nurture us back to health during our darkest hour aren’t the most prized and well paid? The military have a more succinct description of it: FUBAR. This prima donna now clearly sees that our societal values are backwards.<br />
<br />
In any event, I didn’t have much time to think about golf or to dream about my future in May, as the disease overwhelmed me. I was equally overwhelmed by the avalanche of love, prayers, positive thoughts and encouragement from friends and family. Thank you.Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20412896.post-19274586664905812272019-01-21T12:21:00.000-08:002019-01-21T15:19:53.446-08:00My New Augusta National Quest - Post 1<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>Your author in happy and healthier days at Augusta National</i></div>
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I have a tradition on my website, which is to post a year in
review summary each January. Well, I didn’t have much to write about last year since
I only played one round of golf because it was a true <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">annus horribilis,</i> to coin a Latin phrase. There is no other way to
describe my dreadful year. You may have noticed I haven’t posted since May 1st
2018, which is fitting. On May 2nd I was diagnosed with leukemia. My demise
began when I was feeling generally tired and having cold sweats at night. I
just chalked it up to too much work and travel, too much flying, and too many
nights in hotels. “The wife” thought it might be Lyme disease, so scheduled me
to have a blood test on the first of May. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s never a good sign when a doctor calls you, right? It’s
impossible to get an appointment at most doctors and once you get an
appointment you sit for extended periods of time in the waiting room while
being forced to watch <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The View</i>. Once
you actually see the doctor the visit feels rushed and they mostly do administrative
work while staring at their computer. Aside from Joe’s Stone Crab, what other
business model do you know that survives while making people wait? Ok, airlines
and railroads also, but you get the idea.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I was driving to work on May 2nd (Black Wednesday), and my
primary care doctor calls first thing in the morning to tell me that the blood
test he drew had a bad result. And that I had to go to the hospital <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">immediately</i> to have another blood test
to make sure it was not a mistake. I asked what he thought the problem was and
he said that my white blood cell count was sky high and it could be leukemia. I
didn’t know what leukemia was and had to ask. It is cancer of the blood.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I drove to the emergency room in Princeton where they re-did
a blood test and confirmed that my white blood cells were through the roof. A
normal range is between 4 and 11. Mine was 90. Leukemia requires such a
specialized treatment that I couldn’t be treated in a good-sized, respectable
hospital in a university town. I had to transfer to a hospital that specialized
in leukemia treatment. I told the ER doctor that I wanted to go home and get a
change of clothes, get some toiletries and that I would have “the wife” drive
me down to the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. Body language and
expressions tell far more than the spoken word. He didn’t have to say a word,
the look on his face told me my imminent heartbreaking fate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When he did begin speaking he said that my white blood cell
count was so high that I was at immediate risk of death by stroke or blood clot
and that the only place I was going was into an ambulance after they began an
oral dose of chemotherapy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I must say that in the world of medicine I am naive. I
thought when you get cancer they had to run a battery of tests, you could get a
second opinion, you could think about which course of treatment you wanted to
pursue and weigh your options. At a minimum, you could go home to get your
favorite sweatshirt. It turns out there are two types of leukemia, chronic and
acute. I had an acute version which essentially requires emergency intervention
and treatment on the spot.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next 48 hours were easily the worst of my life. Upon
arrival at Penn I was greeted by a team of doctors and nurses and admitted to a
specialized floor for patients with blood diseases. The veins in my arms
endured more than twenty incursions by needles so that my caregivers could run
a variety of tests and begin to give me more than a half dozen medications
intravenously. You’re heard of death by a thousand cuts. My journey began with
death by a thousand pricks. And that was the easy part. The real fun began with
my first bone marrow biopsy. In order to properly diagnose the exact strand of
the disease the doctors have to extract marrow from the bone in your lower
back. Let’s call it an invasive procedure and one where there really is no good
way to anesthetize the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
procedure takes about 15-20 minutes and you can actually feel the marrow being
pulled out in about 20 seconds of pure terror. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My life as I knew it was over.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And the day had begun simply enough. I had woken up, had
breakfast and coffee and had a full day of work planned. Now I was under intensive
treatment for a dreadful disease and would be in the hospital for the next 30
days. And the worst was yet to come.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyhow, the purpose of this post is not to depress you or to
seek sympathy. I find writing cathartic and hope it helps. As my normal readers
know I have always been a big believer in fate and to switch my metaphors from
Latin to Roman mythology, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fortuna</i> had
different plans for me than the ones I laid out. Readers had always asked me,
what will you do now that you’ve played the top 100 courses in the world? I
didn’t really have any meaningful golf related goals so I thought I would wait
and see what happened.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, this debacle happened.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It has been almost nine months since that dreadful day in
May and I now have some new goals I want to achieve. As far as goals go they
are basic: <o:p></o:p></div>
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1. Survive cancer<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. Go to Augusta this April to watch the Masters in person
one more time<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. Play golf again<o:p></o:p></div>
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For those that have the fortitude for it, I will chronicle
my new quest through the blog.<o:p></o:p></div>
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God willing, more to come over the next 12 months on my
trials and tribulations, chronicling my fight, with observations about modern
medicine, fairness in life, opioids, and golf <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>. . . <o:p></o:p></div>
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I still have some significant hurdles to overcome but can’t
wait to immerse myself in the greatest game once again.<o:p></o:p></div>
Top 100 Golferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730165824981497579noreply@blogger.com13