i was having an ongoing discussion with ron whitten and long story short i had to play his course - so on one of my NYC trips i unexpectedly got an afternoon open and drove out there - well the weather was turning ugly, no really U G L Y, but i went anyway thinking i've played in hurricanes in florida so WTF - right ?
when i get there, i'm only the FOURTH car in the lot, the sky is black and the wind blew my hat down the street, on the third hole(ACTUALLY THE SIXTH A PAR 3) or so my golf bag stand blew down the hill (toward that old farm), the water hazards had whitecaps, the temperature dropped about thiry degrees, at the turn the guy from the snackbar tells me i'm on my own since the coast guard don't go out in this kind of weather and by the end i'm like the preist in caddyshack, only no rain ! the sky could have opened up on me at any minute but i kept on determined to finish - it was the most fun ever ! a great course in the middle of nowhere ! i was laughing at myself at how dumb it was to be out on the course in that weather !
anyway, despite all that, the course has a lot of very memorable architectural features, many of which you will not see anywhere else, which in itself was a pleasure to encounter - and also great effort was in fact taken to replicate on the various holes, the original architect's signature feature - which in itself was exactly what i was hoping for - i had the entire place to myself and only wish i could have spent more time out there but that storm was really bearing down
BTW the german deli down the hill, if it's still there, was the best authentic german food you can get (and my mom is german) and was an additional treat to the trip
frankD
This message has been edited. Last edited by: frank d,
golf could have gone the way of yachting, fox hunting, curling and archery if not for young FRANCIS OUIMET on The Country Club way back in 1913 which would be my choice for "America's Course" as thereafter golf became a recognized endevour and very soon after that became popular in the US - how democratic - right ?
except i've decided the course must be available to the public in the spirit of maintaining this democracy
so i guess the frontrunners so far are Pebble Beach and Pinehurst #2
Pinehurst#2 is going to have the men's and women's US Opens back to back in 2014. May be a little gimmicky, but I like the idea. Think that makes them a front runner for "America's course", IMHO.
The risk of kicking butt is you get some crap on your shoe
The venue that has always intrigued me is the true America's courses - the 9 hole goat ranches spread all over that play hosts to blue jean clad $2 nassaus every Saturday. They are the true evangelists of American golf.
No fancy clubhouse. Nobody complaining that the shoe guy didn't put his shoes on the dryer. Nobody deriding the chef for overcooking the halibut.
Just guys, grass (to some degree), and golf.
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Warm weather. Salt air. Cold beer. Big Cigar.
Posts: 620 | Location: Charlotte, NC, USA | Registered: February 16, 2004
kmd...I like the sentiment, but it would be akin to naming the local softball field "America's Ballpark" over Wrigley, Fenway, Yankee Stadium (RIP), etc.
Read today only 9% of of America's golfers belong to a private club.
The risk of kicking butt is you get some crap on your shoe
and by the way - what did i bug ron whitten about ? since 2002 ?
the NYT article yesterday about who is the actual architect to credit for bethpage - tillinghast or burdeck
well whitten says burdeck
but guess what ? the Architect's GC features tillinghast on it's seventh hole and low and behold indicates tillinghast as architect of bethpage
so ron whitten has an golf digest article whereby he credits burdeck and "his" Architect's GC brochure (whitten is indicated as "consultant" which connects tillinghast to bethpage as designer
you decide, because apparently even mr whitten is of two minds about it
anyway be well,
frankD
PS ron whitten is golf digest magazine architectural editor, a nice guy trying to sell magazines and has answered his connecticut office telephone, when in, to discuss matters with me
the nine hole course gets, even from me i'm afraid to admit, second class respect
eventhough, i have railed against eighteen holes, as well, on various golf related sites
my "gold standard" would be twelve holes ! and i was surprised to learn the first handfull of initial british opens were, in fact, contested on a twelve hole course (prestwick)
but nine hole courses can be monumental designs and fun to get around and yes the basis of play for the common man - do you have any nine holer(s) to nominate ?
i would be interested in your response
frankD
PS i know if i win the powerball i would have one in my backyard !!!
if anika II continues to whip up interest it could be quite the tournament of converging new young talent with some old timers like inkster sprinkled in for possibly one last chance at glory
plus the koreans seem to be learning english as the LPGA wanted !
No, the 9 holers, and some 18 holers just like them, would be judged pieces of junk by most $tandard$, if you know what I mean.
It's the guys that make it happen. That's the thing about golf (& cigars for that matter). Golf knows no class system. A 3 putt at Pebble gives you that same sick feeling as a 3 putt at the local 9 hole goat ranch. The pressure is the same, the joy of holing a 10 footer on top of your buddy's 12 footer is the same.
I know an 18 hole course in eastern NC. I was invited to play last fall when I was in the area. It was a nice little course, no pristine rough or bull-dozer induced elevated greens or crystal bunkers. Just a simple course laid out on the land God provided. I played in one of 3 foursomes, with a few bucks on the line among the group of 12. Half the group was in jeans and t-shirts. I was way overdressed in golf shorts and an golf shirt.
The thing is, the match was the same, with the same intensity, ribbing, pressing, and mocking that I've been a part of at places like Pebble, #2, Lahinch, Waterville, you name it.
These were working class stiffs, and they spent the week looking forward to Saturday morning. And oh yeah, the sh!t talking esclated after the round and we were forced to play 36 to settle things.
It's just a great game, and the game couldn't care less about a nav system in the golf cart. I for one, sometimes forget that.
Sorry for the rambling post.
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Warm weather. Salt air. Cold beer. Big Cigar.
Posts: 620 | Location: Charlotte, NC, USA | Registered: February 16, 2004
i would admit that of all the historically significant and/or exclusively private courses i've played, my fondest memories are of rounds at SPRAIN LAKE exactly for the reasons you mentioned
maybe i'm just being influenced by the recent goings on, but it comes to mind that BETHPAGE has to also be considered as "America's Course" for the following;
- america's golfer - TW - won ALL his USopens on public courses (Torrey Pines, Bethpage and PB)
- there is signifcant spectator participation (it is particularly democratic to have the every man to have a say in the outcome)
- there is debate over who designed it (necessary in all topics golf is to have some intrigue)
- america's moses saw suburbia to include such parks and open spaces (planning in a way the american dream)
on the other hand i did just have NYT mon jun 15th page D7 professionally framed for posterity - its an article by bill pennington titled "where public golf stands up to the pros" and its illustration taking the entire middle of the page is the layout of the black course at bethpage with all my owns penciled and colored highlights on the page forever memorialized (or at least until i tear it out and reuse the frame for something else)
bethpage would suffice had i played it - my only journey started 4am for a 7am tee time but the course remained closed due to a persistant drizzle so that was that
