When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
...if nothing else, to see the hideous lake they've added on 18 at TPC Las Colinas. The fountain, the weird color, the concrete edges, the overall contrived nature of it along with the Nelson tree out there by itself...just a site to behold!
Tom English pens a nice overview of Turnberry's 100th birthday for Scotland on Sunday. How times have not changed...they're revving up the dozers again.In the Second World War the government commandeered the golf course just as they had in the First. They made a military air station of it, put 1,200 men on site and told those who wanted to know that golf had probably had its day at Turnberry. The links had survived one conflict. It was unlikely to survive a second.
The bulldozers moved in. Greens were ploughed up and several thousand tonnes of concrete and tarmac were poured on to fairways to make runways.
It's a challenge that is going to get stiffer by the time 2009 comes around. It would have been appropriate for Turnberry to host the Open in this their 100th year but change was needed there. Foul weather defended the course against the bombers of today but you'd fear for it if the modern pros cut loose in dry conditions. The fear is they'd tear it to pieces. The game has changed a lot since Nick Price won there in 1994. Apart from the infrastructure around the course, they needed to toughen-up the Ailsa.
The changes are pretty radical, even if the R&A has asked for some of them to be undone. They were concerned the new and extensive bunkering on some holes was too penal and would force players to go defensive off the tee. Some have been filled in completely, others have been made less deep. Still, there will be approaching 30 new traps when the Open returns there and about 200 extra yards to negotiate.
The most dramatic alteration is the shifting of the 10th tee 50 yards to the left. Dinna Fouter now requires a 220-yard carry over the sea to find the fairway. Anything remotely hooky will end up wet. It's a hole to challenge the signature ninth, with all the stunning views of the lighthouse and the Ailsa Craig. It is a vision that brings to mind Henry Longhurst's plaintive words in troubled times.
"In those long periods inseparable from wartime service when there is nothing to do but sit and think," he wrote, "I often used to find myself sitting and thinking of the time when once again we might be playing golf at Turnberry."
From E. Scott Reckard in Sunday's L.A. Times Business section:
For $25,000 or more, investors were told they could own part of a company developing luxury resorts and residences, authorities say. One supposed project was next to an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course. At another resort, Greg Norman's company had been hired to design the course.And...
The salespeople pitching the deal also dropped the names of other golf greats, authorities say, and urged investors to get in quick before the company went public.
Carolina Development, the Irvine company peddling the real estate partnerships, recruited many of its 50 salespeople from an addiction recovery program operated by Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, authorities say. To help endear themselves to Christian investors, they said, some sales agents distributed copies of "The Purpose-Driven Life," a best-selling inspirational tome by Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren.
But Carolina and its founder, Saddleback member Lambert Vander Tuig, had other motives, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC has accused the Rancho Santa Margarita man of fleecing about 700 investors across the country and in Canada of $50 million by exaggerating Carolina's holdings — in some cases fabricating its ownership of property and in other cases disguising the fact that it held only options on land or had taken on heavy debt to buy it.
This year, the SEC filed a civil complaint against Carolina Development, its 47-year-old founder and its vice president and sales chief, Jonathan Carman, 43, of Aliso Viejo.
Authorities say that Warren and golf greats Palmer and Norman had no role in misleading investors. Warren said he was unaware of the alleged scam and did not know that his book was distributed by sales agents for Carolina, until he was contacted recently by a Times reporter.And...
Alastair Johnston, chief operating officer of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, said his company became aware of Vander Tuig's operation last year, when a stock brokerage approached Palmer with questions about Carolina's investment pitch.
"It was quite clearly, in our opinion, a violation of North Carolina securities laws in making misleading statements," Johnston said.
An attorney for Palmer wrote cease-and-desist letters to Vander Tuig in July, August and October, warning that he was infringing Palmer's commercial rights and breaking trademark and securities laws by "falsely implying an endorsement," Johnston said.
Johnston said the company complained to the SEC and North Carolina regulators late last year when the misrepresentations continued.
Norman's golf course design company, by contrast, went into business with Carolina Development, accepting a $200,000 down payment for course architecture, according to Thomas Seaman, the court-appointed receiver.
Bart Collins, the president of Great White Shark Enterprises, declined to discuss how his company linked up with Vander Tuig. But Collins said it was not uncommon for Norman's firm to "enter contracts with people who own a piece of land and are developing private communities."
"We try to do what we can to protect ourselves from this type of thing," Collins said. "We try as best we can to complete our due diligence."
Thanks for Steven T for the heads up on this Joe Logan story about Philmont's design pedigree. It seems William Flynn biographers Morrison and Paul have broken the bad news that Philmont isn't anywhere on record as being designed by the mastermind of places like Shinnecock Hills and Merion (with Hugh Wilson).
Larry Bohannan reports that the city of La Quinta's $58 million and counting SilverRock project, expected to host the Bob Hope starting this year, has been passed over for 2007 too.
La Quinta city officials expected their SilverRock Resort golf course to be approved for the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, but a PGA Tour official said Friday the course simply isn't ready for a tour event.
"There has been some progress (at SilverRock), but it hasn't been enough," said Tim Crosby, director of tournament business affairs for the tour. "We told the Hope committee we would not approve the course as a Hope venue for 2007."
The PGA Tour informed the Hope board April 27 that the Arnold Palmer Course at SilverRock Resort was not approved for 2007. The tournament board told the city this week in a three-sentence letter that the course won't be included among the four to be played in January's Classic, and that the sides should sit down to discuss the coming years.
City and course officials say they still haven't been told the exact problems the tour has with the course and have not seen the letter from the PGA Tour detailing the specific concerns. Tom Genovese, the city manager for La Quinta, said he talked with Classic executive board member John Foster on Thursday, and the two sides are trying to arrange a meeting.
Add Billy Andrade to the list of those noting Quail Hollow's "everything right in front of you" genius. He's forgiven because he earns himself a fine for ripping TPC's and he's a friend of Brad Faxon, so he must be a nice guy. But Billy, on this everything in front of you stuff, as a guy who likes books, would you want to know how they end before you crack 'em open? Or get the character of a song after one listen, the nuances of a film the first time through, the...okay, I'll stop now...
Q. Do you think you guys play enough courses like this?
BILLY ANDRADE: No, we don't. We play more cooky cutter TPCs are more cooky cutter type golf courses. We don't play old style. The problem is that it's hard to give up golf courses. Their memberships don't want to give up classics. It's hard to come into places look at Westchester. That course there is the best. If we ever left that, that would really hurt that tournament. But I would love to see us play more classic golf courses that you see in the majors, but on a regular Tour event, it's tough to play these type of places.
But it's just such a this reminds me a lot of home, a lot of old style New England, old golf courses that are just everything is right in front of you. It's easy to see, it's easy to figure it out, and a lot of the courses we do play are built for spectators, and a lot of dirt is moved and more manufactured. It's different.
I don't think you get too many players out here that are going to complain about this place. I think all it is is praise when the golf course is this good.
John Huggan weighs in on the Donald's Scottish roots, oh, and the golf project he's hoping to develop.
Okay, at this stage in the proceedings, a few points need to be made. First and most obvious is the fact that Trump has yet to gain official planning permission for the project. Second, the billionaire American clearly hasn't spent much time north of Aberdeen, 'the Granite City,' in winter. It is hard to imagine anyone of significant means wishing to do so, given the harshness of the climate. And third, as my friend Derek Lawrenson, golf correspondent of the Daily Mail, sarcastically wrote the other day: "That's just what Scotland needs, another high-end golfing playground for the wealthy. As if there aren't enough of them already. Any chance of an innovative entrepreneur coming along and building golf facilities that target shock, horror working families?"
And...
"As an international businessman I've enjoyed success over the years and I like to think that part of my achievement can be attributed to my Scottish roots," claimed Trump, who needs to learn nothing about massaging his audience. "For a long time I've been aware that Scottish people are fiercely proud of Scotland and that they like to help their fellow countrymen."
Pardon me, as I pause to wipe a patriotic tear from my patriotic eye.
(click to enlarge)The same reader from Spain who sent in the image of the religiously-correct bunker has emailed another photo, this time of Alicante Golf Club in Alicante Spain.
Apparently that mess of stuff to be crossed for the third shot to a par-5 green is supposed to resemble a faux Roman ruin, only with the columns shortened for playability reasons.
The reader insists that the faux ruins are played as Ground Under Repair, not a hazard! He also reports that this hole is from that design genius extraordinaire Seve Ballesteros, who supposedly builds at least one bunker per course in the form of an "s", but at Alicante he constructed a lake in the shape an "s".
Excuse me, "S." As in Seve. Get it. I probably didn't need to explain that last part.
(click on image to enlarge)A reader in Toledo, Spain saw this bunker and photographed it for our amusement. He writes:
A city where the Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures lived in harmony for centuries, the arquitect decided to put the symbols of all three cultures in his signature hole.
It's good to know that America hasn't completely cornered the market on horrific design elements!
Received this today. Make sure you catch the last sentence. It's a keeper!
Good morning:
We are hosting media May 30-June 3 at Circling Raven Golf Club/Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel and Coeur d’Alene Resort for a familiarization trip.
www.circlingraven.com
www.cdaresort.com
www.cdacasino.comThe goal of the trip is introduce media to these two properties, both members of the Idaho Golf Trail’s Northern Loop and less than 30 minutes apart. They are rapidly becoming rated among the best one-two public access courses near to one another nationwide, comparing favorably to the Bandons and Pebbles of the golfing resort world.
We would like you to come on the trip and see what the buzz is all about. We think you’ll find the golf and resorts of such caliber and value that you’ll want to review or rate them and let your readers to know about them since they are so close by and so excellent.
Please let us know at your earliest convenience either way.
While this is an expenses-paid trip – all you have to do is show up and play golf – if you’re more comfortable paying a deeply discounted media rate that can be arranged as well.
The Donald visited Scotland and as always, the trip produced some fine stories.
Auslan Cramb writes in the Guardian:
A four-handicap golfer, he described Sir Sean Connery as one of his best friends, Nick Faldo as a supporter, and, mindful of where he was, added: "I love your Colin Montgomerie".
Jonathan Coates reports on the bonding between Donald and another emerging architect, Peter Dawson.
Trump is aware of all this - heck, his course hasn't even been approved yet - but he insisted yesterday, just minutes after meeting R&A secretary Peter Dawson in the Old Course clubhouse, that taking the Open to Aberdeenshire was a realistic aim. "What I really hope to do is build the greatest golf course anywhere in the world," Trump said after being ferried by helicopter from Menie to St Andrews. Asked if he thought his course could host the Open Championship, Trump replied: "Yes, I would love that. We are shooting for that. And yes, I think it's realistic."
Trump's right-hand man, Ashley Cooper, elaborated: "When we go out and build big golf courses we build them with championships in mind. So we understand how the infrastructure works, we understand how the medical situation needs to be done, how hospitality has to be done, how viewing has to be done. So what we will do over the next two or three years building the links course is build it with the Open Championship in mind. But whatever happens, the public and some of our private members will have an Open Championship venue to enjoy for the next 100 years."
Having just met Dawson, whom the New Yorker described as "a fantastic guy who has done an amazing job", Trump added: "We had a great conversation and he understands the greatness of this land. He was born in Aberdeen and he understands the greatness of these dunes. I've built a lot of golf courses but there's nothing like the great dunes in Scotland. That's why we chose this site over so many others."
Meanwhile, Lorna Martin reports on criticism of the project.
Credit goes to the R&A for remaining loyal to the tradition of taking the Open Championship to seaside links. All I can say is long may it continue. Given the abundance of links golf in these isles, it is sad that the game's top players only play links golf twice a year at most – the Open Championship and the insipid Dunhill Links Championship.
So enjoy the pictures on your TV screen of this year's Open Championship over the glorious links of Royal Liverpool. Revel in the joy of watching the game's elite play the game as it was first played all those years ago on the windswept coast of the Kingdom of Fife.
Too bad we don't see the big boys playing links golf more often. Too bad the game's oldest championship isn't taken to more traditional courses in the British Isles.
I know I'm sleeping better on the news that Innisbrook has been locked up through 2012. Then again, after Redstone and the new Hope Classic host course, it looks wonderful.
Now they just need a sponsor for the event!
Mike Aitken reports on the R&A's not so stellar start in the design business.
You may recall that most links have only seen minor tinkering in preparation for Open Championships, but now that the pesky ball is going so bloody far and scores might go lower if something isn't done, why, driver must be taken out of the players hands.
Therefore, the R&A has begun to inflict assorted design atrocities on the rota links that pale when compared to anything the USGA has ever...well I just had an Oak Hill flashback.
Anyhow, Aitken reports:
...after embarking this winter on the first phase of a programme of improvements which will cost around £250,000 and increase the number of bunkers on the Ayrshire links to nearly 100, Turnberry has been advised by the Royal and Ancient to remove a number of traps and soften others because the test was in danger of becoming too severe.
Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the R&A, believed alterations to the first, 12th and 14th on the Ailsa now demanded too much of the golfer and needed to be revised.
You know how much I hate to be sarcastic, but you may recall this post about Dawson's planned February visit to help supervise these changes.
You see Mr. Dawson, there are people called golf architects who do this for a living and...oh I know, they would tell you to do something about the ball instead of littering Turnberry with rabbit-dropping inspired bunkers. Silly me!
Aitken provides the crime report:
On the first, for example, two new bunkers were introduced down the left and a third, large pot bunker was also added on the right at around the 280- yard mark. Dawson's reaction to this hazard was that it might take the driver out of the long hitters' hands and persuade them to err on the side of caution with an iron or utility club.
"Sometimes you can't fully appreciate the impact of an alteration until it's been built and you have another look at them in reality rather than on a drawing," said Dawson yesterday. "What happened on the first was that when we saw the new bunkering, we were concerned the element of risk and reward in going for the green might be taken away and the players would use an iron off the tee. But we haven't gone back to the way the hole was before. The hazard is just less severe than it was going to be."
On the back nine, though, the R&A did ask for new bunkers to be removed on the 12th and 14th holes. On the 12th, a new bunker was built on the left of the fairway beyond the existing traps. From what will be the new tee, however, the landing area was miniscule.
That bunker has been filled in as was one of the new traps on the 14th, where there were concerns the hazard couldn't be seen from the tee.
Stewart Selbie, the manager of Turnberry Hotel, was happy to comply with the R&A's wishes, though perhaps not displeased with the notion that the Ailsa had become so challenging.
The original plan was to add 30 traps before the Senior British Open is staged in Ayrshire in the summer and as many as 100 by 2009. Before work began, Turnberry had just 66 bunkers, the fewest of any links on the Open rota.
The second phase of upgrading will take place after the Seniors when Turnberry's finishing stretch will also be toughened up. Although plans for the closing holes have not yet been made public, it's thought the 16th could become more of a dogleg to create enough space to build a new tee which would extend the par-5 17th.
With an Amateur Championship also on the horizon, both Turnberry and the R&A are keen to retain a balance between heightening the challenge and retaining the character of a scenic links regularly ranked in the world's top 20. "What we don't want is to end up making the links unplayable for the regular golfer," said Selbie.
Aitken also outlines changes to Carnoustie to deal with "new technology and improved fitness," and the boondogglery continues...
And, on the treacherous 17th, there was concern a bail-out area now existed on the "island" rather than players having to think about laying up short of the burn or going for broke. This will be remedied by the introduction of rough mounding.
"We did feel that a bit of a bail-out area had emerged since the re-turfing of the 17th and so we've done something about that," acknowledged Dawson.
Rough mounding?
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
