Achenbach Says Distance Changes Cause Costly, Unnecessary Course Changes To Layouts He Likes!

Look for a makeup column from Golfweek publisher Jim Nugent after yet another awakening column from Jim Achenbach:

Here is another good reason why the U.S. Golf Association eventually will cut back the distance of the golf ball: Eugene Country Club.

One of the best golf courses on the face of the earth, Eugene CC has followed an all-too-common path for bolstering its credibility and reputation.

Out of fear it was becoming too short and too easy, Eugene has constructed 10 new tees. Five already are open, and the other five will be playable by the end of the month.

The new tees will push the overall championship tee distance from 6,847 yards to about 7,050 yards. Among other changes, a new back tee will transform the fifth hole into a 235-yard monster of a par 3 –all carry, over a pond, with a green that slopes perilously back toward the water.

I love this golf course. While I am not opposed to additional yardage, I am sad that contemporary golf has forced courses such as Eugene to expand or perish. Courses that want big-time tournaments need big-time length.

This next part landed on my lap like a big Christmas gift, since I was searching for a July Golfdom column topic:

The club maintains a committee called The Top 100, which helps promote the course among the various publications that rank courses.

Lengthening the course is just as important for rankings as it is for tournament play, so the 10 new tees serve a dual purpose.

The issue of distance has affected Eugene and many other courses. Some members of the USGA's 15-person Executive Committee – the body that makes all final decisions for the rulesmaking organization – are known to be supporters of reducing the distance of the golf ball.

According to the Joint Statement of Principles, issued in 2002 by the USGA and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, rules changes can be made at any time to confront the threat of increased distance or any other factor that might alter the historical foundation of the game.

No one should be surprised if the USGA and R&A ultimately decide to cut back the performance of the modern golf ball.

This would make it more important than ever for golfers to play the appropriate tees. While macho men would continue to head to the back tees, many golfers would realize that the joy of the game can be enhanced by playing the forward tees.

Golf does not have to be all about length.

Sebonack Membership Story

Thanks to reader Tuco for the heads up on this Michael Buteau story about Sebonack's affordable membership pricing.

Sebonack Golf Club, which opened for limited play last weekend in Southampton, New York, costs what might be a world- highest $650,000 for a membership that ensures accommodations at one of 15 four-bedroom ``cottages'' being built around the course. It's $500,000 just for golf.

The new club sits between 95-year-old National Golf Links of America and four-time U.S. Open host Shinnecock Hills Golf Club at the eastern end of Long Island. Other neighbors include Atlantic Golf Club and the Bridge, both in Bridgehampton. Membership in those clubs -- by invitation only -- tops out at $575,000.

``The numbers are all amazing, but you're dealing with the Hamptons here,'' said Phyllis Dixon, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman, which lists about 2,500 properties in the area. ``I guess that's the going rate.''

The initiation fee at Sebonack doesn't include the $12,000 annual dues, or items such as tips for caddies. Like most clubs, members can play as much as they like for that price. They will have access to a yet-to-be-built 28,000-square-foot clubhouse and a 19th hole with a green rather than barstools; it's a par-3 constructed especially to break ties and settle wagers.

And...

Sebonack has 10 founding members who paid $1.5 million each to join. Among them are Stanley Druckenmiller, chairman of Duquesne Capital Management LLC; Richard Santulli, chief executive of Woodbridge, New Jersey-based NetJets Inc.; Paul Desmarais Jr., chairman of Power Corp. of Canada; and Johann Rupert, chief executive of Geneva-based Cie. Financiere Richemont, the world's second-largest luxury-goods company.

The 7,286-yard course, similar in length to a PGA Tour event, was carved into the dunes along the Great Peconic Bay. It once was ``Bayberry Land,'' the summer estate of Charles H. Sabin, a former president of Guaranty Trust Co. of New York.

Most recently, the property was owned by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local No. 3, who used the old Sabin mansion as a convalescent home for its members.

The club will cost about $120 million to build, including $46 million for the 314-acre site, Pascucci said.

And...

The pairing of Doak, who lets the contours of the land dictate his designs, and Nicklaus, who builds manicured courses to challenge the best golfers, brought together two opposing philosophies. Pascucci was able to get them to put aside their differences: Doak once criticized a Nicklaus design with man-made waterfalls as "client overkill.''

"It was insurance that we wouldn't have any bad holes,'' Pascucci said.

And...

Pascucci said he's drawing people from around the world, and prefers serious golfers over jet-setters.

"Our type of members love golf, respect the game and are low-maintenance, non-glitzy type of people,'' he said. "It's not a valet-parking type of place.''

The Family Feud

Randell Mell, in doing a three part series on the controversial renovation of Coral Ridge Country Club, reveals the worst kept secret in golf: that brothers Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Rees Jones can't stand each other.

Like Acrisius and Proteus of Greek mythology, had Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Rees Jones been born twins, it's possible their quarrel would have started in the womb. It goes back nearly that far.

"There's a story that Robert once pushed Rees out of a tree when they were boys," said a former associate of Robert Trent Jones Sr. "The truth is a lot more complicated than that."

This much is certain, golf's quintessential sibling rivalry, a bitter but mostly private affair between renowned architects in their own right, is growing more public.

The brothers are at odds over plans to redesign the course their father built in Fort Lauderdale.

"Coral Ridge Country Club was the place my father was happiest," Rees, 64, said at his father's funeral.

Robert Trent Jones Jr., 66, called the club "hallowed ground to the Jones family."

There isn't much else about Coral Ridge the brothers agree upon.

Though the senior Jones left the club to both sons, their irreconcilable differences led to an impossible partnership.

Eighteen months ago, four years after taking over the club, with their rift leading to member complaints about deterioration of the "hallowed ground," the brothers agreed to sell to auto dealer Phil Smith and his partners. The new ownership is proposing to build a major housing development in the middle of the course to help fund major club renovations.

And in case you didn't know it, no one in golf channels the views of dead architects better than Rees:

"For the most part, Dad was always ahead of the curve, and he would be making changes today if he were still alive," Rees said. "This is my father's statement to golf, his baby, and I guarantee he would be very much in favor of the changes we are making."

While Robert Jr. sees himself defending his father's masterpiece, Rees sees something else. He sees his brother's opposition based solely on the fact that Rees is doing the redesign while his brother is left out.

"I stayed in [the club's ownership], and he didn't," Rees said. "I stayed in to maintain my father's legacy, to maintain it for the next 100 years."

Well, shockingly, that last part isn't quite accurate.

The brothers were so at odds, according to a source familiar with Coral Ridge Country Club's sale, that Smith had to negotiate with them separately, finally getting each to sell their half for a total that industry experts estimate being between $17 million and $20 million. It was actually more like two separate deals, one with Robert Jr. walking away with a larger share.

"Rees wouldn't negotiate until Bob agreed to sell his entire share and get out of the deal," the source said. "Once Robert was out, Rees negotiated to keep 5 percent ownership."

That means Rees not only gets to redesign his father's work, he gets to share in the millions of dollars that will be made off any housing development that's ultimately approved.

Nor is Bobby a victim in this either...

"The truth is Bob wanted to redesign the course for us," Smith said. "He lobbied me to do it. I hate to be drawn into this, but it's sour grapes on his part. To give him a podium now to go after his brother, I don't really think it's fair to the future of this club."

Rees and Robert Jr. declined comment when asked to speak about their rift.

They rarely speak directly to each other.

"They tend to communicate through lawyers," said Bradley Klein, who has closely tracked the brothers' careers as author of three golf course architecture books and Golfweek's architectural editor.

The sibling rivalry had a palpable effect on Coral Ridge's operation. With the course and clubhouse deteriorating and staff morale low, memberships plummeted.

"The brothers wouldn't agree on anything," said John Foster, the general manager who served under them. "An issue would come up in a board meeting, and they'd argue about it. You couldn't get them to agree to put any money into the club, and you couldn't get anything accomplished."

Foster remembers the brothers glaring at each other in one board meeting in New York. The contentiousness there led Foster to fire off a memo advising fellow board members that in future meetings he no longer intended to invite the owners. The Jones brothers nixed the idea.

Oh joy! Hey, think we could get them to agree on selling movie rights to their story?

Jones Sr., who didn't like his sons' defections from the family business, found himself competing hard against his boys for clients in the '70s and '80s. The father had a reputation among his rivals as a hard-nosed businessman who enjoyed stirring up controversy and who was not averse to bad mouthing his rivals.

Linn remembers going to the annual Jones family gathering at Coral Ridge between Christmas and New Year's Eve when the three Jones' staffs were all competing.

"There were such awkward moments when we found ourselves all together," Linn said. "Senior's staff would keep its distance, guys in Rees' staff would keep their distance, and we would, too. You could feel the tension in the room, and you'd just sit back and shake your head.

"Ione was always the peacemaker, and she negotiated among the three. When she died [in 1987], they all had to deal with each other. It changed the dynamics."

Though the father eventually repaired his relationship with both sons, the boys never did.

"It was their father's sincerest wish late in his life that his sons would resolve their differences," a former associate of Jones Sr. said.

There's a better chance that the USGA and R&A will agree to do something about the ball.

Robert Jr. and Rees each co-designed courses with their father, but the brothers have never collaborated on a design. The closest they've come is the construction of neighboring properties in Sandestin. Rees' 18th hole at Burnt Pine actually touches the 11th hole that Robert Jr. built on The Raven.

"Appropriately, the holes run in opposite directions," Klein said.

Essex County Club...

No. 7, par-3 (click to enlarge)...will be hosting the 2010 Curtis Cup. Arguably, one of the coolest old courses in golf.

Far Hills, N.J. – Essex County Club in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the site of the 2010 Curtis Cup Match. The dates of the Match will be June 11-13.

Essex County Club, the sixth member club of the USGA, originally opened in 1893. During Donald Ross’ tenure as the club’s head professional, from 1910 to 1913, he completely redesigned the course, finishing in 1917. Since then, the course has remained virtually unchanged.

The Curtis Cup Match, a biennial women’s amateur team competition played between eight-member teams from the United States of America and Great Britain and Ireland, has strong roots at Essex County Club. The Match is named in recognition of the efforts of two Essex members, Margaret and Harriot Curtis, in starting the event. Both sisters were U.S. Women’s Amateur champions – Harriot in 1906 and Margaret in 1907, 1911 and 1912, which was held at Essex. In 1938, Essex County Club hosted the Curtis Cup Match, won by the United States team.

The 2010 Match will be the fifth USGA event at Essex, which first welcomed the USGA in 1897 for the U.S. Women’s Amateur. In 1995, the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur was contested at the club. In addition, the club has also hosted numerous Massachusetts State Opens, Massachusetts State Amateurs, Massachusetts Women’s Amateurs and New England PGA Seniors.

"As the home of the Curtis sisters and a former site of the Curtis Cup, the Essex County Club is thrilled to have the competition returning,” said Bill Van Faasen, general chairman for the 2010 Match. “We are especially honored to welcome the Match back given its rich history here."

Essex County Club has other noteworthy ties to the USGA. Joe Lloyd, the head professional at Essex from 1895 to 1909, won the 1897 U.S. Open, and Herbert Jacques Jr., a member of Essex, was the USGA president in 1933-34. His father, Herbert Jacques Sr., the USGA president in 1909-1910, was an architect involved in creating the original clubhouse at Essex.

Prior to 2010, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore, will host the 2006 Curtis Cup Match, and the 2008 Match will be contested at the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.

Monty Loves Turkey

From Reuters:

[Colin] Montgomerie has agreed to join forces with Papillon Hotels to build a facility on the coastal resort of Belek, Antalya which will include an 18-hole championship golf course, a 600-bed hotel and between 25 and 40 holiday villas.

"I am delighted to be associated with this Papillon Hotels golf course at Antalya and building what we hope will be yet another good tournament venue," the 42-year-old Briton told reporters at the BMW Championship on Tuesday.

"You never know, one day on our ever-expanding European Tour we might have a Turkish Open played on this course."

Oh they'll be rushing to sign up for that one.

Montgomerie also designed the Carton House venue used for last week's Irish Open at Maynooth, County Kildare.

"I have got 12 to 15 courses in place and another half a dozen or so more in the design and construction phase," he said.

"I just wish there was more than 24 hours in a day. I'm very, very busy trying to play tournament golf and having a business side to my life."

The Scot said the new course, which is due to open late next year, would be similar to his previous designs.
 
"Most of my courses have a unique feature in that they have challenging hazards, meaning bunkers, and this will be no different," said Montgomerie.

Is that sort of a dumbed-down version of "challenging for the pro but still playable for the high handicapper?"

Monty Calls For Ball Limits

Monty saw the new-look Wentworth, and decided it's time to do something about the ball. And for that, he joins The List of noted figures in golf who have made similar calls in the last few years. 

From a BBC interview today:

"The ball's going further and further - changes like this are almost demanded.

"I wish we could control the length of the golf ball and it would save this happening," he told Radio Five Live.

Els has also added 30 bunkers to the course, and Montgomerie said the changes were inevitable.

"It had to be done - the new owners wanted 300 yards on it, Ernie did and I think we all did," added Montgomerie.

"It's a shame in many ways because it has changed the course, but then again it's been very well done.

And this...

"We can't keep on borrowing land from people's gardens around the Wentworth estate - the easy option is to change the golf ball to make it go less far, to put a speed limit on it if you like.

"That's what we need to do but obviously the manufacturers haven't got together to make that possible."

Haven't gotten together to make that possible. Who said Monty has no sense of humor!

Wentworth Reviews

Some rivetting architectural analysis of Ernie Els's changes to Wentworth, courtesy of some of the Euro Tour's finest:

"I think Ernie has done a good job," said the 30-year-old Englishman [David Howell]. "I saw the majority of the course yesterday and it seems more difficult - longer, tougher, better."

Why Rees

Frank Jemsek on bringing in Rees Jones to renovate Cog Hill #4:

"In recent years, 75 percent of the courses hosting a U.S. Open or PGA (Championship) were designed or renovated by him," Jemsek said. "Rees does good work. He doesn't destroy what's there. To me, what he does is enhance the product. He understands how to make it harder for the great players and still be fair for the average players."

Nicklaus Would Redesign For Ball Rollback In "Half Second"

Boy I'm losing it. This was a post I forgot to publish from Sunday, which would help explain the "Nick-enzie" reference (Jack's, not mine!).

Rich Radford reports on the opening of the 7,417 yard Jack Nicklaus-designed Bay Creek Resort and Club in Virginia. course a few interesting comments from the Bear...

On technology...

He rails against it, wishes the United States Golf Association would reel in the technological growth, hopes that it happens soon. He went so far as to say that if the USGA cut back ball flight by 15 percent, he’d be back to redesign his Bay Creek course “in a half a second.”

On the Ohio State redo...

Ohio State asked if he could give the campus course, which was originally designed by Alister Mackenzie, a face-lift. Nicklaus calls the new Ohio State course “a Nick-enzie design.”

Tour OSU's Nick-enzie Course

(click image to enlarge)Beth Ann Baldry previews the NCAA Women's Championship at the Ohio State University course, where Jack Nicklaus updated the Alister MacKenzie (on paper anyway) design.

You can take an excellent hole-by-hole tour that includes before and after shots. Starting with the first hole.

*Thanks to our art department for the "Nick-enzie" rendering. 

Els Messes With Wentworth To Help Euros End Majors Drought

This is just the kind of Ernie Els quote that makes you feel so glad Max Behr, H.S. Colt and Alister MacKenzie aren't around today:

"I know I could be getting some stick from the guys for what's been done, but at the end of the day they will be better equipped for the majors," said Els. "Anybody going to the U.S. Open will have a much better feel of what they are going into. Miss a shot in a major and you're either in rough, a bunker or in danger of three-putting."

The Donald Has A Thing About Wind Turbines

From Mark Macasill in the Times:

DONALD Trump, the American billionaire, has forced the relocation of a wind farm that he claimed would blight his planned golf course in Aberdeenshire.

The property tycoon had threatened to abandon his £300m luxury development unless the proposed wind farm in Aberdeen Bay was moved elsewhere.

Now, following talks with Trump, energy companies have agreed to shelve their plan to erect 33 turbines in the North Sea between Aberdeen and Newburgh.

Amec, one of the firms behind the project, said the £40m wind farm will now consist of 23 turbines clustered off Aberdeen’s coastline. The nearest will be more than three miles from Trump’s course.

Trump is understood to have approved an artist’s impression of the view from the clubhouse at the course. The 490ft turbines are barely visible in the drawing.

“The nearest turbine to the Trump hotel will now be more than three miles away,” said Iain Todd, an adviser to Amec and spokesman for the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG), a private-public partnership. “We have given them the drawings showing what the view will look like from there. The changes mean the visual impact will be much less. I’m happy that we are moving to a position where the two projects can exist together.”

OSU Redo Update

An AP story on the renovation of Ohio State's course...

It's Maximalism

My latest Golfdom column on minimalism in architecture is now posted.

Colonial Times

Gil LeBreton in the Star Telegram writes about Colonial's struggle to lure long hitters, how the once feared course is too short and reveals plans to make changes. Gee, all so that...eh.

But, as even Gentle Ben observed, "I don't think there is any question today that, with the distances that people can hit the ball, [Colonial] may be not quite what it used to be."

Earlier this month, architect Keith Foster of St. Louis presented Colonial members with his latest plans to redesign the old course.

Don't reach for your heart medicine. It's a subtle redesign, not a makeover.

The course needs its bunkers redone to aid their drainage. And, while Foster was going to be digging up the course, club officials asked him to draw up a proposal for how he would "improve" the late Marvin Leonard's riverside pasture land.

No big deal, according to Leonard's daughter, club vice president Marty Leonard.

"There will be some minimal yardage added in some areas," she said. "It's more about reshaping things. Maybe lowering some tees that have been built up that are not the Maxwell style."