Rackham Gets Historic District Status

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Reader Smitty shares this Naomi Patton story on the Huntington Woods City Commission approving a proposal to designate the Donald Ross designed Rackham Golf Course a historic district.

Huntington Woods residents and Rackham supporters applauded the vote, but they should expect a legal challenge from the private developer that plans to purchase the property.

Arthur Siegal, attorney for Premium Golf LLC, called the vote "politics at work," and said, "The main event is the litigation."
This is an interesting bit from Jennifer Chambers' Detroit News story:
The 123-acre course, designed by Donald Ross, is one of the earliest integrated golf courses in America, starting from the early part of the 20th century. Its clubhouse, an Arts and Crafts structure with a heavy Prairie and Romanesque revival influence, is a 1924 state-of-the-art building with a tile roof and a long, sweeping veranda with Pewabic tile.

Architecture Blog and DG Watch

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Robert Thompson recently posted a fun rant on modern golf course development...

The iseekgolf discussion board is trying to get architect Tony Cashmore to reveal another of these mysterious Alister MacKenzie items that only he has seen (Cashmore also claimed to see Seth Raynor's routing of Cypress Point). 

Ian Andrew is celebrating the joys of the short par-4. 

Ian also went looking for photos of Riviera and several were posted on GolfClubAtlas, including No. 10's new Orlando themed look.  

"He’s now gone into the golf course architecture business, so I wrote him a note."

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File this under the you can't make this stuff up file. It's Robert Trent Jones Jr. trying to channel Desmond Muirhead in the pre-round chats at the Grand Slam of golf:

ROBERT TRENT JONES JR. (Poipu Bay Golf Course designer): The weather can be changeable here. You can have very strong winds or you can kind of have mild winds and of course, the mild winds are kind of like a lamb. In the strong winds, it takes a Tiger to beat a tiger.

Okay, all together everyone, on three, one, two three, "Oy vey!"

He will tell you he’s comfortable with this particular course and that he’s played it so many times, it’s like Augusta or another course that you know. He has an advantage over player like Ogilvy, who is playing it for the first time. And then again, he’s Tiger Woods.

He’s now gone into the golf course architecture business, so I wrote him a note. I’ve known him since he was 14. I told him now that he’s going into defense, Napoleon defending Paris is a little different deal. If you need any help, call me. We had a little chat about it.

And I'm sure he'll pick up the phone to hear about that whole Napoleon-Paris metaphor.

(Does he view him as a competitor?): No. It’s good for the game. He’s an extremely well-known person, but design is different. To be a professional (golfer), you have to spend five years on the practice tee hitting balls. If you’re a golf architect, you have to spend at least five years in the dirt and on a bulldozer. It takes time to learn the other technical issues. Vive le difference. Every course is different, every game is different and that’s why we keep playing.

Okay, I'm due back on the planet earth now. 

"It's like going to a party. You show up and everyone's ready to go."

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Jerry Stewart interviews Johnny Miller for the Monterey County Herald. Let's see how long Johnny can go without referencing his 63 at Oakmont.

Q: Recently it was announced that the LPGA will have steroid/drug testing in 2008, do you think that should be the rule on the PGA Tour as well?

A: I guess some women on the tour think that others have an unfair advantage. Who those players are I have no idea. As for the men's tour, it's hard to believe people would take steroids to enhance their game. Then again, there may be a guy on the bubble who wants that extra 20 yards off the tee. Guys already do a lot of things to calm their nerves. Some guys drink and no one really knows about it. Some take legal drugs. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some guys out there taking steroids.

It's hard to believe people would take steroids to enhance their game. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some guys out there taking steroids. Okay.

Q: What are your thoughts on the equipment issue? Are guys too long off the tee?

A: I don't see a real issue here. Even with all the new equipment, a 63 is still a heck of a score. I managed to do it in an U.S. Open.

If you had question 2 in the pool, you won!

You still have 18 tries to make it into that little hole. I look at it that if a guy wants to bomb it 320 yards off the tee, he is trading off the chances of getting in more trouble. You still have to hit your irons and make the putt. While players may be emphasizing length, there is still room for players like (former pro) Calvin Peete, Fred Couples and Mike Weir. Guys who focus on accuracy off the tee. You don't have to hit it nine miles to score. You still want precision and accuracy.

Wait, did he just put Fred Couples in the same category as Calvin Peete? Because Freddie hits it so short, you know.

Q: What about the question regarding square grooves and irons?

A: Actually, the irons that are used by players today aren't much different than the ones we used back in the 1970's. The square grooves (which allow more spin) on today's irons do, however, help the players. It may help half-a-shot a round, but that's two shots per tournament which could add up. In my day, we had to worry about the ball jumping off the clubface. Today's players don't have to worry about that. In my opinion, the PGA Tour and USGA should roll back where, during competition, all players have to use V-grooves.

And you may get your wish.

Q: What do you think of Tiger's venture into the world of golf course design?

A: It sort of shows his creative side.

Oh? Don't you have to have designed a course before we know if there was some creativity involved?

Obviously, it's also a money making venture and shows that he's already thinking about life after golf.

Because Lord knows, he could be low on cash someday.

I'm sure some people like the Tour and Nike are scared that he may not stick around too much longer as a player. Tiger still has a lot of years of playing golf in him, but who knows? I've designed over 30 courses and it's fun. It's like going to a party. You show up and everyone's ready to go.

Kind of reminds you of something Bobby Jones would say, doesn't it? 

"This could be wonderful for the design business."

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A couple of notes from Steve Elling's piece on Tiger getting into the design business. One, that it will be "based out of his primary business offices near his home at Isleworth Country Club," and...

 Woods will chair the firm himself and it will have no ties to the design firm run by his sports-management agency, IMG.

That's good news.

Elling also had this quote from Tom Marzolf, who not surprisingly, had little to add.

 "Everybody in the industry has been waiting for this day," said Tom Marzolf, past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. "This could be wonderful for the design business."

"I feel like I am playing the same golf week in, week out."

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Robert Allenby joins the list of players bemoaning the sameness of PGA Tour golf...
"America, it is just very much the same every week and I am bored, I get a little bit bored with it and I feel like I am playing the same golf week in, week out," he said.

"Whereas if you come down here and play or in Europe, you are playing different golf shots every week."

"Elite players need to be selfish if they want to prosper."

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Lawrence Donegan in The Guardian writing about Tiger's design career:

An announcement is expected shortly, although it is safe to assume the financial details will remain secret. Woods enjoys his privacy, leaving others to speculate. And in this instance there has been no shortage of speculation, with figures ranging from $10-35m being bandied around. One leading course architect said yesterday that he had been told the world No1 last year turned down an offer of $20m (£10.5m) to design a course in the US. If this is the case, it has to be assumed that Woods' decision to embark on his new career has been prompted by an offer in excess of that - a sum not even a man with his bank balance could refuse.

"Whatever Tiger is asking for, I hope he gets it because his fees will make mine look reasonable," laughs Tom Doak, an American architect. "Twenty million would be worth it if there was just one Tiger Woods golf course. The fee can just be written off as marketing budget for the next 50 years because the developer will have something that is unique."
And... 
The assumption that a great player will automatically be a great course designer is misplaced, argues Greg Turner, a former European tour player who has embarked on a design career since retiring from top-class golf.

"Just because you've played thousands of courses around the world doesn't necessarily mean you know what makes a good one for the average player," Turner says. "When you play a course as a professional you are looking at it from a single-minded viewpoint - how does this fit with my game? Elite players need to be selfish if they want to prosper. They don't have time to take in aspects of a golf course that might affect other people."

 

"That’s like getting a personal call from Lance Armstrong..."

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Tom Fazio, talking about his new Fallen Oak course in Mississippi:

For me, Beau Rivage is very unique and special because – as someone asked me earlier; how did I get involved – it’s very simple. I got a call one day from MGM-MIRAGE people saying “Tom, we’re getting ready to do a golf course for our Beau Rivage property and we want you to come down and look at the some of the land we assembled and tell us what you think.” Well, on your side of the industry, that’s like getting a personal call from Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods or Peyton Manning. If you’re in the sports writing industry, that’s kind of what it’s like for me.

Good, But Not Yet Norman

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Mike Colman offers some interesting anecdotes on the state of Australian men's pro golf and the top players love-hate relationship with Greg Norman.

Speaking of the Great White Shark, reader Mike reports that in his new book, Norman writes about the 14th at St Andrews and what a genius designer Alister MacKenzie was.

"In the Royal and Ancient clubhouse there is a hand-drawn diagram byMacKenzie that shows how he designed the hole to be played in five different ways."

Now there's a revelation!  

What Do You Think Tiger Is Worth?

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On Tuesday Tiger had this to say about his design studies:

As far as my course design, it's something I've always wanted to do and I wanted to make sure that I played around the world before I ever got into course design. I wanted to see what basically every continent has to offer and basically observe and play and experience those different philosophies that all of the different architects have had in each region, and I'm lucky enough to have done that. I just felt it was time for me to try something different, something creative and something that will challenge me in a different way. Certainly something I've really, really been looking forward to.

Now, keeping in mind that the big name players get somewhere in the neighborhood of $2-2.5 million for a "signature" design (and the right to market the living daylights out of their name and er, gulp, "lifestyle"), I'm wondering what you think Tiger's design fee should be? (This is assuming a project that includes some real estate component.)