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
"It's not fun. I was here as a kid watching those great shots but you can't remember them now. We'll have to fill up the archive with some new ones."
On Monday, Charles McGrath wrote about the beauty of even the most apparently wretched courses, even citing one of note that might look a little rough but which is actually great fun and well worth repeat visits: George Thomas's Marion.
Randall Archibold informs us in an NY Times front page story that Cuba is closer to opening the floodgates to golf resort construction. But Americans, don't get too excited just yet.Tony Jimenez tells us about Ernie Els' pre-BMW Championship self-congratulatory back-patting over this year's redo of last year's redo at Wentworth.
I know, I know, you'd think he might be a bit more humble since he's a year removed from unraveling over having to fix a renovation which in places was so horrendous that no one could stand to play another tournament over it. Instead, he came out swinging!
Far be it for me to question Mike Keiser's business acumen, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept of a $100, 13-hole par-3 course to compliment the full-length courses at Bandon Dunes. Thanks to reader Bob for Mike Stahlberg's story about the latest Coore-Crenshaw-The Boys addition to the resort
Featuring holes ranging from 65 to 180 yards in length, Bandon Preserve sits atop a swath of sand dunes that tumble toward the Pacific just west of the first tee at Bandon Trails.
The site is bounded by the beach on the west, Cut Creek on the north and McKee Preserve on the south.
The land affords some spectacular ocean views and contains “a lot of great golf terrain,” Keiser said.
That inviting terrain is the second reason, Keiser said, that he decided to build a par-3 for those “aging Boomers to have a golf experience in the afternoon.”
The Preserve course has already been roughed out and shaped.
After irrigation and drainage systems are installed, the goal is to have it seeded by June.
Public play is expected to begin in mid-2012.
“Now that we see how good it will be — because I think it’ll really be super, and much more popular than I ever thought — we’re going to charge a lot and give profits to the south coast conservation effort,” Keiser said.
“We think we’ll charge $100.”
Michelle Boudin and News Channel 36 report on Jim Anthony confirming that, like a lot of projects these days, the halted Cliffs course he is building with Tiger really is not under construction right now, but he's aiming for a 2013 opening.
Good news Rees, Phil's over you now that he's seen Pete's 13th green in a new light. Dave Shedloski explains what happened Thursday at The Players and shares this quote from Mickelson after a double bogey derailed a good round.
"I don't know what to say. I don't know if it's the set-up or the design, but I just don't agree with that," Mickelson said after a one-under 71 left him seven behind leader Nick Watney after the first round. "I thought the question was would it stay up on top and be by the hole or was it going to roll down in the low area? I didn't know it could possibly go in the water. I think when I design golf courses, I try not to screw the player like that. I try to keep it a little bit fair. I don't know what I could have done differently."
The Paulson banktruptcy filing on Doral includes the revelation that the group is not including the Great White course as part of the package, according to this Bloomberg story. This raised a few eyebrows until Douglas Hanks and David Neal explained that they want to develop Norman's Miami masterpiece.
The owners of the Doral resort want to spin-off one of its five golf courses for residential or commercial development, according to court filings.
The move to separate the Doral’s “Great White’’ course — named after designer Greg Norman — probably would not impact the resort’s annual PGA golf tournament, which is played on the famous “Blue Monster.’
Howard Pankratz reports on good news for the Coore-Crenshaw designed home of the 2013 Solheim Cup and a course thought to have been a PGA Championship contender despite having a non-Rees Jones design and August temperatures potentially under 94 degrees.
Colorado Golf Club said "the acquisition marks a new beginning for the club".
Ferrell said the transaction was completed after months of negotiations and cooperation between the membership and other parties - including the original developers, lenders, creditors and New York real estate investor Arendale Holdings.
"I've never seen a more multi-faceted deal," said Ferrell, who has been in the golf business more than two decades. "It is remarkable all the players could make this happen."
Paul Gittings profiles Martin Hawtree, The Donald's second architect for his Scotland project and next in line to be blamed for something. In the meantime, he talks about creating plans and about fairness, two things you generally don't want to hear when someone is building a links course.Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
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