Jack: "China...is shut down right now golf-wise."

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Greg Stoda covers an array of topics with Jack Nicklaus who spoke at a charity event.

Two of interest in the architecture world:

On the weak global economy and its impact on golf ...

- "China, for example, is shut down right now golf-wise. We were over there about a month ago with a course two weeks from being finished that was shut down. They put a satellite up to monitor it to see that nobody was working."

Or maybe they just played the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain and don't want you to get carried away again?

On the situation in the United States ...

- "I haven't been to a country in the last year where the outlook is as bad economically as it is here for us."

So we got that going for us. We're at the top of the bottom of the charts.

Rees: It's Gotten "Personal"

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Ron Green Jr. interviews Rees Jones and asks about recent player criticism of his work. (Thanks to reader Del for this.)

Your work has been criticized by Phil Mickelson and others. That comes with the territory of being a designer, but does it bother you?

RJ: It bothers me when it gets personal. I expect it as far as the game or the golf course because not every golf course suits every player. It's supposed to be the golf course against the golfer until the final round when it really becomes the golfers against one another.

Video Views From Cordevalle

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I went out to the 16th and 17th holes this morning and tweeted some video takes on what appear to be the two best holes on the course. No wonder the finish was so wild last year...

16th Hole video (Twitter downscaled it so just hit the full screen box to see it larger)

17th tee video (same deal, mysteriously uploaded in smaller format)

17th fairway view video

 

TPC Summerlin's Short Par-4 15th, A Wobbly iPhone Video Analysis

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I've always been fascinated by this Bobby Weed-designed short par-4 at the TPC Summerlin and I had a chance to look closely at it while making a visit to the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open (starts Thursday on Golf Channel.)

I Tweeted some videos today with my analysis. The short but sweet conclusion: I need to play this one, but I love the attempt at something different, I just don't know how well the options work in today's game, where so many guys can reach the green with driver. (341 uphill yes, but higher altitude, hot weather means it plays shorter).

Anyway, here are the videos in order...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5 (don't ask why it's smaller...technology is moody)