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
I know most of you have already read, re-read and clipped out my July Golf Digest feature on Freddie Tait and others playing cross-country golf at Royal St. George's, Royal Cinque Ports and past points in between.
That's John Huggan's declaration in his column previewing Castle Stuart, host of this week's Scottish Open marking a return to links golf after years at Loch Lomond.
Huggan focuses on the course's impressive width and the potential for a variety of setup opportunities should the European Tour staff see fit to use them. Included in the story are extensive quotes from co-architect Gil Hanse on the potential for low scores if there isn't much wind.
"So many architects get fixated by the notion of making really good players look bad. I don't want that at all. I want to see them making birdies and showing off their skills. And I want our course to lend itself to all of that. If that means low scores, so be it. Besides, if top players playing well can only shoot, say, 69 then there is something wrong with the test presented to them.
"It is odd that so many people don't appreciate how interesting and difficult short grass can be when used as a hazard. My mind always goes back to the play-off for the 1989 Open Championship at Royal Troon. Greg Norman had missed a green but had nothing but short grass and a bank between him and the hole. He stood there and thought about it. Then he switched clubs. Then he thought about it more. Eventually he just chunked the shot. The best player in the world had been perplexed by the subtlety of what was in front of him. His mind was full of doubt."
And Huggan says the three short par-4s will be the holes to watch.
As for which holes are likely to provide most entertainment, subtle or not, Hanse picks out four: "The three short par-4s - the third, ninth and 16th - will be, for me, the most interesting. I can't wait to see how really good players tackle those holes. There are so many choices off each of those tees.
You may recall that Castle Stuart's evolution has been well-chronicled on this site due to my affiliation with Hanse and Jim Wagner, the co-creators of the links with developer Mark Parsinen.
But as a refresher, here are some of the past links.
Grow-in photos.
YouTube videos on the making of the course...
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4 (making of the bunkers)
And after the course opened, images from John Kemp, one of the talented lads who helped build the place.
Whose back is that he's rubbing? Wouldn't a little knee or Achille's rub have been more appropriate?
I posted Joe Ogilvie's tweet yesterday about Tiger impressively sticking around to crown AT&T National Champion Nick Watney, unfortunately no one in the media actually saw or documented this epic moment in tournament hosting lore. From a lens lugger who was at Aronimink:
I must tell you that there are some very confused still photogs out here... I was at the trophy presentation on 18 green after the round. No sign of Eldrick. No pics of it on Getty, pgatour.com, or TW's site. Every photog I've contacted is just as flummoxed as I am. Did we really blow it? Or was this just some Butler-cabinesque made-for-CBS thing that nobody on the golf course got to see?
I reviewed the telecast and there was only David Feherty's fluf, errr....interview.
We'd heard he was on-property yesterday, but nobody I know who was at the public presentation on the actual golf course saw Tiger, let alone him presenting anything. In fact, we were all discussing the fact that he wasn't there, and wondering where he was, while we were shooting the presentation.
Bill Pennington tells us about a new driving range concept called Top Golf where, in addition to your normal practice options, the emphasis is on a bowling alley concept complete with microchips in balls and computer-aided simulation."It's huge in a lot of ways for me," Justice said. "If you think about The Greenbrier, America's Resort, that's it. Now, we've got the Greenbrier, America's Resort, playing the tournament, The Greenbrier Classic, on America's holiday.
"Our fireworks celebration here is unbelievable; it will be even more unbelievable. Our train [The Greenbrier Presidential Express] is going to be ready to roll, and it will probably be making its inaugural runs at that time. It just can't be any better."
Where does this put the AT&T National next year?
Albuquerque KOB TV's J.P. Murrieta reports on the likely closure of Desert Greens golf course due to a 19 percent increase in water rates. Thanks to reader Rick for what could be a story we see a lot more of in the next few years. (Then again, when you see the story and see them flooding the driving range landing area, perhaps a water usage review may be in order.)
Meng says the course paid approximately $130,000 in water bills last year. This year he says the course is on pace to have to pay $400,000-to-$500,000. "The business cannot afford to pay the water bill," Meng says.
Meng is expecting a $100,000 water bill this month alone. He says the course could close as early as sometime in the next 30-to-60 days.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
