Royal Dornoch though revered and legendary and brilliant and gorgeous and all of the above, is actually quite a down to earth place. Many of the Great Clubs of the World are. If I??m not speaking out of turn, the club??s modest website gives little indication that visitors and members alike have the privilege of experiencing one of golf??s true pleasures. That??s part of Dornoch??s charm. It doesn??t blow its own trumpet or tell you that it??s one of the best clubs in the world ?? it just is. There??s a lot to be said for modesty.
The club is steeped in history (aptly paraphrased on the website), its roots being traced back to The Year Of Our Lord 1616 ?? making it the 3rd oldest club in Scotland, after St. Andrews and Leith. In 1877 it was formed as The Royal Dornoch Golf Club (its previous incarnation being the The Sutherland Golfing Society, which played on the links at Dornoch and down the road at Golspie); in 1906 the club received the Royal Decree. Despite being titled it can rightly claim ?? as it does ?? ??to exceed the expectations of [their] frequent visitors and loyal members...in a relaxed, informal environment, with an emphasis on traditional highland hospitality.? The first member of staff we met was George, the Starter ?? an aged gentleman who??s been in Dornoch ??all [his] life?. Because ours was the first tee time on a fine Saturday morning (7.30am), George was out raising the flags and getting ready for the day ahead. We got chatting and were it not for the golf we mightn??t have stopped until lunch. A lovely old guy, proud of Royal Dornoch and to be associated with it.
Speaking of nice Highland chaps, I must mention John. The Royal Marine Hotel ?? which kindly put us up last night at the eleventh hour in a lovely suite ?? allowed us to sneak an early breakfast before hitting the road. (I trust Michael has told you in yesterday??s blog about the kindness of Joan, the General Manager; the wonderfully traditional sitting room and lobby with walls covered in golf memorabilia and photos of Royal Visits; the awesome leisure facilities; and the generally welcoming ambience of the RMH ?? a wonderful example of Highland Hospitality). John took care of us while we shovelled in as many calories as we could in 15 minutes or so. He couldn??t help us enough ?? and tried to fill our pockets with as much as we could take away, to last us the day! Just the sort of boost you need when you??re low on energy. John could teach most people in the hospitality industry a thing or two...
The words of wisdom from the pro, and from George, were to keep it on the fairway and aim for the middle of the greens. Pretty standard stuff, you might say, but their words really resonated once we??d had a chance to see a few of the greens... (a bit like how Kenny Thompson told me at Prestwick, ??you??ll either find [your ball] or you won??t? when it crashed into the heather). Call them up turned saucers; describe them as crowned ?? whatever. In plain English: they tend to fall away from nearly every angle. The landing areas then are much smaller than you think ?? and Texas Wedging is particularly tricky because your uphill putt often goes downhill before it reaches the hole, making speed Key. This is where Donald Ross plied his trade as Professional and Head Greenkeeper before making his name over The Pond. It??s easy to see where he drew his inspiration (though there is a school of thought that claims Ross?? Pinehurst No.2 greens were originally bowl shaped ?? quite the opposite to their current state ?? and so his signature design mark is really a fallacy).
Anyway enough on that. The beauty of this place is what I most want to impress upon you Dear Reader. First I want to say that there??s no better time to play than at 7.30am as the first group out. The air had a gentle bite to it, but the sun peering through the clouds over the North Sea would soon make its glow felt. Wind as it generally is was tame during this first stanza of day (take note Tim Borren!). I felt like the town and the golf course, like me, was just waking up. Even the gorse managed to look graceful in this soft light (though it soon revealed its true character). We teed off with scarcely a soul in sight, at once excited and contented. It??s in this euphoric state that I enjoy my golf most.
Holes 1 and 2 warm you up before the golf course famously opens up before you on the walk to the 3rd tee. On 2 I had my first encounter with a Dornoch pot bunker, my ball nestling in a spot from which even Seve couldn??t have made par. Mike on the other hand hit a glorious towering short iron to a couple of feet and knocked in his first of 3 impressive birdies on the par 3s.
[View from behind the 3rd tee]
5 is a great little par 4, one of the best we??ve played in Scotland. You hike up to the tee and find yourself presiding over a view that??s hard to describe as anything other than stunning. When you steady yourself you have options. From the yellows (which we were forced to play since they were keeping the whites pristine for a tournament commencing the next day), it??s only 350 or so ?? and with the drop in elevation you could get on with a good 3 wood or mellow driver. But. The green is plateau??d (one of those terms that I??ve never been sure about ?? is it a proper word?) and guarded at the front by a smattering of pots covering every angle. Mike hit a 2 iron that danced around the lip of one of ??em; I laid back with a 5 iron to leave a full lob wedge. No birdies for either of us ?? but, I guess, no doubles either... In the wind this could be torturous. The fairway slopes towards 3 pots on right hand side in the lay up zone too, which you want to avoid at all costs ?? a beautifully designed hole. Well done Tam. As the website notes, ??Position of flag dictates best line from tee.?
I love the description of the very Scottish sounding 6th hole (??Whinny Brae? - pictured below): Par 3, 163 yards. Plateau green built into hillside. Thick whins on hillside on left, also 3 bunkers on left edge of green. Large bunker at right of slope at entrance to green. Steep fall of 12ft. at rear and right of green.? Only in Scotland can they make a 9 iron sound so difficult... In fact if you have the inclination, read the website??s hole-by-hole description for a good laugh. It??s a no nonsense, bare bones description of nothing but hazards! I wouldn??t be surprised if it was written by a Scots caddy, who I??ve heard don??t sugar coat things unlike their American counterparts.
On 8 you hit your first blind tee shot of the day ?? ideally over the top of the raccoon tail stick in the middle of the fairway. As your ball soars off into the horizon you have to trust that no one??s shifted the stick overnight...because you don??t have a clue what??s going on down below. Fortunately we both found ourselves sitting pretty on the sunken fairway, but still had to leave it all to fate for the approach, which is (semi-)blind too. I took my instructions from Mike ?? who as he tends to do marched up ahead to the green for a gander. ??Land it 25 feet short online or just left of the pin, and it??ll run down nicely.? With a lob wedge I did as I was told, but my ball ended up on the false front that was in fact farther away than Mike described ?? eroding all trust in any future instructions from my travel companion. A 3 putt ensued, marking the first of Many in a frustrating day on and around the greens! But that??s golf, and that??s Dornoch, and I was too busy enjoying myself to give a rat??s proverbial.
[View from top of the hill on 8, out over the bay]
[Looking back from behind the par 5 9th green]
Something remarkable happened on the short par 3 10th: Michael failed to make a birdie, instead carding a careless par. Dornoch??s collection of (four) par 3s is quite something ?? they??re all quite short, but well contoured nonetheless, so birdies aren??t easy to come by. Mike had 3 of ??em ?? a testament to his fine short iron abilities. I had another 3 putt from the wrong side of a nasty tier!
By this time the locals were out in force on the dunes and on the beach, their dogs taking them for a walk. I??d shed my cardigan it was so balmy. There were still a few Berghaus Gore Tex numbers about though ?? God knows why; they must??ve known something I didn??t (like our good fortune was about to come to an end). That??s one of my favourite things about playing Scottish links, actually, now that I think about it. Whereas in the US at the best clubs it??s only golfers and caddies in sight (the outside world being excluded by Fort Knox like perimeters in many cases), here you can people watch while your playing partners are hacking away. Old couples in their parkas with ancient looking West Highland Terriers in tow; young families tearing around with lusty abandon and spaniels or chocolate labs in pursuit; a guy out for a walk to clear the head after The Night Before. In this way the golf courses are much more part of the fabric of the community ?? places that mean different things to different people, but in any case ?? at least in summer ?? are alive with activity. And so it was with Royal Dornoch on the fine Saturday morning we played.
[The 12th isn't as hard as it looks]
[Looking across from the 12th tee to the sharp undulations surrounding the 5th green, and bonnie house above]
Down the back 9 there are birdie holes if you??ve got your short game shoes on. But like Brora yesterday it was a fine art stopping the ball down wind ?? a fine art that I as yet have still to get a remote grasp of let alone master. If I was to describe Dornoch??s green complexes in one word it??d be ??humbling.? The second word I would use is ??fun? - because it??s genuinely a buzz trying to get your wee white thing close even if time after time you??re being humbled. To be sure it??d be a boring game if you had it perfected.
As we walked up and down the last few holes it was still not 10am, leaving us the rest of the day ahead to use as we pleased. It dawned on me that I might not be back here for a while, so made a point of pausing to take in the views and grab a snap or two for posterity. This one below is of the 17th from the top of the hill, looking down to the fairway and back up again to the green. In spring when the gorse is in bloom this ?? like the rest of the course ?? would no doubt look yet more magnificent.
Not far from the 18th green was George, ushering Americans to the tee and making sure they got away on time. We stopped to thank him and to share a few thoughts. He must surely be one of the reasons why people love this place so much, in that he epitomises the humility and warmth this place exudes. If you stop in at Dornoch make sure you introduce yourself to George (if you??re playing you won??t miss him, of course).
I did a quick rec??y of the clubhouse and it??s impressive collection of artifacts. Among them is the very impressive Carnegie Shield, which is played for every year. It was donated to the club in 1901 by Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, whom I mentioned in the Skibo blog. In other cabinets were medals from decades and centuries gone by, no doubt played for in good spirits by modest, good natured highlanders.
JP
Before I share with you the trials and tribulations of day 182 of puregolf2010 I would like to dedicate this blog to the late Bert Irwin. Bert, like us, and probably all of you who tune in to read this blog shared a timeless love of the game of golf and played a handy game right through his 80??s until he has now made it to the 19th hole. Mike Irwin, Bert??s son, is a good family friend who has joined in the puregolf journey during a number of days in Australia. Mike and Bert are one of those great father/son golfing duo??s - that many of us can relate to and it is with much sadness that Bert??s days golfing are over. My thoughts are with Lucy and the Irwin family.
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Our 16 hours in NYC is reserved for another instalment but it is fair to say that our time in the city were part of the fabric of day 182. This is because we had minimal sleep and by minimal I mean: a few minutes on a roof (until I thought ??too dodgy??), a couple of minutes in Dunkin Donuts (but for the fact that I needed to buy something ?? a coffee? and fell asleep mid-sip once or twice), a church and of course central park. I think all such venues for my lodging returned a total of about 30 minutes sleep. JP may have been closer to the hour mark. Whatever the case, we were tired.
And so we met our host for the day John Miller at his firm in the city, Lenox Advisors, where we were ushered through some offices to a more proper looking office on the perimeter of the office complex where John and his business partner Paul sat and listened to the short version of our story. Or what we could comprehensibly share of it after wandering around like lost souls through NYC.
Actually rewind. Just before we went to see John we did something golf-related in the city. Walking down 5th avenue I saw the Trump building so I thought bugger it lets go and see if we can light some candles with Mr Trump. I managed to get as far as the elevator, from where I rang Trump Golf and spoke to a lovely young lady who even came down and was entertained by our story for a few minutes before she left, puregolf2010 card in hand, hopefully to ask the big man for a game on the final day of our US leg. I think it??s likely that the card will soon be shredded and recycled into a milk container, but you never know (he says from the confines of the van in a parking lot on the fair tip of long island which doesn??t seem too safe).
Ok, so back to Mr John Miller. Enthusiastic guy. But first he introduced us to our first ever yellow NYC cab when he hailed a cab from the far lane of a busy NYC road and we watched wide eyed as the road turned into a moving yellow orchestra as the cars all honked and screeched as our man crossed three lanes to pick us up. Brilliant.
John himself is a hugely energetic guy and he has to be because he and his wife Nancy have 11 children. That??s right 11! They range in ages from the late 20??s (who is a member of the military) to the twins who are 11. When we got to Plainfield, bags out on the first tee we were introduced to our two caddies today ?? Joe and Paul ?? both of whom were sons of John. John and Nancy are both fit as a fiddle and it definitely showed in John??s power game on the golf course. There were even a couple of bicep flexes mid round after another drive was bombed. John was one 50 something I did not feel guilty about dragging back to the tips.
Where was dodgy amongst all this I hear you asking? It was with Rory Corrigan who kindly drove Dodgy from his place (which I know he loved although he??ll only tell you he was petrified) to meet us before golf and join us for a bite for lunch. One day on and Rory is still a Grade A human. I think if he lived in NZ he would be knighted as we still have such titles in our colonised society. What made today??s hour or so with Rory even more special was that this day was his 60th birthday ?? happy birthday Rory!
Plainfield Golf Club
Ok, so I??ve just got off the phone with a mate of mine who thought it is coming across like we??re taking some of these courses for granted. Well, Plainfield is one such course I could have taken for granted after a distinct lack of sleep but I can tell you it is a Magic course that I absolutely loved. Described as Donald Ross on steroids, it is almost like Mr Ross had a moment with this course to contemplate the impacts that technology may have on the game in the coming generations and stretched the course out to 7200 yards but kept the traditional Ross charactestics flowing through it. So there were crazy sloping green complexes, there were coffin bunkers lining the fairways and there were greens which looked big but in actual fact played incredibly small because of all the roll offs.
Take for example the 11th hole where I caught the false front and watched as my ball rolled 20 yards back into the bunker. A cracker of a par three (which incidentally has not changed at all from the original design which I saw in old black and white photographs in the clubhouse).
I think that one thing helping us to appreciate the courses more and more is that our golf is improving. For example on this sleep deprived day (off the tips like always) JP and I shot +4 and +2 respectively. And that was with a fair few bogeys coming down the stretch perhaps as some fatigue hit us. I use the fatigue ??excuse?? because we had managed to negotiate through what I??d call the purists stretch of this course from 11 through to 14. A short par three 11, the par five 12th which Paul and the greens committee are building ??nipples of fescue?? into, the dastardly par four 13th around trees and over a small lake which is the toughest hole on the course and which John should have birdied but for his inept putt from 6 feet, and then the 220 yard par 3 14th over water amongst ??dead air in the corner of the course??.
And of course what also kept us going with our staunchly contested match where myself and John Miller teamed up to show JP and his man Paul Zoydos. Paul was another good chap (they come thick and fast in this wide world of golf) and he has a guiding hand in the operations of Plainfield GC. He shared with us what the club is trying to achieve with the course and the progress the course has made with various modifications. Oh and John would be devastated if I didn't share the result which resoundingly went in our favour.. Thanks partner!
One huge modification is that Plainfield used to be tree lined but they??ve taken a chainsaw to 1500 of the things to leave the rolling terrain more open to the elements. Now long fescue grass is one of the main hazards to contend with, along with Mr Ross?? bunkers and greens of course. Actually there is also a fair bit of water in play here too. Whilst the trees are now more lonely, they still catch their fair share of golf balls.
The PGA Tour have picked up the class of this track and it is going to host a tour event next year ?? the Barclays, which Paul is currently busy busy trying to help to coordinate. So in a years time, the 18th pictured above will be surrounded by corporate tents and home to a very festive atmosphere.
A couple more holes before I sign out: The short par four 4th hole a great hole that doglegs left uphill. An example of the significant undulations coming into play on the course and allowing Mr Ross to dictate where you??ll be hitting your approach from. There are often down slopes on the fairway at, say, 180 yards from the tee meaning you??re 190 yard hitter will now go 210 yards. But similarly there are many slopes at 250/260 yards which if you don??t get the ball up will roll your ball back so you don??t get such an advantage. Smart stuff.
I could go on and on about Plainfield as it makes you think. But I will call it quite there. But for to put a huge thanks out to John Miller for making the day. The type of guy I??d like to surround myself with ?? fun, passionate, loves golf, and you might have guess, a great family man. Like Bert.
Mountain Ridge was the venue for day 179 ?? a private club based in the Northern part of New Jersey. After a bit of a hike up from Princeton Junction we arrived at the club and met our host Ned Steiner.
Ned??s grandfather was one of the dozen or so gents who set up Mountain Ridge in the early part of last century. Mr Steiner senior senior was one of a dozen members of the jewish community who were not welcome to join other clubs in the area and so did something about it, hired Donald Ross and created the Mountain Ridge Club. This culture of golf clubs segregated by race or religion is a long way removed from life in New Zealand as we know it today.
Looking around the walls of the club through memorabilia and of past Presidents there were a number of ??Steins and even one Mr Goldstein who was a past President in the 50s.
Ned is quite the player and I??m sure he has won the club championships here a few times (although he never admitted as such). He now plays in the senior amateur events around the show and, like us and the many people we??ve been meeting, is a lover of the game of golf. Not just for playing it, but everything that golf stands for. We were put in touch with Ned through our friend Norman Swenson, and both of these chaps are also members of the R&A where we will be heading in a couple of weeks time. It??s been a couple of days since we played Mountain Ridge but since then we??ve seen Ned again, buzzing in the Pine Valley locker rooms after coming in with a 33 to shoot a +2 round. Ned is a great ambassador for golf and is a member of the NY MET golf association, has involvement with The First Tee and still plays competitive amateur golf many years on. He??s also enthusiastic as anything and a hell of a nice guy.
Due to the weather we saw a fair bit of the Mountain Ridge clubhouse and the memorabilia inside it. One piece included a plaque to Ned for equaling the course record for the back nine at Baltusrol during a leading amateur tournament. Ned knocked it around the back nine in 31 shots including 5 birdies in a row to finish. Because of this feat Ned was invited to the US Open and introduced to the leading professionals most of whom congratulated him on his performance but for Tom Kite who scoffed ?? ??but was the course set up in the US Open condition?? and walked away. Golf is more than just a game.. Back to the thunder storms and Big Rai which quickly flooded the car park, the golf course and everything in sight. Of course, we needed to play on and complete the remaining 13 holes we hadn??t got around before the storms. For the next 2/3 hours we skirted on for a couple of holes here and there between the cells of lightening, until we got a good run and completed the last nine holes in an hour or so. A disjointed round.
The golf course is a Donald Ross design and is blessed with those distinctive Ross characteristics ?? the coffin bunkering, demonic greens and a course that seems playable to golfers of all abilities. What gives the course teeth is the rough ?? all around the greens you get in it and have to really hit your chip shots hard to get out. Similar to Olympic where it??s either a splash out of the rough or you??re putting on the greens. The course also has long fescue rough dotted around the show, both on top of the fairway bunkers and in parts of the heavy rough. So it??s definitely penal.
Despite the soaked nature of the course the greens were still rolling quickly and it was hard to remember to hit the putts softly when everything is so wet. It??s tough to give a full review of the course because of the rushed manor in which we knocked around to complete our round. But, as a Donald Ross course it had ??that charm?? and birdies were still very much on offer, as were less pleasant scores when you went awry! And I should note, this course has some very good drainage and we could comfortably play (cart paths only) despite the huge deluge of rain. So we made it around to 18 (pictured below), and negotiated our way around the huge back to front slope on that green which has surely been a cause of much consternation to members and visiting players (Jamie putted it off the green from 15 feet), shook hands with Ned and went to grab some chicken soup and a root beer.
A lie in was crucial after being led astray by the members at RTJ the night prior. And in the comfort of Keith??s place this was all too manageable. So it was with delight that an afternoon tee time beckoned at the Washington Golf and Country Club.
Outside was like a furnace again, it seems we??re following a heat wave up the East Coast of the US. I expected an endless summer this year, but not an endless heat wave. If it stays like this, we??re going to get the shock of our lives when we arrive in the UK.
Our host at the Country Club was Nina Pacer who we met for a spot of lunch before she had to duck away for a work meeting. I had a burger? She had arranged for us to play with the head pro here, Frank, and the program director of the local first Tee chapter, Shaun. Nina is part of the 67 strong board of the Washington Chapter of the First Tee ?? welcome to DC and the home of bureaucracy. Although Nina??s involvement with TFT here is a recent development and she has taken a hands on involvement particularly in the marketing and pr area. Nina is also the only female member of the golfing committee at WGCC. A mover and shaker perhaps, or just a late starter to golf (she used to play Tennis) who has seen the light and really embraced this fine game.
WGCC is a buzzing place. People swarming around everywhere as the 19th hole and dining room overlooks the 18th green. It??s cheap entertainment watching people play up the 18th and try to putt the ball from above the hole or even get a rare up and down.
We were joined by the resident pro here, a gent named Frank. Frank could play a bit and knocked it around the front nine in 33 ?? 2 under par. It could have been lower too had he sunk some putts. Unfortunately it wasn??t one of those days when a quality golfer makes you rise to his standard?
On the 11th hole we were also joined by Shaun ?? the program director for the local First Tee Chapter. Shaun is taking a group of kids up to the local First Tee tournament in Philidelphia next week and then taking them out to watch the PGA Tour event at Aronomink GC. It sounds like the First Tee chapter here is a roaring success. It is based at Langston which sounds like an awesome wee 9 hole course right in the middle of the Capitol that we should have visited. From the Langston Website:
??Frequented by golfers of many ethnic backgrounds, Langston is traditionally played by African American golfers. Over Langston??s long history, African American golfers have been consistently loyal to Langston. Since the 1930s, it has been the home course of the Royal GolfClub, and the Wake Robin Golf Club, the nation??s first golf clubs for Black men and women, respectively.?
Back to WGCC which is a gem of a wee Donald Ross course. It??s really short. But it??s really classy. It traverses through gully??s up hills and along plateaus before eventually climbing up the 18th to the clubhouse for this grand finish on the elevated 18th. The greens are wee postage stamps and are on some severe tilts. I ??d say they were designed when there wasn??t a 20 strong green staff double cutting and rolling the greens to get them rolling at a 12 on the stint meter. But that makes it all the more fun. A couple of these holes (e.g, 10) become almost unplayable when they have their annual member guest and the course is set up in tip top shape. Bring your short game to WGCC. It??s a tight course as well. Look carefully at the photographs below to see some of trademark signs of Donald Ross.
On the par three 11th. The green slopes violently from back to front, so much so that none of us could make 3. With a 9 iron.
An example of the tight fairways here at WGCC.
How cool is the WGCC sign that you look out at from the clubhouse. Dog-legging left is the par four 17th played over a ravene. 4 iron, 9 iron.
All smiles and handshakes on the last. Jamie almost replicated Franks front nine with some Good Golf.
After golf, we were entertaining again. But this time with our host Keith and a group of young guys who had contacted us through our website & were keen to share golfing lies. We headed to Rays the Steaks ?? a great steakhouse in Arlington and feasted and talked to our hearts content. And talk we did, of golfing stories, life in the paradise that is New Zealand, life in DC and one chap, Robert, of how the Democrats are ruining the country. A brilliant impassionate display sparkled with a dashing of humor. What else could we ask for to round off our DC experience but dinner with a couple of Politico??s from inside the machine that is the US Government.
It was about as relaxing as it gets for us this year after a great sleep in the Pine Crest Inn and a mere 5 minute drive to the golf course for our 1220pm tee time. I think we even managed a lie in until around 9am - a first during our 40 days in the USA. I??ve just come to the realization that playing golf every single day is actually a bit of a marathon. And looking back on 167 days of non-stop around the clock golf, blogging, meeting new folks and traveling 30,000 or so kilometers, it has already been some journey.
When we finally rose, we found time to check out the Tufts archives (the Donald Ross museum). Donald Ross is a legend of the game of golf, a Scotsman who moved to the US to sell golf clubs, play golf and famously design golf courses. In the corner of the museum were a couple of golf historians trying to find the mark of Donald Ross on another old US golf course ?? I heard the words ??this might be the oldest Donald Ross in the US??? We??re quickly learning that this guys work is good ?? up there with MacKenzie.
A few other names were dotted around the museum that I??ve quickly learnt are synonymous with Pinehurst. There was an array of information about Peggy Kirk Bell, the owner of Pine Needles and of course Mr Tufts, the guy who sold his soda fountain business to create this golfing paradise. And of course the champions of Pinehurst: the late Payne Stewart who won the 99 US Open here, the kiwi champion Michael Campbell who won the 2005 US Open here, and of course Danny Lee who won the US Amateur here in 2008. Kiwis have done well in this town, perhaps it??s because it is so laid back and chilled out like our country.
Anyway we cruised into the Country Club of North Carolina with plenty of time to spare and were greeted by our hosts, Jonathon Broyles and Cleve Folger. Cleve is a member here at the Country Club and Jonathon, who works at Cleve??s insurance firm, Trisure, had kindly arranged the round today. The connection? Jonathon is mates with Kirby Yawn, the gentleman we have not yet met but who has kindly helped us out here and there including putting us in touch with his father in law at Augusta Country Club, Len Allgood.
There are two courses at the Country Club and both are revered by the Pinehurst locals. Our test for the day was the Cardinal course, with the Dogwood track to wait until next time we visit Pinehurst.
I??d describe the course as stately. Large undulating fairways roll through the pine trees and down towards green complexes that are often surrounded by deep blue lakes. These lakes were manmade by boy they look natural. Check out this one bordering the 18th hole on the Dogwood course which we had a quick look around
The Cardinal course which we played has a great set of par fives - all of which are punctuated by elevation changes and water. If you can bomb a drive you often get the benefit of a downhill springboard which opens the possibility of going for it in two. Although then you??ve got to contend with water short,right or even long of the green. The hole below is the par 5 second - if you have the desire to go for the green you can't leak right. And if you bail out left of the bunker it takes some touch to not pitch it through the green and into the lake.
The course was really fun to play, difficult in parts but it gave you a chance as well - it wasn't a slog. And what made it even more fun to play was the perfect conditioning of it and in particular the greens which were rolling true and quickly.
Cleve and I played a cart match against Jonathon and Jamie. So during the round I was fortunate enough to hear all about Cleve??s involvement with the First Tee of Raleigh where he has joined the board and contributing to their chapter, a chapter which it sounds like there are some exciting things on the cards. Aside from the Insurance business Cleve also runs a small travel business and has a few other bright ideas he was sharing with me. An entrepreneurial man which I really enjoy. Jonathan was not in my cart and cart golf can be very fragmented so I didn??t get time to chat with him too much (unfortunately he had to head away swiftly after the round) but I can say that he was a handy golfer, even if he did stand on the wrong side of the ball.
All in all a top day, one of the most relaxing in a long time. Cleve and I took the spoils and snuck in a cheeky +2 round. The golf is getting better - I think it is a combination of the rest, the warm air, a new putter and that Pinehurst Chilled Out attitude. I??ll leave you with photographs of a couple of par fours I loved, the 4th and the 18th. Both shortish, relying on angles and with the water very much in play.
It??s not often that we devote a blog post entirely to a hotel we??ve stayed in. Throughout the last 166 days we??ve stayed in some special places, for sure, and we??re very grateful for it let me tell you. But The Pinecrest Inn really is something quite special, and it commands a closer look.
The place has a lot of history. Bought by Donald Ross and his brother-in-law James McNab circa 1921, it is and always was a hotel for golfers. Well, it??s smack bang in the middle of Pinehurst... If you ask me ?? an outsider, granted, with only a couple of days?? experience of the place ?? it??s the pulse of the town. Everyone knows about it. Everyone seems to go there for a beer or for a meal. Everyone??s eyes light up when you mention you??re staying there. Everyone raves about it. And for good reason.
At The Pinecrest you get an old fashioned, intimate type of hospitality. No pretenses; no guy standing by the front door and expecting a tip; no electric towel rail and Egyptian cotton robe worth more than a small house. Just an unpretentious haven run by the most wonderful salt of the earth people you could hope to run into (it??s been owned and run by the Barrett family for 48 years). Linda and Andy rate a special mention as the two wonderful ladies that looked after us like royalty (we tried to get a photo of 'em but they refused!). Very humbling stuff; Michael and me still can??t get over quite how we deserved such kindness.
From mid afternoon onwards, it seemed to us anyway, you??ll always find people out on the deck having a beer or a cigarette. Often there are gatherings of 5 to 10 sitting out there in the shade. Or more. In the bar too, as I mentioned, you??ll be hard pushed to find a quiet few minutes. Rowdy??s the wrong word; suffice to say it has Atmosphere. There??s a fireplace in the lobby ?? which is bordered by the front desk, the bar and the dining room ?? covered by a felted board. Into the board has been cut a hole the size of your average head. And into that hole patrons / guests try to chip with the sand wedge that lies there. Not in many hotels will you walk in the front door and find people practising their short game. This place is special.
They might not have had wireless internet back in Donald Ross?? time, but they do now. Flatscreens in your room too, if TV floats your boat. Personally I couldn??t think of anything worse than turning on the box when you??re in a place like this. With all the history, the golf and the atmosphere of the pubs...why would you? Crucially there??s air conditioning too!
Really our stay here in Pinehurst couldn??t have been more comfortable, or more memorable. People often ask us if we take notes along our way. Truth be told we seldom do. Sure, a lack of spare time has a part to play here. But there??s another reason, and it??s this. The experiences we??re having ?? like the hospitality at The Pinecrest ?? are amazing. They hit you. Just as I can remember vividly the moment when I heard Princess Diana died (I was at a friend??s house in Wainui, New Zealand, playing board games), or the moment when I got on Space Mountain at Disney World, I??ll remember these few days for a long time to come.
If the team at The Pinecrest are reading this: a sincere thank you from the two of us. Look forward to returning in years to come, and to having you down under for a bit of Kiwi hospitality!
Driving into Pinehurst we had no idea of what to expect. We knew we had a few games of golf lined up and accommodation somewhere but we had no idea what this little quaint town of Pinehurst was going to be all about.
This town is all about golf. Driving in we saw golf course after golf course after golf course. The town centre has antique golf shops and everyone is walking around in their golfing ??uniform?? of beige shorts and a tucked in polo shirt, or a ??Bob Charles?? as my other half cheekily names them. Most people look like they have seen a bit much sun from their round of golf, particularly given the temperatures we??re getting now. And when sitting in the restaurants you can always overhear the tales of a golf round that was ??almost the one?? but for the odd unlucky bounce here or there. In a nutshell this place reaks of golf.
So we arrived at the Pinehurst Resort which is the home of the Pinehurst courses #1 through #5 for our 1030am tee time. Perfect timing considering our drive through from Charlotte in the morning and we arrived at the course relaxed, refreshed and well and truly awake and raring to go. Much of this must go down to the awesome way we were looked after by the Gibbons family and leaving Charlotte both rejuvenated and with clean clothes.
We were buzzing about arriving in Pinehurst and our first course in the area was to be #1 ?? the original design here by Donald Ross. Donald Ross was hired by Mr Tufts (the original owner of Pinehurst) to design the golf courses here in 1900. He quickly got to work re-doing the original layout of #1 (which had been opened in 1895) and creating his own masterpiece in #2. #2 he terms the best test of championship golf that he has created, and this famous course has been the home to many US Opens, a Ryder Cup and plenty of other prestigious amateur and professional tournaments.
#1 is very much the ??warm up?? course at Pinehurst. The appetizer to the main meal. It is very short at about 6000 yards (that is 5400m) and whilst the greens loosely resemble upturned saucers, they are far from severe. The course is very playable and the ideal place to get your golfing holiday started with some confidence. It is also an example of how golf courses have been eaten alive by technological advances. The par fours are all around 380 yards, and the two par fives are 460 and 430 yards ?? both would be considered short par fours in terms of many PGA Tour golf courses. At least Jamie capitalized on one of them to break his eagle duck, and record his first ??2 under?? with a perfectly played 6 iron on the 17th. This also got him back to even par for the round and had he rolled in a raking putt on the last he may have gone sub-par. Alas it was not to be and we ended up with scores of 71 (J) and 72 (M) which helps to reduce the scoring average for the year.
We were joined by a lovely couple: George and Linda who were down in Pinehurst for a weekend of golf from the north. These two pharmacists own a condo down this way and find time around 4 or 5 times a year to come down for a weekend or so of golf. Not a bad holiday place if you ask me, and somewhere I would try and get to as often as possible if I lived within reasonable driving distance (eg, not New Zealand). As the pace of play slowed behind a few of the members who enjoy playing this agreeable course, we invited a sole player behind us to join the last coupe of holes. Emett was a policeman (more often called state troopers here in the US of A) and judging from a few of the iron shots I saw him hit, this guy could play. Emett was down Beth from Richmond, for a holiday punctuated, surprisingly, by the fine game that is golf. The picture below is on the 11th tee, the only hole on the course with water (not really in play) and really the toughest hole on the course, a 220 yard par three which we both made 4 on)
The last couple of holes we were also joined by Stewart Taylor, who kindly welcomed us to Pinehurst and escorted us to our digs, the famous Pine Crest Inn where we will be basing ourselves whilst in the town. The connection with Stewart is that he gave Jim Musick (the owner of the La Cita Country Club whom we met a couple of weeks ago) his first job as a assistant pro here at Pinehurst when Jim had joined the golfing industry at a late age. Stewart has also kindly arranged for us to play at Forest Creek on Thursday of this week for what promises to be a great day of golf. Stay tuned.
It was a??comin??. For the first time this year one of us fired under par. And it was Michael, which won??t come as a surprise to some of you (those that have played with us!). The man himself nudged it round at Pine Needles this morning in 1 under the card ?? thanks to solid golf most of the way and a few birdies down the stretch. Good playin??. Yesterday I had 30 feet on the final hole for The Title (after an eagle on 17), but bottled it and 3 putted. Honours to MG. Fair play to the man.
But the scoring ain??t really what it??s all about. (You may have noticed the Southern twang has crept its way into my narratives ?? you should hear me speak!). To pick up on the themes of Richard Tufts?? Creed of Amateurism, it??s about being in the great outdoors; enjoying the golf course and the good company; and thanking your lucky stars you??re not behind a desk. Playing well is just a bonus.
Pine Needles wasn??t originally part of the plan for today, Day 166. We already had a tee time lined up for Tom Fazio??s Pinehurst No.8 about lunchtime. But. A new friend of ours, Norm Swenson, told us we just had to play Pine Needles if we were in town. His buddy ?? a fine gentleman by the name of Kelly Miller ?? owns and runs the place; and he made the call ahead on our behalf. 36 holes ain??t usually a good idea, but when you have courses of this calibre offering to host you, it??s tough to say no. The course has held the US Women??s Open (I think on several occasions) and is Top Drawer. One of those courses that you find yourself taking a lot of pictures of, as you can see.
Peggy Kirk Bell is in fact the owner. Mrs Bell was one of the founders of the LPGA Tour, some years ago. She and her husband bought Pine Needles ?? a Donald Ross course ?? way back when, and helped turn it into what it is today. A beautiful and warm place. We didn??t have the privilege to meet Mrs Bell, unfortunately, but Kelly was kind enough to entertain us his guests at lunch after we played. He and his wife, Peggy Anne (Peggy Kirk??s daughter), also joined us for dinner later on at The Pinecrest Inn (more on the Inn in a standalone blog to follow ?? stay tuned). Great people; and great golfers too. Kelly??s played in more US Amateurs than he can probably count, and has travelled the world playing his entire life. A golf kingpin around here, which translates to a kingpin full stop, this place being entirely arranged around golf. The pair met in college down in Alabama (both on golf scholarships ?? although Peggy Anne was initially there on a volleyball scholarship before she found out the coach and the entire team were of a different sexual orientation to her!). We enjoyed great craic with them and with a couple of guys we met in the bar, Mike and Joe (more on them later too).
After playing the benign Pinehurst No.1 yesterday Pine Needles stood up as a much stronger test of golf. It??s pretty long from the tips, and really requires you to hit your irons with precision. Donald Ross?? green complexes are a thing of beauty. It??s not often that I find myself standing mesmerised by the greenside, just admiring the undulations. Not ??tricked up?, unlike other less refined courses. Just thoughtfully laid out and wonderfully presented. A+ to Mr Ross and the greenkeepers.
The layout has changed slightly since the original one (which you can school up on in the hallways of the clubhouse, lined with black & white photographs taken all those years ago). A big ol?? hotel was erected behind what is currently the 2nd hole (back then, the 3rd), but due to unfortunate timing ?? something called The Great Depression hit ?? its existence wasn??t sustainable. And the owner had a fallout with the locals. So the outcome was this: he gifted it to be used as a Catholic Hospital, a gesture that had favourable tax implications for him. Amazing that they were up to those tracks even back then! Maybe not that amazing...
Walking up the 4th hole I turned to Michael and asked him something. Do you think Donald Ross favoured red flags Back In The Day, or do you think they just use ??em now because they look pretty? Neither of us knew, but the smart money??s probably on the latter. A moot point perhaps, but I thought I??d share it. Because they do look stunning against the deep green of the grass and the pine forests. Really stunning.
As we reached the solace of the air conditioned pro shop, something remarkable was screening on TV. New Zealand had equalised against Slovakia deep into injury time in their first game of the World Cup. The All Whites?? first ever point in the tournament (on their second visit). And we missed it because we were on the golf course... (it was a replay we saw)... What a moment though. Just after Mike had shot under par too.
We sat with Kelly in the bar and swapped lies about golf and Life In General. Boy he??s had some experiences a lot of golfers would kill for. Like playing in the World Club Championship ?? entry to which is restricted to members of Top 100 In The World Course members. He??s played in it both as a member of Pine Valley and of Seminole (a Donald Ross cracker down in Florida that we unfortunately missed). He??s got some Great stories, and has also been kind enough to help tee us up with a few games up around New York.
1.33 was drawing nearer, so we made our way to Pinehurst No.8 ?? the newest of the courses at the famous resort. It was commissioned to mark the centenary year of Pinehurst in 1996. Whereas Nos. 1 thru 5 sit adjacent to each other, No.8 is 5 minutes away. (That??s about as far away as anything gets here ?? small place, geared entirely towards golf). The famous North-South is being held here at the moment, on Nos. 2,5 and 8 (it??s the juniors?? turn right now, with the ladies coming in a few weeks). Amateur golf is alive and well down here. Fathers with sons on the putting green, doing their drills and mulling over the mental obstacles of tournament golf. Not my kind of golf, but if it makes these young bucks happy then all power to ??em.
Pine Needles set the bar pretty high in the morning, and may have coloured our impressions of No.8. The heat played its part too ?? a real scorcher. We??d taken Shanks?? Pony in the morning but the afternoon round was firmly a cart only affair. I might??ve fallen dead as a doornail otherwise. HOT.
I??d like to see Fazio shorten his short par 4s and mix up his long par ones. For mine, a little too many middle distance ones ?? 380, 400 etc. I??m a great fan of Dr. MacKenzie??s ability to create golf holes that are playable by people of all abilities. The par 4s don??t need to be long to ankle tap you. Drop the tee markers at 310 yards on a hole that has a wide fairway narrowing at the green, and you??ll get scratch golfers trying to knock it on there; and 20 handicappers able to play it without losing their ball. Maybe you cut the green on an angle and bunker it aggressively, so those laying back have to hit their tee shot to the right part of the fairway to have the best angle. But don??t make them (being the high markers) play from 185 yards out of the first cut. It??s just not going to be fun.
There??s a place for long par 4s too. And Fazio has built some good ones here ?? like the dogleg right 9th, or the 18th. On these holes you??ve got a fair bit to aim at, and a clear run to the green if you??re straight. Get off line though and your ball can kick into swails or traps or both. Clever stuff.
I got the impression too that Tom when he built the course was trying to emulate something similar to Donald Ross?? greens round the corner. Perhaps that was part of his brief. But, if I??m not speaking out of turn, he didn??t quite nail it. Greens like the 10th and 17th were tricked up, or at least the pins were cut in places where they shouldn??t have been. On ridges. I don??t doubt that people come down here from All Around to play a test of golf. A test of golf however needn??t be unfair. Maybe we were just tired...
No.8 is a good golf course, and fun to play if you??re flushing it. The unique character of this Sand Hills area is very striking, and quite something to behold as you make your way around the place. Fazio capitalises on that character by using waste bunkers to good effect and by taking the golfer up, down, left and right through the natural undulations. It??s a course you could walk and thoroughly enjoy if it weren??t so hot. Would love to return in time during Spring or Fall and take a second look.
Back at The Pinecrest we had a G&T with Kelly & Peggy Anne. As is the case every day with this place, the bar was humming. Golfers coming in from the numerous courses ??round here, either beaten up, elated or somewhere in between. All just happy to be in the bar, regardless of what has gone before. While waiting for Kelly & Peggy Anne we got talking to Mike (from Pennsylvania) and Joe (from Dublin, Eire) - a couple of colleagues (software) in town for a brief stay on business. They ended up joining us for dinner (no, those in the know, before you ask, I didn??t have the pork chop...). (The pork chop at The Pinecrest is world famous, and at 22 ounces I can guess why).
The 6 of us had a famous time. Funny to think that when we came up with this idea we??d find ourselves some 10 months later in the bar of one of the most famous golf hotels in the world, in the company of an Irishman, an Italian / Irishman (if you take Mike??s heritage back a step) and a couple of famous golfers. The evening continued for longer than anticipated. I found myself sitting on the deck at 1.30 am with a glass of red wine in hand, engaged well and truly in spirited debates with Mike and Joe. Whether any of us were talking any sense at that hour I cannot say. But we had fun and I enjoyed the banter.
Another cracking day in Pinehurst ?? as pure a place as you could hope to find. Made pure by its heritage and by the good people here. Shame we??re only here for a few of days...
JP
On this epic adventure there are days on which our manner can best be described as ??flustered?. Like yesterday. On the flipside there are also days when clock hands seem to tick round that bit slower; when we are really at peace, and have the time to take in fully what we are privileged to be doing. Today began as one of the flustered beasts, but quickly changed character into one of life??s true, gentle pleasures. That??s thanks to a few very generous and laid back southern gentlemen (one in particular) who made us feel like royalty at Augusta Country Club on Day 163.
Yesterday was a fantastic day, on a number of levels, but it certainly put us behind the 8 ball. I awoke this morning to the weirdly familiar sound of a mate??s voice on Skype ?? our very good friend Edward (the one that cant putt) had called from Oxford, England, to deliver some good news. The man got a Distinction for his thesis (not surprising). While we??ve been out playing golf and immersing ourselves in, well, the world, he??s had his nose in the books adding even more letters to his already unhealthily long name. Different strokes...as they say. But if I may: a public congratulations to The Man ?? a top effort.
Anyway we were knackered when we rushed out of Houndslake CC at 7am. And getting lost in the back roads between Aiken, South Carolina and Augusta, Georgia (just over the Savannah River) didn??t do wonders for our mental health. I hate being late.
Len Allgood ?? our kind host for the day ?? was waiting patiently in the pro shop when we rolled in half an hour late (stressed, sweating and obviously embarrassed). I felt awful. But he instantly put us at ease and reassured us we were in no hurry. It was at this point that the rhythm of the day changed very much for the better. Len is the perfect Southern Gentleman. He??s the father-in-law of a fine chap who goes by the very unKiwi name of Kirby Yawn. We??ve not had the pleasure of meeting Kirby but he??s been very kind in helping us with contacts in the area. Len??s also a retired Superior Court judge and now spends his time running his own firm (which goes after insurance companies on behalf of hospitals!). Long story short: lovely guy.
We??d heard a lot about Augusta CC in recent weeks ?? particularly yesterday, in the company of Nick & Gary, who are also members here. It??s a Donald Ross design; the first we??ve had the privilege of playing. It also sits right next door to the eponymous Augusta National (you can see Amen Corner through the trees from #9 of the CC). You wouldn??t believe, walking the fairways, that you??re in the middle of a busy town (population of greater region: circa 500,000 ?? second in size only to Auckland if it were in New Zealand). So peaceful...
568 apologies must??ve been fired our way today about the condition of the course. Incredibly the greenkeepers here have to aerate the greens every now and then, to keep that uber sensitive bent grass happy...(hopefully my sarcasm isn??t lost on y??all through the online medium). Notice I??ve started saying ??y??all?. Just so happens that the first 2 weeks in June are the worst time all year to visit, for that very reason. We told the members exactly what we tell everyone else who apologies for the condition of their course: we??re not bothered. Playing all this golf we can appreciate the design and atmosphere of a layout regardless of a punched green here or a scarified fairway there. Sure it??s nice to putt on Wilshire Country Club-like greens, but there??s more to life... Hell, it??s a Donald Ross course!
The 3 of us had a very relaxing, and very enjoyable few hours between the pines. It??s the sort of course I??d really love to walk ?? despite it??s significant undulations ?? because it??s just so dam pretty. But when it??s 100 degrees and 90% humidity, Shanks?? Pony isn??t really an option. Another day in the cart.
The place really had atmosphere. I don??t know whether it??s the huge pines; or the red flags set against the deep green background; or Ross?? distinctly coffin-like bunkers; or, even, whether it??s because a certain course that holds The Masters is a stone??s throw away. Whatever it is ?? and it may just be that the people there are so friendly ?? I found myself constantly pausing to take it in.
We all played some good golf in spells. Mike actually hit 15 greens and shot 74, despite not looking like making a lot of birdies. Not bad going though. I was about par until a 3 putt on the par 5 8th, after which it was downhill thanks to lip outs, block cuts and missed 4 footers. No one but myself to blame. Len hit his driver straighter than I think I ever have ?? as a 6 marker he??s pretty solid.
Stopping at the half way house (twice) provided temporary respite from the heat. And a chance to sample the local delicacy: The Augusta CC Chilli Dog. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, let me tell you. When the building was redone several years ago, the members?? only plea was that they didn??t get rid of the chilli warmer used for their ??dawgs?. I can see why.
From the moment we arrived to the moment we left the carpark, everyone at the Country Club embraced us as if we were their own. I didn??t count but there must??ve been 20 or 30 guys that came up and introduced themselves ?? on the range; on course; in the Grill Room; in the Locker Room; in the pro shop ?? and gave us words of encouragement about our undertaking. Really gives us a buzz, that kind of enthusiasm. These Southern Gentlemen don??t have their reputation for nothing.
Which leads me to Len??s generosity. Not only did he have us to play as his guests; buy us a famous Chilli Dog and a beer in the half way house; treat us to lunch in the grill room afterwards ?? he also (in view of the impact that our repair bill for Dodgy has had on our financial situation) pushed a few hundred bucks across the table ??so we could buy ourselves dinner?. We were both embarassed and humbled, as you can imagine. (I can safely say that his kind contribution to our expenses will go further than just ??dinner? - hell, that??ll probably last us until the UK leg!).
To come back to what I said before, today really was one of life??s true, gentle pleasures. The course was beautifully mature and well laid out. Popping our Donald Ross cherries lived up to expectations and then some. Len was a truly gracious and generous host. And the members at Augusta CC acquitted themselves as True Southern Gentlemen. Thank Y??ALL for one of the best.
JP
Chisholm Park
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