Golf amplifies your emotions. When you hit a shank into the ice plant at Spyglass, there is no sharper sense of frustration imaginable. If you are lucky enough to drain a 40 footer for eagle on the 18th to beat your opponent by one stroke, life couldn??t be any better. As a paradigm for ??real life? it??s a rollercoaster ride. And we??re riding it! What brought me to this reflection was this: this morning we were late for our tee time. Now, being late is bad enough under any circumstances, but when you??re a guest and there are people lining up to get going, suffice to say, well, you??re not flavour of the month. Thankfully Stuart ?? our host ?? and his pal / protégé Gary were very gracious. But (1) we were embarassed; and (2) we didn??t get the chance to hit a few balls before what promised to be a stern test of our ineptitude / patience at Forest Creek.
The club lies just outside of Pinehurst proper. About a 15 minute drive through the pines, past about 15 other courses. As we??ve foreshadowed in recent days, this be golf country. (Dam good golf country). Forest Creek has 2 courses: the north and the south. Before our visit they were described to us thus: one??s like Pine Valley; the other??s like Augusta. ??God,? I thought, ??I hope we don??t get the Augusta one...that??d be awful?. In the end we did and it was a treat.
Stuart Taylor is a man who has a few stories; just the kind of man you??d love to spend a few hours walking round a golf course with. He??s a PGA professional and has taught around these parts for longer than we??ve been alive. Quite simply he knows everyone and everything about the area. Stuart was the man responsible for putting us onto the lovely ladies at The Pinecrest Inn ?? so on that count we owe him a huge debt of gratitude. The fact that he also arranged a game for us out at Forest Creek, well, makes him a saint. One of the better saints at that, like St. Andrew. (Being Scottish I??m biased).
Like a good few other places around here your name has to be on the gate if the Gestapo are going to let you in (unless you??re a member). We reported for duty about 4 minutes to 9, 4 minutes before our tee time. On the spot it was decided The Yankees would take on The Kiwis in the best ball match. No shots would be given ?? a travesty, really, given we were up against two pros (Gary used to play the mini tours and now works with Stuart teaching). But we like a challenge.
A challenge it was: 4 down after 4. The sods kept rolling in birdie putts and we kept missing ??em. Even when I stuck a sand wedge dead on the 5th Stuart did the same to snatch a half. Things got better thank goodness though and we pulled it back to about 2 early in the back nine. More on that note shortly.
The South Course? (The one more like Augusta than Pine Valley). Very good. A Fazio. Set in the sand hills area, it??s built on the perfect soil for golf. Drainage obviously isn??t a problem ??round here ?? although apparently just up the road clay soils make things a little trickier. Normally they have the greens running about about 26 on the stimp meter, but today they were a milder pace. Aeration and all.
Bunkers cut among the pine needles were a memorable feature. Fortunately none of us visited any, but they look pretty all the same. With this soil I guess it??s just a case of clear away a few needles and you have yourself a bunker? Maybe I??m oversimplifying...
There are a few short par 4s you can attack, and if you get a good tee shot away on the par 5s, you??re in the money (save for the 11th, which is 600 yards). On 11 Mike smoked one 340 yards and could??ve got there had it not been for the downhill lie he had in the fairway. My heart bleeds.
I??d love to play the course in tournament shape, to see how much carnage the greens can really cause. Even today some putts were rolling straight sideways. During Member / Guest week they must be treacherous. This Fazio fella??s a bit of a masochist...
Stuart being an old pro was interested only in pars and birdies ?? if he??d already had one more than par, he??d pick up (safe in the knowledge, almost without exception, that his buddy would have his back). Gary??s a good player. And a helluva nice guy too. They were both a pleasure to play with ?? a couple of the more light hearted sharp shooters we??ve come across; my kinda folks. In fact we enjoyed our golf so much that we even played 19 holes.
The 18th green finishes several hundred yards short of the clubhouse. To get there you have to trudge / drive past the 19th, playoff hole. This appears to be a peculiarity of some courses in these southern parts: if there??s unfinished business, the 19th hole (not of the bar ilk) is the place to settle it. So y??er man has built a 19th hole befitting of any good golf course. An all carry par 3 over water to a green sunk beneath the statuesque new hut. Stuart declared we??d play a Captain??s Pick, meaning we??d all hit and putt from the closest one. Putting wasn??t necessary, because he stuck it ?? quite literally ?? within a foot. Bumped gently into the pin, from about 210 or so, and ricocheted painfully off to the right. 5 seconds before he struck the ball I said to Gary, ??this would be a terrible place to have a hole-in-one, wouldn??t it??. I??m sure Stuart wouldn??t have been too perturbed had it dropped.
Yesterday Jonathan nearly wet himself talking about the men??s locker room at Forest Creek. Better than Sea Island, he said. (That??s a big statement, by the way ?? the locker room and showers down there to date had been firmly in the #1 spot out of 167). The anticipation was killing me as we stepped out of our carts and up the steps to a barn-like structure of colossal proportions.
There??s a front desk 30 yards ahead of you as you walk in, with lockers lining either side. I guess you check in there? Beyond the desk are more lockers; a pretty sensational shower / sauna / etc setup; a towering fireplace; and a grill bar. Popcorn and nuts and everything you could possibly care for are on offer. A full time barman stands poised waiting to satisfy your every thirst. If I??m not speaking out of turn, this gentleman was poised with an inconvenienced air about him ?? perhaps we shouldn??t have been in there without a member (Stuart had arranged the game through a friend, who??s the Pro / Director of Golf)? Either way, I felt a little bit like I did as a nipper when I stepped nervously into the Big Boys Bar at Lundin Links back home where I played with my dad. Disapproving stares all round. Maybe they knew I was trouble even back then?
Better than Sea Island? I think not. It??ll take something extraordinary to snatch that honour from the folks down at St. Simons ?? Davis Love and his cronies. Very impressive nonetheless ?? to go with a quality golf course. Apparently Michael Jordan has some land by the 16th. Being the curious punter I am, I hit a block cut into his property in the hope of spotting the man (there??s nothing built there, but he might??ve been out surveying his estate?). No sign.
Thanks Stuart & Gary for a cracker. Sorry we couldn??t take you down the 18th... (we lost 2&1).
JP
P.S. If you play at Forest Creek, watch out for the fire ants. They attacked me on 17 tee. My shirt was off quicker than you can say "fire ant", revealing my rather impressive golf tan.
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 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
I love playing with a father / son duo. It brings back memories of trying to impress my own dad on the links during my days as a wee nipper (I stress the word ??trying?). And of the absolutely intense life changing frustration that I??d feel if my performance wasn??t what it could be. Today at Carmel Country Club we had the pleasure of playing with Kevin Gibbons and his son Michael. We had a smashing time under the beating North Carolina sun.
Kevin was kind enough to contact us out of the blue a few weeks back, offering a bed and the use of a washing machine in Charlotte ?? which at the time wasn??t on our route. But a washing machine is a washing machine. And Kevin??s washing machine is a particularly nice one. Mike and I accepted his kind invitation ?? as we tend to do ?? and took a day out of Kiawah to make it happen. A decision that turned out to be a very good one. Kevin and his family are some of the nicest people we??ve come across all year. After the hustle and bustle of the last week or so (and the lack of opportunity to attack our huge laundry pile!) their amazing hospitality couldn??t have come at a better time.
The directions we had to Kevin??s house were on the laptop that died 20 miles short of Charlotte. So we had to call him and be guided through the last few miles turn by turn... One thing that struck me: what a beautiful area South Charlotte is. (Maybe Kevin directed us along the most impressive streets on purpose?). Along the likes of Providence Road and Colony Road the houses are grand; the sections big; and the trees huge. While I was driving along with my jaw by my feet Mike was visibly unimpressed and in fact trying to catch 10 minutes more of sleep before our arrival! Lazy blighter.
What followed was a perfectly laid back evening with the Gibbons family. We had a dip in the pool; munched down a Top Drawer BBQ dinner outside on the patio (Susan??s pulled pork buns are making my mouth water just thinking about ??em); and told lies into the night. The kids ?? Claire, Michael and Ellie ?? were full of chat. Most of their questions were more insightful than some we get from professional journalists! I can??t help but think that if I was in their position I??d be totally bemused by a couple of foreign 25 year olds turning up in my house for a few days.
Because Carmel Country Club is only a mile or so round the corner we got a very welcome lie in. Until 8.30! Feels like I haven??t slept that long in years... Refreshed and raring to go, we all hopped into the family wagon and were there in a jiffy (which is a very short period of time indeed). Mike and I had arranged to meet another new friend there ?? Norm Swenson is his name ?? for a pow wow about grand plans for the next few weeks. (Norm has more memberships at top golf clubs than I??ve had hot dinners, and by some fantastic coincidence he??s been kind enough to offer his help with a fixture or two). Complete coincidence that Norm was in town (wedding the night prior...long story...take my word for it: eerie coincidence). No sooner had we said hello and put our heads together than it was time to step up to the plate.
With one golf course out of action at the moment ?? Rees Jones is revamping the South Course (big brother of the two courses, I understand), which won??t open until the second quarter of next year ?? there??s a lot of play on the North Course. So it was a case of miss your tee time at your peril sunshine.
Another new format. Wolf. The designation of wolf rotates between the 4 players on each hole. When you are the wolf, you pick a partner ?? based on their tee shot ?? or decide to go lone wolf. If you or your partner win in a best ball format, you get points. If you go as lone wolf, you get 2 points. If the lone wolf chooses you as his partner, you have the option to rebuff him and go lone wolf yourself. The lone wolf must choose to take or leave each player before the next player hits (i.e. The wolf can??t wait until he??s seen all 3 tee shots then choose ?? after A has hit, he must choose whether to take or leave A before B hits). All In all, good clean fun. Hope I??ve described it right...
Wee Michael hit a few crackers! A couple of sleeves of brand new pro-v1s that I??d given him last night disappeared into the lakes, but golf balls are golf balls. Start as you mean to continue ?? he??s got good taste! Speaking of starting as you mean to continue, Gibbons Senior came flying out of the blocks with a couple of pars (when he was taking a shot a hole from me!) - leaving us wondering whether his 17 handicap was actually 17 or whether the decimal point should shift one place to the left...
We all suffered in the heat. One of the hottest days of the year, according to the big man. Just our luck... Anyway no complaints from me ?? we had a good few laughs. The course itself was relatively benign compared with a few of the monsters we??ve been playing of late (think Kiawah Ocean, TPC Sawgrass, Olympic etc). Would love to return and see what Mr Jones does with the South Course ?? certainly the members are excited, from what we??ve heard.
Back at base camp we caught up on laundry and blog duties while a violent storm was raging outside. My aspirations of jumping into the pool to cool off were shot when lightning bolts forked right, left and centre. God it can storm here.
Kevin & Susan very kindly took us out for dinner to a local spot where they serve pretty sharp seafood. I forget the name, but it??s something of a chain (although they probably wouldn??t like calling it a chain...). By the end of the evening we??d spent a good 24 hours in their company, and really felt like we??d known them for a long time. Like cousins. Truly great people; we??re looking forward to having them down to home turf in NZ. (They??re making noises about coming down for Day 365...!).
JP
Chisholm Park
12 holes bart cape kidnappers christchurch christmas doak ed bayley hawke's bay heretaunga jane poole napier golf club new zealand puregolf2010 rangiora rarangi gc royal royal wellington the first tee the interislander waiohiki
