I have the greatest respect for George Peper and his excellent life long body of work. Every architecture expert I know has his book 500 greatest golf holes on his shelf. However, I read his Links Mag article where he says Pinehurst No. 2 and Augusta are 2 of the 10 most overrated courses on the planet. I respectfully dissent. I think he was being glib and pounding...
I know Tom Doak has his ten point scale and Ron Whitten effectively uses a decimel system (e.g. 8.7) like an Olympic figure skating judge, but I use a system of zero to seven stars. Like Doak, we spend most of our time splitting hairs between the truly great and the merely pretty good. The five rating criteria are Design, Natural Setting, Conditioning, Value and...
Just keep going until you can’t go any further. Then go further, because the moves you make then – when you’ve run out of steam and you’re totally on subconscious and not even thinking about the mechanics – the moves you make then are incredible. – Jeff Buckley Musician Jeff Buckley was talking about himself, but he was speaking...
So most of you panned the 18th century fortification shaping of this French Golf Course. By an amazing 95-5 ratio, Dunkirk’s sharply angled fairways and less than flowing lines seemed both too artificial and too much baroque crap to resonate at all with you. Could you imagine being a developer and giving an architect a seaside piece of land and coming on-site...
The first part of my article on Redlands is here. Below, you’ll find the UPDATED star system ratings, based on the SEVEN star system. Most of Engh’s unique design elements are present at Redlands. His trademark squiggly muscle bunkers are placed “randomly” – i.e. where the land accepts them, not at any specific distance from the tee...
I saw this recently and was flabbergasted. Now, I’m all for pushing the envelope, but this seems a bit garish for my taste. Do you like this? We’re gonna take a ten day poll, results late next week, but I’ll post more pictures every so often. Here’s a link to check out more pix of this course in Dunkirk, France. Vote here in the comments or by...
Time for a little golf design education. The truly expert golfer knows how to “read” a golf course. The architect is trying to teach you something almost all the time when you stand over a shot. (Note: happily the “doctrine of deception is resurging. That’s where the architect doesn’t spoon feed you your line off the teebox. But...
American Airlines misrouted my golf clubs. I’m in Vegas, the clubs arrive later…courtesy of Orlando. They blame TSA at LaGuardia. Right. Meanwhile, here’s more of the Strantz interview. Tune in later for “things to do in Vegas when the airlines screws up your golf clubs. Jay: Tiger, Phil, Vijay and Ernie are finally fed up and decide they are...
I was rattling through all my notes and tapes and found some interview snippets form my 2004 interview with Mike Strantz that I never posted. I hope you like them. I’ll have more later this week. Jay: What is the driving concept you use when laying out your holes? Mike: Where the land lays. I really spend a lot of time walking the piece of property looking to...
The Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore “Back to the Future” Minimalist tour (yes, capitalize “Minimalist” from now on) is firing on all cylindars in the desert. The Yavapai Indian Nation, owners of the We-ko-pa Golf Club in the Fort McDowell Region of Scottsdale had the courage to think out of the box for a resort and embrace one of the wisest trends...
Here’s something interesting when you have time for a long term project. Take your favorite architect and play three or four (or more) of his designs in chronological order. Then trace the evolution of his design style and see how his philosophy changed over time. Two good examples are Brian Silva and Jim Engh. Silva began his career building what most people...
THE GOLF CLUB at REDLANDS MESA 2325 West Ridges Boulevard Grand Junction, CO 81503 970.263.9270 www.redlandsmesa.com Architect: Jim Engh Par – 72 Excitement Level – 11/12 Difficulty – 6/12 Conditioning – Four and 1/2 stars Cost – $75 Peak Yearly memberships – No Value – Five stars Overall rating – Four and ½ stars Tees...
Please note: Part one of the interview is here. Tom answered some Qs by email, others by tape. In two cases, we hit the same topic twice. Enjoy. Jay: We know that you love telling people the joys of being a minimalist. What do you do different in building golf courses? What’s unique about a Tom Doak design? Tom: You know it is very had to define. I think I see...
Normally, this site is about great public courses, but let’s take a quick look at some great private clubs for your family to join. Boston: Black Rock G.C. – Brian Silva’s collection of terrfic designs for golf holes is a living, breathing encyclopaedia of golf architecture. Plus the members are uniformly friendly. If you live in Boston, this should...
I’m still busy compiling all my notes from the Michigan trip, but after a wonderful round at the charming, refined and eminently natural Crystal Downs (Alistair Mackenzie, 1932) Tom Doak shared some thoughts over chili dogs and root beer at the Frankfort, MI A&W stand. JF: How did you pick Northern Michigan for a home base? Doak: While I was in college, I...