New Years Eve…on a weekend…in Las Vegas. Total sensory overload. Oh well, could be worse, at least it’s mild here. Winter in NYC is great when you’re somewhere else that’s warm. Golf starts tomorrow, but lets look at some excellent choices for Las Vegas entertainment and lodging. New Years Rockin Eve: Talk about giving a starving man a...
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...
…and as the shephards lay in their field an angel of the lord appeared to them and they were frightened, but the angel said to them “Fear not, for I bring you glad tidings of great joy! For this day, in the city of David, a messiah is born and this child shall save you from all your sins.” And then suddenly the sky was filled with a great light and...
I’m happy to announce details for the New Years 2006 tour, which will have two separate legs and a total of eight courses, including one private layout which opened a mere few weeks ago. First, I’ll be reporting live each day from Las Vegas over the New Year’s holiday winding up that run with the creme de la creme of Vegas courses, Wolf Creek...
I love Christmas. You get to be nice to everybody for no reason. You get to smile and spread good cheer and clap friends on the back – all without Paxil (except you, Steve…you still need it;) You also get winter and bad weather, which is the perfect time to warm the heart of the golfer closest to you, especially if they are crazy enough to play in it...
CALEDONIA GOLF AND FISH CLUB 369 Caledonia Drive Pawley’s Island, SC 800.483.6800 www.fishclub.com Architect: Mike Strantz Par 70 Excitement Level – 9/12 Difficulty – 6/12 Conditioning – Four and ½ stars Design – Four and ½ stars Cost – $120 peak, $80 reduced, packages available Yearly Memberships – Yes, and dirt cheap...
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...
I have to disagree with GD’s choices for their “Best New” awards in some areas. They missed big by not including Pradera as a best new Private and Monterey Peninsula Country Club as a best redeisgn this year. Here were my votes, click on the link for a more detailed review: Best New Public Course – Lakota Canyon Ranch, Newcastle, CO (Jim Engh)...
I’m glad Bully Pulpit won Golf Diget’s best new affordable public award. North Dakota has a nice triumverate of courses now – Bully Pulpit, Hawktree by Jim Engh and Links of North Dakota by Stephen Kay. My vote went to Lakota Canyon Ranch this year. Personally, I thought it was well worth the $75 tag and should be in the “affordable”...
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...
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...
So I’m researching for a golf trip to Hawaii and Lo and behold! There is Steve Czaban to the rescue as usual. This time the sportsworld’s everyman (who also possesses rapier wit) hooked me up with Triumph the Insult comic dog…who gave us all the weather report for the upcoming Hawaii Trip…Czabe is right! Instant classic! Click here for the...
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...