[Editor’s Note: Bringing back an old favorite column, Jay writes this U.S. Open wrap-up in the form of a Father’s day letter to his 91-year old Dad.] SNOQUALMIE, WA – Dear Dad: For the 11th year in a row, because of the U.S. Open I’ll miss seeing you for Father’s Day. I’m really sorry for that, and I wish it were different. The...
UNIVERSITY PLACE – “It’s too brown! It’s too bumpy! It’s too British!” they moan plaintively. Yes, the whiny blockheads are out in force this year, as they usually are at the U.S. Open, complaining about how unusual golf’s annual Final Examination is. It’s actually flabbergasting: They’re not complaining about how...
UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA – Chambers Bay Co-architect Bruce Charlton smiles and claps his hands as a stat appears on the TV broadcast of the U.S. Open listing the brutish, uphill, 508-yard, par-4 seventh hole as the hardest hole on the golf course thus far in the tournament, a 4.43 stroke average as we go to press. “We wanted there to be swing holes. We wanted...
UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA – I have to weep for our society because we have lost it as a species when we can’t all instantly fall in love with Chambers Bay, the site of the 2015 U.S. Open, hard by Puget Sound’s rugged waters, where forest-fragrant air gently caresses verdant, dew-dripped tree-covered hills. “Idyllic” is the first word that...
Of all the times for the PGA of America to announce the latest venue for their flagship event, they pic the day the U.S. qualifies for the Knockout Round of the World Cup! It will be nice to go back to S.F. – and you can bet I’ll be playing Olympic Cl;ub and having a burger dog while I’m there! Hey USGA! Aren’t you due for an Olympic Club U.S...
Cybergolf has run my piece on Rustic Canyon, Ojai Valley Inn, Soule Park, and Olivas Links. Enjoy!
So back to Helen from Schenectady’s question about where to take a West Coast golf trip this summer… 4. Pebble Beach Golf Resort – There is too much golf history and too much cliffside golf to miss this golf Mecca – even at the uber-exorbitant price. Thank goodness the rise of Bandon Dunes helped somewhat curtail the runaway pricing (some say...
Got this from the mailbag the other day from Helen in Schenectady: “Dear Jay: My girlfriend and I are taking a driving tour of the west coast this summer. If we brought our golf clubs, what public courses should we play on our way down the coastline? Or are there any good courses near wineries we should visit? – Helen in Schenectady Well Helen...
So the first AWITP trip of the year is scheduled for this week – SoCal. We’ll be playing and reviewing Gil Hanse’s work at the recently redesigned Soule Park, along with Olivas Links by Forrest Richardson, and another trip around Hanse’s superb Rustic Canyon. We’ll also have a SURPRISE round at one of SoCals excellent private designs...
Back 9 has run my article on the new bunker on 18 at Chambers Bay – Chambers Basement! Enjoy!
Back 9 Network has run my Fossil Trace article. Catch it here. And have a happy new year. Enjoy the fiscal cliff you voted for…
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – While out covering the U.S. Open two separate sources imparted to me the same information. “Let me let you in a on a little secret Jay. Golf in California isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” they both asserted. I see why they said that. They had just been disappointed yet again by two big ticket resorts that actually...
Since all great epics come in trilogies (except Harry Potter), and since I’m still finishing my Tallgrass/Gil Hanse piece, here’s the sizzling climax of Golf and Spas! COEUR D’ALENE Britt and friends mentioned they were interested in possibly going to the Pacific Northwest, so how about Coeur D’Alene? “The water really is that blue and...
Try to time your arrival at Chambers Bay so as to be there for sunrise, the light is magnificent. As the sky slowly brightens from black to deep purple to blue, they’ll appear before you: eighteen precious jewels, each prim as a cameo, yet as cunningly and carefully designed as the many intricate facets of the gemstone. Yes, everything you’ve heard about...
Former Pierce County Executive John Ladenberg responded sharply to a Seattle newspaper article questioning the financial viability and impact on the local economy of Chambers Bay Golf Links, site of the 2015 U.S. Open and 2010 U.S. Amateur. Responding to an article that said Chambers Bay operates at a loss that cannot be offset by anticipated U.S. Open gate receipts...