In anticipation of my webinar this Thursday on Forsgate Country Club (click here to register for free), Golf Course Trades also ran my latest article . We interview course owner Chris Schiavone, golf architect Stephen Kay, and head superintendent Don Asinski at 12pm on Thursday July 29.
From the article:
Knowing full well that Forsgate was the last course he would build in America, Banks made the par-3 holes at Forsgate showstoppers, sometimes much longer than their usual length. The Eden appears at Forsgate’s third hole and is likely not only the hardest par-3 on the golf course, but it’s also far longer than the average, playing usually from 170-190 yards from the member tees. A version of Hill bunker guards the left and bunker behind, called the “Eden Bunker,” emulates the banks of the River Eden, but it is Shell Bunker on the right that poses the greatest threat as its floor sits a whopping 17 feet below the putting surface. The sides of the golf bunker, like all those at Forsgate, are shaved down for tournaments, so mis-hit shots that fail to reach the green won’t hang up in the rough, but roll down the bank back into the bunker and wind up at the player’s feet or worse.
Better still, Banks threw in a modification to make the hole even more difficult, a hog’s back that divides the already shallow green into two smaller targets. There is really no good place to miss. That’s why a par here frequently picks up a stroke on your opponent, maybe even two.”
