When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Kiawah Ocean Course (PGA of America)
As we near the PGA at Kiawah it’s time to start get reacquainted with Pete Dye’s Ocean Course.
In part one of this interview with Scot Sherman we discuss how he met Dye, his various projects working on updates to Dye designs, and the increased interest in going back to Pete at his wackiest.
Nice work by Golf.com’s Josh Sens to get the email to members announcing the move but gosh what bizarre story to read in 2021. Particularly given Pine Valley’s place atop course rankings and as a bastion of American leaders, including some who touted their progressive and inclusive work policies.
From Sens’ report on club president Jim Davis’ email to members:
“The future of golf must move toward inclusion,” the email continued, “and I am pleased to report that the Trustees and members of the Pine Valley Golf Club voted unanimously and with enthusiasm to remove all gender-specific language from our bylaws.”
Davis said that the club “will begin immediately identifying women candidates for membership” and expected to have its first female members by the end of the year.
In keeping with club custom, Davis said, prospective members would have to be deemed socially compatible, deeply passionate about golf and skilled enough to play the course “with the skill level our founder George Crump intended.”
And another suggestion: pretend you like Tom Fazio’s 12th hole disaster.
Davis elaborated on the decision with this anecdote:
“On a persona note, I have been thinking about this for a long time and, frankly, it’s overdue,” wrote Davis, who went on to recount a conversation he’d once had with a fellow member while on the course.
As they were walking up the 15th hole, that member had said to Davis, “Remember, we don’t want to be on the wrong side of history.”
To which the caddie in the group popped a contact lens from a particularly pronounced eyeroll.
I learned a lot about Rye from the latest Cookie Jar mini-doc. Not far from this year’s Open host, it’s high on my list of places to visit and study.
I’ll leave it up to Ron Sirak to give you the context on Brooke Henderson’s first LPGA win in two years, coming from behind and barely holding off Jessica Korda, Jin Young Ko and Hannah Green.
I took in the final round and was taken again by Wilshire’s charm. But also how, even in a year without fans present, the energy was different than so many tournament venues. My latest for The Quadrilateral and why that matters so much.
GolfDigest.com’s Shane Ryan documents the silly saga at Harbour Town where they had to combat long drives by erecting a temporary fence contraption to protect fans, workers and anyone near the 8th green.
It would have been $100,000 if they could even do an unsightly permanent extension and a temporary solution as Riviera must undertake annually for the Genesis.
Ryan talked to superintendent Jonathan Wright about the headache and costs of concocting a solution for the 400-yard club, only to have Bryson DeChambeau WD from the RBC Heritage.
"It was the most stressful part of our week," Wright said. "It was a bit of a process, man."
He and Morgan Hyde, the vice president of operations at the tournament, estimate that the total cost of the net and the lifts and the various smaller equipment needs ran to about $20,000, and that's not counting the roughly 30 hours of man hours it took to get it fully operational.
If you're a fan of futility or the universe laughing at your plans, you'll love this next detail: According to reports from the ground, players are still hitting balls over the net.
Which is why, when Wright heard that DeChambeau had withdrawn from the tournament, he didn't know quite how to take the news. Should he be disappointed or relieved?
"I would have liked the guy to be here because he's one of the top players in the world, so it hurt my feelings a little bit," Wright said. "But at least we knew we were a little bit more secure with spectators, you know?"
Let’s hope the CBS drones don’t get caught up in this fakakta mess:
Working the Heritage this week and they paid thousands for these cranes to hold up this net so Bryson doesn’t hit it over the range on to #8 green... Bryson withdrew today 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/PIbQimyu3U
— tea waivy (@imsowaivy) April 12, 2021
As noted in a previous post about short course openings in 2021, Barnbougle Dunes has added a much-needed short course to compliment its two world class 18’s for that late afternoon fun or early morning warm-up.
Coore and Crenshaw designed the “Bougle Run” course featuring twelve par-3s and two par-’s next to their Lost Farm design.
Garry Lu has the details and many stunning images of the new short course.
Historians hoping to preserve the ancient Octagon Earthworks in Newark, Ohio, as a UNESCO World Heritage site faces a problem: the golf club that leases the property.
The New York Times’ Sarah Bahr explains how historians are looking to preserve the ancient Octagon Earthworks in Newark, Ohio and earn them an UNESCO World Heritage designation.
The problem? These earthworks have been part of Moundbuilders Country Club more more than 100 years but have not become an issue:
But now the club, which has leased the land for more than a century, is being asked to relocate so that the mounds can be properly embraced as an archaeological treasure, a move club members understand — they have preserved the mounds for generations — but one that they say will be difficult for them to undertake unless representatives of the state kick up the ante for the cost of creating a new golf venue.
The $1.7 million amount the state’s representatives have proposed under eminent domain is up from an initial offer of $800,000. But the club wants $12 million. The dispute heads to the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday.
It’s a terrific and balanced read, so as always I urge you to hit the link.
Oh I know you think I’m going all April 1 here and it would seem very foolish to advocate an away game to Saudi Arabia given the scarcity of courses and the Crown Prince’s murderous ways.
But that’s just what Golf Magazine has done in its latest issue as part of an overall package that also included Golf.com relentlessly hawking a new Jack Nicklaus design deal for parent company 8AM Golf.
Based on the screen captures sent my way, the (wisely) unbylined story appears to outline Saudi Arabia’s five courses and gets yet another mention in for the unbuilt Nicklaus project. Since the magazine’s ads are mostly just 8AM companies owned by Howard Milstein and times are clearly tough, the copy apparently must become the ad. Sad. Especially given The Kingdom’s well known sportwashing goals and the absurdity of Americans needing to know about the region for a buddies trip.
I can safely say there are better golf trip alternatives closer to home now and for the next 1000 years.
Oh and I haven’t seen the full copy but I see the Road hole got dragged into this somehow. Charming.
After his team beat Iona in round one of the NCAA tournament, Alabama men’s basketball head coach Nate Oats and Iona men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino chatted on the phone. Oats is buddies with Pitino’s son and wanted input on his team. Apparently golf came up and Coach Pitino, a resident on the fourth hole of Winged Foot, offered to have Oats for a game.
Erik Hall of the Tuscaloosa News with this from Oats’ radio interview explaining the invite;
Although Oats appreciated the invitation, he seemed oblivious.
“He talked to me about where he’s living up there — what’s that Winwood?” Oats said. “What’s the big-time golf course up there?”
One of the show’s hosts asked if Oats meant Winged Foot.
“Winged Foot, sorry yeah, I’m not a big golfer,” Oats said. “He lives up there on Winged Foot. He was telling me I’ll have to come by.”
Winged Foot Golf Club hosted the first U.S. Open in 1929 and the 1997 PGA Championship.
“Apparently, those that are really into golf, that’s a big-time spot,” Oats said. “So maybe, I’ll take him up on it and get up there once.”
Of course Winged Foot did not host the first U.S. Open in 1929 but we’ll let that slide.
Winwood! Beautiful.
BTW, go Bruins on Sunday!
Erik Matuszewski of Forbes has some first look Martin Miller images and details surrounding the April 16th unveiling of the reimagined Peter Hay Course. Now “The Hay” and reworked by TGR Design, the opening marks yet another landmark day for par-3 course legitimacy and a big upgrade for the resort.
On the backstory of the course and costs when it opens:
Hay had a passion for introducing newcomers, particularly juniors, to golf and in 1957 developed one of the nation’s first short courses at Pebble Beach. The former Peter Hay Golf Course at the same site hosted generations of young golfers along with a wealth of junior tournaments and charity events over the years, but despite its prime location had gotten a bit rough around the edges, with scruffy bunkers, some bare spots and crooked tees. Woods’s design team took advantage of the Monterey Peninsula’s expansive water views while incorporating more variety into hole lengths and shot options, and adding more puttable areas within the green surrounds.
Hay’s vision carries forward with the new course, as juniors 12 and under can play the par-3 course for free. All golfers will have access to the 20,000-square-foot putting course for no cost. Resort guests and the general public can play The Hay for $65.
At first glimpse you might wonder about the logo but the story behind it is great fun.
Ewan Murray files a lengthy Guardian piece on an effort to revive the Coul Links project near Dornoch, Scotland. While on a property with some sensitive lands, the proposed Coore and Crenshaw course likely failed as a result of Scotland’s experiences with another American developer.
Murray writes:
With American investors key to the project, comparisons were not unreasonably – if unhelpfully to those pursuing a golf course – drawn with Donald Trump’s controversial development in Aberdeenshire. One glance across social media illustrates the depth of feeling attached to Coul and acrimony as attached. One golfer’s paradise is someone else’s idea of vandalism on sacred land.
Unbowed, a group of individuals want to bring Coul Links back before the planners. Edward Abel Smith, a London-based landowner, is working in conjunction with the newly formed Communities for Coul. He now wants to build an eco-friendly hotel and will, should planning be granted, hand over his territory for 18 holes at a long-term peppercorn rent. The multimillion dollar question, though, is why this scheme will succeed now when the previous one in early 2020 so publicly failed?
“I wouldn’t say we are confident but we feel strongly about the overall benefits that the development would bring,” says Communities for Coul’s Gordon Sutherland. “We want this golf course as a catalyst for economic development. The number of jobs forecast are calculated by businesses prepared to invest; there is almost £50m of private investment lined up and 180 jobs, 108 of which would be full-time.
The project had passed some early stages of planning. It’s not clear if Todd Warnock or Mike Keiser are involved with the new group. Warnock is the visionairy behind the extraordinary Dornoch House.
Pinehurst has unveiled a spring logo and it’s so similar to Pasatiempo’s that I saw it on my feed and assumed it was from Santa Cruz’s finest MacKenzie design.
Pasatiempo is Spanish for “pastime” or “relaxed passage of time” and features a young man napping while using a sombrero for shade.
Pinehurst’s Putter Boy has been depicted many ways. But it seems the combination of hat, napping lad and foliage shape designed to mimic the letter C in The Cradle par-3 course served as the apparent “inspiration” for a spring merch rollout.
Commenters on Instagram also noticed the similarities before Pasatiempo entered the conversation with a reply.
Dear @PinehurstResort please explain... #pasatiempogolf #pinehurstresort #GOLFTV #golf @birdiejp @GCGolfToday @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/Nk8qFcZcgA
— Pasatiempo Golf Club (@PasatiempoGolf) March 21, 2021
Pinehurst’s social team—on a Sunday—went to work trying to explain the similarities in a lengthy thread you can read here or click on this below:
To our @PasatiempoGolf friends, happy Spring from Pinehurst. Feels like a nap-off might be in order, but we are happy to explain. But before our dueling siestas, a little history from our end. Plus, some background on our Cradle logo development.
— Pinehurst Resort (@PinehurstResort) March 21, 2021
A thread. https://t.co/9c3cXOH3np
One of the 6 hole routes of a 24 hole complex, that @arqpiza and I are building, designed specifically for women, with all the fairways, greens, roughs and hazards oriented with the right numbers in mind, a sort of Women’s version of the TPC Sawgrass. Long overdue. https://t.co/IPTqjyOTPM
— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) March 5, 2021
As he’s peddled widely on distance and criticized architects for not adapting to the modern game, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has not shown much sympathy for the plight of architects in the face of modern core strength. (This, even though architects could profit off of changing distances and yet most would like to see regulation in the name of sustainability.)
So it’s with great joy to see that he is teaming with Pizá Golf founder Agustin Pizá to take up a new side-hobby: golf architecture.
For Immediate Release:
"Humbled by #BrandelChamblee mention of my golf design philosophy as it relates to the structure of a good 18 chapter book. Being able to partner with such a gentleman, intellectual, analyst and arts connoisseur will ask for the best of me. I'm up for the challenge but most of all, for the fun we will have in the process of achieving exciting new golf courses which will take you, like a good book, through a carousel of emotions," Agustin Pizá
Pizá Golf has been recognized with many international accolades and has garnered a reputation for “Re-defining Golf Facilities” with their concepts – Wellness Golf and Lounge Golf. Agustin Pizá was recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 100 creative minds from Mexico and Golf Inc. Magazine included him in their Power 2020 issue as an up and coming superstar. Pizá and the company have worked and have been involved in more than 60 projects on three continents
Ironically, or not, Pizá got a mention during last week’s Players Championship by Chamblee. I’m sure the whole full disclosure thing happened before or after the clip below.
Not too long ago the headline above might have sounded almost April 1 worthy given the game’s infatuation with 7000-72 courses.
Mercifully tastes are changing but I still never imagined this one: a list of the “Top Short Course Openings for 2021”.
Erik Matuszewski presents ten of this year’s most anticipated alternative offerings all over the globe. This one looks and sounds the most intriguing, a fitting addition to one of the world’s great places in very little time.
It was only a couple decades ago that Barnbougle Dunes was just a strip of land alongside a potato farm on Tasmania’s northeast coast. Today, it’s one of the most celebrated destinations in golf, not just Australia. In 2010, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw opened the 20-hole Lost Farm course to complement the original layout and their team, along with Winter Park 9 visionary Riley Johns, is putting the finishing touches on a 14-hole short course built into a ridge of sand dunes near Lost Farm that will have mostly par threes along with a couple of drivable par fours.
A teaser video of the Barnbougle course:
Danny Vohden explains the partnership between Crooked Stick and the USGA to preserve various artifacts and ephemera from the life and times of Pete and Alice Dye. The items will be housed at the USGA Golf Museum and Library.
The United States Golf Association (USGA), at the invitation of Crooked Stick Golf Club members Joe and Marcia Luigs, along with Tony Pancake, the club’s director of golf, has acquired a selection of artifacts and ephemera from the estate of Pete and Alice Dye.
The collection, which is to be preserved at the USGA Golf Museum and Library, includes more than 50 items from the Dyes’ life and career together and was obtained from their home on the grounds of Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind., which served as their summer residence for many years. Pete and Alice Dye designed Crooked Stick, which was founded in 1964 and has gone on to host six USGA championships, most recently the 2009 U.S. Senior Open.
Highlights of the collection include:
Trophies from Alice’s illustrious amateur golf career
Accolades and awards related to Alice’s career and service to the game
Alice’s gavel from the American Society of Golf Course Architects, of which she was the first female president
Alice’s blazers from the USGA Women’s Committee, the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, and the Women’s Western Golf Association
A selection of Pete’s architectural plans and course drawings
Personal photographs, correspondence and documents
You can see some of the collection in a slideshow accompanying the story.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
