Michael Chadwick
OCM have a redesign plan with The Country Club in Salt Lake as well.
This is a positive trend for improving the architecture of more urban/suburban clubs that may be financially strong, but have existing courses that leave more to be desired. Exciting!
Link to commentDavid Wellen
Instagram official! Lotta buzz around the club about this partnership. Listening to Garrett and Mike Cocking discuss OCM’s work at Medinah #3, I think there are a lot of similarities in the properties. I love our course and enjoy playing it every time I’m out there. That said, we have a handful of holes that could probably stand to be reimagined because they’re prescriptive. The course hasn’t been touched (aside from a few minor infrastructure tweaks) in 25 years, and I understand the greens are perhaps overdue for new grass. We have run into catch basin / drainage issues before and could benefit from a modern look at shaping to more effectively move water toward the lake (to say nothing of the strategic elements that can be added to holes from that).
I’ll be curious to see how things go with grass - we have bent greens and zoysia everywhere else (some tall fescue off a handful of tees). If there’s a Bermuda variety that can handle the cold a little better I’d think we would leap at it.
Link to commentJason Murray
I am a little biased but I really think a stop at Bright Grandview in Des Moines would be worth your time. Around $20 to walk, pretty short and pretty much the same layout that was built in 1901. Some rural 9-holers around Des Moines also that are fun to play. Knoxville, Winterset, Pleasantville are a couple.
Link to commentMorgan Elliott
Hey Thomas - my morning just freed up and I’d love to get out tomorrow. I’m in Walnut Creek but can play anywhere - just have to be back here around 2 pm so the earlier the better. Feel free to shoot me a text at (352) 895-6008 if you’d still like to get out.
- Morgan
Link to commentMike Ihm
Oh man, finally got back to listening to this. Some horrid takes. Specifically on dipping sauces. The hate on ranch and bleu cheese may not allow anyone of you back in the midwest.
Link to commentBrent Wagner
Awesome write-up; really excited to see the course shine this fall. Side note - if you started selling those sketches of individual holes, you’d have at least one customer!
Link to commentChris Kindred
Bryson is an interesting character. I don't like him, but I think he's deeply fascinating because, to me at least, he's so blurred the line between being genuine and fake. It's not like fans ever truly "know" what a golfer (or anyone famous) is like. But, I find him harder than most to get a read on. There are certain things he does or says that make him appear to be things such as interesting, vulnerable and authentic. But, he's got so much of a foot into the entertainment/content creator/influencer world that there's always a part of me that has doubt and wonders if he's actually revealing his true self in those moments or playing a role and doing/saying what he thinks will make people view him in a certain way.
Link to commentChristopher Payne
Thanks for your continuing coverage of this evolving issue. This whole program has obviously gone well adrift to serve no other purpose than to feed the insatiable ego of the Ballroom Builder a couple miles away. The property certainly needs some sort of overhaul and hopefully we will see something productive happening sooner or later. Glad the Rock Creek project is resuming.
I will not romanticize the existing Blue course: it's flat, almost unplayable after significant rains, usually in poor condition, the holes are repetitive, and the noise from the airport can be deafening. But the course features three of the coolest tee shots you could imagine, lining up your aim point against the Washington Monument in the distance. While I'm pretty sure it will never be built, I notice Fazio's routing (probably unwittingly) takes that signature feature currently in existence on 7, 16 and 17 and makes the Monument a target perhaps only on 18.
Great points about reducing access, as the current three course offerings do nicely stair-step in difficulty, although a reduction from 36 to 27 holes is probably manageable if the practice area is improved. The current driving range features weird wooden stalls that makes one feel like a horse, offset by the recently added TrackMan monitors.
Link to commentKevin Banas
Cleveland - played Sleepy Hollow last summer and it was awesome! A ravine system runs throughout the course and holes interact with it in many different ways.
Link to commentNiall McDonald
Would love to get on Golden Gate Park if I can squeeze it in while I’m there!
Link to commentEthan Fisher
Imagining this particular section with KVV doing his Gary impression is making me audibly laugh. It's like the Obama medal meme but with Gary Player.
"Gary: That’s right! Very few people know that.
Kevin: Well, I do my research, Mr. Player.
Gary: I'm really impressed that you realized that.
Kevin: Thank you."
Link to commentJohn Frankl
You guys should do more of those image comparison sliders with pictures from before and after renovations or restorations. It’s hard to find before and after pictures of the same part of the course to get a feel for what changed.
Link to commentMatthew Schoolfield
I mean, I'm a member at Gleneagles, which is probably not what you're looking for, but I honestly think Pasatiempo is the best course that is drivable and back in a day, and I do think it's worth the cost a a bucket list course.
Link to commentDavid Wellen
I would also enjoy it - I’ll doodle for fun and it all makes sense to me but would love others’ perspectives. (Helps that FEGC doesn’t have the same grunge of bottomless cynicism that seems to coat a lot of the Internet.)
Link to commentBeau Scroggins
Aw man I wish I could play but I'm a no go Saturday. But would love to get out sometime soon.
Link to commentMike Ihm
Do you have exact dates for each location or just figuring it out as you go?. Would love to join up somewhere on I80 in Iowa for a round. Have several ideas depending on what youd like. I live in Des Moines but could go almost anywhere around.
Link to commentNiall McDonald
The UVA course is on a resort so not sure if it counts, but is a great time and definitely fits the Charlottesville vibe.
Link to commentMatthew Schoolfield
I sure as heck hope so! I'd love to discuss designs here.
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