Cuscowilla #13 vs Victoria National # 45

[Mike_Sweeney]

I have not played at either course, and I have friends (I think ) who are members of both. Which one should I play next Spring/Summer; Golfween Modern #13 vs Golfweek Modern #45 ?

[JakaB]

Of course you are my friend you tall bastard.....why not play both and we have a real Doak you can play a couple of miles away instead of the pipe dream in Eatonton...

[Jim Franklin]

Mike -

I don't have time to get into a long discussion as to why, but I would go with Victoria National. I loved that place from start to finish (even though I did not play particularly well that day AND I had the pleasure of playing with JB). I liked Cuscowilla a lot too maybe a 7.5 Doak scale, but VN would be closer to an 8.5-9. It was cool.

[Harmony]

Mr. Kavanaugh,  I just want to be sure to get the spelling and location of your residence correct before I place you in my book of people who will never set foot on the "Doak pipe dream in Eatonton".
Did you take 30 min. out of your weekend to come see what the pipe dream is looking like?  Do you have any conception of what Tom is going to do w/ Harmony to make it stand above and apart from C'willa?
Nice pot shot Kavanaugh.....it will not be fogotten.
Kent Hassell
Founder of the Dream

Aren't you going to look and feel like an ass when this course becomes a "must play" and you never get a taste.

[Lou_Duran]

Kent,

Don't mind Barney.  He enjoys being provocative but means no offense.  He also tries to provide some balance to the herd mentality which afflicts most social interaction.

I am sorry that I was unable to make it to your Harmony Club site.  Due to the slow play at Cuscowilla and the "mandatory" hickory club match, there just wasn't enough time.  BTW, as Barney's partner in the six hole event that went into dark, I was singularly responsible for running our team straight into the ground.  And I thought that most folks were just crying wolf when it came to modern technology.

God speed on your project.  We need dreamers like you to achieve real progress.  The materials you provided describe an exciting prospect.  And the routing looks very promising.

The only thing that would concern me is the emphasis on service and exclusivity, but I am probably not representative of your target audience.  Me, I would prefer pulling into the parking lot, grabbing my own clubs, and marching forward to whatever tee is open.  Also, if Barney wanted to play and I couldn't make it, I would want to give him access under my membership.  What is the use of having a world-class golf course if only a select few- a good percentage which would not get it anyways- would ever play on it?

[DTaylor18]

Mike, we're just going to have to play both, as it would be a shame to never find out the true answer!  

[blasbe1]

Mike:

C'willa, hands down (spoken by one who has never played Vic. National).  

I'm with Dan, play both baby!

Oh, and when the Doak course in Eatonton becomes reality, it's going to really place that area on the map (as if it weren't gathering speed already).  

[Harmony]

Lou,
Sorry your round took so long, but glad you all had a good time.
re. the service and exclusivity...
Your last sentence is so good I'm tempted to post it and see where the treehouse stands on that subject.

We're "playing it down" w/ Harmony.  Like it or hate it, as an equity club, we will protect the integrity of ownership and control the way the course and club is visited.  In that respect, we won't be much different from any other top quality private you know.

You're right about the limited number of potential members that get "IT".  There aren't many out there, but we hope that there will be enough to want to enjoy "it" at Harmony.  That still makes it worth the effort to build world class golf courses.  

Except for the fact your friend Barney has pissed me off calling this project a pipe dream, any other guest you would want to entertain at Harmony will be treated like a member, as long as you are there w/ them.  There won't be any "strangers" playing Harmony...it'll be, "hey Lou, who's your guest? Want a game?"

Getting onto the property and out to the course will be as simple as you described...we're keeping cars away from the course, and you can cart yourself to the starters cabin; after that, you're on your feet, and free to go where ever you want..
We've got several mini-loops Tom routed just so we can let a guy do what you just described.
Thanks for the encouragement.  And for most GCA guys who show reasonable courtesy, we will always find a member to play w/ you when you want to visit.
Kent

[JakaB]

Mr. Kavanaugh,  I just want to be sure to get the spelling and location of your residence correct before I place you in my book of people who will never set foot on the "Doak pipe dream in Eatonton".
Did you take 30 min. out of your weekend to come see what the pipe dream is looking like?  Do you have any conception of what Tom is going to do w/ Harmony to make it stand above and apart from C'willa?
Nice pot shot Kavanaugh.....it will not be fogotten.
Kent Hassell
Founder of the Dream

Aren't you going to look and feel like an ass when this course becomes a "must play" and you never get a taste.

Kent,

Please don't take this as an attempt to get back in your good graces or off of your Harmony Blackball list....but....I owe you an apology.....pipe dream was a strong term and I'm sorry.  

John Kavanaugh
1803 Collins Ave
Lawrenceville, Illinois 62439

[Marty Bonnar]

Kent,
you're in damn good company!!!

"There were many who thought my idea a pipe dream, and even some of my best friends felt I was throwing away my time and my friends' affections and money by trying to build an ideal golf course".

Charles Blair Macdonald,
'Scotland's Gift - Golf', 1928


FBD.

[blasbe1]

Not trying to stray too far from the stated topic of this thread I will tie in C'willa.  

On the Harmony exclusivity issue, I will say from personal experience that Kent and everyone else I met at Harmony were the epitome of gracious without a hint of  pretention, something sometimes associated with exclusivity.  

Remember, Harmony will provide those in the Lake Oconee area with a truly private club option, something entirely lacking there now.  In comparison, take C'willa which I liked so much that I bought a little cottage there and got my membership on the spot and even played in the member/guest the next weekend, which was awesome, and everyone we met were good guys not unlike our GCA experience there the weekend prior, but no matter how you slice it C'willa is a resort course with a private golf club within it getting the best tee times, etc. (that may be the longest run on sentence I've posted).  

Every great and very good golf course serves a purpose IMO and C'willa gives anyone the opportunity to tee it up on a very special tract of classic style GCA.  This I admire greatly.  In fact, I heard mention that Friar's Head was planned to be a very similar resort type facility (which would have been a gift from the gods) but town boards got in the way.  

I think Harmony will serve a different purpose and enable some an opportunity not readily available these days (completely unavailbe on Long Island, for instance).  There are a few projects and/or new private clubs that are being built as a golf club first, for a membership but pure golf without pretense, and, in addition, projects or courses that remain a viable financial option for those with net worths below $10M.

Harmony will certainly be one of those admirable few.

[Harmony]

I'll never begin to think I am following in C.B.Mac's footsteps, but that quote is reassuring and a shot in the arm.
I am somewhat like the mother grizzly who gets snarley  when somebody threatens her baby.
Harmony doesn't deserve cheap shots.  It is a private project, but otherwise will exemplify all the good stuff about the game that you GCA guys profess to admire.
Yes, we are still going uphill, fighting to find the members who can walk the walk.  But we are not going to compromise our ideals to get there.
I don't have a book...yet.  But I will have elephant's memory when it comes to people who have a chance to be supportive and instead take shots.  Like Mom said, "If you can't say anything nice...."
Mr. Kavanaugh's apology was not necessary, regardless of motive.  But he had the decency to give one, and it has changed my opinion of him in the process.  
Character counts.
Kent