[Nick Pozaric]

I was looking through Shackelfords book on Cypress and noticed there used to be bunkers by the tree in the 17th fairway that arent there present day.  Are there any other big changes like that from the orignal design?

[TEPaul]

Nick:

Most every architect I've ever heard of seems to have suggested that having trees in or immediately around bunkers is...ah, well, how should I say this....sort of architecturally redundant! But one tends not to say that if it was Alister MacKenzie we're talking about.

But that's the way it was originally at CPC's #17 and #18. It would seem Alister must have felt the exception proves the rule or something. It looks like at some point the club decided they didn't exactly agree that the exception proves the rule in architecture. But why in the hell they decided to remove the bunkers instead of the trees is really beyond me and I think that decision calls for a Congressional investigation, at the very least. Not just that but in this case Pat Mucci has every right to call the entire CPC membership and especially Clint Eastwood idiots or egomaniacs!

But not to worry---if those cool trees in the middle of #17 fall down the club has agreed to restore the bunkers supported by a rare arcticle Tom MacWood just found from the "Monterrey Whale, Rock-bather and Golfer" that reports the real reason Mackenzie put those bunkers in there was he was ticked at Morse for not letting cut those trees down and for not letting him put the 14th hole along the coast and also for refusing to let him build that back tee and bridge on #18---and bunkers around trees or trees around bunkers on the last two holes was just Alister's way of getting back at him.

Personally, I think those bunkers in the middle of #17 and on the right of #18 showed up on Raynor's routing and design plan and the trees were MacKenzie's way of leaving his own architectural signature because of that!

[Tyler Kearns]

Tom,

That same architectural redundancy can been seen on the first hole at Cypress Point, in regards to the right hand side fairway bunker.

Nick,

From the aerials provided in Shackelford's book, there used to exist three fairway bunkers between the first and fourteenth holes. Unless my memory has completely escaped me, I think only two remain, with the one located closest to 17-Mile drive having been filled in.

Further, I think a lot of the present bunkers have been formalized over the years. The three small bunkers visible from the second tee have not always looked so neat & tidy (consult page 72 of Shackelford's book).

TK

[Bob_Huntley]

Nick:


But that's the way it was originally at CPC's #17 and #18. It would seem Alister must have felt the exception proves the rule or something. It looks like at some point the club decided they didn't exactly agree that the exception proves the rule in architecture. But why in the hell they decided to remove the bunkers instead of the trees is really beyond me and I think that decision calls for a Congressional investigation, at the very least. Not just that but in this case Pat Mucci has every right to call the entire CPC membership and especially Clint Eastwood idiots or egomaniacs!

Tom,

The second shot to the 17th is akin to a military obstacle course. If we saw trees like that from Fazio, Jones or any other modern, everyone would be baying for blood.

Bob

[Tyler Kearns]

This is a 1998 aerial of Cypress Point; http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=10&X=2960&Y=20244&W=3&qs=%7cpebble+beach%7ccalifornia

The bunker at the first hole that was originally situated in front of the trees no longer exists, and was probably eliminated for the very same reasons as those on 17 and 18. In fact, there used to be two bunkers along the right hand side on No. 1 (the second being located not too far over 17-Mile Dr.), both of which have been removed.

In addition to the short fairway bunker on 14, another which was located in front of the trees along the right hand side of No. 14 fairway (right where the fairway begins to pinch in) has also been removed.

At No. 2, two greenside bunkers originally guarded the left hand side have been turned into three, but look to have maintained the same shape.

The third hole seems to have lost three bunkers, one directly behind the green, and two that were located approximately halfway between the present greenside bunkers and where the cartpath bisects the fairway. At first glance they seem superfluous, but Shackelford notes that they were constructed by Mackenzie to add difficulty in judging distances. Further, it does make the hole look more fearsome - the Mackenzie dictum of look hard, play easy.

The fairway bunkering at the turning point of the fifth hole appears to have been scaled down significantly.

The bunker behind the green at six, which used to bleed out of the enormous sand dune looks like it has been grassed over, and the large right hand side fairway bunker has been dramatically parred down in size.

At No. 10, the large fairway bunker immediately off the tee has been reduced into two smaller bunkers, and the furthest right hand side bunker in the landing zone has been eliminated.

In addition to the bunkers removed from amidst the trees at No. 17, the green has lost two bunkers which hugged the front right & left portions of the green and extended down to the rocky coast line.

Overall, it looks like much of the bunkering has lost some of it's expansiveness, and the hazards that had evolved naturally out of the sand dunes have over time, been turfed.

TK

[Mark_Fine]

Those trees at #17 make that golf hole one of the best in golf.  I agree with Bob's comment; if a modern architect (other than one of the beloved) did that, they'd be crucified.
Mark

[TEPaul]

"Tom,
The second shot to the 17th is akin to a military obstacle course."

BobH:

Hmmm, yes,yes! Very interesting. Seeing as it's Alister would you say it looks more like a British military obstacle course or more like a Boer military obstacle course?

You don't even have to answer that if you don't want to. I have a better test to determine which kind of military obstacle course it looks like.

I'll find a Boer and bring him out there. You and the Boer can flip to see who goes first. Whoever wins the toss can decide if he wants to go first or second but whoever it is---say it's the Boer, he hides somewhere on that hole and you try to shoot him. If you don't kill him in five minutes then you hide somewhere on the hole and see if he can shoot and kill you in five minutes. If neither dies in their alloted time then we all repair to the clubhouse like the gentlemen we all know we are and discuss if it looks more like a British military obstacle course or a Boer military obstacle course and whether Alister intended to hide someone on the 17th or make it so obvious that he'd get shot and killed if a few maniacs like us ever decided to actually test like this his Boer military camouflage concept applied to golf course architecture, or whether his camouflage intent was more to just tie in his man-made features with natural features.

Are you game? Again, I'll bring the Boer, the guns the ammo and the stopwatch.

[Bob_Huntley]

Tom,

I was a pretty good shot a long time ago, but it is an accepted part of their faith that a Boer can hit a duiker up the poople from three hundred yards without the need of a sling. I would try to reason with him over a brandy.

Bob

[TEPaul]

Bob:

I'm sorry! I'm not exactly a religious man and I frankly don't like talking about religion or one's faith, and so I just didn't know that it was part of the Boer faith that they can hit a dulker up the poople at three hundred yards. I’m not that sure how long #17 at CPC is but if that Boer was on the tee hunting you I make it that you’d have to be within wedge range of the green for your poople to have a chance in hell. Forget the test—let’s just take him into the clubhouse and have some brandy and ask him what kind of military obstacle course he thinks #17 looks like. Whatever he says is fine by me. When I leave 17 mile drive I have every intention of having my poople just the way it was when I entered 17 mile drive.

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