[Mark_Fine]

It fits so "naturally" there doesn't it    Actually, Fishers Island is one of my favorite courses.  This is one tough golf hole especially with the wind blowing.  

[THuckaby2]

230 over ocean is one thing;
280 is quite another.

Although come to think of it... as technology
has marched on... had they made the hole
as TEP suggests, only right about NOW would
it make sense...

They could have made the current greensite fairway,
and for all this time had one of the world's coolest
tiny par fours...

Until now, when the big sluggers can finally reach it,
they could treat it as a par three, whether it's officially
called such or not.

Of course this is what you were driving at, right Tom?

I knew you were quite the forward thinker.

 

[Mike_Sweeney]

Tom Paul,

Being from nearby Southampton and being an engineer, I assume Raynor was concerned about erosion and hurricanes on the South side. It appears from my recall that the holes hug the North/Bay side of the island (and they have had to do some rebuilds there), but the South/Ocean side hole are set back a little from the beach.

[THuckaby2]

Tom Paul,

Being from nearby Southampton and being an engineer, I assume Raynor was concerned about erosion and hurricanes on the South side. It appears from my recall that the holes hug the North/Bay side of the island (and they have had to do some rebuilds there), but the South/Ocean side hole are set back a little from the beach.

Mike you party-pooper.  Reality is so much less fun
than fantasy.

 

[Mike_Sweeney]

Tom Paul,

Being from nearby Southampton and being an engineer, I assume Raynor was concerned about erosion and hurricanes on the South side. It appears from my recall that the holes hug the North/Bay side of the island (and they have had to do some rebuilds there), but the South/Ocean side hole are set back a little from the beach.

Mike you party-pooper.  Reality is so much less fun
than fantasy.

 

Actually in looking at a picture of the 4th green, I could be wrong as it sits pretty close to the beach, but at a lower elevation and less coresponding erosion than the 5th.

[TEPaul]

MikeS:

All I can tell you is that over 75 years later all of that natural landform I'm talking about is very much still there.  

And I'll tell you another thing---if that landform could survive that Hurricane of '38 it can withstand anything. Do you realize what the Hurricane of '38 did to that island?

[ed_getka]

George,
  You are right about going down from the tees before going back up to the green. The ladies tee is probably the most intimidating of all, as they face a wall basically.
   
Tom,
   Fishers' hole probably has the least opportunity for bailout, but you don't get the sphincter-tightening of Cypress' shot.

We played in a 180 degrees from normal wind so I can only imagine how the hole normally plays at Fishers. From what I saw without the normal maintenance meld and an opposite wind, Fishers certainly deserves its exalted status.

Neil,
   Fantastic pix as always.

[THuckaby2]

Ed - thanks for the clarification - that's what
I was getting at earlier and asking about - it
really did seem from the pick that the farther
up one got, more uphill and more intimidating
the shot became.  Poor ladies!  

And re sphincter-tightening, wouldn't
one have that damn near as much as
Cypress 16 if one played Fisher 5 from
the new black tee at 229?  That looks
like a butt-tightener to me from where
Neil takes the pic.  Maybe not quite up
to 16 CPC, but then again what is?

[GOOD NATURED RIBBING BY ONE FRIEND
TO ANOTHER ABOUT BEING AMERICA'S GUEST
DELETED UPON REQUEST.]

[TEPaul]

ed:

Last time I played that hole it was into a pretty healthy wind. I think I might've hit driver to the middle of the green but to my amazement the guy I was playing against, Eddie Gibstein, a really fine MET area player and National type amateur who really was pretty long hit a 3 iron a mile in the air to the back of the green. Seeing as it was right into the teeth of a really healthy headwind I was pretty shocked and I remember telling him how shocked I was. I even remember what he said to me---"I really caught that one flush and you gotta understand I'm a big FAT healthy boy!!"

(I guess he could say that even if, over the years, he owes me about a carton of mooched cigarettes)  

[mike_malone]

 They need to get some water and chemicals on that course. It doesn't look like Augusta at all.

[Mike_Sweeney]

MikeS:

All I can tell you is that over 75
years later all of that natural landform
I'm talking about is very much
still there.  

And I'll tell you another thing---
if that landform could survive
that Hurricane of '38 it can
withstand anything. Do you realize
what the Hurricane of '38 did to that island?

Tom,

That landform has changed!
Compare right of the bunkers in Neil's picture and this one.
It barely survived the Hurricane of '38 ,
and the island was cut in 3, with one breech
basically on #2 between the ocean/beach
club and the Coast Guard House.



I am still sticking with my man Seth !

[Mike_Cirba]

Good thing some modern architects and a few folks here weren't around after that storm in 1938 as I believe many of them would have been inclined to leave those boulders in place as a "natural feature".

Better still if they were right near the green!*

*my wise-ass way of responding to the thread a few months back when so many folks were wowed by pics of a par three green somewhere in Europe that basically lay in a boulder strewn field.  Some folks even defended the possibility of a carom as something akin to golf.  

[ed_getka]

Tom,
   We kept forgetting to go back up on that black tee for a look, as it seemed virtually impossible into the wind. Apparently you can see more of the hazards and terrain from up there, so I'm not sure if that would make it seem harder or easier.
   The routing at FI is fantastic, and Gil Hanse has a master plan for doing a few touchups here and there, so I only see it getting better. With Donnie and Gil on board the course is in good hands.

[TEPaul]

MikeS:

The photo you posted is after the 1938 hurricane
and so is the picture Neil posted obviously.
What's the difference? Anyway, it's the photo
on p.49 I'm talking about (That one's after the
1938 hurricane too. . Look at all that where
the 6th tee is and even to the side of it where
that rough patch is. From the tee boxes that
would've been a more exciting carry, but again,
alas, it's about 50 yards farther from the tees--
eg perhaps 50 yards too far?!

[Mike_Sweeney]

Additionally and at the risk of being
seen by Tom Doak, he could have
moved the tee on #5 inland of #4 green
and picked up another 30-50 yards.
Thus, you end up with a short 4 of 280-300
yards, that today would be a very interesting
hole, but in 1924 may have been too boring.

[THuckaby2]

Great minds, Mike.  Go read reply #27.

 

[TEPaul]

Ed:

Yep, Gil Hanse and Donnie Beck and a man from my own club, David Wilmerding who's the personification of the "New England Yankee". What I mean by that is David is the definition of frugal, frugal, frugal, or what some at other clubs who open their wallets for too many unnecessary things might call cheap, cheap, cheap.

And that basic unwillingness to spend much money is of course a wonderful salvation for a course like Fishers Island which doesn't need it.

I heard tell of the time they were clamoring some for a fairway irrigation system (Fishers doesn't have one). Of course David didn't want any part of that but had he and his faction actually lost the vote and were forced to put one in they had a contingency plan to get Gil to put one in with a pipe diameter that was so small it wouldn't have made and difference at all and would've been virtually unusable.

They say if they were forced to do that when it was first turned on and only a little trickle came out they were gonna say; "Ah, gee, look at that, it looks like a teeeny little piss. Well, shucks, I guess we must've made a mistake on the diameter or something so probably the best thing to do since we obviously can't spend the money to fix it would be to just turn it off for good."

Who wants to guess what Green Chairman David Wilmerding's very favorite hole on that golf course is? Whomever guesses it first gets a cherry lollipop.  

My favorite hole is #9 as it has everything I love---a blind tee shot and a really great green that may get overlooked some its setting is so dramatic. Try hitting a ball into that green in a strong headwind! You tend to look at it up there and if it hits the green you sort of say to yourself--"Wooo, NASA, Appollo has landed."  

[ed_getka]

Tom Paul,
    Its great to see Donnie and Gil being backed up by Dave W. What was the situation that occurred in the 80's and early 90's, that required Donnie to do so much work to bring the course back to where it is today? Was it just benign neglect? I am just curious about this if you know what the member's philosophy was at the time.

[TEPaul]

ed;

You'd have to ask Donnie about that, I don't know. I didn't know Donnie was there then but maybe he was. I do know Fishers had a super search maybe 5-6 years ago. David Wilmerding was the guy who ran it, I think, and one time he talked to me about it. All I remember about that conversation is David said this young asst super came by but at that time it was too late. David just said he really liked that kid, that he really liked his sort of gung-ho no-nonsense attitude. For some reason that kid's name always stuck with me. It was none other than Matt Burrows!! And now I know DavidW is a little bit crazy!  

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