Free Golf Rhode Island

[Cliff Hamm]

Received this email today:

The weather  forecast is looking fine for the weekend.  Here is your chance to play FREE GOLF!  Just print this email and bring it in with your answer to the following question....What do the following golf courses have in common?, Wannamoisett CC, Carnegie Abbey, Misquamicut and North Kingstown.  Yes they are all great courses,they are all 18 holes, but that is not the answer.  Anyone with a correct answer will play for free this weekend.  All other answers will be put into a drawing for a free round good anytime before the snow flies.

Most are likely somewhat familiar with Wannamoisett, Carnegie Abbey and Misquamicut.  North Kingstown is a muni in need of restoration.  Off the tee not very interesting and short but with some character in the green complexes.  

From their website:  One of the premier public courses in Rhode Island.  North Kingstown Golf Course is a well maintained, classic layout designed by Walter Johnson who was a construction supervisor for Donald Ross.  Website www.nkgc.com

I don't plan on playing this weekend.  While the answer will be provided next week curious if anyone here can figure it out.

Cliff

[Mike_Sweeney]

What do the following golf courses have in common?, Wannamoisett CC, Carnegie Abbey, Misquamicut and North Kingstown.  

Carnegie Abbey being the wild card as a new course, I will guess that they are all are on land that either was or is owned by a religious group.

[Cliff Hamm]

Nope...nk is on land that was formerly a naval air base...i have my own guess, which is rather elementary and curious if others come up with anything better

[ForkaB]

All designed by Dornoch boys (Ross and Mackenzie (Tom))?

[Willie_Dow]

Cliff:  Could it all come down to acreage ?  I know Wannamoisett is less than 100 acres of play.

[Cliff Hamm]

Rich...in doing a quick web search of Walter Johnson he was a civil engineer who headed up Ross' construction team for 3  years (1927-29) when Ross couldn't keep up with the volume of work.  I suspect he was an American.

Willie...while I don't know the exact acreage but Carnegie Abbey clearly exceeds 100 acres.

The answer that I have is insultingly simple but not necesarilly correct.  Keep in mind tho this went to anyone who subscribes to the email list at North Kingstown and thus are not golf archtecture experts.

[Tom_Doak]

Cliff:

I'm betting the answer is the same as it is for Crystal Downs in Michigan ... all those courses are closed for the winter, so it's open season to go out and play for free.

[Michael Moore]

par < 72

[Cliff Hamm]

Tom...NK is a muni and open year 'round.  
Would love to play Crystal Downs free or not, snow or not

Michael...you may be on to something.  Not my answer but certainly correct.  Reminds me of when I was in college and didn't have the professor's answer, but mine was not necessarily wrong either  

[Cliff Hamm]

OK ...received the email with the answer today.  Not surprisingly but disappointing as nothing to do with architecture...They are the last four courses selected to host local qualifying for the US Open..only real surprise, maybe shock, is North Kingstown, which will hold the qualifying in  May 2006.

[Dan_Callahan]

Reminds me of when I was in college and didn't have the professor's answer, but mine was not necessarily wrong either  

Reminds me of the Cheers episode when Cliff was on Jeopardy. His Final Jeopardy answer to "What do Archibald Leach, Bernard Schwartz, Lucille LeSueu have in common?" was "Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen."

[Cliff Hamm]

That's about how it was for me.  Great quote.  Made me laugh out loud and miss the great old sitcoms.