[Billsteele]

   Barney's thread on golf writers and what they do for you got me thinking about this. One of the things I look for in any writing is the ability to give me insight or a sense of an event, time or place. While I realize that the best way to experience or evaluate a golf course is to play it, some of us will never see the vast majority of golf courses discussed here.
   However, there are times when a description really captures the essence of a golf course or a particular hole. I am not talking about course profiles. The ones on this site are, for the most part, excellent but more like essays or travelogues. What I refer to is a short/pithy/concise description that nails it.
   To me, the best I have ever come across is Brad Klein's description of the 9th at Myopia, contained in A WALK IN THE PARK: "Consider the club's most famous hole, the 136-yard, par 3 9th. The green here, surrounded by deep bunkers, is only 2,100 square feet large (small) and measures exactly 19 feet in width. There's nothing to hit to and even less to miss."
   I have been fortunate enough to experience Myopia. Brad's last sentence captures the hole perfectly. Does anyone else have other examples which they feel get right to the heart of a course or hole?

[Eric Franzen]

I really like some of Geoff Shackelfords descriptions of certain holes in "The art of Golf Design". Have to dig that book out of the shelf again.



 

[Doug Wright]

Not to be too much of a homer   but I'm partial to many of Ran's course descriptions on here. They point out a lot of aspects of a course that are of interest without embellishment. I'm particularly fond of the Sand Hills description becuase that is what drew me into GolfClubAtlas 5+ years ago via a Google search.  

Happy New Year.

[Shane Sullivan]

I recently played in a scramble where one of the hole descriptions warned of the hidden bankers.

[wsmorrison]

Anything and everything written by Jim Finegan!  His three books on UK golf courses and travel are excellent.  He's working on a new book on Ireland as we speak, er type.

Jim has written about hundreds of holes and he manages to describe each in different and appealing ways.  If you know how he speaks and use that "voice" as you read to yourself, well it doesn't get much better than that.

[A_Clay_Man]

There's one about some sea going neredowell masticating
on cutlery.

[Lloyd_Cole]

Jim Finnegan's description of Foxy at Dornoch.

[Mark_Fine]

I love Jim Finegan's books.  He even allowed Forrest and I to use one of his stories/descriptions in our hazards book about the huge fairway bunker on #4 at Royal St. George's.  It's about Reg Glading's experience with that bunker in a playoff during the 1979 English amateur and giving new meaning to the term "sudden death"  

I have to say though that I was surprised to hear during a conversation with Jim, that he loved the new course at The K-Club in Ireland.  I've played it and Jim's glowing description of it shocked me for someone who you would think would love a more natural style golf course.  He's the first person I've come across that loved it.  It just goes to show that you never know what opinion someone will have about a design.
Mark

[Jack_Marr]

I love Jim Finegan's books.  He even allowed Forrest and I to use one of his stories/descriptions in our hazards book about the huge fairway bunker on #4 at Royal St. George's.  It's about Reg Glading's experience with that bunker in a playoff during the 1979 English amateur and giving new meaning to the term "sudden death"  

I have to say though that I was surprised to hear during a conversation with Jim, that he loved the new course at The K-Club in Ireland.  I've played it and Jim's glowing description of it shocked me for someone who you would think would love a more natural style golf course.  He's the first person I've come across that loved it.  It just goes to show that you never know what opinion someone will have about a design.
Mark

Hi Mark

I have played it and really liked it too. Putting any architectural judgement aside, I just found it great fun to play. It's description as an "inland links" is a bit off, though.

[Sean_A]

I agree, Jim Finegan is tough to beat when describing courses/holes.  He never ceases to astound me with his insight and opinions.  He uses terms such as classic", "marvelous", "delightful" and "great" to such an effect that it is impossible to tell which he prefers.  That is why I will read anything he writes.  It is also comforting to know that he is confident enough not to include photos.  Not having photos in a golf book is akin to preferring radio to tv.  Who would of thunk such a thing possible?

How can I not love a guy who proclaims without a hint of shyness:  "I see no reason to back away from an unflinching conclusion: Pennard is a very great course, in my experience one of the twenty greatest in the world."?

Ciao

Sean

[Mark_Fine]

Jack,
It's just such an artifical golf course with all the fake rock walls and tremendous amount of earth shaping, etc. that I was surprised Jim would like it.  You never know.  But I will say it is not in the same league "architecture-wise" as the new course down the street    You know which one I mean.
Mark

[Jeff_Brauer]

If you are talking about literature, yes, Finnegan is hard to beat.  But if you are talking scorecards or brochures, that is a different matter.  I don't want to hijack the thread, but the simple fact is most scorecard descriptions written by the head pro (or whomever, even gca types are guilty) are just terrible.

"Try to avoid the bunkers."  "Club Selection is important here" and "The middle of the fw is the place to be" are staples.  To quote my teenagers, "Well, duh!"

[Jack_Marr]

Jack,
It's just such an artifical golf course with all the fake rock walls and tremendous amount of earth shaping, etc. that I was surprised Jim would like it.  You never know.  But I will say it is not in the same league "architecture-wise" as the new course down the street    You know which one I mean.
Mark

Mark,

Yes, the fake rocks make you scratch your head. And yes, that course down the road is still more enjoyable, even though it has beaten me up a few times.

Jack

[TEPaul]

The description I like best of a hole unfortunately I can't quote verbatim. It's about the famous #10 Riviera and it's something to the effect that the hole is like a shameless hussy sitting alone at the end of the bar with her skirt hiked up, a cigarette dangling from her lips and a look on her face like; "You think you're something special, Big Boy? Well, come on down here and see what you can do with me!"

[TEPaul]

Jim Finegan!

If you think some of the things he writes are great you should try talking to the guy sometime. He is far more incredible in person.

Jim is a wiry little guy and he often speaks with such passionate gusto as to truly surprise those who don't know him.

For instance I called him on the phone the other day and said:

"Jim, this is Tom Paul."

There was his usual five or so second pause and then just booming out of my phone comes:

"WELL, INDEED IT IS!!!"

One time I was playing the Cricket Club with Michael Bamberger (the writer) who's a close friend of Finegan's. Philly Cricket is his home course and on the back nine we were laughing at some of the things Jim sometimes says and we were on the 16th tee and Michael said he was playing the course with Jim one time and it occured to him on that tee that it was Jim's turn to play but he wasn't on the tee so Michael looks around and Jim is at the back tee looking down the hole with his arms stretched out to the heavens and his eyes opened wide.

Michael asked him if something was wrong and Jim virtually explodes, "CLASSIC AMERICAN DOGLEG LEFT!!!"

Then Michael said only Jim could think of a phrase like that--for instance what exactly is a classic AMERICAN dogleg left compared to a dogleg left somewhere other than America?

[Kyle Harris]

The description I like best of a hole unfortunately I can't quote verbatim. It's about the famous #10 Riviera and it's something to the effect that the hole is like a shameless hussy sitting alone at the end of the bar with her skirt hiked up, a cigarette dangling from her lips and a look on her face like; "You think you're something special, Big Boy? Well, come on down here and see what you can do with me!"

I remember "shameless harlot" being somewhere in there too.

[wsmorrison]

Tom is being modest so I will say that he does a very close imitation of Jim Finegan speaking complete with arms gesticulating and spread wide.  It is hilarious!

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