Ted,
For you to plunk down your hard earned money to join Pine Hill you need to be a believer in that style of architecture. Twisted Dune is a fine representative of the exact opposite style.
If the dunes were closer to play they would be extremely penal. My guess is that Archie was affected to a great extent by his time at Pine Valley. I see big space at TD with strategic options available , but with "death" for the seriously missed shot. That is what I feel at PV. You can't offer "width" options without space.
I find that there is quite a lot of elevation change for a flat spot. #2 is a downhill approach;you spoke of # 4' s wonderful approach; #9 from all the back is downhill off the tee ; there are two greens that sit down among the dunes giving you a downhill look;# 14 is a tough uphill approach as well.
#3 at 235 yards may have missed your eye. There is a move from left to right up to ridge top in the green then a move down to the right to the back of the green. This causes uncertainty in your mind off the tee.
#13 is another par three that appeals to me. The water on the right is there to cause fear and there is huge space over the left bunker. But if the pin is short right you have a major putting problem from the safer back of the green. So, you don't HAVE to deal with the water unless you want to get close to the hole!
#15 is a forced carry par three that has a punchbowl feel. Hit it to the back/middle and watch it roll back to the pin.
My opinion of the greens is that they have several distinct pin placements available with real choices for your approach. For the penal school the penalty must be severe for missing the correct spot; for the strategic you just have a more challenging next shot.
Tom Paul talks about the big world of architecture. There is room for both penal and strategic. But, I prefer strategic; I think it is more fun to have a shot after a mistake.
Interesting points . . .
And I do agree with the idea of offering a shot after a mistake.
Twisted certainly isn't demanding off the tee. You have to hit is WAY OFFLINE to be in those dunes.
Pine Hill is a little too penal for me to call it ideal, but not overly so.
You wrote that, "If the dunes were closer to play they would be extremely penal". You are right. If the dunes, with all that tall grass on them were closer to the fairways they would be increasingly more penal.
My comment had more to do with putting some big rolling hills/dunes in the fairways. Make the landscape of the fairways match that of the edges. Why have super-flat fairways alongside dunescape after dunscape.
I'm not looking to pinch the fairways at all. I like the width, I just don't like the obvious containment nature of the dunes. If some of that dirt was used to create some movement and mounds in the fairways, the overall feel of the place would be much more authentic. And I'm guessing that those mounds could be used to create an awful lot of the strategy that you really like.
Now to the holes that you mentioned . . .
#3 - WIDE OPEN in front. I played the back tees and wouldn't really consider any 235 yard hole a birdie opportunity. It was an easy decision for me to hit 4 iron short of the green, chip on, and have a good look at par. I think that hole would be more interesting if it was shorter, more people might try to hit it close and bring some of the trouble into play. If you can hit the ball 210-230 yards, reasonably straight, you are looking at a pretty simple up and down for par at worst. I imagine that you can bring a very big number into play if you miss that green left or right.
#4 - Great approach . . .couldn't agree more.
#2 - I'm starting to remember that hole a little bit. I thought it was very bland.
#9 - That tee shot begs for a big drive. I hit a lousy drive and had no trouble making par.
#13 - Another long par3. A more testing hole than many on the course. The green is big and didn't really do much to interest me. The water right can make you a little nervous I suppose, but I felt that the green was big enough to reduce any real anxiety. On a windy day that hole could be a completely different story . . .
#15 - I don't really remember it.
As to your comments regarding plunking down my hard earned money to join Pine Hill and believing in that style of GCA . . .
Is Pine Hill my idea of great GCA, bullet-proof in design?
The short answer is no.
I think PH is clearly an ABOVE AVERAGE DESIGN that has a handful of OUTSTANDING holes. And you know what . . .
the price is right.
A lot of things went into my decsion to plunk down my hard earned money and I don't mind sharing what some of those things were:
1. I thought the course would challenge me for years to come. I thought my game would improve as I played there. PH demands good golf shots if it is going to yield good scores.
2. My wife could join with a nominal extra fee. Being new to the area, Pine Hill was/is a GREAT place for me to spend time with my wife and meet other couples.
3. Access to the other Club Max Courses is/was a HUGE FACTOR for me.
4. I love the membership director. She made my wife and I feel very comfortable with our first "private club experience".
5. I like the idea of a non-member owned Club. I don't have any desire to deal with the politics involved with many member-owned clubs.
-Ted