I enjoyed Joe Gay's feature interview about Tobacco Road. It is interesting to hear the golf pro's take on design and operations. It was also interesting to see Joe's reference to The Old Course as I share much the same sentiment. It took me a few years to get to Tobacco Road and prior to my first round there, I heard nothing but negative about it from fellow architects and others. It was "tricked up", "too blind", "unfair", "impossible to maintain", "I would never do that".
Upon seeing it the first time and playing it a few more times since, I love it, as an Architect and a player. I think my Architect friends are more jealous of the opportunity Strantz was afforded more than anything.
The main point I make about Tobacco Road is that it is the closest experience to golf in Scotland that I have seen in a long time, especiallyaround the Sandhills. Many people are surprised about this reference which seems a bit "off". The characteristics that make me feel this way are the semi-blind shots, the ragged look of many of the bunkers, and the creation of dunes. It is just a lot of fun to play and much fairer than people give it credit.
The best part of Tobacco Road has to be the greens, though. Properly done, the greens have great contour yet are not mown too fast to handle the slope. In this instance, they remind me of The Old Course and its great putting surfaces. Proper green speeds and great contours are going by way of the Dodo Bird quickly. It is good to see a place where that trend is bucked.
p.s. one must see the 7th hole , with a generous landing area and a great green that just screams CB MacDonald.