I'm a few weeks late on posting thank yous and thoughts. I was debating about beginning a new thread if only to get away from Vaughn's title to this thread!!
To Vaughn, George, Thurm and Criss, thanks for all the hard work and planning. Holding a MIDWEST Mashie outside of region was a feat of creativity but worth every second.
To Ran and Fritz, thank you for your hospitality and generosity! I've been involved on this site for nearly 25 years and and this was my first opportunity to meet them. I'm hopeful it won't be another 25 years!
To my playing partners Joe Andriole and Joe Melchoirs, sorry I couldn't help out more. And my East teammates, ouch! It's hard to believe that a third day of competition wasn't needed.
I've spent a lot of time the last few weeks thinking about Pinehurst. The Mashie was my first trip to the area and it didn't disappoint! It's easy to see why people flock to the area. Dinner at the Drum & Quill, proper nightcap drinks at The Carolina Hotel (thanks Jason, Criss, Vaughn, Brad, Sturges, George, Connor, Joe and anyone else I'm neglecting), history around every corner. Pinehurst is a special place.
Now to the golf. If anyone wants to do a deep dive into any of the courses, please feel free to contact me, add to this conversation or begin a new thread. What I wasn't expecting to find was such dramatic elevation changes!
I was able to play the following courses:
Tobacco Road: Jason Thurman warned me that he can't be friends with anyone that doesn't like this course. Despite the threat, count me in the group that really enjoys this course! It was certainly an experience like no other course I've played. I instantly liked the "feel" of the place and the way the course explores the property. Hole 6 was my favorite. The transition from hole 14 to hole 15 was a bit jarring, 16 tee shot was a bit of a head scratcher and playing 17 from the 18th tee area only to return was a bit odd. Minor squabbles on a great day and a really fun course!
Southern Pines: Of the four courses we played, this is the one I want a second crack at the most! I told Jerry Kluger on 9 tee I thought Southern Pines had a higher demand for local knowledge than Tobacco Road! Proper angles from the fairway are vital and knowing where to miss can change strategy dramatically. The 4th was my favorite. It was easy to see from old photos the improvement to the course from tree removal. I wish I had checked out the old nine holes northeast of the course but what I saw on-line doesn't look like many features still exist. Can anyone attest?? I could spend a good portion of the day on Overhills, Kyle Franz's putting course next to the first hole. I can see why Ran calls this place home.
Mid Pines: This was my favorite of the four courses. The elevation changes, especially on the back nine, were spectacular. The greens were a treat. I loved the variety of the challenges to each hole. The 12th hole was a personal favorite with it's right to left bending fairway to a green cantered and angled high right to low left. I could take a steady diet of Mid Pines!
Pine Needles: We had a rough weather day and fought rain and approaching darkness but I'm glad I got a trip around this course! All day I struggled with sight lines and choosing targets off the tee. The course was fantastic but definitely had a different feel than Southern Pines or Mid Pines. My favorite holes were 3, 8 and 11. Pine Needles also has the one hole out of the four courses I'm most interested in getting people's take. The current hole #17 was the original 18th. I was shocked at the severity of the dogleg and demand of the tee shot . Our day was quite wet so there was very little roll in the fairway. Under normal conditions, the tee shot will demand an aggressive right to left shot to stay in play. The fairway runs out quickly for any straight tee shot. It was certainly my least favorite hole we played and would have been a heck of a finisher. Anyone else have an opinion?
The Mashie proves to be one of my yearly trips I look forward to the most. I'm looking forward to 2025's edition. In the meantime, I'm scheming for a return trip to Pinehurst!
Ken