A.G. Crockett:
I didn't go out of way to play Ocean View but it served a purpose as I explained at the outset and I certainly didn't fint it through Goggle as you imply. You are the joker who throws forward your home course as a model in which bermuda type courses are prepared. Instead of saying that your course may not be the way others are prepared you simply hunker down and fail to state otherwise and then when pushed by me fail to admit the obvious. There are a number of courses with bermuda -- fairways and greens -- that may not prepare them any better than courses in the cooler climates with bent grasses and the like which overwater and as a result cause the courses to play much slower and never fully accentuate their inherent design elements.
Try to be a bit more forthcoming and a bit more specific to your analysis.
Matt,
I don't really know what this means, so I probably shouldn't try to respond, but I'm in this deep, so here goes.
The club that I belong to on the north end of metro Atlanta is typical of most courses in the Virginia, NC, SC, GA, and so on in that we have bermuda fairways and bent grass greens. The course is set up to play as firmly as possible, and indeed does play that way most of the year. When it doesn't, it is typically because we have:
a. gotten a series of heavy afternoon thundershowers, often for days at a time, in the case of the fairways in the spring and early summer
b. we are having to water the greens heavily to keep them alive in the late summer heat and/or drought
c. late in the winter the course gets soggy in spots until the bermuda comes out since we do not overseed.
What I am saying about my course is consistent with the vast majority of private clubs, and many daily fee courses in the region. For much of the year, they play as firm and as fast as recent rainfall allows, which is true EVERYWHERE, including NJ.
I've played courses that weren't bermuda based, and I don't see a massive, unbearable difference in terms of how fast a course plays, PROVIDED that the owners aren't trying to sell real estate and keep the course Augusta-green.
In your original post, you wrote the following:
"I am traveling through the Commonwealth of Virginia and have to say that the usage of bermuda -- both fairways and greens during summer months is absolute torture for both a playing standpoint and from an architectural exericse."
Despite constant prompting, you have named exactly ONE course in the entire state with bermuda greens.
In post #18, you wrote:
"Mike:
I make it a point to play the more noted courses in the USA. I try to avoid the dog tracks I played when I grew up and learned the game. My comments are meant for the so-called better name courses."
Then, in post #86, you write:
"Guys, allow me to clue you in -- I just don't play top pedigree layouts. My wife is with me on this trip and I wanted something for her to play that would not be too taxing. I also enjoy the service models that Billy Casper provides and since I was in the area and tight for time to play the opportunity to play Ocean View worked into the schedule."
"When I do a round-up of facilities on my trips and feature them in forthcoming writings I try to include a smattering of different courses. Some are top tier -- some much less so. I do no less for courses in New Jersey."
What do you want us to do with these comments? That isn't "playing gotcha", or you being "badmouthed by ignorant people", or "tweaking your chain" or "being clowns". That's trying to get you to hold yourself to the standards that YOU claim you have, and to back up your comments and generalizations with facts and specifics. Do you expect less of others than that? Should we expect less of you?