Strantz was a genius. Bulls Bay is world class.

[Dan Herrmann]

After playing the Dixie Cup, I realize the genius that Mike Strantz was.  The maturing of his designs was obvious, building to Bulls Bay.

We were lucky enough to play Bulls Bay on Monday.  To say we enjoyed the experience would be a huge understatement.  Bulls Bay is one of the best courses I've ever played.

The use of angles was superb.  The bunkering was perfect.  The green complexes were amazing.  The fun factor was off the chart.

I put Bulls Bay up there with the Bandon courses.  Heck - I think it's better than BD and BT and it's as good as PD.  Granted- it's a totally different style of course, but I was blown away.

I know some folks think the man-made "mountain" isn't pure golf.  I respect those opinions.  But I disrespectfully disagree.  The elevation in an otherwise flat area add tremendously to the experience.  From the drop shots on 1 and 10 tee, to the uphill shots on 9 and 18 and the genius par 3 14th, the 'mountain' is just plain cool.

Folks, Bulls Bay is a world class course by a world-class designer that left us way too early.

--------------

By the way, I was also supremely impressed by the club itself.  It's unpretentious, has some great traditions already in place, supports collegiate golf, and has a fun membership.   Also happened to have a sighting of a multiple-major winner out for a day of golf Monday..   That doesn't happen at my home club!

--------------

(In the words of another Dixie Cupper, "This is Sand Hills in SC")

Well done Mr. Strantz.  Well done.

AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THANKS TO MIKE FOR PUTTING ON THE DIXIE CUP, AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL EVENT ENJOYED BY ALL.  YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO ATTEND THE NEXT DIXIE CUP!

[Bill_McBride]

I had a big meeting this morning back in Pensacola, so only played Caledonia on Saturday and True Blue on Sunday in the Dixie Cup in Myrtle Beach.  But I was really impressed with those two courses, and have heard that Bulls Bay is better from several trusted sources.

Caledonia was kind of jammed on that site so I really enjoyed True Blue more, but both courses have great Stranz treats - hidden fairways, deceptive distances due to ridge lines and bunker encroachment, and a variety of greens.  These two had greens less wildly contoured than Tobacco Road, which someone described as "True Blue on steroids."  

Thanks to Mike Whitaker for organizing another excellent Dixie Cup.  Some of the Westerners need to come south for some Southern cooking next year!
Mike Stranz really had it going on.  What a loss for modern golf design.......

[Craig Disher]

Dan,
I couldn't agree more. The sight of the mountain as you drive in is a little surprising but after a short time it seems very natural. Great contrasts and great beauty - I thought the green location on the 3rd hole was one of the loveliest I've ever seen in golf. The live oaks surrounding it must be at least a century old.

The 1st - when you stand on the tee, you can't wait to see what's coming next



The 14th



and the 10th. There are bunkers off the picture on the left with even more fairway behind them.

[Matt_Ward]

Dan:

I've had the pleasure in playing Bull's Bay and I too thoroughly enjoyed the layout. The layout is clearly manufactured because the traditional low country would not have such a "mountain" for the clubhouse area and several of the fall away tee shots from that position. No matter.

The layout is indeed plenty of fun and it's quite shocking the course is not rated among the top 25 by Golf Digest in its Palmetto State assessments.

No doubt the ful impact of Bull's Bay may not have hit full stride. The course is certainly a "must play" for anyone venturing to the greater Charleston area IMHO.

P.S. I especially enjoyed the 2nd hole -- superb gamble hole that is even better than what Strantz did at the same number hole at Royal New Kent.

[Dan Herrmann]

Matt,
In my humble opinion, Bulls Bay will someday be in the top 30 in the USA - let alone South Carolinia.

This may be a course that needs time for folks to appreciate.  I just got home from a 700 mile drive from Bulls Bay, and I'd do it again.  

To me, I've only played one course that I prefer from an architectural standpoint.  

And Pacific Dunes isn't the one that I prefer.  Remove the Pacific, and I'll be so bold as to say that Bulls Bay is better in many facets.  And I LOVE Pacific Dunes!

And the staff was all first rate too.  No attitude, friendly, and anxious to help a total stranger from up North.  This during a big inter-club match that could have easily and understandably redirected their attention.

It was one of the best days of golf we've ever experienced.

-----------

PS - There's also a wonderful painting of Mike Strantz on his horse with his two dogs in the club's great room.  It's a wonderful tribute.

[Tim Gavrich]

How do the greens at Bulls Bay compare to those at True Blue and Caledonia, size-wise?  Are they Bermuda, Tif___, or Bent, or something else?  Also, are the bunkers shallower than the bunkers at True Blue and Caledonia, or deeper?

One more thing: True Blue, Caledonia, and Tobacco Road all have clubhouses from which one can watch players finish 18 while one eats lunch or just sits on the porch.  This is one of the lesser aspects of golf that really enhances the experience.  There are few more enjoyable moments of relaxation than sitting on the porch at Caledonia, watching people battle the 18th.  Does Bulls Bay have such a clubhouse setup?

Thanks.

[Dan_Callahan]

Tim,

Royal New Kent and Stonehouse have the same view overlooking 18.

[Jason Mandel]

First off, enough words of gratitude can not be expressed to the job Mike Whitaker did this weekend.  He was an absolutely outstanding host the entire weekend.  Mike really took the bull by the horns so to speak and made sure this weekend turned out better than any of us could have hoped for.

There was hardly a minute all weekend that wasn't planned for us and to that I know all of us are grateful.

As far as Bulls Bay goes, put me in the group that was BLOWN AWAY by this place.

What a world class golf course, staff, and clubhouse they have there.  If Bulls Bay is Mike Strantz's living tribute, its a hell of a one.  I can see why Mike and Forest decided to make BB there permanent home.

I was expecting a very good course, as I have played Caledonia, True Blue, Tobacco Road, and some of the courses Mike worked on with Fazio, but I never on earth could have expected the course I saw yesterday.

I think BB has one of the strongest sets of  par 3's on any course I've ever played.  

The holes that play on the mountain, 9, 14, and 18 are all spectacular.  14 has got to be one of the most spectacular par 3's ever built, just a world class hole.  5 is a magnificent par 4, as is 16.  13 is a spectacular par 5.

I had the great pleasure to play the course with Jay Flemma, whose love for Bulls Bays is obvious.  Mike Christensen and I enjoyed just watching Jay enjoy the course and the surrounds.  Bulls Bay is all that is good in golf.  Mike Strantz will be sorely missed forever, but he will never be forgotten, epsecially at Bulls Bay.

Jason

[Dan Herrmann]

Jason,
Well said, my friend, well said...

Laura is still going on about her experience.  Total golf joy.  (of course, she's really happy because she won her match 4&2 and put one in from 120 yards on the 5th...  I lost 4&3 to Doug, a BB member that was an absolutely wonderful playing companion, tour guide, and great gentleman - The type of person with whom you love to spend time).

Here's a very cool club tradition...  The club has a real bull that is usually on a farm, but has a second home down off #10 fairway.  A winner of a major club event needs to validate his victory by taking a victory ride on the bull.  If he is able to ride the bull, his glory is assured...  This is a club that 'gets it'...  

Last thing - BB has a wonderfully interesting sense of place.  You feel like you're out west, but there are occasional views of marshland where you can see ships in the distance navigating the intracostal waterway.  We saw a gator too.  The clubhouse has a Wyoming feel to it too.

They even have a secret spiral staircase in the back corner of the men's locker room that leads to an upstairs locker room and one of the best lounges I've ever seen.

The place reeks of class.

I consider myself very fortunate to have experienced such a special place.

[RJ_Daley]

I'll be posting some thoughts when I get settled in from travel, and after golf back home tomorrow.  But, here is one of the more moving scenes that I think the Dixie Cup was all about this year.  

And, a big thanks to Mike Whitaker for organizing the tour d'Strantz and making it a memorable event.  Without a doubt there were some real champion class act members that helped make the group feel very welcome at Bull's Bay.  And, in my particular case, no one outshines Ed Galbavy of Yeaman's Hall as being a hero to bail me out of a tight situation.

[John_Conley]

I wasn't playing in your event, but I was in Myrtle Beach last Wednesday and Charleston on Thursday.  On my way back to the M.B. airport on Friday I poked my head in to see Bull's Bay and was stunned.

It sure looks like my kind of course.  I don't live anywhere nearby but I was interested in getting membership information.

[Dan Herrmann]

John - Membership info: http://www.bullsbaygolf.com/membership.html

Here's Mike's sketch of #14:

[John_Conley]

Dan, Thanks!

[Jamey Bryan]

I have to echo everything previously said about:

1.  The SUPERB job Mike did in organizing the trip.
2.  The great courses.
3.  The overall greatness, especially, of Bulls Bay.

Dixie Cup III was a wonderful experience shared with a great group of folks who share the love of great golf courses.  Sharing the excitement as we viewed Bulls Bay was a real rush.

Tim, to answer some of your questions....

There are a variety of bunker depths at Bulls Bay.  The waste areas are the typically shallow variety (they generally double as the cart paths), but there are many hazards which vary from very shallow to moderately deep.  Some of the moderately deep variety play more severely, as they may be set 10' to 15' below the green surface.

The greens are bent; I'm told they generally run between a 10 to 12 stimp.  Most of the Bulls Bay greens are smaller than those at True Blue, as you might expect on a private vs a resort course (there are a couple of exceptions for strategic reasons).  I found the internal contouring in the green complexes incredible.  Many, many examples where a good shot would funnel to the hole while a poor one would leave a very difficult two putt.

There are many holes where a "miss" in the wrong place is severely penalized, while a "miss" in  the right place leaves a fairly easy save.  Mike gave me a great example on 9.....  His approach stopped about 10 yards short of the green, then rolled back 80 yards or so down the hill!  (He still made one of the best pars I've ever seen).  A miss slightly long, though, leaves an easy chip (just don't chip long).

The clubhouse is one of the best I've ever seen.  There's a wrap-around porch with views of 9, 18, and a couple of other greens as well as of 6-8 fairways.  There's an observation deck outside the lounge in the men's locker room which views all the bay direction holes, and a 40+ mile panorama (views from Dewees Island to the Atlantic, Bulls Bay, and Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms.  One of the most incredible vistas I've ever seen.

One personal note....    Dan commented on Strantz's use of angles through the course and I echo this entirely.  Rarely have I seen tee placements which moderate both angle and distance so well as one moves up through the tees.  Having said that, we had folks playing different tees in our group and we noticed that a couple of the par threes had somewhat more awkward angles from the shorter tees.  Had he had the chance, I'd suspect Strantz might have wanted to tweek these positions a little.

In summary, an OUTSTANDING outing.  Thanks again to Mike for organizing it, to everyone for participating, and to everyone for my having the opportunity to be there.

Jamey

[Jason Blasberg]

But do they have turtle soup?

We toured Bulls Bay a couple of years ago but alas the course was closed due to rain.  

There's a reason why the late and great Mr. Strantz made Bulls Bay home.  

I can certainly echo the Club's warmth to informed vistors and hope to soon play the Lady we saw only from a distance.  

In total, I'm not yet sure where BB sits in the Strantz portfolio as I've played only, Caledonia, Royal New Kent, Stonehouse and Tobacco Road, but it's going to be a worthy journey to visit them all and experience what will be always . . . uniquely genius-Strantz architecture.  

For what it's worth I often think about the tee shot on 10 and the 12th green at TR.  

In fact, if the Man Upstairs gave me the chance to play only one course for the second time it would be, hands down, Tobacco Road.

Thanks Mike.

[Dan Herrmann]

Jason,
I've played Tobacco Road, and to me, BB is a significantly superior course.   Don't get me wrong, TR is darn good, but BB is, as I said earlier, world-class.

[TEPaul]

Strantz very well may've been a genius, I wouldn't for a second say he wasn't. And we did look very carefully at some of Bulls Bay. I can see exactly what Dan Hermann is talking about in praising perhaps the way that golf course plays.

On the other hand, and despite the fact that Strantz very well may've been an architectural or artistic genius, that kind of massive earth moving and shaping will probably just never sit well with me aesthetically.

I just can't see the necessity of it. If he would've provided the same kind of golf he did but simply toned down the massive shaping and earth-moving into something that sort of fit into the look and feel of that Carolna land I'd be willing to say he probably was even more of a genius.

I mean no disrespect to Strantz or his memory at all---this is just my perogative as an observer and critic of an artform.

[Dan Herrmann]

Tom,
Your point is certainly well taken, and is an opinion probably shared by many.  In fact, when I first heard about "the mountain" on Saturday, I cringed.

However, I think it added to the golf experience.

[Jamey Bryan]

Tom

To a certain degree, I tend to agree with you.  As I looked back over the course from the porch drinking my post-round beer, I wondered how much I'd want to play Bulls Bay every day.  Eventually, I determined that Bulls Bay is one of the best examples of modern, very dramatic golf architecture around.  It's as different from more subtle classic courses as it can be, but it requires the same shot values.

It's interesting that the current club champion at Bulls Bay is also the reigning champion at Yeamans Hall.

[John Foley]

I love Strantz's work. Here is Bulls Bay off of Google. Looks pretty amazing.

 

[RJ_Daley]

I had a few photos that are OK, but really this link has Bulls Bay very well photographed and anything I could put up isn't nearly as good.  Thanks for the aerial John, I captured that too.

http://www.golfarchitecturepictures.com/Web%20Galleries/USA/S%20Carolina/Bulls%20Bay/index.htm

Tom, I think your point about the oddity of such a mountain in the midst of the low country has a logical and aesthetic reasoning in general.  However, in this particular case, I think the mountain created with the project is the platform in which this particular artist-GCA needed to paint his picture and vision.  

Mike Whitaker said it best one night while we were all discussing what Mike Strantz did with his work.  At every point of every hole corridor, while you progress down the FW, you have a new frame of visual sensation, balance, exciting golf projected to your eye, with plenty of strategy and deception.  You readily see the beauty, yet you also are drawn to visual golf cues that offer you a safety valve for the cautious player, and are drawn into challenge hazards and acute approach angles for obvious advantages if you can pull them off.  Some of the depth and distance visuals were just stunning to me, even for one that enjoys and has seen great features like that in natural sand hills.  All of Mike's visuals had to be created, but are greatly effective.

I don't know how I get so lucky.  But I was thrilled to play with some really excellent players all weekend.  Of course Ed Galbavy is a treat to watch as he has the long ball and wonderfully controlled draw into greens.  Doug Carnes, a member of BB, is a silky smooth player who reminds me of a gent I played with once who lives somewhere in the Monterey Penn, and talks with a rather distiguished accent...

But, my partner at BB, a member named Darrell Connelly, was amazing.  I got to watch a real player take on this course, so I didn't have to gauge the course from my pathetic game's point of view  

Darrell shot a 71 and really missed a couple key putts that could easily have been about a 67-8!  Oh, and by the way, did I mention that he also once shot 63 at True Blue...  Darrell left us raving for more as he stuck his drawing approach on 18, off the back left sideboards, to less than a foot!!!!!  I'd have taken Darrell in a shoot out with that other fellow we noticed out there practicing, some guy named Tom who apparently won a couple of times on tour and around GB&I in some little open they put on over there...

Damn, what a great time we had...

[Craig Disher]

TEP,
The aesthetics of the shaping are much better when viewed from the golf course than from the access road. The approach to the clubhouse is much more gradual from there and the holes coming back to the clubhouse add increasingly more contour until the sharp uphill finishes at 9 and 18.

I think my initial reaction was close to yours but it certainly changed when I was playing the course. I was also curious as to how much the dramatic mounding was motivated by Mike Strantz's vision or the request of the owner to create something  very different from the other courses in the area.

[Michael Whitaker]

In respect to "forcing" an interesting course onto a bland piece of property, I think Bulls Bay is comparable to Kingsbarns. Both were built on land that was originally completely flat... both are critized for being "unnatural"... and both will stand the test of time as two of the worlds great courses and golf experiences. Hell, there is even talk that Kingsbarns might host the British Open some day!

[Bryce Mueller]

i'm glad you guys liked it. I have a psuedo honorary membership cus of having the course record there, and I find myself every weekend wanting to leave school and get a couple of rounds in. On another note, was there an outrageously attractive asst. pro named kelly in the shop??? When i was there in the summer, my teammates and I decided she was the best looking girl we had ever seen working at a golf course...

[RJ_Daley]

Also, I might make note that I didn't see the course as being unwalkable.  I'm sure it is no harder than say, Sand Hills.  Yet, due to some extra New Castles and little sleep, I didn't try to walk it.  I surely would like to.  Craig and Jay did, and they didn't look too roughed up after the round.  Although, poor Jay has shin splints, yet he still walked!

Bulls Bay is a light house of sorts.  Views all around, each a new visual frame to all directions out, and a beacon from the outlying holes back to the clubhouse.  It is a treat outward and inward bound from the central hill feature.  And, the course ownership has a covenant that housing must not be overtly visable from the course and are to remain hidden in the woods.  I think the entire course for the pleasure of golf and as a project is bulletproof.