[Jim Nugent]

Just saw some information on The Renaissance Club -- Doak's new course in Scotland -- at http://www.trcaa.com/.  The link gives you video interviews with Tom, several articles, and some pictures of the course under construction.  A quick summary of the main points I picked up...

1.  The course is located right next to Muirfield, and a mile from North Berwick.  Similar to NGLA/Shinnie/Sebonack.  Making that destination even richer than it already is for world-class golf.  

2.  It is built a few hundred yards from the beach, on and near links soil/dunes, but also has trees.  Lots of them.  It sounds like a bit of a cross between an American inland course and a pure links.  

3.  The wind is going to howl there.

4.  There will be few if any blind shots.  The land does not rise or fall more than six feet or so.  

5.  Greens will be richly contoured, naturally.  The course will have lots of bunkers.  

6.  It already is getting rave early reviews.  One person who saw it thinks it could quickly get into the world's top 50.

7.  It may open for play around mid-2007.  

If you want more of a sneak preview, and hear/see what Tom has to say, click on the link.    

[Josh Smith]

Great link.  What will Renaissance Club debut on Rans The Next Fifty?  I am guessing pretty high.  Very well put together and if design doesn't work out for Tom, I am confident he could find himself up in the booth as an anchor at The Open Championship some day.

I was expecting to see Tom holding a set of plans and pointing out over the property with a large entourage and a helicopter parked behind.  Just kidding!!!!!  

Very insightful and heres to hoping we get to see more of Tom on video as well as other architects explaining some of the things they are doing on the ground and what they love about old courses to lock in the history vaults forever.  

A few things I would rent from Blockbuster...

DeVries at Kingsley, or Greywalls and others
Doak at Pacific, Ballyneal, Barnbougle and others
Hanse at Boston GC, Rustic and others
Phillips at Kingsbarns and others
Coore and Crenshaw anywhere
Eckinrode at Barona and others
Or any restoration done by anyone who is really into the history.
 

[Josh Smith]

To go one step further...

Judging by how much I loved Stephen Goodwins Dream Golf book, Somebody needs to do a documentary following Mike Keiser and have the cameras rolling on any project he does from here until the end of time.

That would be the most interesting documentary I would have seen since Arnold S. made Pumping Iron while coming out of retirement of 5 years or so to win Mr. Olympia for the nth time.

[Joshua Pettit]

That’s not a bad idea Josh, perhaps I will do something similar next summer.

[Tom_Doak]

Josh:

Mike Keiser and I both nixed a proposed documentary on Old Macdonald.  I had way too much camera time at Sebonack and I have no interest in repeating that experience.  I was also offered the opportunity to be photographed with a set of plans in Scotland and declined; every one of my clients knows I don't do that.  

Jim N:

Yes, there are plenty of trees at The Renaissance Club.  And yes, the wind gets through them anyway.

No, the property isn't quite as flat as you said, I don't know where you got that information.  The low point of the property is 18 meters (#11 fairway); the high point is 33 meters (#13 green).  (The 12th hole is considerably uphill.)  The property is certainly not wildly undulating, but it's not flat.

Yes, there's contour in the greens, but I think it's a bit more subtle than most of our courses.  The 8th and 18th greens are certainly exceptions to that.  It's also one of the longer courses we've built, because they hope to host a Tour event someday.

And who exactly expects the course to debut in the world's top 50?  I'd just like to meet them.

[Paul_Turner]

Are the trees like Longniddry's?

[Tom_Doak]

Paul:

Yes, the trees are similar to Longniddry.  Large portions of the site were pine plantation, but there are also some very large beeches which come into play at holes 10, 11, and 15.

[Bob Jenkins]

I have just had a look at the Archerfield website and it is fabulous. Thank you for starting this thread. I became excited when I learned about Old Macdonald but this looks just as exciting.

Tom, you spoke in one of the videos about the bunkering at adjoining Muirfield and at St Andrews as being the best. Are you building bunkers similar to those at Muirfield?

Going back a few years, I recall the village of Gullane as very special with Muirfield, the Gullane courses, Longniddry nearby and others not far away. I remember playing Longniddry and looking at the card and thinking this cannot be a real course because it is too short and as I recall a par 68 or so. I could not have been further from the truth. It was a great course and tons of fun. I also recall the children's course at Gullane as very special. Blew me away that in the midst of Muirfield, Gullane No. 1 etc they would have a kids course in the middle of this little town. You are so fortunate to be able to spend so much time there but obviously you deserve it!

Good luck, although I doubt you will need it!

Bob Jenkins

[Mike_Sweeney]

I have just had a look at the Archerfield website and it is fabulous. Thank you for starting this thread. I became excited when I learned about Old Macdonald but this looks just as exciting.

I have jumped on Tom's Old Macdonald bandwagon, but I am not jumping on this bandwagon yet:

[Jim Nugent]

Tom, in one of the interviews you said something about the land not rising above eye level, so the golfer could always see where he was going.  I see what you mean now.  

Didn't hear it would open in the top 50, but that it could quickly reach there.  

[Tom_Doak]

Mike:

That tenth hole is actually one of the coolest holes there, the picture is just taken from too far back to see anything.  

It's a medium length par five with a ridge of dunes in the second shot landing area and running down along the right side of the green.  Downwind it will be reachable in two but it will be very difficult to get the ball to stay on the green, and if you miss to the right while trying to play the slope, it will be a tough up and down.

Most of that hole was actually designed by John Ashworth years ago when he laid out a golf course on this same property.  [John had hired us to build the two courses which are now Archerfield links, and he had laid out a third course on the site we eventually built on.]  We just took his idea for #10 and ran with it.

[Brad Tufts]

A quick question...is TRCAA only available to members and hotel guests...or will there be times available to outsiders?

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