Nicklaus and Sand Hills....

[Joe Hancock]

I might have play it once but not spend too much time there and focus on my job.

By most opinions, you'd have to play at least once to be legitimate....apparently it's a detrimental career move to not even see it. How can a guy possibly make it without the golfclubatlas seal of approval?  

Joe

[Patrick_Mucci]

Nicklaus played NGLA around the time of the 1986 open at Shinnecock.  At the time, the 8th was his favorite hole there....and he got the club to raise the eleventh fairway so that the green could be seen at least from the right side.

Even NGLA makes a mistake every now and then.

How many golf courses have heard suggestions from a PGA Tour Pro, who upon playing their course, makes suggestions to modify the design ?  

How many golf courses have listened to them and implemented the suggested changes ?

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tony:

That was a few years ago, and Jack has seen a few other courses since that time.  I know he played National with Jim Lipe a few years back, he also played in events at Ballybunion and at Royal County Down, presumably not just because he was trying to win money there.  I would guess that if you went down the list of the top 100 courses in the world, Jack has played more of them than 80-90% of the people on this board -- and he is MUCH more familiar than most of us with places like Pebble Beach and St. Andrews.

While we were working at Sebonack, he did go out of his way to take some of his associates to Friars Head ... but that is the only Coore & Crenshaw course he's seen, and Sebonack is the only one of mine.  I don't think he believes he has much to learn from other practicing architects, and it puts him in an awkward position when he goes to a new course, because no one will let him just play and not tell them what he thinks.

Tom Doak,

That creates an interesting question, or dilema.

Is there a threshold point, beyond which one's creativity will be compromised by exposure to other golf courses ?

Or, is the concept of continually adding to one's data base a stimulant for the creative process ?

[PThomas]

Nicklaus played NGLA around the time of the 1986 open at Shinnecock.  At the time, the 8th was his favorite hole there....and he got the club to raise the eleventh fairway so that the green could be seen at least from the right side.

Even NGLA makes a mistake every now and then.

How many golf courses have heard suggestions from a PGA Tour Pro, who upon playing their course, makes suggestions to modify the design ?  

How many golf courses have listened to them and implemented the suggested changes ?

has the change Jack wanted stayed , or did NGLA take it out?

[Patrick_Mucci]

Paul Thomas,

It remains.

However, I wonder how much of the retention of the change is supported by the impact on drainage in the affected area and how much is purely architectural.

I like the blind nature of the hole.

The longer you hit your drive, the more likely you are to be blind

[Jerry Kluger]

DR and SH are far less than 50 miles apart - driving they are 45 minutes apart but as the crow flies they are just over the hill from each other.