Doak Gets Around

[Sean_A]

It would seem that Doak IS in the business of restoration, or is it renovation?

http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/htmlsite/story.asp?id=74

Ciao

[ForkaB]

Yet another reason to take another trip to Donegal.  Life is just too short......

If Tom applies at Rosapenna (and Jim Lipe does at St. Patricks) anything close to the genius that Pat Ruddy did at Portsalon, and if Faldo can sort out the mistakes that were made at Ballyliffen, that part of the world will be even more magical than it is now.

[JohnV]

If that picture of Tom in the bucket was taken in Ireland, I think there should be no doubt that global warming is a fact.

I didn't make it to Rosapenna on my two trips to Ireland and regretted it.  Now I'll have more reason to get there.

[Brad Tufts]

I wonder how much this will affect play/be noticeable when I swing through on July 1-2...should be interesting.

[JMorgan]

If that picture of Tom in the bucket was taken in Ireland, I think there should be no doubt that global warming is a fact.

I didn't make it to Rosapenna on my two trips to Ireland and regretted it.  Now I'll have more reason to get there.

John, that pic is from Ballyneal.  

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Nice shot of Doak. Thanks Sean.

[PThomas]

fwiw, i believe that picture of Tom first appeared in GD...

reminds me of the picture of Spielberg sitting inside the shark's mouth when he was filming JAWS

[Tom_Doak]

Hmmm ... I wonder who put that information out there.

Whoever did, it's a bit premature.  I did go and look at the job, and two weeks ago I let Eric Iverson make a trip to work on four of the greensites on the newest nine holes which is not yet in play.

I've looked at the Sandy Hills layout, but it is not yet clear how or what we might do there.  The owners are concerned about playability issues and I think they're probably right in that regard ... the course is a narrow path through the dunes, and if you stray from the path you will be lucky to find your golf ball.  Also, a bit like the Cashen at Ballybunion, it is pretty hard to play your ball along the ground at Sandy Hills; you constantly have to put it up in the wind, which makes it play narrower.

Incidentally, the work at St. Patricks started in November, but it has been shut down since just after New Year's, apparently for financial reasons as all the permits are in place.

[Brad Tufts]

I'm a little confused.

There are two layouts here, the Old Tom and Sandy Hills.

I feel like I remember someone saying that the Old Tom had been worked on recently, so is that the newest 9 holes, not yet opened for play?

[Tom_Doak]

Brad:

Yes, they've built a fifth nine holes which will become the front nine of the Old Tom Morris course.  (The current front nine plays across a road twice and up a big hill -- not very links-like, and pretty dangerous.)  They have played a bit of golf over the new nine but it will not officially be part of the Morris course until the spring of 2008.

[Brad Tufts]

Thanks for the clarification Tom.

I'm sure I'll be poking around while I'm there....

[Steve Okula]

Maybe it's just me, and I mean no offense. I have never seen Tom Doak in person, but, does he bear a resemblance to Mike "throw me a frickin' bone" Meyers? (Whom I also admire, I might add.)

[Aidan Bradley]

Brad.

The OTM course is for the most part pretty flat and closer to the ocean, whereas the Sandy Hills course weaves its way through the dunes and is a little higher up and away from the sea. All the images may be seen on my website.

[Jonathan Cummings]

Tom - MAKE THE GODDAMN PLACE EASIER!!

Rosapenna-Shady Hills is beyond believable tough.  It is simply no fun - and that's at rare times it's dead still.  Add wind and the place is Hitler on steriods (stole that from Lewis Grizzard).  

I hope Pat R is reading this because I would love to know who he was designing this course for.  There can't be a course in the British Isles this difficult.  I'd love to see the pros play it - it would embarrass them all.

All - Aidan's photos are fine - Shady Hills is a beautiful spot.  But what his photos don't capture is that if you veer 1" from these tight fairways, you are nialed shut, eulogy given and six feet under.

SH was coined by a number of GOOD players I know as Shitty Hills.

It's ridiculous, unfair and unfun.

FIX IT TOM!

JC

PS - The front nine at the Old Course here at Rosapenna is terrific - reminds me of Troon-Old.

[Ray Tennenbaum]

I hope Pat R is reading this because I would love to know who he was designing this course for.  There can't be a course in the British Isles this difficult.  I'd love to see the pros play it - it would embarrass them all.

what he told me in an interview:

"There's a phenomenon -- most golfers are big-game hunters -- they may be timid as hell at home, and they may want to go off the forward tees, and want to get shots back -- but when they travel, they want to go after the big game.  I think that phenomenon is clearly established, that even the timid want to try to pull the big course apart....

"I say to guys who come to the European Club -- it's only difficult --- it's more difficult, the worse you are.  And that's the truth of it, you see -- if you're a bad golfer, life is tough, if you're a bad driver on the road, you die."

I thought it was spectacular but then I'm used to courses kicking my butt (though I actually played well that day).  If they are getting traffic, however, it's going to be endless, very few golfers can stay on the short grass all day long.

[jeffwarne]

Now I'm a bit confused.

I played Rosapenna in 1997 (the Tom Morris links as they call it now)
1-9,10 played in the linksland and then the road and big hill came into play on 11-18. Agreed not very linkslike.
Tom Doak is referring to that stretch as the front nine however.
From the Rosapenna website I was under the impression that the "fifth nine" was now in play.

I also wonder how any alterations will affect a June trip  have planned.

[Tom_Doak]

Jeff:

My mistake, the holes over the road on the Tom Morris course were indeed the last holes, as you say.  However, when the new holes come into play next year, they will be the front nine, and the Morris seaside holes will be the back nine.  (And by the way, the newest holes are in some nice dunes and I think they will combine nicely with the Morris holes.)

[Tim Pitner]

Tom,

Who is responsible for creating the new holes that will be combined with the Morris holes?

I didn't play there, but I was at Rosapenna before the Sandy Hills course was built.  The Morris holes (i.e., the links holes on the Old Course) looked like good stuff to me.  

[Tom_Doak]

Tim:

Pat Ruddy laid out the new holes, and the course greenkeeper built them.

[Brad Tufts]

After playing the two Rosapenna layouts, I have a few thoughts:

Sandy Hills, while wild and difficult, is not as impossible as what has been said here.  I thought there were several scoring opportunities (#8, #13-#15) that could offset the few inevitable bogeys here and there.  It could use a bit more room in some places (#2, #5, #10, #18 come to mind).  I'm sure I'm biased by the fact I had my best round of the trip there, but I hit some wayward shots and was able to find them and chip out and still score with a few birdies thrown in.

The Old Tom was a great fun and quirky test, as the oldest 9 along the beach was a great old test in the wind, and the back nine was a wild affair with hills, great views, and some fun holes.   I did not get to see the new 9, as it was closed.  It appears to be on the same type of dunes as #9, #10 and #17-#18 of the Sandy Hills course.  For me, I think the "newest" holes of the Old Tom course (according to the routing map in the hotel, Colt and Morrison were responsible for these holes) are a fun complement to the Old Tom front 9.  While dangerous with shots crossing roads three times, and one more crossing from a green to a tee, the roads weren't busy, and I don't see that as a huge problem.  

Are they planning on taking the hill 9 out of play totally?  It would be tough to lose those holes as they are a great and fun complement to the others, and there really are 6 or 7 great greens over there.  I'm sure a layout with the Old Tom 9 and the Ruddy 9 would be fine, but the hill 9 really made for a fun finish (with great views of the bay) of the 36 hole day.

There also was a little dunesy pitch & putt there that looked fun, but we didn't have time to check it out.