Any thoughts on Bill Love?

[George Pazin]

He just designed a new course in my area called Cranberry Highlands: http://www.cranberryhighlands.com/

I can't believe someone designed a course practically in my back yard & I missed all the construction - it opened last weekend.

He apparently also designed the TPC at Avenel & Tom's River (another Burgh course).

Cranberry Highlands (Cranberry because it's a muni course in Cranberry Township, Highlands because it's relatively un-treed, so it's obviously a Scottish links course ) looks moderately interesting - I'll be checking it out soon & hopefully coming back with a report & photos.

[Scott_Burroughs]

If he designed TPC @ Avenel, then he used to work for Ault, Clark, & Associates, who are the credited design team of Avenel.

Still doesn't make it a high quality course.  Just love that feature of 3 of the closing 4 holes directly into the setting afternoon sun.  It does have some good, strategic risk/reward par 5's, #6 and #13, and the good reachable par 4 #14 that is a good risk/reward hole.  I also liked the up and down long par 4 15th (though into the sun).  I think #9 is still one of the most hated par 3's on Tour.

[George Pazin]

Scott -

I don't know about the Avenel thing - it's what the local newspaper guy mentioned in this past weekend's review of CH. But this guy is not very sharp, unless his reviews really dumb it down.

[Mike_Cirba]

George;

Bill Love was not responsible for TPC Avenel, although he was an associate for Edmund Ault's (and subsequently son Brian's) firm at the time it was built.  That course's design ultimately should be attributed to "TPC", as in "Total Project Catastrophe", with too many hands in the pot.

He did build Tom's River, and a few other well-regarded courses in the region since leaving the Ault firm (i.e Dauphin Highlands, Baywood Greens, Lees Hill, Penn National Iron Forge, etc.)

He's fond of building fun short par fours, and some of his bunkering work is very strategic as well as visually impressive.  I like most of his work a good deal.  

[George Pazin]

Mike -

Funny you mention the short par 4s - there is a tour of the course on the website & I was struck my the abundance of short par 4s.

The course is also clearly designed as a fun municipal course with no pretense at being a championship venue - sounds good since I pretty own a muni style game, definitely not a championship one.

[Mike_Cirba]

George;

It's sort of funny.  There are a LOT of courses built in my area by "Ault/Clark", and for a decade between say the late 80s to the late 90s almost inevitably I would find that my favorites of theirs were done by Bill Love as the principal architect.

These days, they have a pretty talented guy by the name of Dan Schlegel who is doing some nice work.  

I have a hunch you'll find holes designed with a lot of strategy and thoughtfulness at Cranberry Highlands.  I'll be interested to hear your report.