Aerial of the Day #179 (and 180) - 23 Aug 2002

[Scott_Burroughs]

After 178 aerials all around the country, covering 30-some
states and trying to include everyone in some capacity, can
you believe that I have yet to do one from this golf-loaded
area?  (No, it's not Tucson, as you can tell, which also hasn't
been coevered).

Oversight fixed.  Actually, this aerial was scheduled several
weeks ago, during Stork week, but I changed things around.

One very prominent feature form this area ain't so easy to
see from this angle!




For the stumper, nothing like very tall and thick trees and a
late-day sun to shadow a good chunk of this course.

I'm curious to hear if a certain person did a "renovation"
here, as those bunkers look very familiar.

Has a gilled Kevin Costner played here?


Off to a meeting.....

[Robert Kimball]

What a great golfing area indeed for #1.  I don't even know if that is the best course in the area.  But I wouldn't want to harbor any ill will towards it. . . .
  

[Scott_Burroughs]

#1 is one of the most recognizable courses around, if you
ever watch golf on TV.

As you can see, this course is notoriously tight with trees.

For #2, the neighbors tried to look out their windows to view
this course, but couldn't because too many bugs prevented viewing.

The trees in this aerial should help with location.

Are things-a-brewin' nearby for someone else to put their
name on the trophy?

[WilliamWang]

okay got it now, calling craig e. and cos!

scott - did you actually watch waterworld???

[George_Danenhauer]

One even a newbie can get (few and far between for me I'm afraid).  I'd like to "tour" all "18" on the first course someday (having been involved in a certain litigation).

[Scott_Burroughs]

Yes, I saw Waterworld.  Good premise.  Bad bad guys.  The
whole Smokers idea and execution was the worst part.  
Dennis Hopper was great as the villain in Speed (and Blue
Velvet, for that matter), but it didn't work here.

Water, water, everywhere.  And something about an
albatross.    
   -Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

For all, this has to do with my first clue.  And Randy
Johnson.  Wait, no.  Ken Griffey, Jr.  Uhh, no.  Alex
Rodriguez.  Not again!   I got it, Ichiro!

I hope Ichiro, the new star, bucks the trend of leaving for $
and crappy teams (except Johnson).

Does one have to go through Gates to enter here?


For #1, a white-and-red building is visible, just from above
you can't see the colorings.

#18, in the upper left, has had the greenside bunkering
altered recently.  At least there's lots of room to bail out to
the right.  I've always been curious to know how wide that
landing area was for the drive.

This course has an interesting heritage, from early use
of "tyes", to a guy Bearly learning the golf course design
craft for the first time.

[Mike Benham]

Can't figure out #1 so maybe I will just go bang my head against a wall until I see the light ...

[Scott_Burroughs]

...house.

[Craig Van Egmond]

William/Scott,

    If I'm correct about #2, then I really don't have anything to seay about the renovation.

[Scott_Burroughs]

That's interesting, Craig.

The bunkers look like Reestorations seen in past aerials
(both originals and not).

[Dan Grossman]

The time I took a trip to the area of #1,
this golf course was closed for
renovation.    However, we did find
a few other courses by this archie to play
in the area.  

#2 looks interesting.  I don't know much
about this course though.  Any particular
reason for picking it, Scott?

[Ben Cowan-Dewar]

1 is such a great course.

Bizarre, I just played #2 yesterday.  The member I played with loved the restoration.  One of the most beautiful settings within a city.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

William Wang asked me to check in, So here we go.

#1 could be the 'Light' of the PGA Tour

#2 Is the much older neighbor of the site of this weeks NEC.  
A big remodel by a famed tour player was completed a few years back.  A recent thread with comments by Brad Klein sum it up nicely.  It is one of America's greatest club houses with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains and photos of several presidents playing golf there.

[-2]

Question for those who've played #1:  How da heck does the proximity of 18 green to the obvious starting point of the course work?

There seems to be quite, quite some distance tweenst the two,eh?

[Robert Kimball]

From what I remember, there is a "secret" cart path that swings through the condos to the clubhouse.  
  If you walk, then you are simply just done and have to walk back to the car!!  

[Joe Hancock]

Hurray! I finally figured one of these dang things out from my first glance at the pic! A flash of brilliance from a foggy mind...

Joe

[Bob_Gold]

This is the first one I got too.  The round marina is a dead give-away.
Bob

[Scott_Burroughs]

#1 is of course Harbour Town, on Hilton Head Island, SC
(Sea Pines Plantation), by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus. This
was Nicklaus' first attempt at designing a golf course, though
it was mostly in the apprentice phase to Dye.  The MCI
Classic, f.k.a. the Heritage, is played here every spring.

Unfortuantely, I think I've mistaken what I thought was the
famous lighthouse, and didn't actually get in in the aerial,
though the harbor is.   I thought it was the building on the
upper left of the harbor, but upon further inspection, that's
not it.  I could tell by the Sea Pines pic here:



Regardless, Harbour Town was a bit of change in
architectural history, for it's lack of reliance on brute length
that characterized so many 50's and 60's courses.  Railroad
ties were "introduced" to the world, though Dye had used
them on other designs, this one was on TV.

here's the web site:

http://www.seapines.com/harbour_town_golf.htm

http://www.seapines.com/enter_golf.html

clues include:

golf mecca of Hilton Head area, not yet used for AOTD

hard to see famous lighthouse from above

"harbor", "light"..."house","flash of brilliance","foggy", "red
and white building"

"on TV"

known to be "tight with trees"

"heritage"

"tyes" = play on Dye and ties

"Bear"-ly= Nicklaus' first time.



#2 is Seattle GC, in, well, guess, by John Ball and Robert
Johnstone, renovation by Palmer's group (Ed Seay).  Seattle
is probably the 2nd most well-known club in the state of
Washington, not known for many famous courses.  It is
probably the most exclusive in the state, as was told in a
previous recent thread.

clues include:

"tall, thick trees" point to NW's tall pines.

A gilled Kevin Costner was "Mariner" (as in Seattle Mariners),
in the movie Waterworld.

Griffey, Johnson, and Rodriguez are former Seattle Mariners,
as Ichiro (Suzuki) is a current Mariner (and reigning AL MVP).

"Water, water, everywhere" and "something about an
albatross, by Coleridge" refers to The Rime of the Ancient "Mariner".  I'll give Shivas one guess as to how I
know this, and I've never read it.

"windows", ever-present "bugs", and "Gates" refer to
Microsoft, HQ'd in Seattle's suburb of Redmond.

"brewin'", "star, bucks" = Seattle's other famous export
(Boeing is no longer HQ'ed in Seattle)

"nearby for someone else put there name on the trophy"
refers to NEC Invitational, being played at nearby Sahalee,
where Tiger's name is the only one on the trophy (poetic
license I read some journalist use), as he's won here 3
straight times (when it was at Firestone).