Tom Doak politely ask me to-------

[Anthony_Nysse]

Actually, Ron sent me the photo yesterday morning.  It's my favorite hole on the course and the first time I've seen it with grass on it, so I asked him to post it.

Haven’t seen the hole with grass on it? The course looks quite grown in and playable to me. This surprises me because I would have thought that Tom would have been there to adjust grassing lines and angles as things grew in and to give the final “thumbs” up on things prior to opening. That would mean he probably hasn’t seen the course in 4-6 months, minimum? Looks like he learned a few things other things from Nicklause while at Sebonack, too!

Tony Nysse
Sr. Asst. Supt.
Long Cove Club
HHI, SC

[Don_Mahaffey]

Tony,
Is the course open? Are all 18 holes grassed and playable?
You can tell from a picture that the hole is completely grown in?
How hard is it to adjust mowing lines when it's 90% short grass?
Who cares when the last time Tom was there if the course is good and the client happy?
You know something we don't?

[Anthony_Nysse]

Don,
  I'm sure you've seen them before and you can see them from a long distance, but I can't see any seed lines from the pic along with any washed out seed or bare pics. I didn't say that it was dense and thick, I just looked playable.
  IS the course open? Don't know
  ARE all 18 holes completely grown in?
  Don, that doesn't matter cause we’re only talking about 1 golf hole, I repeat, 1 golf hole, not the course as a whole.
  I can think of MANY clients that are happy with their Jack Nicklaus or Tom Fazio or Arnold Palmer course, but many on this website rake those designers over the coals because there not around enough. In NO WAY am I stating that's what Tom has done, I'm just pointing out the fact that GCA hasn't said a word about Tom's own comment about not being there since before the hole was seeded.
  You know as well as I do, MANY, MANY big name architects on this website get killed for this. Just pointing it out.

[RJ_Daley]

Anthony, I would have to modify your questions and ask; who was there from Tom's team and how often?  I suspect I know that answer, but wish TD would clarify.  

I think it may be a question of design/construction teams and process.   Renaissance is a team of both design and build.   I'm pretty sure the team is represented on-site just about always.  But, TD could or should answer, because I don't think he ever envisions his enterprise as one where he is seen on site, holding rolled up plans for a photo-op, then jetting off.  We rarely see a publicity photo of the Wadsworth, Landscapes, etc., site superintendents standing in the field on top of an ATV with rolled up plans pointing knowingly at the green in the horizon.  I think they are more often found in the trailers counting up change orders...

... sorry if that is offensive to some construction side practitioners.  I'd welcome any passionate, but accurate rebuttal.  If any contstruction side people do have remarks, I would be happy to recount some of the many jokes I've heard various on-site constructors laughing about being left to interpret the plans and the change orders that insue.

While at it, it would be nice if TD would list his current stable of full time and floating members of the team, and which ones had the most on-site supervision of which of the courses his firm is now noted for.

Added:  For the record, TD has many times mentioned which of his team was left behind to do the on-site supervision for various courses, like Barneygoogles, CK, and StAB.  But, still it would be nice to see a list of credits for the many courses they are doing that are coming on-line in recent years and near future.

[Tom_Doak]

RJ:

Most of the info you have asked for will be on my web site at some point when the webmaster gets around to it.

On the other hand, you're asking me to hold to a standard there that nobody else in the business is held to.  There's not much about Dan Proctor on Coore & Crenshaw's web site, for example, and no one expects there to be; nor does the RTJ II web site give specific credits to associates.  All of my associates are talented, but it would be much harder to run the business if each client insisted on having a particular associate run their job based on secondhand information.

Tony is just trying to get a rise out of me and I'm not biting.  He hasn't been within 1000 miles of Montana so he doesn't know what is going on.  I've only been to Rock Creek once this year, (for a couple of days early this summer) to approve the last four greens for seeding; they were mostly shaped a year ago but rock-picking is very slow out there!  The grass looked good on holes 3-7 at that point but #10 was just being seeded.  The grassing lines were all set when I was there (we're seeding what we tore up, the fairways and roughs are the same) and I'll adjust the mowing lines in the spring ... it doesn't open until June or July of 2008.

Eric Iverson was the lead associate for Rock Creek and he's had it thoroughly under control ... so much so that when we build another course for the client down the road (in another location) I've suggested we put Eric's name on it instead of mine, and I'll just help with the routing.

[Mat Dunmyer]

Ron- It was a pleasure taking you around the course a few weeks ago to show you what we have going on in Deer Lodge (quite different than Sonoma Golf Club, which is where I moved from). I hope Mr. Doak wouldn't mind if I posted another picture of the project!

Mat

[Norbert P]

Mat, Mr. Doak "politely asked me to ..." ok, he didn't, but I think it's ok to post another picture. At least, I saw no instructions not to.  

"It's easier to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission."  UNK