my first experiences with Jerry Pate's work

[Joe Bausch]

A recent trip to the Florida panhandle and the Alabama gulf shore allowed me to play three different courses designed by Jerry Pate.  I had not played any of his courses until this trip.  And I must say I'll be happy to play more of them. 

First up with Kiva Dunes, a resort course near Gulf Shores, AL.  This was also where my gang of hackers stayed (and the accommodations were fantastic, btw) and we played it twice.  The snowbirds had left but the spring break season golfers hadn't really shown so we darn near had the place to ourselves.  It was windy the day we played Kiva Dunes and the course is very challenging under those conditions.  IMHO, I wonder if it isn't a bit too hard for a resort course.

Pics of Kiva Dunes:

http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/KivaDunes/index.html

I was able to also play the private Steelwood CC in Loxley, AL.  This course is really nicely isolated and a quite photogenic:

http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/Steelwood/index.html

On my last day I was happy and honored to play at Bill McBride's course, Pensacola CC.  This club rebuilt about 10 years ago after Hurricane Ivan extracted his revenge on the previous layout.  It is blast to play and PCC has a very nice vibe.  Photos:

http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/Pensacola/index.html

After our round at PCC, Bill hosted all my Villanova guys in the grill room for lunch and I know they loved the whole experience.  Thanks, Bill!

[Matt_Cohn]

I've played one Pate course, at Rancho La Quinta. It had some good holes and some standard ones. I couldn't pick out anything that seemed to define a Pate design. Anyone?

[Paul Jones]

I do enjoy playing his courses with Kiva Dunes being head and shoulders above the other courses in Gulf Shores. I agree about PCC being a great place and Bill is a great host.

[Michael Wolf]

Ol Colony in Tuscaloosa is a good municipal facility. Not sure there is anything that would scream Jerry Pate, since it's the only Pate course I've ever played, but it's decently priced, usually a good pace of play, and usually pretty firm and fast conditions. It also sports a set of bazillion yard back tees for the Crimson Tide golf team.


On the downside, yellow balls on the range.

[Joe Bausch]

I apologize if you can't reach my server for those pics.  Dealing with some access issues.   

[Brad Tufts]

C'mon Joe, what the hell???   

Played down there in the Spring of 2001 with my college golf team...we stayed in a house on Dauphin Island (since destroyed in one of the hurricanes) and took the ferry across to Ft. Morgan most days to play.

We did Kiva (rained out of the last 6ish holes), Gulf State Park (now the Refuge), Peninsula, one of the Craft Farms courses, then a couple RTJ trail courses and the city course up in Mobile (Azalea?)...also played 9 at Isle Dauphine...which since then has closed for a few years before recently re-opening 9 of their former 18 holes...

This was before I was really into architecture, or had traveled much for golf...so it was eye-opening to explore a new area.  Kiva was probably the class of the courses back then, but we had some fun times!

[Rich Goodale]

Jerry Pate advised Pete Dye and Bobby Wood on the Valley Course in Ponte Vedra in the 1980's.  I was a "member" of TPC Sawgrass in the late 80's, and played one leg of the "Club" championship on that course then, and it was a very good course.  Probably a 6-7 on the Doak Scale, 1* on the Richelin Scale.  As Jerry had the chops to have won the inaugural TPC in 1982, he was not an architectural idiot.

[Joe Bausch]

C'mon Joe, what the hell???   

Seems my server death sentence has been temporarily stayed.  Enjoy the albums while you can!   

[JJShanley]

On the downside, yellow balls on the range.

I wish my home course would use yellow range balls, given that a quick hook off the first tee usually means a lost ball on the adjoining range.

[Joe Bausch]

I want to bump this thread as the links above have been updated to point to a new server I'm using for my photo albums.


And this thread is somewhat timely with people thinking about buddy golf trips coming up this spring.

[George Pazin]

Been lucky enough to enjoy PCC with Bill a few times over the years. Can't imagine a better host, and the course is a lot of fun, even for this wild sprayer of the ball.

[Jim Lipstate]

I played Kiva twice this past August while taking a short vacation in Ft. Morgan. I like Kiva but somehow think that an opportunity was lost somewhere in the construction. The course is built on white sand dunes and I was hoping for more of a links experience like one may find at Streamsong. It seems that many of the rolling dunes were flattened out and the holes manufactured instead of found in the natural contours of the land.


My favorite Jerry Pate course is Old Waverly built with Bob Cupp in West Point, Mississippi.

[Steve Lang]

  Compliments also to Bill McBride, the ultimate host at PCC, a great walk there, though there were a couple of awkward "walk backs" to tees.. there were lots of good looks and hidden views for a relatively flat course.  Lunch in the grill room, classic.


We met Jerry Pate at the Preserve in Biloxi (part of Palace Casino offerings) part of a GW Raters conference long time ago, loved that course and replayed as much as possible till sun went down.. got to play with his main guy Steve Dana, quite a golfer too!!  I seem to remember JP talking about one hole, I think a par 3 that his mom advised him on.. to make it accessible and playable for her!  IF you ever do meet him, get him going by talking about The Crimson tide...