North Fulton Golf Course-another muni that could be great

[Gary Daughters]

Gray day, brown turf, I know.  But I went to the trouble of snapping these pictures so I'm gonna frickin' post them.

Initiating this thread, Mike Golden referenced the mound at #2.  It's not like, say, #17 at Cruden Bay, but interesting nonetheless.  Two pictures:






The green, which you don't really see, is essentially a punchbowl.




Here's the #12 green Mike mentioned.  Actually I think it's #11 but not important.




Alps characteristics of #12.  From the fairway:


From behind the green:


#14.. interesting par 3 plays about 175 downhill:


Looking back up toward the tee:


Chastain has some truly devilish par 4's.  

[Bill Gayne]

Gary,

Thanks for taking the time to take the pictures and post. It's been several years since I've seen the course and it doesn't llok like I've missed any changes.

[BCrosby]

Gary -

Great pictures. Thanks.

As for good holes, I would add nos. 4, 8, and 9 to those noted above.

[Kirk Stewart]

It has been many years since I played NF.  I believe the last time I played they had changed the holes around making the old #9 the new #1 etc etc..

In any event, the old 18th hole might be one of the great par 4s in Atlanta, perhaps in all of Georgia. The uphill, tree lined, 450 yard dog leg left with a creek up the entire left side and  fronting bunkers at the green was/is. .... mighty .

i would love to see pics of that beast again.

[A.G._Crockett]

Great pictures, Gary; thanks.

I must confess that these pictures are the first time I've seen unpainted Champion greens in the winter.  They are ferociously ugly, but I'd get used to it, I'm sure.

[Gary Daughters]

Bob and Kirk,

If I'd had more time, light or card space I would have hit the holes you mention.  Hope to do so soon.

Gary

[Mike Golden]

Gary,

Great photos, I can't wait to play #14 now, that looks like a wonderful par 3.

I hadn't thought of #12 as an Alps without the cross bunker off the tee but now that I look at photos it sure is a good hole.

[jim_lewis]

Gary:

It was a pleasure to see your photo of #14, one of my favorite par 3's. Why? It's where I made my first hole-in-one on September 1, 1973. According to the scorecard, which I still have, it played at 190yds from the white tees and 200yds from the Blues at that time. I recall hitting a 4 iron that landed short of the hole and rolled directly in. I never reached that hole again with a 4 iron. In fact, I have rarely hit any 4 iron that far since!

BTW, at the time #18 was one of the toughest par 4's I ever played. My group paid for a par the same as we did birdies on any other hole. It was 448yds, very long for a par 4 at the time.

Jim Lewis

[Mike Golden]

I played a full round at North Fulton yesterday for the princely sum of $12.75 (senior, walking, twilight rate).  Teed off at 1PM, finished at 5:45 and suffered through playing with the worst twosome in golf history.  One of them had a David Ledbetter Golf Academy bag tag attached to his bag, if Ledbetter saw that and the way this idiot played (I doubt if he got a ball airborne all day) he would be committing suicide today.

In spite of that, as Mike Cirba said earlier in this thread, the course only gets better as you work your way through the back nine.  #18 is a world class finishing hole, about 440 yards uphill, slight dogleg left with an absolutely wicked green that slopes right to left.  I was above the pin on the right side and, if the greens were running faster, could see at least a 5' break on a 25' putt.

In all honesty, this course could be the equivalent of Pasatiempo (similar terrain and distance) in many ways if it were restored with the same loving touch as the Pasa members and Tom Doak have accomplished over the past 7-8 years.

[BCrosby]

Not to stretch the point, but at one time Egan was in partnership with the designer of Pasa. So maybe the similarities are more that purely coincidental.

This is good stuff. There are lots of reasons why I need to get to California to play Pasa. Until now, it would have never crossed my mind that North Fulton was one of them.

Bob

[Mike Golden]

Not to stretch the point, but at one time Egan was in partnership with the designer of Pasa. So maybe the similarities are more that purely coincidental.

This is good stuff. There are lots of reasons why I need to get to California to play Pasa. Until now, it would have never crossed my mind that North Fulton was one of them.

Bob

Bob,

In all honesty, until I started writing this reply this morning and started thinking about North Fulton and which golf course in my experience would be a good comparison (based on style, terrain, golf course length and a few other things) I realized that Pasa was a pretty good comparison.

North Fulton has some really interesting greens and while it's difficult to make a one on one comparison to Pasa because the speeds at North Fulton are probably at least 3' slower I really felt a more than coincidental similarity.  It would be interesting to hear from others who have played both courses (Mike Cirba might be the only one, however) as to whether that thought had ever crossed their mind as well.

Of course, I'm the same person who once told Ace McBride that SFGC reminded me of Bethpage Red, to which Ace said, 'who are you kidding'?  But I still believe that as well...

[Mike_Young]

Mike,
I have played both....while I do like NF, I don't really see Pasa in it.....but that is not to say it isn't a good golf course.  JMO

[Mike_Cirba]

North Fulton doesn't really remind me of Pasatiempo so much as just a really solid golf course that utilizes a nice piece of property in a creative way.  

Truth be told, it reminds me of Donald Ross's Jeffersonville a bit, and even Teugega somewhat, although it's more spacious than the latter.

[Mike Golden]

Mike,
I have played both....while I do like NF, I don't really see Pasa in it.....but that is not to say it isn't a good golf course.  JMO

I will bow to the much more worldly (and professional) observations of Messrs. Young and Cirba although I really do think that, in the most likely impossible renovation scenario North Fulton would have some semblance (from a playing perspective) to Pasatiempo.  Similar distance, highly sloped greens, interesting changes in elevation, etc.

[Bill_McBride]

Not to stretch the point, but at one time Egan was in partnership with the designer of Pasa. So maybe the similarities are more that purely coincidental.

This is good stuff. There are lots of reasons why I need to get to California to play Pasa. Until now, it would have never crossed my mind that North Fulton was one of them.

Bob

Bob,

In all honesty, until I started writing this reply this morning and started thinking about North Fulton and which golf course in my experience would be a good comparison (based on style, terrain, golf course length and a few other things) I realized that Pasa was a pretty good comparison.

North Fulton has some really interesting greens and while it's difficult to make a one on one comparison to Pasa because the speeds at North Fulton are probably at least 3' slower I really felt a more than coincidental similarity.  It would be interesting to hear from others who have played both courses (Mike Cirba might be the only one, however) as to whether that thought had ever crossed their mind as well.

Of course, I'm the same person who once told Ace McBride that SFGC reminded me of Bethpage Red, to which Ace said, 'who are you kidding'?  But I still believe that as well...

Mike, how would I know (about SFGC and Bethpage Red)? I've never played either!  Unless you count the sneak on once at SFGC when I was in junior college - we played 4 holes until the gendarmes threw us back over the chain link fence at #7.  

Bob Crosby, if you are free on April 27th, there will be a bunch of GCAers playing Pasatiempo, an experience I guarantee you will never regret or forget....the Kings Putter VI there that Sunday.

[Mike_Young]

Mike,
I have played both....while I do like NF, I don't really see Pasa in it.....but that is not to say it isn't a good golf course.  JMO

I will bow to the much more worldly (and professional) observations of Messrs. Young and Cirba although I really do think that, in the most likely impossible renovation scenario North Fulton would have some semblance (from a playing perspective) to Pasatiempo.  Similar distance, highly sloped greens, interesting changes in elevation, etc.

No No No.....if you like it and it seems as Pasa to you then that is what matters.....you never know where there is some little element that makes people think of different courses when playing a partcular course....

[Mike_Cirba]

Mike Young,

Agreed completely.

It's amazing the little things that connect various courses in our minds, and those synaptical fusions are vital to our piecing together coherent recollections.

They even lead to us making sense here on GCA once in a while.  

At least to each other.  

[Mike Golden]

Mike Young,

Agreed completely.

It's amazing the little things that connect various courses in our minds, and those synaptical fusions are vital to our piecing together coherent recollections.

They even lead to us making sense here on GCA once in a while.  

At least to each other.  

Let me at least share what in my mind are specific similarities:

N. Fulton #9 and Pasa #11:  Pasa is certainly a better and tougher golf hole but N. Fulton has a stream running through the fairway that makes you hit it right-the green is elevated and angled from the fairway shot and has interesting contours.  

N. Fulton #1 and Pasa #2:  the fairways of both are much wider than it appears from the tee and somewhat blind;  the holes are about the same length although Pasa has a more interesting green

N. Fulton #15 and Pasa #14:  substitute a stream for the swale and they are of similar length and strategy

N. Fulton #16 and Pasa #4

N. Fulton #13 and Pasa #17 (I haven't seen the renovated green yet)

N. Fulton has some other really good golf holes (#2, #18, #11, #12, #15) but there aren't any direct matches with Pasa.

Ace:  you actually said that to me one day, I laughed

[Brock Peyer]

Mike, I haven't played North Fulton in about 15 years but always really enjoyed the course but was always frustrated by its conditioning.  The stories of Hogan and Nelson always intrigued me and added a bit to the allure of the course.    Gary's pix look great and I am curious how it plays now, as the last time I played it I had a persimmon driver and Hogan Apex PC irons in the bag.  Back then, 18 was a bear, I remember hitting a decent drive and a 1 iron to the green.  The back nine is a lot of fun.  I can't count how many times I wished that they had a budget that could enhance the course.  Let me know next time you head that way.