Sugarloaf Mountain - new C&C - Links Magazine article

[Jimmy Muratt]

Below is a link to a Links Magazine article by Tom Cunneff about his recent maiden voyage around Sugarloaf Mountain, the new Coore & Crenshaw near Orlando.  All initial reports seem extremely positive, and the course seems like a unique addition to the Florida golf landscape. 

http://tinyurl.com/3b9fpc

And, here is a link to some excellent pics of the course from Elitegolfcourses.com:

http://www.elitegolfcourses.com/sugarloafmountain/

[Michael Christensen]

I will be there in the next two weeks......will give a complete report.

[Jeff_Mingay]

I was fortunate to visit Sugarloaf twice last week.

Most amazing is the property... it's so unique to Florida, featuring significant ups-and-downs providing stunning views of the surrounding landscape and nearby Lake Apopka. (If you blindfolded someone, brought him/her to the 18th green, then had him/her look around, he/she would never guess they were in central Florida.) 

The sandy, scruffy nature of the Sugarloaf site combines with unique vegetation to provide a beautiful aesthetic throughout the course. There's almost a complete absence of rough, which is a very interesting feature. Fairway areas simply transition into native sand and scrub. And, the routing is superb. This collection of holes, in general, is wonderfully varied. All the details are there, too, including a brilliant collection of very individual green complexes, ranging from extremely subtle to severe.

In short, Sugarloaf really is a very unique, and very interesting golf course... particularly for Florida.

[Mitch Hantman]

I agree with Jeff.  I played it a couple of weeks ago, and it is terrific.  One of the best courses in Florida. 

[Steve Curry]

Jimmy,

I had the very fortunate chance to walk this gem while at the show and with some great people.  The course is fantastic and fits the landscape perfectly.  And I must add it is very different landscape than I've seen in Florida.   With 250' of elevation on the course it felt more like the Berkshires than greater Orlando.  My pictures are in Florida still sadly.  Great course!

Best,
Steve

[Jeff_Mingay]

I have some decent photos, but don't know how to post them here? 

If someone wants to put a few up, I'm happy to forward them. Let me know: jeff@mingaygolf.com

[Will E]

Jeff-
Like you I'm very impressed with the work I've sampled by C&C. Their talent is obvious.
Did your thoughts on the course change after your second visit? Are C&C becoming too predictable?
Sandy and I are heading up in a couple of weeks.
I'll report back, with special consideration to challenge off the tee.
W

[Adam Clayman]

Is that you Shooter?
Well, I have not seen the course other than through the pictures. But, if there is one aspect that is predictable to the C&C courses I've seen it is that no feature will be built up against the flow of the terrain. It does lead to a very low profile look. Very reminiscent of some of Mr. Dye's work.

[Dunlop_White]

It was just profiled in the latest issue of Golfweek as well.

[tlavin]

It was just profiled in the latest issue of Golfweek as well.

Dunlop beat me to it; Brad Klein profiled the course in the Feb 9 issue.  It is a "classic Klein" exhortation about the architectural merits of an apparently great design on a unique piece of Central Florida real estate.

He also has a terrific article that warns clubs about wrecking the character of their golf courses by careless modernizing or renovating.  Thought provoking stuff by one of our own.  Great work, Bradley!!!!

[Brad Klein]

Thanks, Terry. Those two stories, side-by-side, won't be on the Web, so only subscribers will see them.

[Yannick Pilon]

Hey Jeff,

Pass along those pictures of Sugarloaf Mountain and I will post them on the discussion group.

You have my e-mail.

YP

[Joe Perches]

Fairway areas simply transition into native sand and scrub. [] a brilliant collection of very individual green complexes, ranging from extremely subtle to severe.

None of the pictures I've seen appear to contain severe or difficult to escape bunkers.

Was that done to appease the men's or the women's club?

[Keith Rhebb]

#11 Sugarloaf Mountain

[Keith Rhebb]

#10 Sugarloaf Mountain

[Paul Jones]

Here is the link to the Sugarloaf Mountain website with pictures - http://www.themountain.cc/gallery/golfgallery.asp

[Yannick Pilon]

Here are a few pictures of the course, courtesy of Jeff Mingay.

1 - Tee shot at the first



2 - Par-3 fifth hole



3 - Approach to the long par-4 thirteenth



4 - Approach to the sixteenth



5 - Long par-3 seventeeth (257 yards)



I just hope they are in the right order and that I got them right!

YP

[Jeff_Mingay]

They're in the right order, Yannick. And, your captions are correct.

Nice work!

[George Pazin]

I guess one man's hill is another man's mountain.

Thanks for the links and photos.

[PThomas]

I guess one man's hill is another man's mountain.

it's all relative George!

[Jeff_Mingay]

I just received the February 9 issue of Golfweek which features a short write-up on Sugarloaf Mountain by Brad Klein. One line from Brad's glowing review of the course really stands out:

"It's as if Coore and Crenshaw uncovered an abandoned, 80-year-old layout that has gone fallow and brought it back to life."

I'd say this is a fantastically accurate description of the course, and one helluva compliment too.

[Jim Franklin]

I just got back from playing Sugarloaf and really was startled by the elevation change. After going to school at The U and living there for 7 years, visiting almost the entire state, I never realized there could be a course with that kind elevation change. Almost every hole allowed for the ground game. The variety on the par 3s was awesome too (121, 165, 200, and 257). I parred each one with the exception of the 121 yarder as I missed the green and failed to get up and down.

It certainly makes a strong case as one of the top courses in Florida right off the bat.

[Chris_Clouser]

Ok, from the sound of things, it appears that C&C happened to design a golf course on the only place in Florida that has any elevation changes.

Great.  Then why am I underwhelmed by those pictures.  With the exception of the long par three these all look like holes that are very similar to the only other C&C course I have played.  I know not actually playing the course doesn't allow me to have a complete view, but based on the photos presented, I have no interest in seeing the course. 

By the way, those views can be almost anywhere else so what differentiates this course from other C&C courses or other designs to make it superior.  Or is this just a case of this site gushing about the latest offering from one of its favored sons?  When in reality it is just a good solid effort that deserves a little fanfare instead of the next donning of the best course since that last greatest course ever created...

Sorry to sound like a curmudgeon...

[Jim Franklin]

Well you do sound like a curmudgeon... Anyway, the course did not remind me of every other C&C course I have ever played. Over the past few years I have seen Friars Head, Old Sandwich, Cuscowilla, Colorado GC, Bandon Trails, Sand Hills, and Talking Stick North and Sugarloaf Mountain did not remind me of each of those. Some pieces here and there sure, just like a lot of Raynor courses remind me of other Raynor courses.

Feel free not to play it. I liked it and look forward to seeing it again.

[Jeff_Mingay]

I agree with Jim, Chris.

Sugarloaf Mountain occupies a very interesting property, which happens to be very unique to Florida. More important, the routing takes great advanatge of this property, resulting in a wonderfully varied collection of very playable, and at the same time, very challenging holes. Then, as is typical with Coore and Crenshaw and co.'s work, features sit so subtly and so elegantly on the ground, there.

The course suits my tastes. As you know, golf course architecture is very subjective. While you're underwhelmed by the photos, I find the course to be extremely well done, and extremely attractive. And, as Jim says, it's not overly similar to other Coore and Crenshaw courses I've played, including Friar's Head, Sand Hills, and Chechessee Creek Club. In fact, I find much of Sugarloaf very different from the courses just listed. 

I simply contend that, indeed, Sugarloaf Mountain is a very solid effort... certainly not the greatest course built since the latest greatest. The idea people will simply praise a course because it's designed by Coore and Crenshaw, or whoever else, doesn't even register with me.