[Ran Morrissett]

Who has played a course by Roy Case? I haven’t but I can appreciate the niche he has carved out for himself in what is a brutally tough profession.

Roy is at the opposite end of the spectacularly diverse architecture spectrum from our last month’s Feature Interview. By that, I mean Frank Pont, in his relatively short career, has worked on great courses like Kennemer and Royal Hague but the opportunity to build eighteen hole original courses in the Netherlands has yet to present itself. Roy, in his long career, has built numerous eighteen hole original courses, many of which were on brownfield sites. The concept of working with what nature provided in those instances is a non sequitur.

Many thanks to Pete Stankevich for helping to come up with the questions for Roy as this month’s Feature Interview delves into a part of architecture upon which this web site has rarely touched. Creating a course from a landfill like Wildcat in Houston that gives thousands of people each year pleasure is bound to be immensely satisfying.  Indeed, taking a ‘1’ site to a ‘6’ must certainly have its own rewards, and Roy sounds very grateful for the opportunities that he has been presented. Indeed, wonder what the difference in satisfaction is for an architect in terms of transforming a site to such a degree like that vs. trying to take a ‘9’ site like Pacific Dunes to a ’10’??

Cheers,

[Pete Stankevich]

I would like to thank Ran for conducting the Feature Interview with Roy Case.  About 12 years ago, I was a PGA Golf Professional who had just completed a Master's Degree at the University of Hartford and had been accepted into PhD programs at U of Miami and Florida International.   At the time, more school didn't really appeal to me.   What I really wanted to do was learn more about golf course design and I wrote to every firm in Florida.  Most never responded, Alice Dye sent me a nice note, and a couple actually called to tell me to give up any aspirations about getting into the golf course design business.

About this time, I got a voice mail from Mr. Case saying he got my resume and wanted to meet with me.  A week later, I was interning in his office for no money and learning the ropes from him and his design associate.  Awhile later, I was a salaried employee, continuing to learn about the business, and loving every minute of it.  During my time at Case Golf Company, I had the opportunity to work on numerous projects with Mr. Case, manage a design office, and meet a lot of great people in the process. 

After leaving Case Golf Company, I returned to my home state of Connecticut where I have been employed as a PGA Golf Professional
as well as doing some golf course design work on the side.  I have been hired as a consultant on some projects, as well as the designer of 2 new golf courses.  One has passed through P&Z and Inland Wetlands and is ready to go to construction as soon as some real estate issues surrounding the course are worked out.  The other course has just been through a preliminary P&Z hearing and is on hold right now.

Mr. Case has continued to be a friend and a mentor and has always been quick to lend a hand whenever I needed help or advice on my projects.  I wish I could convey in words how much I appreciated my time working and learning from him.  I continue to learn from him today and I am proud to consider him my good friend.

For more info on Roy Case, here is the link to his bio:  http://casegolf.com/RoyCase.html

[Pete Stankevich]

Charlie:
The course in Grand Cayman is called the Links at Safehaven.

[Mike_Cirba]

Roy Case was the primary designer for Eric Bergstol's "New Jersey National" golf course.   

It's not without its flaws, but its definitely worth seeing and has some very unusual and daring features.

[Jim Nugent]

Great interview.  Sounds like Roy has had a real interesting life.  Any chance he will become a member of the discussion group here? 

[Steve Lang]

  Certainly a very interesting gca, and one that can get the work done.

Wildcat in Houston.. the home of local knowledge.. great for scrambles and company outings.. great vista views of Houston.. no shade, so beware in summer..  good burgers.. played it a dozen times, if i never play it again, no problem.. how many times can playing up or down at 90° over crap ravines to a hill side green/fairway be interesting?  How many times do you need to play to hidden landing areas and greens..  how many times can you appreciate perimeter mounding kicking balls away into the brush or giving you 45° banked shots.. how many times can you force folks to lose track of the fairway and where their ball may have ended up and slow up play horrendously in the name of hiding the cart path?  Apparently many many times..  but Wildcat is still fun if not overly convex..

My only real problem with Roy Case's approach was the destruction of a grand old course, The Woodlands North Course.. luckily renamed Panther Trail.. but i still cringe every time we play it, and am saddened about the destruction wrought in the name of drainage improvements and reduction of maintenance costs..   sure the powers at the time probably directed some of this effort, but still, it is mostly failed.. perhaps most emblematic was the billboard proclaiming..  Panther Trail "A Legndary Course" before it was even re-opened.. my saddest thoughts are with the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 13th, and especially the 15th, once ranked amongst the hardest holes in Houston back in the early-mid 90's, the 16th, the 17th, and.. ok i'll give him the 18th as a positive

it takes lots of people walking on the earth to make it go round..

[Pete Stankevich]

Gee Steve, don't hold back, tell us what you really think.

I can go on at length about this subject, but I can't right now.

Just let it be said that a lot of people are quick to criticize from their armchair design office when they don't know all of the background information.

"it takes lots of people walking on the earth to make it go round.."

You've got to be kidding me

[Steve Lang]

  Pete S. NO kidding.    I have no desire to be a gca, armchair or otherwise, I'm an environmental engineer and been playing golf since 1961.

Wildcat may be the best it could be, it was no doubt a challenged site, but at the normal rates, I'll go elsewhere unless others really want to play there.  Its not wholly without merit..

Wildcat Golf Club Rates Chart 
 Green Fees,   Twilight Fee,   Super Twilight Fee 
Friday - Sunday & Holidays 
Regular  75  57  42
Junior  37  28   20
 
Monday - Thursday 
Regular  63  48  32
Senior  45  45  30 
Junior  30  21   15 
 

Panther Trail, IMO, is not the best it could be, not close to what it was, challenge wise, and it surely isn't a reason to come to the Woodlands Resort.  The entire formula and concept of taking a manicured WCC/Resort course and creating artificial "native areas" and elevated plateau greens, and creating mosquito breeding grounds just doesn't appeal to this golfer, and created a public uproar amongst the neighbors.. the wild flowers were nice for the weeks they bloomed, but folks didn't appreaciate the snakes and wildlife walking into their back yards..

No kidding

[Matt_Ward]

I've had the pleasure in playing a few of Case's layouts -- including Minisceongo and NJ National. Minisceongo has a number of unique holes -- I was always impressed with the long par-4 3rd (?) and the short par-4 11th is also quite fun to play, to name just two holes.

NJ National has some of the most severe greens you can play in public golf in the state when it first opened. The course has since turned private.

I really enjoy the par-4 17th as one of the best holes you can play there. Playing uphill you drive over wetlands that makes the carry quite challenging depending upon your skill level. The frontal bunker is also well placed and the green quite narrow. For a hole under 400 yards it's well crafted. Birdie is possible -- so is DB or worse !

The uphill par-4 9th is also well crafted and again is not overly long -- I believe, it too is roughly 400 yards. The green falls off on different sides and can be quite vexing when green speeds reach 10 or more on the Stimp.

Bayonne is a testament to the will of Eric Bergstol, as Roy Case mentions, because the site is so small and the quality of the golf produced is very high IMHO. I've said this countless times before, but to get that kind of golf located in all places Bayonne, NJ -- in Hudson County - is truly remarkable. When people gush on and on about Shadow Creek and what was done there -- that's nothing compared to the toil, $$ and back and forth saga that it took to construct and finally open Bayonne. The story of that course is much more than a construction epic -- it's about the final golf that has emerged.

Great comments from Case on the debacle shaping up at the Jersey Meadowlands regarding EnCap and what may come or not come from the involvement of The Donald. I had personally heard about any number of different plans - often touting the golf contribution - but all the smoke and mirros has produced is nothing more than one press release followed by another. Case's comments in the interview were most enlightening.

There are also very strong rumors I have seen dealing with legal action from a whole range of players given the amount of $$ the State of NJ provided. For all the talk about getting something done there's been little, if anything, of real consequence done to date.

[Pete Stankevich]

Bump.

If you haven't read it yet, do so.  You'll enjoy it.

BTW-Roy Case and Jeff Grossman will both be members of GCA later this week and will hopefully be commenting on this thread and many others.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I have met and played golf with Roy Case on 2 occasions at his new course in Lake Worth, FL- Park Ridge GC. He is a gentleman in the true sense of the word. I was disappointed that Park Ridge did not make the top 10 in GD's Best New Affordable Public as it clearly qualifies in my opinion. It's very reasonably priced in prime season, offers a good variety of holes with its 6-6-6 configuration and has elevation and no housing rarely seen in south FL.

[Roy Case]

Pete S. NO kidding.    I have no desire to be a gca, armchair or otherwise, I'm an environmental engineer and been playing golf since 1961.

Wildcat may be the best it could be, it was no doubt a challenged site, but at the normal rates, I'll go elsewhere unless others really want to play there.  Its not wholly without merit..

Wildcat Golf Club Rates Chart 
 Green Fees,   Twilight Fee,   Super Twilight Fee 
Friday - Sunday & Holidays 
Regular  75  57  42
Junior  37  28   20
 
Monday - Thursday 
Regular  63  48  32
Senior  45  45  30 
Junior  30  21   15 
 

Panther Trail, IMO, is not the best it could be, not close to what it was, challenge wise, and it surely isn't a reason to come to the Woodlands Resort.  The entire formula and concept of taking a manicured WCC/Resort course and creating artificial "native areas" and elevated plateau greens, and creating mosquito breeding grounds just doesn't appeal to this golfer, and created a public uproar amongst the neighbors.. the wild flowers were nice for the weeks they bloomed, but folks didn't appreaciate the snakes and wildlife walking into their back yards..

No kidding

Hi Steve,
The reason the owners of the North  Course decided to spend over $3 million to revitalize it was because it was not popular with golfers and was not getting enough play. In addition the maintenace cost was high because of the numerous steep faced bunkers(over three acres of them) which washed out regularly.The sign board was unfortunate but the owners were excited by what they saw happening during the redo. The "new" course has had much better play numbers, and according to the staff became the most popular Woodlands course accessible to the public. I am puzzled by a couple of comments on this course and Wildcat. What is a "convex" course?, and "plateau greens".  The Panther greens were reshaped from existing dirt and so their elevation hardly changed. We did not have the budget to bring in extra dirt. As far as the wild flowers are concerned there were a lot of complaints from residents. We should have left a grass buffer area between those areas and the back fences. We were not able to find plants that bloom more than once a year, perhaps you know of some. Anyway the wildflowers were heartily endorsed by the owners. Their letter of appreciation for our work there is something special.

I welcome comments from golfers, good or bad. Sam Snead opined that if you can please 80% of those who play your courses you have succeeeded. To put that into perspective relative  to our work in Houston, recent polls by Texas golfers put the two Wildcat courses at #24 and #25, and Panther Trail at #39 in the whole State. We are very proud of that! We also have two very satisfied clients.

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