Article About Scioto's Greens Project

[Billsteele]

This is a link to an article in The Columbus Dispatch concerning Scioto's recent re-do of their greens. Interestingly, as those who have played it may know, the "signature" 8th hole mentioned prominently in the piece, with its Florida like water hazards,  is wholly a creation of Dick Wilson and the most out of character with Donald Ross' original layout.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2008/04/29/scioto_cc_renovation.ART_ART_04-29-08_C1_MLA2CAK.html?sid=101

[Brent Hutto]

From the article, it sounds like the members consider it as much a Dick Wilson/Joe Lee course as a Ross one. I'm guessing that demographically the bulk of the current membership probably came to Scioto during the first decade or two after those c. 1960 changes. So that's how they conceptualize the course, even though they may take pride in the Donald Ross moniker.

[John_McMillan]

It's an intersting dynamic between the membership, Hurdzan and Nicklaus in the renovation.  As historic background, the course wanted another shot at hosting a US Open in the 1960's, and listened to the USGA whispers that it would need redesign in order to get it.  Wilson and Lee were brought in, and their changes were not well received by Nicklaus - and ironically the course never got the hoped for US Open.  It's interesting that the new renovations are again made with the hope of a USGA championship.  However, if they were going to do a renovation, why use the 1963 version of the course as the gold standard?  Wouldn't going back to the Ross version of the course make more sense?  It seems from the article that Hurdzan was successful in using Jack as a voice to the membership to push them away from the 1963 version as golf nirvanah, but now it seems there are 3 voices in the course - Ross; Wilson and Lee; and Hurdzan and Nicklaus.  Such "composed" designs are rarely home runs.

[JLahrman]

So which USGA championship does Scioto hope to receive?

[Billsteele]

The most talked about scenario is to host the Amateur with the OSU Scarlet serving as the second course during stroke play. The two courses are within a 10 minute drive of each other. I would not think that Scioto has the infrastructure to support the Open.

[JLahrman]

The most talked about scenario is to host the Amateur with the OSU Scarlet serving as the second course during stroke play. The two courses are within a 10 minute drive of each other. I would not think that Scioto has the infrastructure to support the Open.

That's why I ask; no way would the facility support the US Open from a parking or gallery standpoint.  I could see the Amateur there.  Not sure what the Womens' Open requires but maybe they could draw that one.  Any Amateur (Am, Mid-Am, Senior Am) competition would probably work.

[Chuck Brown]

Wasn't Tom Weiskopf an even more bitter critic of the 1960's changes to Scioto?  Did Tom work there as a caddy, or play there as a kid?  Charlie Nicklaus was a member, but I don't recall that the Weiskopf family were members.

Is length an issue at Scioto?  I have circled the course in a car and I have seen the layout on paper, and it seems that they are somewhat hemmed in, though not nearly as badly as Merion or some others.

[oops... lesson one -- always read the article before commenting.  I see thay have indeed built some new tees at Scioto to push it to more than 7,000 yards.  Do the new tees fit and meake sense in the routing?]

It seems to me that as rolling as Scioto is (almost like a little Augusta, and very nearly the same immaculate maintenance), it makes it difficult to fool around with distances...

[JLahrman]

It is fairly hemmed in, to me if they were going to take it beyond 7,000 yards it seems like some angles must have changed...I'm not sure that they could have just lengthened the holes along the same lines that they've been playing.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php?board=1%3baction=display%3bthreadid=18214

Here is Scott's aerial of the course.  Maybe someone has some specifics as to which holes have been lengthened?