[Ryan Farrow]

I must say that I am a lucky man to have had all the pieces fall in place to finally see, and play a Mike Strantz golf course. He was probably the most influential golf course architect to me and to finally see some of his work in person was truly a joy, especially since it happened just two weeks after I graduated from college. When I first thought of pursuing golf course design as a career I had not seen much more than the local munis and poor public courses around the Pittsburgh area. So looking back to just a few years ago I clearly remember clicking through every link on his website, checking out every sketch and photograph just in awe of what a golf course could really look like, albeit with an artists touch.

So I would just like to say thanks, thanks to a man whom I will unfortunately never meet, but will always recognize for the effect he has had on my life, my career. Thanks






True Blue










Caledonia Golf & Fish Club

[A.G._Crockett]

Ryan,
That's a touching tribute to a true artist.

Almost every July, my brother-in-law and make the trip to Pawley's and play True Blue and Caledonia back-to-back.  We try to do it in that order so that we finish at Caledonia with the evening light filtering through the live oaks; the beauty there around the 18th and the clubhouse is just marvelous.  I consider that to be one of the great days that one could experience in golf.

I hope you get to see more of the all-too small number of Strantz courses.  They are special.

[Bill_McBride]

True Blue photo #6 - that's par 3 #17.  Here's a question for the GCAs and supers in this crowd:

How the hell do you keep that sheer face of sand, and the green above, from collapsing?  I was amazed, the angle of repose is either astonishingly low or astonishingly high! 

[Garland Bayley]

Ryan,

Congratulations on your graduation! Way to go man! Now do us proud!

[Jason Connor]

Ryan,

From one Pens fan to another, congrats on the graduation.

One day in 2003, I didn't know who Strantz was, I stepped onto Caledonia and I was blown away.  After my round when I learned it had a match across the street, I was thrilled.  I've been a Strantz fan ever since.

It's been too long since I've been back to either.

I'm trying to convince the wife to move to Pawleys Island. I love these two plus The Heritage there.

Glad you got to play them.

[Yannick Pilon]

Thanks for the pics Ryan,

I can't wait to play Tru Blue myself....

The first time I played Caledonia, shortly after it opened, for the first time in my short life I felt like I was truly in presence of great architecture.

This course has kept a nice place in my heart ever since....  I wonder how I would like it today, nearly 12-15 years later....

YP

[Mike_Cirba]

I was fortunate to play both True Blue and Caledonia, as well as Stonehouse in VA about 10 years ago, playing Calednoia with a former GCA-er from West Virginia who was a pretty cool kid named Andrew Bernstein.  I wonder where he is these days.

Although I'd always loved different golf courses, I do have to say that I believe my tastes have changed a bit over the years and I'm wondering if I'd like them both as much today as I did then.

Later this year, I'm planning to drive down to play the one I missed on that trip...Royal New Kent, to see if I'm still as enthralled by Mike Strantz and his designs as I was back then, because by most accounts RNK is one of his very best.

I'm excited to see what I think. 

[Bill Gayne]

People on this site love Strantz work at Royal New Kent and Tobacco Road but I will take both of the Myrtle Beach courses every time. Maybe the constraints of the size of the properties and the relative flatness of Myrtle Beach led to a more restrained and I think somewhat sensible design.  

[Bob_Huntley]

Ryan,

Thank you for the photographs, they are wonderful.

Having met and spoken with Mike Strantz, played his wonderful golf course here in Pebble Beach, I feel that we had a modern day Michaelangelo in our midst. A small ouvre, but an important one in the annals of golf architecture.

Bob

[Bill_McBride]

Mike Stranz was a genius at making golf courses look very difficult, play relatively easily, and create some very exciting situations.  I've played Tobacco Road, Caledonia and True Blue, and most recently, MPCC.  He is the master of hidden landing areas and confusion about distance. 

One of these days I need to get to Virginia and play Stonehouse and Royal New Kent, they sound more intimidating than the later courses.  For those who have played all his courses, is this true?

Oh yes, Tot Hill seems to have a spot in the pantheon all its own.  I also wished I'd been able to stick around for one more day and play Bulls Bay.

[CJ Carder]

People on this site love Strantz work at Royal New Kent and Tobacco Road but I will take both of the Myrtle Beach courses every time. Maybe the constraints of the size of the properties and the relative flatness of Myrtle Beach led to a more restrained and I think somewhat sensible design. 

Having played every Strantz course except Bulls Bay and the MPCC re-do, I'm with Bill on this one.  While RNK and Stonehouse are enjoyable to play from time to time, I honestly think I could play True Blue and Tobacco Road at least twice a month and never get tired of them.  And further, I could play Caledonia every day and be happy.

One of these days I need to get to Virginia and play Stonehouse and Royal New Kent, they sound more intimidating than the later courses.  For those who have played all his courses, is this true?

Bill, Stonehouse and RNK definitely have more intimidating shots that Caledonia.  One can get glimpses of the Strantz scale of intimidation at Tobacco Road and True Blue, but the land here in Virginia allowed Strantz to add elevation to the mix and transform that intimidation into a more 3-d experience. 

That said, I also think the elevation made some of Strantz's holes more penal than you might find at some of his other courses.  For example, at Stonehouse, a lot of the elevation changes are negotiated with forced carries.  Miss a green or hit a wayward tee shot and you can pay some severe penalties.  He offset some of that penal nature by allowing ample room (the greens are HUGE), but until you've played the courses a couple of times, the misses are always in the back of your mind.

[John Moore II]

--CJ-I could also play Tobacco Road two or three times a month and not get tired of it, as long as I was the only person on the course. Played there recently and it took 3 hours 15 minutes to play 12 holes. Then I walked off the course. Improve pace of play and I could play there every day.
--As an aside, why does golf take so damn long to play? There is absolutely no reason a round of golf should take more than 3 1/2 hours to play, yet very few of us in the business has the guts enough to stand up to people and enforce any type of reasonable pace of play policy (btw, anything over 4 hours is not reasonable pace to me)

[Matt Kardash]

I made a hole-in-one on the 3rd at true blue (2nd pic from top). 9 iron from about 150. The sun was so blinding i couldnt see my ball land. When i walked up to the green i couldnt find the ball so my dad, my mom and I checked the banks of the water short and long to find my ball. To my surprise, as I walked past the hole I happened to see the ball in the bottom of the hole. What a surprise. I really enjoyed both caledonia and true blue. However, it must be a good 10 years since i played them.

[CJ Carder]

--CJ-I could also play Tobacco Road two or three times a month and not get tired of it, as long as I was the only person on the course. Played there recently and it took 3 hours 15 minutes to play 12 holes. Then I walked off the course. Improve pace of play and I could play there every day.

Good point.  I may be jumping to conclusions here, but it seems like the pace of play is unusually slow on a lot of Strantz courses.  I've had the same experience at Tobacco Road and last month, Chip Gaskins and I played Stonehouse and it took us damn near close to 6 hours.  Chip left since he had to drive home and I would have quit too except I was playing quite well.   

At Stonehouse, I know a lot of the reason is that the elevation and slopes are so dramatic that not only does it intimidate a lot of higher handicaps, but it can also make for a long day if you're not hitting your ball reasonably straight.  The same can be said for Tobacco Road.  When it first opened, Stonehouse sported GPS systems on the carts, but those went away with the first change in ownership about 2 years into operation.  Perhaps they should think about bringing them back?

[Bill_McBride]

--CJ-I could also play Tobacco Road two or three times a month and not get tired of it, as long as I was the only person on the course. Played there recently and it took 3 hours 15 minutes to play 12 holes. Then I walked off the course. Improve pace of play and I could play there every day.

Good point.  I may be jumping to conclusions here, but it seems like the pace of play is unusually slow on a lot of Strantz courses.  I've had the same experience at Tobacco Road and last month, Chip Gaskins and I played Stonehouse and it took us damn near close to 6 hours.  Chip left since he had to drive home and I would have quit too except I was playing quite well.   

At Stonehouse, I know a lot of the reason is that the elevation and slopes are so dramatic that not only does it intimidate a lot of higher handicaps, but it can also make for a long day if you're not hitting your ball reasonably straight.  The same can be said for Tobacco Road.  When it first opened, Stonehouse sported GPS systems on the carts, but those went away with the first change in ownership about 2 years into operation.  Perhaps they should think about bringing them back?

You're a lucky guy, J. Kenneth, that's the pace of play for most American golf these days - just under 5 hours.

[John Moore II]

Bill--why have rounds of this length become acceptable? Because those of us in the golf businesss (meaning myself and other professionals, not you) have refused to enforce a reasonable pace of play? I feel the PGA pro's and the USGA have really dropped the ball when it comes to pace of play and how long it should take to play a round of golf. And now its hard to reverse course without pissing a lot of people off on the course. But what do I know???

[Jay Flemma]

Congrats on your graduation.  What a cool present.

Here's some funny thoughts about Caledonia from Mr. and Mrs. Havekamp - my parents:

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,31740.0.html

My dad:  "The greens were massive!  They had to be 50 yards long and the last one had to be 70 or 80 yards long.  Man what a lot of water to carry on that last shot.  You hit a big drive and then you hit it in the water!  The bunkers were murder.  You get in the sand and you don't know if you're gonna get out again."

My mom:  "Tell Furry Fozler I said to make the par-3s shorter."

[Tony_Chapman]

I've not played many great places, but Tobacco Road is 8th and Caledonia 10th on my all-time list. The two form to make a Mid-Pines sandwich -- it's 9th. 

I love both places, immensely. I've not played True Blue -- it was closed when I was in Myrtle Beach.

[Bill_McBride]

Bill--why have rounds of this length become acceptable? Because those of us in the golf businesss (meaning myself and other professionals, not you) have refused to enforce a reasonable pace of play? I feel the PGA pro's and the USGA have really dropped the ball when it comes to pace of play and how long it should take to play a round of golf. And now its hard to reverse course without pissing a lot of people off on the course. But what do I know???

Those of us who are fortunate enough to play our golf at private clubs still enjoy 3-1/2 hour rounds.  At least we do at our club here in NW Florida.  But 8 minute tee times, lack of supervision, PGA on TV syndrome, and a lot of other factors including inexperience, create those 4-3/4 hour rounds that just bleed your enthusiasm away.

I don't have the answer either, but 10 minutes intervals and "ready golf" would do a lot to speed up play.....

[Dan Herrmann]

It's such a shame that Strantz passed at such a young age.  I think he was just starting to hit his stride.  Given Bulls Bay, I think that even greater would have been designed in his later career.

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