Ian Andrew Catches Big Fish

[Ronald Montesano]

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080912.wspt-rube-col-12/GSStory/GlobeSportsGolf/home

If it has been threaded previously, my most sincere apologies.  I'm hoping to get to Cherry Hill this Fall to meet with Ian.  Here's a glass lifted that we all might have "rambunctious courses" in our lives.

[Ronald Montesano]

...and thanks to Geoff Shackleford for the link.

[Jeff_Mingay]

I was at Cape Breton Highlands Links over the past week with Ian. Frankly, I'd have a hard time supporting any other Canadian golf architect working at Highlands Links. Ian's the right man for the job.

However, there's a long road tangled with red tape ahead. Some serious politiking needs to be done in order to get the "green light" to do everything that's necessary, and more important, to simply find the required finds. And, a focused plan to continue to preserve what is hopefully restored is most crucial. Highlands Links was renovated during the late 1990s, and much of what was done then is seriously deteriorated already.   

This said, many trees were marked for removal over the past week and will apparently be cut very shortly; specifically around many greens, which are in serious peril because of a lack of sunlight and air flow. 

It's going to be interesting to see how this pans out. My fingers are crossed that the "right things" will be approved and funded. This is a very, very important golf course to restore and preserve, for many different -- all important -- reasons.

[Tom_Doak]

That is not true.  He is here at Rock Creek and I have not even seen him out there with a fly rod.  Not that I was very successful catching any fish yesterday either. 

I guess I'll congratulate Ian publicly here, though I will do so in person later this morning.

[Ronald Montesano]

Morning Fog...you know you've lost it when you can't catch a joke.  I went to the article, then to the posts, then to the article again, then to the posts...couldn't get the reference to the fly rod, until I reviewed my thread title and gave my best Homer Simpson "doap"!  Must be the pool water in my ears.

[Peter Pallotta]

My congratulations too, Ian. It is fitting and proper that you're working there.

And now that I'm at it, my kudos as well to Lorne Rubenstein: he has been so good for so long that it's easy to take him for granted. Writing about all aspects of the game for our national newspaper, it's striking how unobtrusively but consistently he's been raising the profile of architecture and golf architects over the years. And his personal profiles of some of the old players and personalities are wonderful...

Peter

[BCrosby]

Let me add to the chorus Ian. Great news.

As for Lorne Rubenstein, why can't the major American golf magazines have someone who writes on golf architecture as well as Lorne does? Are there deep structural reasons beyond my grasp that explain why we are stuck with the mediocrities we have now?

I ask the class to compare and contrast with some of the authors of gca pieces in golf magazines just in the US and just between, say, 1925 and 1930:

- Darwin
- MacKenzie
- Behr
- Crane
- Tillie
- Low
- Croome
- Ambrose
- Jones/Keeler
- Simpson
- Campbell/Morrison
- Piper/Oakley


I'm sure there are others I'm not recalling.

That's a sluggers row that makes modern golf magazine gca commentary look like awfully weak soup. At best. 

Bob   

[paul cowley]

Congratulations Bro!

[Ronald Montesano]

Bing or Bob Crosby,

Brad Klein doesn't count?  Ron Whitten doesn't count?  Geoff Shackleford doesn't count?  I don't believe that Lorne Rubenstein would elevate himself above these colleagues from Canada's underwear.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Brad Klein doesn't count?  Ron Whitten doesn't count?  Geoff Shackleford doesn't count?  I don't believe that Lorne Rubenstein would elevate himself above these colleagues from Canada's underwear.

Although Bob did say magazine, Lorne's main gig is writing a column for a newspaper, The Globe and Mail.  So a more appropriate question would be:  Why doesn't one of the most prominent US newspapers (i.e NY Times, WSJ, Washington Post) have a writer like Lorne?

[John_Cullum]

Damn. I was hoping to see a picture of a nice fish

[Jeff_Mingay]

We are really lucky up here, in Canada, to have Lorne do what he does.

One of the highlights of my weekend is waking up on Saturday morning, heading out to get the Globe, then flipping immediately to the Sports pages to see what Rubenstein's written about.

I'd agree that unlike a lot of newspaper golf writers, Lorne is very learned in golf architecture and writes on this subject very well.

[Robert Thompson]

We are really lucky up here, in Canada, to have Lorne do what he does.

One of the highlights of my weekend is waking up on Saturday morning, heading out to get the Globe, then flipping immediately to the Sports pages to see what Rubenstein's written about.

I'd agree that unlike a lot of newspaper golf writers, Lorne is very learned in golf architecture and writes on this subject very well.

Uh-hum. Uh-hum.

Oh, that was just me clearing my throat.

[Wayne_Kozun]

And logging onto my PC and seeing what Robert Thompson has written in his blog.  (Sorry Rob - I don't subscribe to the NP)

[Guy Nicholson]

One of the highlights of my weekend is waking up on Saturday morning, heading out to get the Globe, then flipping immediately to the Sports pages to see what Rubenstein's written about.

And just think, some of us get to read the same copy Friday afternoon.

[Gerry B]

congrats Ian

[cary lichtenstein]

Anyone who hasn't played this outstanding course should try to. It is a treat.

[Jeff_Mingay]

There's also a fantastic golf writer at Canada's National Post newspaper, called Robert Thompson, who really "gets it" when it comes to golf architecture...

... he writes a very interesting blog as well 

[BCrosby]

Bing or Bob Crosby,

Brad Klein doesn't count?  Ron Whitten doesn't count?  Geoff Shackleford doesn't count?  I don't believe that Lorne Rubenstein would elevate himself above these colleagues from Canada's underwear.

Brad would be wonderful, but does not write for one of the big circulation mags. He would be big step up. Ditto for Geoff. There are others out there in the wings. Robert Thompson is someone I will try to read. No, Ron Whitten doesn't count.

Bob 

[Thomas MacWood]

Good luck to Ian.

[Ian Andrew]

No luck with the fishing in Montana – but I did have a good fishing year this year at my father-in-law’s.

Thanks for all the kind works from everyone.

This is something that I have badly wanted to do since I re-visited in 2001 and was stunned to see how much was changed. I have long felt that the best of his work needs preservation for future generation of architects to study. I have always loved Thompson’s work and have spent quite a bit of effort preserving what I can, but Highland Links is special for me. It was the first great course I ever went to visit (at 16 years old). It’s his best greens, the best set of par fives he ever did and probably his greatest journey as a routing. I have far more information collected than I ever knew including the changes to greens.

I will post a few really interesting things that I have learned over the past four days (before Rock Creek). The greens and changes to tree corridors are quite stunning.

Thanks again for all your encouragement.

[Bill_McBride]

I am getting pumped up about a trip to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton to see Ian's work at Cape Breton Highlands as well as the newly opened Cabot Links.  That will be a great destination trip with those two courses.

Question (inquiring minds etc  ) - what other good golf is available in those parts?  And how far is it from Inverness to CBH?  Planning is everything!

Congratulations, Ian, that's a great commission and a great opportunity.

[Mike_Cirba]

Ian,

This is very cool.   Congratulations!!

[Don Hyslop]

Ian, Great l am looking forward to your plans to restore Canada's grandest course. I hope Parks Canada will embrace your recommendations.

 Bill:  Here is a link to a site that promotes 4 good to great courses in Cape Breton. These include Le Portage(Robert and David Moote) in Cheticamp, Bell Bay(Thomas McBroom) in Baddeck, Dundee( Robert Moote) in West Bay and Higland Links(Stanley Thompson) in Ingonish. These four plus Cabot Links would make a great golfing vacation. Plus on your way to Cape Breton you may want to play another course on your route, Northumberland Links, another seaside layout. (http://www.northumberlandlinks.com/index.html)
Here is a link to the Cape Breton courses:
http://www.golfcapebreton.com/

By the way from Inverness to Ingonish-Estimated Time: 2 hours 26 minutes Estimated Distance: 110.55 miles

[Ronald Montesano]

I've just been to Cherry Hill for a high school golf practice (and will be there again tomorrow for a match) and I cannot get over the work on the bunkers that Ian Andrew is doing.  I've only truly seen the fourth hole, but what a difference!  This is a Walter Travis course that hosted the 1972 Canadian Open and the 1982 Canadian PGA, back when those tournaments meant something to the PGA Tour's best.  Five was a 430 yard par four that had grown short in the tooth, meaning you could get around the dogleg and hit a short iron in.  Ian has put two Travis bunkers at the inside corner short and the outside corner long to narrow the drive zone considerably.  At the green, he has enlarged and reshaped left short and right side bunkers in the same, mounded way to not only toughen the hole, but to make it more visually stimulating.  I'll let you know more after tomorrow.