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David Panzarasa

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Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« on: February 08, 2009, 11:52:08 PM »
Anyone hear this today, or is this old news?

Steve_ Shaffer

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Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2009, 08:02:57 AM »
According to this article, nothing is final yet:

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=15101&select=28438
"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses ... "  Adlai Stevenson
Hyman Roth to Michael Corleone: "We're bigger than US Steel."
Ben Hogan “The most important shot in golf is the next one”

Matt_Ward

Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2009, 09:41:42 AM »
I've had the pleasure in attending past major events at Plainfield -- the '78 US Amateur and the '87 Women's Open. In the latter case -- the facility was strapped to handle the crowds and the poor weather that ensued that week in July over 20 years ago.

Plainfield is squashed in a tight neighborhood and the course will need the added length on a number of holes in order to handle the world's best.

Frankly, I don't see the need for the club to do this but the exposure element and $$ could be the thing that's motivating the leadership.

For gallery purposes Plainfield is not that good -- the rolling terrain provides limited areas where people can congregate to see the play.

I love the course and feel it's vastly underrated once you leave the immediate 75-mile radius but hosting a big time men's event is more than just about the quality of the golf course itself.

p.s. Throw Tiger into the field and the situation will be likely chaotic with all the people pressing in and the parking being extremely limited and cramped.


ed_getka

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Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2009, 10:31:45 AM »
I hope Plainfield hosts this event. I would love to drive up to see how that greatly underrated course stands up to elite golfers.
"Perimeter-weighted fairways", The best euphemism for containment mounding I've ever heard.

Ash Towe

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Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2009, 01:25:52 PM »
Plainfield is a great course.  I hope it stands up to the test of the great players.  It would be tragic to see it demeaned and lose its status.

Sam Maryland

Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2009, 05:47:47 PM »
for the life of me I can't think of a single reason why Plainfield would be interested in hosting this tour event...

(actually, I can think of one, but it would be speculative so I won't mention it)
« Last Edit: February 09, 2009, 05:53:19 PM by Sam Maryland »

Kenny Baer

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Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2009, 07:03:05 PM »
I think it is great; I for one wish the PGA tour would move to better golf courses and this is a step in the right direction. 

Plainfield will be just fine; do you really think the pros are just going to annihilate it and shoot 30 under?  I doubt it.

Matt,

I have the utmost respect for your knowledge of golf; you have forgotten way more than I know, but I am having trouble understanding the concern for Plainfield; I feel pretty confident that they will be fine (I would bet they come out looking better than ever because of the quaility of the golf course).

Being that it is not a major the golf course most likely will not be closed for more than 2 weeks. I am sure the PGA tour guys/gals study traffic patterns and everything involved with a tournament sight before they would ever consider hosting a tournament.  I have faith that if Plainfield wasn't capable of hosting a tournament then it wouldn't be hosting a tournament.

That being said I WOULD LOVE for the PGA Tour to move towards more classic/ BETTER golf courses.  To me this is a step in the right direction; before "GolfClubAtlas" when I would travel I would seek out the places where the pros played.  I can't tell you how BAD some of the courses were  for what I was expecting.  Moving to places like Plainfield, Aronomink, & Congressional is only a move for the better. (IMO) 

Kenny

PS- Ash,
Who cares if the pros shoot low scores; how does that make Plainfield any more or less of a golf course?

Ash Towe

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Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2009, 07:43:43 PM »
Kenny,
I do not care if the pros shoot low scores.  It will not change my opinion but it may of others.  I hold the course in such esteem that I would not like to see its reputation demeaned.

Patrick_Mucci

Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2009, 10:20:54 PM »
Matt,

I agree with you.

As much as I love Plainfield, it's not equiped to handle PGA Tour galleries.

In addition, I don't see anything good, other than the potential for $ $ $ that can inure to Plainfield's benefit.

Narrowing fairways would be a huge mistake.

Matt_Ward

Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2009, 12:34:09 AM »
Kenny B:

Thanks for your comments -- a bit more from me on my previous statements.

I have the utmost respect and fondness for Plainfield -- I have long taken the position it is without question the #2 course in NJ behind the legendary PV. I also see Plainfield as being vastly underrated and even ignored on a national level.

With that said ...

I had the pleasure in being on-hand for the '78 US Amateur and the '87 US Women's Open and both events stretched the capacity for Plainfield in those two instances -- especially the Women's Open which was played in mid-July, featured horrendous t-storms and caused plenty of havoc on the parking and logistics side.

In sum -- the facility was stretched to the gills and it showed big time.

Hosting the initial tourney of the FedEx series is no small undertaking. Ridgewood was blessed in having 27-holes on site from which to handle crowds and corporate tents. In addition, they had neighboring Bergen County Community College to handle parking plus other assorted areas spread nearby -- such as the Garden State Plaza, to name just one.

Ridgewood also benefited in a small but large way from Bergen County's blue laws which essentially shut down business on Sundays. That made access via Rte 4 and Rte 17 manageable for the final round action.

You make the assumption that the course (Plainfield) will only be shut down for two (2) weeks. Keep in mind, the overall preparation and the amount of rounds that will be permitted to be played will be impacted leading up to the event itself.

The playability dimension of the course will also be changed to handle the caliber of play you see from the elite best players. That could mean a clear backward step when fairway widths are reduced dramatically. The whole purpose of the improvements that were carried out fairly recently were meant to provide wider fairway areas to accentuate the playing angles into the greens as originally designed.

I concur with your desire to see more classic courses be used for such events but the reality is that many classic courses are ENGULFED in highly congested dense suburban settings and given the 2009 logistics / needs for major men's events the probability of such venues being successful is not good.

Plainfield doesn't need a FedEx Cup tourney to legitimize what Donald Ross did there from years ago. Here's another thing to ponder -- Plainfield will need to lengthen a number of holes to really test the big boys. That will mean added costs and frankly I don't see how gorilla like tees will really add much to the course itself.

Last item -- the parking situation will be sheer bedlam -- the crampness in and arount the club will make that week really difficult -- especially for the neighbors in and around the vicinity of the club. Having the advantage of Plainfield West will not be much help and likely Plainfield West will serve as the location for corporate tents and other critical components because the actual course grounds will be really maxed out.

Finally, there is little effective gallery room for so many holes at Plainfield. I can't imagine how many more than 200 people can actually watch action by the green at the par-3 11th!

Ditto the crowd control issues you have when people are in and around the clubhouse and the closeness of such holes as #1, #9, #10 and #18.

Like I said I salute Plainfield -- it is a superb course and worthy of much fanfare and attention. I'm happy to see such an event in NJ but candidly only the likes of Baltusrol and Ridgewood among classic courses can host such events. On the modern side I can see why Trump is pushing his 36-hole complex and frankly The Donald is blessed with more land and more transport / parking solutions than Plainfield has.

Greg Stebbins

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Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2009, 03:53:26 PM »
Maybe its just me, but I don't see logistics being that much of a problem.  Plainfield owns the West 9 across the street that can provide space for parking and other amenities.  Furthermore, the course is very close to the MetroPark train station.  People would be able to take NJ transit trains directly from NYC to the event.  The MetroPark area also has a parking garage and large office complexes that can handle weekend parking.

As far as the course goes, I think it is plenty difficult in its current state.  In my opinion, it is a more difficult course under tournament conditions than Westchester and Ridgewood.  I believe that it would hold up well, especially with firm greens.

Sam Maryland

Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2009, 04:17:20 PM »
I was chatting about the subject of the tournament with a Plainfield member today and unsolicited he said "I just don't know where all the people will go, the fairways are too close together".  went on to further discuss many of the points on logistics that Matt brought up.

(I've thought of a second reason why Plainfield might want to host the event, but that one would be speculative as well so I won't mention it either)

Voytek Wilczak

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Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #12 on: February 12, 2009, 07:02:23 AM »
What's important is NOT that Plainfield will be hosting Barclays.

What's important is that Barclays seems to be committing to be a golf sponsor in 2010.

That may imply that they are not broke (although who knows).

They wisely did not accept money from the Guvernment (which, as we are finding out in the good ole commie USA, can drastically limit the ways the company is allowed to spend advertising dollars...)

Sam Maryland

Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #13 on: February 12, 2009, 09:34:26 AM »
What's important is NOT that Plainfield will be hosting Barclays.

What's important is that Barclays seems to be committing to be a golf sponsor in 2010.

That may imply that they are not broke (although who knows).

They wisely did not accept money from the Guvernment (which, as we are finding out in the good ole commie USA, can drastically limit the ways the company is allowed to spend advertising dollars...)

Your observation applies directly to the Charlotte event where Wachovia was the sponsor (still called The Wachovia this year, oddly) and Wells Fargo has yet to commit to the balance of the contract Wachovia had signed through 2014.

tlavin

Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #14 on: February 12, 2009, 10:14:49 AM »
This is exciting news for those among us who haven't yet played Plainfield.  I've heard, and read, many reports, but it would be great fun to watch pro competition on this course, even if most only see it on television.  I'm sure Matt Ward is right to worry about the logistics, but I'm sure they'll find some way to pull it off.

Matt_Ward

Re: Plainfield to host Barclay's 2010
« Reply #15 on: February 12, 2009, 10:47:51 AM »
Terry, et al:

I love Plainfield as a course ...

But --

Holding major golf tournaments today is far more than just the quality of the host site. Plainfield has little "extra" room for sufficient galleries to roam the landscape. I saw what happened with two smaller sized situations -- the '78 US Amateur and ther '87 Women's Open and it was plain to see that the facility was really pushed to the max with those championships.

Ridgewood was fortunate for all the reasons I mentioned and it fared quite nicely. From what I understand the club in Paramus is interested in hosting the event again -- likely on a rotation basis.

PGA Tour events are a far different animal and the old time clubs suffer because although they started "out in the country" the net result over the years is that all that "countrt" has been filled by homes and other clutter.

If Plainfield does host such an event the galleries will need to be rather limited -- I can't see much more than 15,000 people being able to both enjoy themselves and still allow the kind of connection the players need to have without being squeezed like lemons.

Like I said, I love the place immensely. I would hate to see Plainfield changed simply to accomodate the playing of a one time event.


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