Starting today, Mon. 10/12: Get to know Rich Goodale

[George Pazin]

Rich has been posting on here almost as long as me - and I've probably had more disagreements with him than just about anyone else! Yet I know that deep down, our disagreements are usually about minutiae and our mutual love for the game makes us friends. I'm still looking forward to that opportunity to share a round and a pint with Rich.

Here are some background pieces on Rich:

July 2005 Feature Interview

Sept 2006 Feature Interview #2

June 2007 Feature Interview #3

Here are two terrific pieces written by Rich:

Royal Dornoch

The Architectural Evolution of Royal Dornoch Golf Club

Between Rich's experiences in the States and the UK, his books on TOC and Dornoch, and perhaps most importantly, his willingness to take a strong stance on a controversial opinion, I know Rich will be a lively participant, so fire away!

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On deck: Martin Bonnar

Previous participants:

Jeff Brauer

Kyle Harris

Mike Young

Anthony Nysse

Jim Franklin

Phillip Young

Tim Gerrish

Bill McBride

[Mike Nuzzo]

How long have you been a writer?
Why hasn't the Experience Series continued? - I think I have them all.
What was your favorite part about The World Atlas?
The hardest part?
How often do you make par from the beach?

[Brad Swanson]

What is the history behind the unusual spelling of your name Rihc?

Cheers,
Brad

[Mike Benham]

How was it being childhood friends with Leland Stanford Jr.?

[Jim Franklin]

Who would your Grudge Match be against?

Favorite course in Scotland?
Favorite course in the US?
Favorite designer (deceased and living)?

[Anthony Gray]

  Rich,

  I think your book on TOC  is a must for the first time player, What other courses would you like to add to your writings?

  Where do you spend most of your time?

  Can you give us the details on your formal education?

  Who is Leland Stanford Jr?

  Does it feel strange wearing those long socks with shorts?

  Thanks for being a good sport.

  Anthony



  

[Rich Goodale]

George

Tahnks, but how soon you forget my book on Carnoustie http://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/rich-goodale-june-2007....  Nevertheless the rounds of golf and of pints will be on me.

Mike

1.  I've written stuff for most of my life, but up until the last 4-5 years all the paid-for writing was for private clients on issues of business strategy and the implications on this of the future.  My golf writing started on this forum and led to my first paid-for gig "Experience Royal Dornoch."

2.  The "Experience" series has not continued as, when asked, I convinced the publisher that it was not an economically viable venture for them.  Once a management consultant, always a management consultant.....  However, "Experience Wolf Point" trips enticingly off the tongue, does it not?

3.  Trying to put a new spin on each of 18 courses that had been written to death about, often by some of the best golf writers in their world.

4.  Grappling with those who preferred the certainty of conformity to the excitment of differentiation.

5.  Usually, even though I am rarely on beaches, at least those which are in play, for golf that is......  The first I remember was 20 years ago on the 1st at Machrihanish--the ease of hitting a 5-iron to the heart of the green led as much to my relative indifference to the course as did the Blade Runner appearance of Cambelltown.

Brad

See "Tahnks" above.

Mike

LSJr. himself was after my time, but I still remember the shock when I opened the envelope in 1964 to be told that I had been accepted into "Leland Stanford Junior University."  I thought I'd have to spend the next 2 years trying to find my way into a proper 4-year university, like Santa Clara.

Jim

1.  I do not do "grudge matches," and this is serious.  Life is too short to trivialise something as important as golf.

2.  Dornoch.  Surprise, surprise...

3.  Harder question.  Probably Woods Hole, as it was the first place I ever met a real live hooker.  After that, Pebble Beach.

4.  I known of no designer who is both deceased and living, but I'll vote for Old Tom Morris.  He lived golf rather than seeing it as a business.

Anthony

1.  Any course in the world.  Each is its own "experience."

2.  Aberdour, Fife, Scotland.  I live here with my family.

3.  Plumfield School, Hindley School, Darien High School, Leland Stanford Junior University, Harvard Business School, US Army Basic Training (Fort Dix), Gerogetown University

4.  The guy they named Stanford after.

5.  No

6.  I'm a good slouch too


Rich

[Steve Salmen]

Rich,

It was nice meeting you at Renaissance and seeing you again at Dornoch this past summer.  I hope we meet up again.  The bummer is that we were unable to finish our round at Renaissance due to so much rain.  After you left, I finished the round with Jonathon Cummings and it cleared up pretty nicely.  I appreciate all you contribute to the site.  Best wishes to you and your family.

Steve

[George Pazin]

George

Tahnks, but how soon you forget my book on Carnoustie http://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/rich-goodale-june-2007....  Nevertheless the rounds of golf and of pints will be on me.

Correction noted and post modified.

How did you get interested in golf?

When did you become interested in golf course design?

How did you stumble across this merry band of fanatics?

[Jason Topp]

1.   Do Scots really play more quickly than Americans or is the reduced playing time due to reduced number of people on the course, shorter walks around links courses and cold weather?

2.   What do Scots miss by not having an American perspective on the game?

3.   What is your travel advice to the first time visitor?

4.   Have you seen the cut back gorse at Dornoch and is the impact as negative as you feared?

5.   Two people plan to stay in St. Andrews.  They want to splurge for two rounds, but want to play the remainder of their golf at interesting links courses for low cost.  Where do you send them for 14 rounds of golf and why?

6.   Is Dornoch the best destination for a trip along the lines of question 5?  (I suspect it is)

[mike_malone]

 George,

   What makes you think Rich is interested in golf course design ?   

[Mark_F]

Rich,

Do you actually remember all of those esoteric pieces of literature and latin you occasionally quote, or just remember what to google?

Enviously,

Mark.

[Rich Goodale]

Thanks, Steve.  We'll finish that round someday.  If I remember correctly, I'm 2 up....

George

1.  I played every and all sports when I was growing up.  My parents were from golfing families, even though neither one played golf in their adulthood.  We had a "sports closet" in our house that included cut down hickories and clapped out 1930's pelotas, and when there was nothing else to do I'd hit them around my back yard and/or into the woods behind our house.  I liked the fact that "ball go far," but only played once or twice a year during summer vacations.  Once I got too good to regularly find tennis partners and too old to play baseball, I took up golf.

2.  I got interested in golf course design when I understood that courses were designed, probably from the early GD 100 greatest lists.  The fact that my parents grew up and met at (and I played at with one of my grandfathers) a Ross course sometimes mentioned on this list (Winchester) spiked my interst, but it was my purchase of the original World Atlas of Golf in 1978, prior to my first trip to Scotland, which was the fatal blow.

3.  I stumbled on GCA.com in late 2000 while searching for something or other, but got hooked when I saw the course profile of Brora.  Until then, I thought I was the only person outside of Brora who knew of and loved that course.

Jason

1.  Yes they do.  They know how to play golf quickly and understand the value of getting back to the clubhouse as quickly as possible so as to enjoy the company and the beverages on offer.

2.  Not much, although most of them don't understand this and so spend far too much money chasing the sun and overwatered golf courses in Florida.

3.  Be yourself and respect the fact that the locals are themselves too.

4.  Yes and yes, but I probably will get over it when I am to old to care about standards.

5.   Stay in St. Andrews (but find as cheap a place as you can to bed down) and travel between Montrose and Leven.

6.  Dornoch ain't cheap, and there is neither the variety nor the quantity of great links courses that ther eare in NE Fife and Angus

Mark

Yes I do, but I will often check Google just to make sure my memory is sound, in case nitpickers like you choose to do the same thing.

[Mark Bourgeois]

If the craic at your local went down the tubes could you fix it and if so how?

[John Foley]

Rich,

Enjoyed your experiance books tremendously - the heck w/ that economic viability stuff lets see more!!

If you could continue the series what courses would you like to do?

How does a (one time) Californian get to Fife and not come back home??

Thanks.

[Adam Clayman]

Rihc,
 Please tell what if any significance playing Royal Kabul had on your golf life?

Who was the first to call you The Brain?

Please elaborate on how removing gorse lowers standards? And, Which standards?

[Rich Goodale]

Mark

Craic can neither be created nor destroyed, even though since my local closed down several years ago I have had a devil of a time trying to find it.  I hadn't thought of looking on YouTube for it.  Thanks for the suggestion/inspiration!

John

Glad you enjoyed the books.  Thanks.

1.  If somebody gave me the $50K/book or so it would take to produce new ones I would prefer to write about "hidden gems" rather than trophy courses.  Every golf course is somebody's "home" course and has both stories to tell as well as architecture to enjoy and study.  It's not hard to say something interesting about the Road Hole, or the interrelationship between gravity and the routing of Dornoch, but to be able to properly explain the charms of a Top 10,000 course would involve hard work, skill and love.

2.  I was actually living in Florida (Ponte Vedra Beach) when I decided to move to Scotland in 1990, and my genetic "home" is New England.  I do get back to the States fairly regularly, and did move back to California from 8/2000--->8/2002.  That sojourn cured me of some of my nostalgic longings.  Right now, imperfect as it too is, Scotland is a better place for me and my family, so I am here!  Better golf is just one part of it.......

Adam

1.  The photo of me playing "Royal Kabul" in full Arab regalia was of course actually taken on the 1st (Ladies) tee at Dornoch.  At that time (1982) Skibo Castle was being sold by the Carnegie family, rumours were rife, and I thought that appearing on the course as a Sheik would be good fun.  Playing with me were my Ghillie (in full kilt), my Banker (in polyester pastels) and my Gardener (a gnome from Belfast).  I hope the attached photo sticks.

[Rich Goodale]

...good to see that the photo stuck!  Back to Adam.....

2.  Nobody that I know of has ever called me "The Brain" but feel free to if you wish.  I prefer it to "Rihc."

3.  Removing gorse from Dornoch is like removing iceplant from the 1st 5 holes at Spyglass or the Ocean from 15-17 at Cypress Point.  You could fill in that troublesome gap between the tee and green on 16 Cypress with dirt, and nobody would ever lose their ball on that hole again, but would that be desireable?   Not me.  I personally do not like the dumbing down of great golf courses for the sake of money, which is what has happened at Dornoch, and elsewhere.  That is just one of my standards.

[Tony_Muldoon]

What is the greatest Myth about Golf in Scotland, as swallowed by those who don't live there?

You followed Tom Watson (& Ernie Els on a separate occasion?) round Dornoch.  How did (t)he(y) course manage and do you think (t)he(y) would have played it differently if it had been a tournament?  

What has happened to Scottish sport?  The ones that used to matter were Football, Golf, Boxing and Rugby now the only world class sportsman they have plays Tennis!

Have you ever known the atmosphere at GCA to be so sour for so long. Bill made a good suggestion about meeting more people on the group, any thoughts on how to make this a happier and funnier place once more?

Haggis a delicacy?

[Jim Nugent]

Nobody that I know of has ever called me "The Brain" but feel free to if you wish.  I prefer it to "Rihc."

In keeping with "Rihc," we'll have to spell it "Brian."

[Robin_Hiseman]

Rich (I prefer the correct spelling)

Am I imaginging this, or do I recall correctly that you were once a contestant on the TV show 'Mastermind'?  If so, what was your specialist subject/s and how did you get on?

[Rich Goodale]

Tony

1.  That's a good one!  I'll say that it is a myth that Scottish golfers are all keepers of the Holy Grail of Golf as it were, a la oor Melvyn.  In my experience they are not a lot different from the average American golfer--keen on buying the latest technology, preferring to take their golfing holidays in places different to their own home trcks (which to them means Spain or Florida, with cartball courses, cart girls and HEAT!), and not particularly bothered by the architecture or history of the courses they play.

2.  I didn't follow Els, just played 6 or so holes ahead of him so saw him playing the front nine as I was playing the back, particularly on his 5th (my 12th), where he tried to drive the green from the back tees, aiming at the "cart path" to the left of all the bunkers which allows a very narrow entrance to the green.  I doubt he would play that shot in a competition, as the penalty for hitting the ball one degree left of the ideal line is gorse and a lost ball.  I have also heard stories from those who did follow him, including his caddy (who was fired on the first green).  As for Watson, that was in 1981, with persimon and balatas, and in the round I followed (his first) I doubt if he would have played any differently.  He had a game against his playing prtner (Sandy Tatum) and was also practising for the Open (to be held the next week at Sandwich).  As he was at the peak of his game then and there, it was a succession of straight and long shots punctuated by the occasional long putt.  It was very windy that day, in his face going out, and he needed driver/3 wood to get near the 7th green (then 459 yards) and he didn't make it over the hill of the 8th with his drive, having again to hit 3-wood to the green (435 yards).  The best shot I saw him hit (or just about anybody ever hit) was from 150 to the 14th playing downwind and with the pin on the narrow point to the left.  The course was rock hard and I thought the only way he was going to get on the green was a punch and run but he hit a majestic 8 iron that soared high and then bit and stopped 5 feet from the hole.  This was my AHA! moment when I realised that these guys were different from you and me.  In the afternoon he and Sandy played a second round in rain and a howling gale.  I was wise enough to stay in the bar but a good freind of mine who was caddying for Sandy told me that on the 16th (400 yards dead uphill), Watson tried to drive the green, and almost made it on his third attempt after losing his first two in the quarry.  I would say that he would never try that today, but given that there is at least one member of this DG who has actually driven the 16th (not me), I'm not sure...

3.  Scotland won the World Elephant Polo tournament a few years ago.

4.  There is research that tells of that the largest number of people that constitues a manageable organisation is 167.  This was roughly the active size of this DG 5+ years ago, whereas now we have probably close to 500 people partcipating somewhat actively.  As a result, there is no control over what is said on here, self or otherwise, and both mean-spirited and cloyingly inane dialogue has thrived.  It's a corrollary of Gresham's law--bad information drives out good.  Ran doesn't seem to care, and it's his site, so we just have to take what we can.

5.  Delicacy, no.  Fun to eat from time to time (particularly January 25th) yes.  That being said, most of the traditional "delicacies" (e.g. caviar, ortolans, calves brains, etc.) are just as minging as haggis.  Go figure.

Jim

Thanks.  I have asked my official biographer to change the name of our movie under development to "Life of The Brian."  Trips off the tongue for some unexplained reason.....

Robin

True.  I got on by applying, taking a couple of tests and being accepted.  In 1997 (last TV series with Magnus Magnussen in charge) my subjects were:  "The Golf Links of Great Britain and Ireland" (1st round) and "The Wines of France" (semis).  In 1998 they put the show on radio 4 and asked me to appear again, and I did "The Who" and "The Life and Work of Jonathan Swift."  In both series I did well in the 1st round and medicore in the semis.

Rich

[Sean_A]

Rich

I am not sure of the story, but what prompted you to stay in Dornoch for a few months (?) all those years ago?

What prompted you to stay? 

What are your 3* courses?

What are your 2* courses?

Ciao

[Bill_McBride]

Rich, I'm wondering why you said the removal of gorse at Dornoch is a money issue.  Please elaborate!

Have you considered buying the hotel there by the first tee at Dornoch and bringing it back to life?  It might be available at a very good price right about now!

Thanks for being among the strongest supporters of BUDA.  Anyone who has considered playing at BUDA and hasn't doesn't really know what they are missing!

[Rich Goodale]

Sean

1.  I wanted to have a proper summer holiday, so I quit my last real job and moved to Dornoch for the summer of 1981 (mid-April--->Mid August.  When I came back I stated working for myself and have been doing so ever since.

2.  I came back (see above).  As to why I eventually moved over here in 1990, cherchez la femme.....

3. and 4.  My 3*** courses are the one's I've played out of what I assume to be the distinctively best courses in the world which are worth the trip itself, and my 2** are those which are nearly as good a worth a detour, but lack a certain something or contain some moderate flaw.  My 1* are those which are worth a second visit if you are in the area.  I assume that there are about 30-35 3*** courses in the world and about 100-150 2** and 500+ 1*.  I'm not naming names now as I haven't looked at my list in many years, and have played a number of definitely and possibly starred courses this year.  I'll probably get to it later in the year as I'm due someone an article on course rating and ranking by then.  Overall, I've played 15-20 of the potential 3***, maybe 30 of the potential 2** and another 50 potential 1*.

Bill

1.  With the gorse they way it used to be, the course was too difficult for many casual visitors.  Easier course = more green fees.  It might also be possible to have lower maintenance costs if the gorse is permanently cleared out.  I should be honest, that the party line is that this is just a periodic cutting back of the gorse, with it being allowed to move back in gradually, but I'll beleive that when I see it.

2.  Never, as I hardly spent any time there even when it was up and running.  It would be a great deal for you, however.  Go for it!

3.  I have to support BUDA as I invented it!

Rich