#1 is Mackenzie and Maxwell's Crystal Downs, in Frankfort,
MI, home club of Tom Doak and was where fellow architect
Mike DeVries caddied as a youngster (mentioned in this
month's Feature Interview). Both live in nearby Traverse
City, MI. Doak is credited as being the one who put Crystal
Downs on the modern golf map. Like NGLA, Crystal Downs
was virtually unknown (though I still have a hard time
believing that with NGLA being next door to SH and near so
many others) before the 80's. Now it ranks anywhere from
#6 to something like #19 in the 3 major top 100 lists.
clue alert:
"Clear"ly as in Crystal clear.
The major body of water in the upper corner is Lake Michigan.
Steubenware is crystal from Corning Glass.
Keith mentioned "crystal" and "down".
Dan referred to a race track. Crystal Downs sounds like it
could be one. The "down and down and down" threw me off,
because the clue was referring to #2.
Sean's "boomerang" clue refers to the shape of the 7th
green, which you can see a picture of in the GCA writeup
here:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/crystal1.html#2 is Bidermann GC, north of Wilmington, DE, and was
designed by Dick Wilson in 1964. Bidermann was (still could
be, I don't know) the private enclave of the Du Pont
(Chemicals) family. Du Pont CC is for the Du Pont employees.
Tom Paul knows the course fairly well. The holes under
construction by the clubhouse (upper right), were done by
Gil Hanse, and the completed one looks different than the
rest of the course. I noticed this and correctly guessed that
Hanse had done the work because that hole looks very much
like hole #7 at Inniscrone, from above.
Clue alert:
Shivas hosted Rich Harvest Links, which is the private
enclave of...I forget. A rich guy from Chicago.
I once worked a few miles from Bidermann for two years
back in 92 and 93 and drove by the course several times.
That's how I know about it.
The two more famous courses nearby are Wilmington CC's
South course, which has been in (and out of) GDs rankings
for many years, and Du Pont CC's Du Pont course, annual
host of an LPGA major, the McDonald's LPGA Championship.
I was a member of Du Pont CC for those two years I lived
there.
The GCAer who won a prestigious regional tournament
nearby is Jamie Slonis, who won the tournament at the
nearby Fieldstone Club, where Tom Paul was officiating.
Wayne's World poked fun of Delaware as a possible vacation
destination. Was still funny to see while in Delaware. Though
I must say, Delaware's coast from Lewes to Fenwick Island is
quite a nice place to go to the beach.
Dewey Beach in
the summer is Party Central, my favorite Delaware
destination of the past.