[Jay Flemma]

I was chatting with a few friends about how much we revere GCGC.  I hear wonderful things about how the course will look come this spring and about how everyone is getting excited about the Travis.

Okay, what holes do you love at GCGC?  Pick three faves.

I love the opener, 15 - the wall hole - and 18.  Sleeper = 17...great match play hole.  I remember watching one Travis semi-final end when a player, in the greenside bunker, blasted out...over the pin, over the green, over the fence and into the highway...

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jay,

I like the starting two holes, there's something about them that's challenging, but, not a round destroyer.

# 16 is high on my list, but then again, so are so many holes, for different reasons, and in different winds.

# 8 with a back right pin.  # 9 into a wind, # 10 for almost any reason, # 11 into a wind.

The four par 5's are very interesting.  All of them are reachable in two for the best players and three of them are reachable for the better player..

I love the invisible, fall away greens at # 10 and # 13.

I like the ill defined green at # 2 and the heroic carry to that green.

I like the choice off the first tee.  Go right and long to get a better angle of attack, or straight away and face carrying deep bunkers.

# 3 with it's right to left fairway and left to right green.

# 14 and # 15 for the contrast they present,

And, # 18, the Eden hole, and the environment it sits in.

Bottom line, I can't pick JUST three holes

[JSlonis]

Jay,

This is a big year for the Travis tournament.  It will be the 100 year Anniversary.  I'm already looking forward to the third week in May.

I love the first hole because there are so many different ways to play it.  Like Pat, I'd be hard pressed to just name three holes. I really like #10, the 2nd shot is quite difficult with the slope of that green.  #15 is also great, a par on that hole is a damn good score. The #18th is another standout, the greensite with the brutal bunkers and the intimate setting all add to a great finish.

**I forgot to mention, a day at GCGC isn't complete without having a Southside while sitting on the patio.  I learned early on though, that one of those drinks is more than enough.   

[Jay Flemma]

Yep, the Travis turns 100 this year.  I wrote my poem "Our Green and Gothic Home" to commemorate that and read it at closing ceremonies last year.  http://jayflemma.thegolfspace.com/?p=1723

I'm looking forward to the tournament as well.  I remember Mikey Kelley and Kevin hammer's classic battle in the semis and Kelley's incredible par save at one in the playoff after dumping his pitch in the bunker.  He got up and down from a nasty lie and rolled in a 30 footer to save par and extend the playoff.  Great stuff.  Then last year Ken Bakst made a great run too.  Plus, McQuellan is hysterical to follow around the course.

Jamie, you gotta gimme something to write about!  You too Michael Wharton Palmer!

[Yannick Pilon]

There is so much to like about that place, it's difficult to pick three holes!

It feels like your playing golf in an old era....  An era golf should still be in, IMHO, where everything is low key, but so good nonetheless.

Who needs the modern day eye candy, when you can have Garden City type eye-candy!  The place exudes class.

YP

[Jeff_Mingay]

I've long thought that if I was forced to pick one course to play the rest of my life, Garden City might be the one.

I wrote an essay about Garden City which appears in Paul Daley's GAV-4, stemming from my admiration for the course/place.

[Jay Flemma]

And I read Jeff's essay and recommend it...great stuff.  How about 14 too?  Underrated hole...miss that fwy and good luck!

[Robert Emmons]

I like #2, carry to green with a wonderful bunker,,,#9, great angles and thoughtful hole,,,and #18, fun, exciting and a challange with the match on the line and everyone watching...RHE

[JNC Lyon]

I love a good Garden City thread.  It is my favorite course that I've played.  However, that could change in a few weeks!

Three holes from the course, what a tough choice.  Jay, good call on 17, especially with the downright terrifying tee shot.  I know guys will consider driving into the 3rd Fairway if they are near the lead in the club championship.  However, the green does not do it for me, so that will not be my choice.

First, I MUST pick number 16.  What a classic par four.  To me, it is the perfect example of Max Behr's "Line of Charm."  I hit what I thought was a great drive up the left side.  However, my second shot was completely blind.  It made me tentative and indecisive, and I made a poor swing and wound up with a bogey.

Second choice: the 10th.  I have never seen a hole quite like this.  The green is outrageous and would never be built today.  The bunkering is very unique (I love the dollops of sand 40 yards short-left of the green).  The hole is very simple in layout, yet it is so complex to play.  Why can't architects build more holes like these?

Finally, I have to pick the 18th.  I have a soft spot for par three finishers.  How cool is it that Emmet/Travis decided to end the first great American layout with an Eden Hole?  The setting, the bunkering, the green, it all works perfectly.

I have to leave out the 9th and 15th with great pain.  Additionally, the 2nd hole was my choice for my eclectic 18 holes draft, yet it does not make my Garden City top three.  I think that says something about the course's quality, no?

One final question: is GCGC playable currently?  I flew over the course en route to JFK a few weeks ago, and it was completely clear of snow.  A winter round at this layout would be the best.

[Tom_Doak]

I think I would have to choose the 1st, 15th, and 18th holes, though it would be a shame to leave out #10 and #11.

P.S. to JNC:  Mr. Emmet did not choose to end the course with an Eden hole.  Mr. Travis did.

[JSlonis]

I think I would have to choose the 1st, 15th, and 18th holes, though it would be a shame to leave out #10 and #11.

Hmmm...nice to see my views posted above are shared by some pretty esteemed company. 

[Patrick_Mucci]

JNC,

Yes, it's playable in winter, however, more and more courses are protecting their greens from winter and ice damage, hence some of the greens may have tarps on them.

[Jim Sweeney]

I'm not qualified to comment since I have not played it, but I'm happy to say that situation will be corrected this year! So I'm following this thread with great interest.

[Jay Flemma]

JNC and others, good pick on 16 too...in fact, that's a great stretch of par-4s there, 14-15-16.

Last year, the medalist at the Travis, a member named Mike Confort, birdied 13-17 to shoot 70.

It was also nice to see Zahringer shoot 1-under and make the weekend.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jay Flemma,

Mike had a good number of birdies when he beat me in the second round of the 2009 club championship.

GCGC can yield a good amount of birdies, but, if you're not careful, a good number of double bogies is also possible.

14, 15 and 16 are unique holes even though they're adjacent to one another.

They're a nice mix of a short, long and medium length par 4, although with many of today's golfers, they're all short.

Although, GCGC's cross bunkering thwarts some of the extraordinary length from today's young golfers.

[JSlonis]

Pat,

Your last point about the cross bunkering is a good one and often overlooked.  There are a good number of holes at GCGC that under the right conditions the longer player should scale back a bit off the tee.  Probably more so than any other top course I can think of except for maybe Pine Valley.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jamie,

To varying degrees and with certain wind conditions, # 1, # 3, # 4, # 5, # 7, # 8, # 9, # 10, # 11, # 13, # 14, # 15, # 16 and # 17 have crossing features, narrowed features or a combination of a dogleg element in combination with narrowing features and/or bunkering that can restrict just bombing away with the driver.

Was this characteristic intended, or just blind luck ?

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

For three hole sin arow...I love 10--11--12--
I just love those three holes.
The driving demands placed on the teeshots on ten and eleven are superb, the three greensites sublime..and that tee sht on twelve is just fantastic..in fact it is my favourite hole on the course.

Hopefully my invite to the 100th Travis will arrive!

[JSlonis]

For three hole sin arow...I love 10--11--12--
I just love those three holes.
The driving demands placed on the teeshots on ten and eleven are superb, the three greensites sublime..and that tee sht on twelve is just fantastic..in fact it is my favourite hole on the course.

Hopefully my invite to the 100th Travis will arrive!

Michael,

I think you've got your order or holes mixed up.  While I'd agree on 10 and 11, #12 is the par three where we long for the days of old.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Jamie...
Man I love that 12 the hole par three....I never played the "old" hole in fact in my ignorance I did not realise that was not the original please do tell!

[Jay Flemma]

well 9-10-11-12 are now referred to as "The W" because when you look at them over head they form that shape...so you have the "Inner Loop" (1-2-3-17-18), and the Great Hemptstead Plain, for the rest.

[Patrick_Mucci]

MWP,

There are a number of great aerial and ground level photos of the old 12th hole haning in the clubhouse.

I think Tommy Nacarato or Tom MacWood posted the old aerial on an old GCGC thread.

[Jay Flemma]

It's the aerial in the locker room that gave me the idea for the "w" for 9-10-11-12.  The make the perfect shape of the letter and they stand apart from the rest of the course on that edge.

Thanks for reminding me about how great 10 is...I love how the green rolls away from you...we need more of that!

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jay Flemma,

# 13 green also rolls away from you, and, it's a blind putting surface from the approach.

# 10 and # 13 function at their best when conditions are firm and fast.

Unfortunately, the Travis is in the Spring, although, with the exception of last year, it seems like the winter.
In the spring, the ground is usually damp, depriving the golfer of punched or running shots at # 13 since the ground rises from about 120 short of the green, to the green.

With # 10 the ground might be level or even fall away a little.

While both holes require vastly different approaches, those greens provide an experience that's pretty unique in golf.

I also like the fact that both greens present a pseudo skyline effect.

I know many first time golfers, sitting in perfect position in the middle of the 13th fairway, who mistakenly hit their approach to the 15th green which sits behind the 13th green.

The deceptive visual is that the 13th green is invisible, with only the flagstick as a beacon, but, the 15th green, the way it cants toward the 13th fairway is highly visible, and as such, many first time golfers hit to the 15th by mistake.

It's a great illusion 

[JSlonis]

Jamie...
Man I love that 12 the hole par three....I never played the "old" hole in fact in my ignorance I did not realise that was not the original please do tell!

I can't tell if you're serious or not about #12.  We aren't old enough to have played the original.  My comment is solely based on the previous version I've seen in aerials on photos.

Are you pulling my leg?    It's usually dubbed as a least favorite.

Of all the holes that get discussed at GCGC, #12 gets more critical discussion than any other by a wide margin. 

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