[George Pazin]

Philippe has been a frequently suggested poster from industry posters who have sent me messages. I believe he is currently working with Rod Whitman, and he gets major props from me for working on my home away from home, Barnbougle Dunes (sorry if everyone is getting sick of me talking about it - imagine how bad it will be when I finally get there...).

Philippe indicated he is away from internet access today, but should be available starting tomorrow, so I thought it would great if everyone could start asking questions now. I will see if there's any info from Philippe on the Who Are You Guys thread.

Have fun, and play nice!

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On deck: Bryan Izatt

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[Tom_Doak]

I will just mention that Philippe is one of our past interns, and that's how he wound up working at Barnbougle.

I did not know until after I sent him off that Toronto-to-Tasmania was his first airline trip!

[Ian Andrew]

My first meeting with the “Penguin” was a walk of the front nine at Royal Montreal’s Blue course – the one that was used for the Presidents Cup. Not only did I enjoy Philippe’s willingness to share many opinions on what we were looking at, but I really appreciated the conversation about what made the original layout very challenging despite the lack of length. We had a great conversation about the constant curve in the old fairways and how bloody hard it was for longer hitters to try and overwhelm the course.

I once referred to there only being a handful of guys that would pull over their car and go and see a course because “it was there.” Philippe is one of the more passionate people I know when it comes to architecture. I don’t think there is a question he won’t answer or an opinion he’s not afraid to have.

Philippe,

You talked about the height of bunker lips on the Barnbougle thread, could you talk about what you learned about building bunkers and designing your own bunkers from that project?

[Will MacEwen]

Phillipe,

1.  Your top 5 courses in Quebec.

2.  How would you describe the golf culture in Quebec.  I lived in Montreal from 1989-1993 and golf didn't seem that popular at the time (despite mini putt on RDS).  I also know that Quebec has produced few touring professionals of any note (the two who spring to mind are Danny Talbot and Craig Matthew).  Are the private clubs part of the two solitudes?  That was my impression at the time.

I do know that since my time there there are more decent daily fee options around the Island.

[Rob Rigg]

Phillipe,

How did you develop your passion for GCA while growing up in the great white north?

Where did you go to school? Tom mentioned you were an intern, are there any good programs in Canada for aspiring GCAs? Or did you find your way to Renaissance another way?

I have enjoyed reading your comments on the "What would you do" type threads and hope you get a chance to design your "ideal course" one day.

[Philippe Binette]

Well, I thought I was away from the Internet this evening, but plans have changed, got a couple of hours in front of me.

Will:
top 5 courses in Quebec:
1) Mount Bruno
2) Montebello
3) Hillsdale (Laurentian)
4) Royal Montreal (Red)
5) Les Dunes

Why there aren't great players in Quebec, the lack of solid courses is one reason. Our players are good ball strikers but lack the 1.5 shots a round the greens to make it big because the lack of design quality around the greens in Québec.
The other reason: Quebec PGA tour is too conforting. If you're good, you have to play against really 20 guys and you're going to make 35 000 $ a year easy with about 8000 $ of expenses. Combined that with a club job, a you're making a nice living. Why fight 100 guys on the Canadian Tour for the same amount of money but four times as much expenses.
You have to go to the US to make it.

golf is popular, we are just not competitive enough within ourselves

[Philippe Binette]

Rob:

my passion for GCA came from two things

1) my fascination with plans, any kind of plans. As far as I can remember I was drawing cities, street patterns etc... than I remember my dad bringing home the PocketPro yardage book from Glen Abbey and my passion for drawing made me draw golf courses.
2) my home course had 27 holes in a forest and 9 holes in the middle of a farm field. That nine is open, windswept, weird greens and firm (baked clay in the summer). Since few people wanted to play it, I played that nine so often since I hate slow play. People were saying: this nine is easy, it's open you can hit the ball everywhere. Well at the club championship, nobody was breaking 40 on that nine if the wind was up.

I went to school at the Landscape Architecture School in Montreal, just like Y. Pilon and J. Glenn
Guelph University has a better turfgrass program and is closer to golf I think, Montreal is more a design school, whatever that means

[Philippe Binette]

I learned about the Renaissance Internship since it was posted on the wall at the University. I already had read The Anatomy of Golf Courses by Tom Doak, so I applied, made 26 hours worth of driving for the interview, no regrets !!!

About Barnbougle, I didn't design any bunkers at Barnbougle, it would be pretentious for me to say so. I built (running th excavator that is) the front left greenside bunker at 14th.
When I was there, me, George Waters, Vanessa Mybus (now Schneider) were the "bunker finish" crew, although the grassing wasn't done so I don't really know what's left of the stuff we did. I think the main deal was that we tried to define a style, through trial and error.
What I discovered, well,
1) rugged style is not about doing all sort of stuff, it's art and a thought process, it's about looking at nature and imitating.
2) sand is easier to work on than clay.
3) it's a team effort, Jason McCarthy was digging the general shape and we were finishing with shovels and rakes.
4) the diffrence between good and great is less than 6 inches and cannot be expressed on a plan

[Philippe Binette]

my first plane flight:

Montreal - Chicago - Los Angeles - Melbourne - Launceston

[Jason McNamara]

top 5 courses in Quebec:
1) Mount Bruno
2) Montebello
3) Hillsdale (Laurentian)
4) Royal Montreal (Red)
5) Les Dunes

Can you tell us a bit more why you like these?  And are you not considering ROGC, or is it not good enough?  Thanks.

[Philippe Binette]

Hi Jason

1) Mount Bruno: best set of greens in Quebec, and a well managed landscape (not too many trees, nice vistas on the property) The course plays fast and requires so much finesse with its 6 or 7 runaway greens.

2) Montebello: Stanley Thompson routing genius 101. If you go there out of season, you have the course to yourself and it's so great being there

3) Hillsdale: Just a classic course that, if it wasn't for a bad spring in the 1960's, would still host the Canadian Open. Sadly the greens went bad the year they were supposed to get the Open and it never got back there. Solid test of golf, nothing amazing but great holes.

4) Royal Montreal Red: Mainly because the Blue has been ruined. The flow of the property is the best thing there. It's not as dramatic as the Blue, but the holes are fun to play and there are a couple of bunkers there that are really good.

5) Les Dunes: half the course sits on a sandy site with towering pine trees. Howard Watson course, who has done a lot of nice course in Quebec (his routings are really good but I suspect a lack of budget for the finishing touches), Joliette, Mont-Ste-Anne, Cedarbrook, Lévis etc. Les Dunes is demanding of the tee, has some good greens. With some work there, it would be fantastic.

I didn't put Mont Adstock near Thetford Mines Qc, because I'm consulting on it and there really some work to do there, but it's one of the hardest 6500 yards par 72 I've ever seen. With some money there, it could be top 100 in Canada. Contours, greens inclined fairways, wind, dramatics... it's there.

Among unknown courses that are worth playing: Cowansville, Lachute, Beloeil (for its greens, not the bumps and lake somebody put in there, if not it could be Merion Qc (the equivalent, not as good as Merion of course)

I've never been to Royal Ottawa or Royal Quebec for that matter. I can't comment. I've yet to see Pinegrove where Ian is consulting.

[Matt Bosela]

Philippe,

- Can you name the five courses you most want to see or play that you haven't seen in person yet?  Why do you want to see them and what do you hope to learn from them?

- Explain the story about how the "Penguin's Bathtub" came about; if you had your choice, how much deeper would it be?

- Have you played Sagebrush yet?  If so, tell me your two most favourite holes, and why.  If you haven't played it, answer the same questions from a conceptual point of view.  Was there a hole that you feel doesn't work out there or could have been better with a little tweaking?  Elaborate if you can.

- Your five favourite courses in Canada?  Why?  

- Do you feel that the best Canadian golf courses, generally speaking, are underrated, overrated or sufficiently appreciated by those outside the country?

[Philippe Binette]

Matt:

top 5 courses I most want to see:

1) Sunningdale: to me, that place is what golf is all about, a landscape and a golf course so tightly bond together
2) Pine Valley: is it that good ?
3) Swinley Forest: how great a par 68 can be
4) Barnbougle Dunes: I have seen it only in sand, would like to see it with some grass on it.
5) The Bandon experience: what else more to say.

The Penguin bathub was a funny accident. There was a rectangle depression behind the 14th green (part of it was because of an old road) and Jeff Mingay told me: why not give it a try, dig up a bunker there. Blind small bunker behind a green: I'm thinking Garden City... so I start digging. The look on Jeff and Whit's face when they saw the huge pile of dirt that got out of there was priceless. Since I'm the Penguin, the nickname Penguin's bathtub came naturally for it. It should be 6 to 8 inches deeper because it looks so good when we finished it without the sand. Deeper than that, it would look articifial.

Haven't played Sagebrush on grass yet.
favorite holes:
1) 10th a great par 3. With a right pin and a right to left wind, that shot over the moundis pretty unique. Also I love the front left pin. A bening looking hole location but 8 yards to far and it's gone down the mountain.
2) 17th. Just a natural looking hole with a nice flow to it. Many architects  would have cut down a little mound (now the forward tee0 for more visibility, but it would have ruined that hole.

holes that doesn't work: I don't think there are any. Due to the severity of the site, some stuff might happen while playing Sagebrush that won't happen anywhere else... ball rolling down 100 yards etc.. but it's the whole point of the place; a unique golf experience. The only thing that puzzled my mind is the first hole. Why not play it as a par 4 from the ladies tee by the road? Why start so far down? Maybe to make sure that nobody would consider walking the course !!!

Best courses in Canada: well I haven't seen anything in Canada funny enough. I was supposed to walk St Georges last summer but showed up on the first sunny saturday afternoon in 6 weeks. course was packed.

Canadian courses overrated / underrated ?:
well the best courses (top 10) in Canada would probably be ranked higher if they were close to a big city in the US.
but there's a lack of depth once you get pass the top 30 in ScoreGolf Magazine.
The most overrated thing is that every architect in Canada is called: ''Great canadian architect in the legacy of Stanley Thompson''.
For people outside the country... I don't know if they match Canada and Golf that well.

[Philippe Binette]

about the great canadian architect theme: the truth is, no architect has come close to be half as good and prolific as Thompson, but the marketing tells us so.
I know one that is potentially as good, but I'll never be as prolific...

[Robert Thompson]

You are a very outspoken chap (which I appreciate) -- do you think that has helped or hindered your progress so far?

[Philippe Binette]

RT;

I've said and written stuff that I should have kept to myself, who haven't... and some of that might have been negative for me. But it was my perception of things so, no regrets.

on the other side: If I'd always kept my mouth shut, I wouldn't be at the point I am now.

if you work with me, you'll know what you get; passion and honesty.. it can lead to an explosive combinaison, but at least, you know on which side of the fence I am.

[George Pazin]

When did you begin your involvement with golf, both personally and professionally?

How did you find out about this site?

Any good snake/spider stories from Tasmania?

[Philippe Binette]

Involvment in golf:

I started playing when I was 8 (actually birdied the first hole I've ever played, 90 yards, par 3) after playing in my backyard with plastic balls. My dad loves golf, was about a 12 hdcp at that time. Played one year on par 3 course and the next I was a member at Verchères GC and it's still my home course.

Professionnally, I got involved in consulting for a project while I was on my first year in University. I was 19 at the time and ended up consulting at Le Sorcier GC near Gatineau Qc, an homemade project. We had to revise the routing due to some planning regulations. I loved those days, I routed some holes, advice on the shaping and spend my time saying, don't put to many bunkers, keep it simple, the property has some much contours that you don't need wild stuff. Play the course once, like it a lot.


Find out about the site:
you won't believe; the site was referenced in a golf week website article on MERION

Snake or spiders stories:
It was winter when I was there, we fooled around with a baby snake (poking it with a stick)... Trust me, I would have not picked marram grass in the middle of nowhere on site in summer time

[Jason McNamara]

Salut Phillippe -

Thanks for expanding on your original list - I appreciate the expanded commentary.  How about Kanawaki and Ile de Montreal, as I have seen those two mentioned a few times on the board as well.

Thanks again, Jason

[Philippe Binette]

Kanawaki is pretty good, would be worth restoring some features there.

Ile de Montréa: the links course is just the opposite of links golf. Super severe roughs, narrow fairways, long holes and not real great ground game option. Lack of substance to be called great. Really tough course.

[Will MacEwen]

Phillippe,

What are your thoughts on the 36 hole facility Ile Perrot - that wasn't on scene when I lived out there. 

What is Braeside like?

[Philippe Binette]

On Ile Perrot, there's Summerlea (36 holes) Atlantide (36 holes) and Ile Perrot GC (18 holes) which one are you talking about.

I've never been to Braeside but would like to.

[Will MacEwen]

Atlantide would be the one - that is not that old is it?

[Philippe Binette]

Hi will

I've only seen summerlea and ile perrot. Atlantide has a new course with 2 holes right on the Lake deux-montagnes but I've never seen them

[Mike Nuzzo]

Howdy Philippe

Congratulations on your work experiences.
What are you up to this winter or plans for 2010?
What aspects do you like most about the business?
What do you like the least?

Cheers

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