What is a Blaukovitch WTF stretch

[Matt_Davenport]

Kyle,
I noticed on the Public Golf west of philly thread your reference to "a typical Blaukovitch WTF stretch" Where is it at Honeybrook?  where else can I find one? Does Olde Homestead have one? How about Southmoore? Whitetail? Island Greens? Stone Hedge?

[Kyle Harris]

Those are the holes that are invariably jammed into the property on a Blaukavitch course.

Including:
Honeybrook 14-16
Bella Vista: 5, 14, 15
Island Green was a bit of a more open property, but some could argue the 4-5-6 stretch is that. Though I love the 4th hole, at least the way it used to be before they moved the path. 5 is a lot better now since they changed it, that hole used to be a bear.
Olde Homestead's stretch is the new holes, I think 5-6-7, which replaced the holes NLE for the Par 3 course.

[Matt_Davenport]

Kyle,
Thanks for the response. While 14-16 may not be the strongest three hole stretch (with two short fours and a good, strong five) at Honeybrook it resulted utilizing the land on the south side of the West Branch of the Brandywine Creek, avoiding all of the adjacent wetland, with all features built at an elevation above the 100 year floodplain. There looks like alot of land leftover but even in 1999 when Honeybrook was permitted for construction it was no walkover to obtain the joint permit. Today, forget about it...

I think your broad casting of a term like "jamming holes" in is a little strong. Jim is one of the few archies who won't deviate from his design standards for separation distance between golf holes and landing areas for the sake of stretching a few more yards out of a course. So long as he is involved during the construction process, the course will look like the plans he produces.

[Matt_Davenport]

little drawing of 14-16. Food for thought

[Matt_Ward]

Slightly off topic -- but Stone Hedge has two of the better public holes in all of the Keystone State in my mind -- the long uphill par-4 2nd is a beauty -- after you play the 1st hole you think the course will be a pushover. The other is the par-5 12th hole. Just a solid tee shot is needed here plus accuracy needed as well.

The closing hole is also solid.

Sad to say the remote location keeps many people from noticing this course,.

[Michael Huber]

Thinking back on when I played honey brook, i would say that hole 14, hole 16, and to an extent hole 17 all felt kind of jammed.

That isn't to say that they are bad holes, as I rather enjoyed the fact you had to kind of navigate the creek and so forth.  So I suppose a hole can be jammed and both jammed and playable at the same time, if that makes sense.

I did not care for the 5-6-7 stretch of Ole Homestead.  There was plenty of WTF at bella vista, but I will give the architect a free pass given all the environmentally sensitive areas and big houses. 

[Kyle Harris]

I very much like Blaukavitch's work. Island Green, Bella Vista and Olde Homestead are all fun tracks.

That being said, Hole 15 at Honeybrook fails because the tree line (and the trees within the tree line on the hole corridor) do NOTHING to force anything other than a piped drive down a slot, which for a double-dog-legged Par 5 just seems antithetical. There really is nothing pushing play to the edges of the fairway to gain an angle for the second shot or even to try to have a poke at the green in two.

Matt,

Have you worked for or constructed a Blaukavitch course?

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I'm playing Honeybrook on Monday in a charity event. I'll pay more attention to 14-16 and report my opinion.

[Dan Herrmann]

Honeybrook 14 is a strange but fun short par 4, which plays 100x better from the back tees.  Yeah, it's jammed in there, but it brings the Brandywine into play nicely.

15 is a pretty good par 5 that makes you work for a good score...

16 coming back is a short par 4.  My only criticism is that I wish Jim had allowed for the possibility of a run-up.  The bunker fronting the green takes some strategic risk/reward out of the hole.

00000000000
I want to mention #13 too.  To me, it's a helluva par 3 from the back tee.  You play right along the Brandywine to a pretty nice green complex...

I like Honeybrookfor the same reason I like JB's other work - it's fun, it's priced right, and you don't feel ripped off.  And I really think JB has respect for the golfer, something a lot of mid-priced courses don't necessarily offer.

[Michael Blake]

Matt,

Have you worked for or constructed a Blaukavitch course?

Pretty sure he used to work for Jim.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Matt D
Why did you post the drawing?
I'm not a fan of those built up greens.
Cheers

[Dan Herrmann]

Mike,
I think those greens needed some build-up because they're in or near a flood plain of the Brandywine.   It can get pretty soggy back there.

[Mike Cirba]

Joe Bausch,

You have pics of those 3 holes, correct?   

I'd mention that they are at the lowest-lying spot of the property.

[Matt_Davenport]

Kyle,
I did work with Jim briefly in 1990 (following graduation from PSU) at the time of Jim's first solo 18 hole project, off Route 6 east of Tunkhannock, PA/west of Clarks Summit (home of Country Club of Scranton). I returned in Oct '93 staying through May '99. I was involved in the design and construction of the Practice Facility and original 18 at Olde Homestead and Honeybrook. I was heavily involved with the routing of the golf course at Honeybrook as Jim and I would each develop routings and critique each other before we settled on the routing that was constructed.

Mike,
Dan is right. The West Branch of the Brandywine Creek floods pretty consistently and Jim made a point to make sure that the putting surface would be up above the 100 year floodplain. You'll notice this was done for all of the greens along the stream 5, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17. They blend in fairly well with the surrounds for being so elevated.

Dan,
Sorry about the lack of run-up on 16. That was a no-go. Long hitters can take a shot at the green but the fronting bunker was meant to be a deterrent

[Joe Bausch]

Here are some pics of the 14th hole at Honeybrook, which plays 314 from the tips, and 276 from the whites.  These were taken in April, 2007.

[Joe Bausch]

And here are some photos of the par 5 15th hole at Honeybrook (545 yards from the back tee).

[Joe Bausch]

And now the short par 4 16th at Honeybrook (280 from the tips).