I was up visiting the lads this past weekend at Cabot and below are a few photos of the progress.
Here is one of a par three green that takes the golfer toward the coastline. Personally, I love the haphazard chunking mounds that Rod piled up behind the green - I hope they stay just like that. I HATE hazards today that are being built in the name of 'naturalness' and yet are actually starched and pressed to within an inch of their life.
The wood boardwalk trails behind this green and then along the next hole. When Tom Paul referees my next smack down of Pat Mucci, he will have to do so from along the boardwalk as part of gallery control
In fact, here is the next hole, a 570 yarder along the coast. The tee shot over the wetland area is intimidating (especially for someone whose right elbow seems to wander around a bit
at the start of the downswing) but the fairway is actually 56 yards wide and Rod has done a masterful job of tilting the right side so that it plays even bigger. Seeing the giant double fairway (shared with the tenth) littered with irrigation heads was great and our next update in a few months will show some seeded fairways
Depending on the day's hole location, the flag will often times be seen over the top of those large bunkers down the left. I say 'often times' because this putting surface is part of a double green (shared with the tenth) that is ~ 20,000 square feet so the range in hole locations is immense.
Here is our hero, Rod Whitman, The Great Whit as Coore calls him, standing on a par five green. (Side note: the prior par five mentioned and this one play in opposite directions, which is quite a nice feature for a windy site).This long three shotter plays over the most rambunctious portion of the property and all must have gone well in two shots for the golfer to enjoy this pitch in for his third. Yes, the green flows from front left to back right and a flag flapping against the water will bring a smile to any lover of links golf.
This picture reminds me of some of the drawings in Geoff Shackelford's The Good Doctor Returns (which everyone on this site would thoroughly enjoy reading if one hasn't already done so). This vegetation is off a 400 yard par four green and just screams golf, at least to me.
Crucially, more good news is occurring 10km down the road at the Glenora Distillery - the week prior, they unveiled their 15 year single malt and like The Great Whit's dirt work, it is beyond compare.
Anyway, that's the June update. Dave Axland is a great task master and we are set to seed the first fairways in July. As Ben will tell you, it is a dream coming true.
Cheers,