Tony Pioppi asked me to post this for him. Poor fellow is stuck with a Mac and this format isn't kind to his operating system.
I want to thank Geoff for doing this for me. Ever since the change to the new GCA format took place I have an incredibly difficult time accessing any threads. In most cases it takes me at least three minutes to open even the smallest discussion. If there is a photo, double the time.
Here is an update on some of Forse's work at Newport: He has added a bunker on the very far right side of the fifth hole near the end of the bushes. As he points out, there is an incredibly large bailout area to the right. The penalty for going that way is that a greenside bunker obscures the putting surface, but even a mishit drive can find fairway. Forse's addition will put more emphasis on the drive.
I think part of the genius of the hole is the fairway cross bunker. While the low handicappers may think about it in terms of the drive, as Forse points out it is really there more for the average player who knocks down a tee ball. At that point, the player can be face with a dastardly risk/reward scenario on the second shot. A well struck ball that carries the sand can bound onto the green. A bunkered shot,
however, makes for a very tough bogey. Not too often you see that kind of thought put into design.
On the sixth hole the aerial shows a long narrow bunker to the right of the green. In reality, that is the left side of a horseshoe bunker. Forse has now restored the right side. A player finding the renovated area is faced with a carry over a 7-foot high mound to a large green tilting away from the horseshoe.
There has been some wonderful work done on the next hole, not visible on the photo.
Originally, there was a large bunker on the left side of the hole with at least four grass mounds, according the aerial Forse is using as a guide. Somehow over the years, the bunker turned in to series of small bunkers instead of one large one. The original design has been reinstated. Bob Reynolds and his crew used the sod from the smaller bunkers to create the new mounds giving them the instant look of having been there for 75 years.
If there are any other questions, see a wonderful story on Newport in the Golfweek America's Best issue (Page 30) or contact me at Apioppi@golfweek.com. It takes Sergio less time to hit a shot than it does me to access GCA.