Gleneagles (San Francisco) Update (with video)

[Kevin_Reilly]

I received this email from my friend Tom Hsieh who manages Gleneagles Golf Course in SF the other day.  I got to play the course with new greens at the end of October and they were wonderful to see and play.  Gleneagles is a must-play in SF (yes, there are some concerns about the surrounding area, but let's not beat that dead horse again)...

Dear Gleneagles GC Golfer,

What can be said of 2010?  As a whole, it stunk.   

 A continued bad economy, high jobless rates, fewer dollars in your pocket and a war against terror with no end in sight.

And just when we thought it couldn't get worse, the greens died.

Luckily for us, we know people.  People so incredibly good, so damn passionate about golf and so personally generous, that they afforded us an opportunity of a lifetime: to rebuild and renovate this hallowed track, this friendly confine which was expertly designed by Jack Fleming, a protégé of the master himself Dr. Alister MacKenzie.

I'll admit it.  Throwing $150,000 more into this business was a reckless and foolhardy move.

We did it because it was the right thing to do.  And our friends like Thomas Bastis of The Cal Club came to our aid because it was the right thing to do.  Now we need you to do the right thing and tell the world what we've done.

Tell them of how the greens were decimated by the end of August and were reduced to finely mowed dirt.  Tell them of the sadness you felt when you pulled into your favorite parking space not knowing if you could even find a playing partner for the Wednesday skins. And tell them of Old Number One,  and how it has become the favorite hole of the golf course.

If you can't muster your own words because you are overwhelmed with emotion, share this YouTube video with them that demonstrates how we renovated Gleneagles GC (then Facebook it). Hopefully, they will see what happened in public golf in San Francisco in 2010.  A community of golfers came together and decided that Gleneagles should live a few more years...and this is our story.

Let's all have a Happy New Year.

For golf in The City, from all of us at Gleneagles,
Tom
Tom A. Hsieh
Gleneagles GC at McLaren Park
415-587-2425

P.S.  Turn up the volume as loud as you can when you view our  YouTube clip.  You'll understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2-Nc_fwZ3U

[David_Tepper]

A MAJOR tip of the hat should go out to the superintendent and greens crew from the California Golf Club, who were extremely generous with their time, equipment and knowledge in helping Tom Hsieh rebuilt the greens at Gleneagles. Several vendors in the golf course construction business were also instrumental in enabling the greens to be rebuilt without breaking the bank.  

[Jon Spaulding]

Kevin, thank you for that, it made my day.

I concur that Gleneagles is a must play.

[Anthony Butler]

Gleneagles is a must-play in SF (yes, there are some concerns about the surrounding area, but let's not beat that dead horse again)...

Not to beat a dead horse... but, I wish I had played Gleaneagles more when I lived in SF in 1992-96. My regular golf partner had the wheels boosted off his BMW in the car park, and could not get him to return after that...

If you're going with Bon Scott-era AC/DC wouldn't "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" be a better soundtrack for this project?

[William_G]

way to go! played there a bunch in the late 80's, will make it back soon, thanks

[Kris Shreiner]

Here it is folks!!! This is what the face of U.S. golf needs to work towards showing more of...collaboration and helping nurture golf in those areas that really need it. This U-Tube video should be standard issue to all those administrative bodies in the game. The Beth Pages and all the millions to charity are nice... if you want to really aid the game, THIS is where it's at!!

To all the doubters out there, this is the very type of effort Richard Mandell's wonderful Symposium is meant to spawn. I'm certain they have numerous lessons we could all glean. Maybe a couple of these folks could come share their story?

I salute Cal Club and all who gave so generously to make this a reality for Gleneagles. I intend to visit and play it the next time out Nor Cal way. What a great story to start the 2011 golf year. Thanks! 

[John Keenan]

GREAT NEWS

I played it last year with the old "greens" and frankly it was not playable. I had heard the work was taking place and glad to hear it came out so well.

To all if you are in SF and have the time play Gleneagles not the greatest of areas but a fun course to play.

John

[astavrides]

Very good news.  What kind of shape are the greens in right now?

[Jim Nugent]

I played Gleneagles a fair amount in the late 1980s.  My memory is that the greens did not have much in the way of slope or contours.  Does anyone know if they added more movement to the greens with this latest work? 

Agree with everyone else who recommends the course.  It wasn't long.  But the wind and the two sets of tees made for some interesting shots/holes.   

[David_Tepper]

"My memory is that the greens did not have much in the way of slope or contours."

Jim -

Your memory may be a little faulty. Given how sloped the property is as a whole, several of the greens (#5, #6 & #9, for starters) have more than a fair amount of slope.

Again, given how sloped the property is, I am not sure if you would really want greens there with much contour. There is hardly one flat fairway lie on the course. Hitting (and holding) those greens is plenty hard as it is!

DT     

   

[Padraig Dooley]

That's great stuff. How good is it guys? Would you say good enough to include on a 4 day stay in the area, even if coming from overseas? It hadn't been on my radar for my trip until now...

No Brian, not even close to be considered for a 4 day trip, maybe a 24 day trip.

I played Glaneagles a few years ago, it was good fun.

[Mike Benham]

I teed it up at Gleneagles today and since it had been a few years since I had played the course, I was surprised by a few things.

For starters, I must have forgotten that the first hole has a completely blind approach shot !




As the video details, the reintroduced the old first green location, and it is perhaps the best green on the course, sloping away from the fairway with a wicked little ridge down the middle.







From above the 9th/18th green:



 

[astavrides]

Mike,
How were the conditions?  How are the new greens rolling?

[Mike Benham]

The fairways were Lincoln-esque, I doubt the fairway mowers have been used in the past 2-4 weeks.

The bunkers have not been maintained but the greens were relatively free of unrepaired ball marks.  They were soft of course, but rolled nicely. 

The location of the course, coupled with a lack of tree trimming or necessary removal makes growing grass difficult in the winter time if not year round.

With 5-6" of rain in the past month, the course is not likely to dry out for quite a while.

[astavrides]

The fairways were Lincoln-esque, I doubt the fairway mowers have been used in the past 2-4 weeks.

The bunkers have not been maintained but the greens were relatively free of unrepaired ball marks.  They were soft of course, but rolled nicely. 

The location of the course, coupled with a lack of tree trimming or necessary removal makes growing grass difficult in the winter time if not year round.

With 5-6" of rain in the past month, the course is not likely to dry out for quite a while.

Thanks.