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Richard Choi

  • Karma: +0/-0
You have till EOD (PST) Wed to cast your votes. Just state your preference on this thread. The voting is open to all. I highly recommend those who have played the holes to try to influence the voters as much as possible. I will tally the results on Thu and schedule the next round.

Seed #8

Ekwanok 7th

Tale of the tape: Par 5, 595 yards

Why: From Ran - Certainly the most famous golf hole in Vermont and perhaps in New England, the monster 7th exemplifies how architecture has changed over the decades. At the time, Dunn and Travis worked with the land and the result is a uniquely memorable hole with a hill that bisects the fairway from the 300 to 370 yard mark. Conversely, the vast majority of architects today would make the land fit the hole by dynamiting the 60 foot hill into oblivion. While the7th is no longer the absolute terror that it once was (a good player is likely to hit 3 wood off the tee into the bowled fairway, a 4 iron over the hill, and a 7 iron onto the green), the golfer must still bear down on all three shots, a trait often found wanting in most three shot holes built after World War II.






Seed #9

Royal St Georges 5th

Tale of the tape: Par 4, 460 yards

Why: From Ran - This hole and the next were par threes under Laidlaw Purves‘s initial routing. One reason is that the dune line down the left ran all the way to the property’s edge. Laidlaw Purves didn’t have the inclination, the equipment or the budget to alter the dun escape. However, all that changed within twenty-five years from the course’s opening. A gap was knocked into the dune some three hundred yards from the tee and a new, bunkerless green was built on the dune’s other (left) side. Thus, today’s striking par four was born.






« Last Edit: March 03, 2011, 02:15:35 AM by Richard Choi »

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: THM! Alps Region - 1st Rnd - #8 Ekwanok 7th vs #9 Royal St Georges 5th
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2011, 02:10:13 AM »
While I don't like the idea of the green to readily visible on the fifth at Sandwich to qualify as an Alps, the alternative at Maidstone captures even less the idea of an Alps.  I don't think the actual Alps at Ekwanok has to be taken too seriously for a great many golfers under normal conditions as it can be essentially laid up over (if you know what I mean) and therefore the second doesn't need to be nearly as exacting as a true Alps. Sandiwch wins the match.

Ciao
« Last Edit: February 28, 2011, 08:39:05 AM by Sean Arble »
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Bill_McBride

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: THM! Alps Region - 1st Rnd - #8 Ekwanok 7th vs #9 Royal St Georges 5th
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2011, 08:09:16 AM »
No vote, since I don't consider either a true Alps.

Mark Pearce

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: THM! Alps Region - 1st Rnd - #8 Ekwanok 7th vs #9 Royal St Georges 5th
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2011, 08:18:55 AM »
I agree with both Sean and Bill.  Daly apparently drove the 5th at RSG during the 2003 Open, drawing his drive through the gap in the dunes.  That gap disqualifies the hole.
In June I will be riding the first three stages of this year's Tour de France route for charity.  630km (394 miles) in three days, with 7800m (25,600 feet) of climbing for the William Wates Memorial Trust (https://rideleloop.org/the-charity/) which supports underprivileged young people.

jeffwarne

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: THM! Alps Region - 1st Rnd - #8 Ekwanok 7th vs #9 Royal St Georges 5th
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2011, 09:11:15 AM »
Ekwanok wins just based on the uniqueness of the hole in a nonlinks setting-haven't played it
with a daughter starting college in nearby Middlebury in the fall, that could change
"Let's slow the damned greens down a bit, not take the character out of them." Tom Doak
"Take their focus off the grass and put it squarely on interesting golf." Don Mahaffey

Brad Tufts

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: THM! Alps Region - 1st Rnd - #8 Ekwanok 7th vs #9 Royal St Georges 5th
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2011, 12:21:27 PM »
Nice Jeff!

We have a good Midd contingent on here.... Ryan Simper (03) and I (03), Mitch St. Peter (06.5) every once in a while, and GCA's favorite NLE course writer, Dan Wexler '85ish? (he is on here, right?).
So I jump ship in Hong Kong....

Mark McKeever

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: THM! Alps Region - 1st Rnd - #8 Ekwanok 7th vs #9 Royal St Georges 5th
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2011, 01:39:39 PM »
RSG

Mark
Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

JNC Lyon

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: THM! Alps Region - 1st Rnd - #8 Ekwanok 7th vs #9 Royal St Georges 5th
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2011, 01:48:40 PM »
I really enjoyed the 5th at Sandwich.  It's the reverse of Prestwick in that all the trouble is off the tee rather than on the approach.  The hole is very busy on the tee shot, with the longer hitter having to thread some sort of layup between the bunkers and the dunes.  Hug the left for a decent view and shorter shot into the green.

Once you push between the two dunes, you come out on the other side to see a green that is completely barren.  It has no bunkers and no extraneous contours, with only the English Channel and Ramsgate as a backdrop.  Even so, the green is very interesting, with a wild false front that can confound recovery shots from all sides.

Sandwich's 5th is a sleeper hole at this year's Open venue.  I'm not sure if it is an Alps, but it is an excellent hole nonetheless.
"That's why Oscar can't see that!" - Philip E. "Timmy" Thomas

Morgan Clawson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: THM! Alps Region - 1st Rnd - #8 Ekwanok 7th vs #9 Royal St Georges 5th
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2011, 04:04:46 PM »
These 2 are pretty close for me.  But the cart path on Ekwanok is a downer for me, so I'm going with RSG.

Richard Crumb

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: THM! Alps Region - 1st Rnd - #8 Ekwanok 7th vs #9 Royal St Georges 5th
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2011, 04:25:16 PM »
As an update, the cart path on #7 at Ekwanok is now gone.  Bunkering on the hill has been rearranged at bit.  Should be a significant visual improvement.  Time will tell how it works out playability wise.  Second shot is still demanding because you've got to get the ball in the air quickly and still move it a good distance.

Richard Choi

  • Karma: +0/-0
A friendly reminder that the voting window closes end of day today (Pacific time).

RSG leads Ekwanok 4 to 2.

Mike Hendren

  • Karma: +0/-0
Ekwanok gags on the cartpath. 

Royal St. Georges.
Two Corinthians walk into a bar ....

Matthew Petersen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Ekwanok reminds me of a hole locally that I despise. Since enither seems to really fit as a true Alps, I'll go with RSG. A better hole overall.

Phil McDade

  • Karma: +0/-0
Ekwanok gets my vote for an interesting variation on the Alps, and making for a thoughtful and uncertain second shot on a par 5, a rarity on any course. But get rid of the cart path.

Richard Choi

  • Karma: +0/-0
A #9 win over #8 just like a true March Madness game (6 to 3).

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