Huckster
I-280 itself had no impact whatsoever on the CalClub. The road down the hill to the north of the property (fergit the name) required re-design of holes 1-3 by RTJ (Sr I believe). The re-design is pretty worthy. The old timers (even before me) tell me the old #2 was one of the best par 4's in the Bay Area and given that #2 is one of the most sublime holes there now, I have always wondered just how good. #1 was shortened about 60 or 70 yards and a new green was built. As you drive by on the aforementioned but not named road, one can see the old tee location for the par 3 3rd. We thought about restoring it back int the early 80's, but it would have only taken one well-placed
shank off that tee with it directly exposed to the roadway to put the club out of business.
Of note, the original CalClub was located where Stonestown Mall is located just north of SFGC on 19th. When it moved, the original property of the club was all the way from Skyline (CA 35) to El Camino!!!! It was sold off parcel by parcel for peanuts over the years, the last for the So SF library just near the entrance, somehow associated with the placement of the roadway to preserve more of the course.
In the late '70s the members rebuffed an offer that would have been very generous by a group of Japanese businessmen who would have built a hotel on the hill in the triangle surrounded by holes 5-8. Beaucoup bucks was refused by the membership as a move of the club to the Filoli (The Drew Carrington House in the
Dynasty soap opera on the San Mateo resevoir) property was possibly to be part of the move!
Interesting stuff if you've been to the locations in question, no Huck?
As for the rest of
Links this month, the Raynor standards are quite superficial and the early editorial in the magazine even states that you should read these type of articles to appear interesting and knowledgable at cocktail parties. Does it bother anyone else that there was no mention madeof the original true meaning of the "Cape" hole, rather than what it has evolved into being called? Even after describing how the green at NGLA juts out into the sea of sand around it?
Golf Architecture lite. The dumbing down continues. GCA listed as the
first website for golf archie junkies. Now all the riff-raff may come here and learn a thing or two, for better or worse they can try to muddle through such current nonsense as the natural features thread which even I can't bring myself to read....
At least we're trendy now as Architecture is listed as the current stylish sub category of golf.
