As winter approaches

[JP Morgan]

As this is the first official day of winter, I have come to the yearly realization that I probably won't be playing too much golf over the next 3 months. Many of us who live in the midwest, northeast and other frozen reaches have come to expect this phenomenon.  Certainly there are a few days in which we might brace the less than ideal elements to play our favorite track despite the temperature, shortened daylight hours, and weather. Naturally we are faced with less than ideal condition for all the obvious reasons. This begs some interesting questions.
      What are the ultimate factors that you feel make for an outstanding course DESPITE the season?  Are there critical things that would DOWNGRADE your assessment of a course, that are only OBVIOUS when playing the course say in the dead of winter??  Are there truly outstanding courses that exist but ONLY on a seasonal basis, and are simply mediocre at other times of the year, and if so, for what reasons???

[Tom MacWood (Guest)]

JP
I'm no expert on winter golf, when I put my clubs away they are put away, but the more I think about what makes the greatest courses (in all seasons) the one common denominator seems to be sandy soil - inland or seaside. There are some very good courses that are not built upon sand, but not too many great ones.

One of the great winter courses one reads about is Rye -- for those who have played it what makes Rye a great winter course?

[Tommy_Naccarato]

JP,

Usually at this time of year, it is here that I insert some sort of jab at the coldweather GCA posters experiencing such harsh winter conditiuons, and say, "It's all groovey here in California!"

Unfortunately it has been cold and rainey here and I'm wondering if someone reading GCA hasn't developed a curse on the SoCal climate!

I also have a new Liquidmetal driver I'm dying to try!

[TEPaul]

Some may know this but others may not--the inspiration to play winter golf was the initial reason the men who created it created Pine Valley!! So I'm sure it works quite well in winter!

[jim_lewis]

I am often amused as some folks want to evaluate a course based on factors other than architectural merit, price, for instance.  If I were ever going to consider another factor it would be year-round versus seasonal playability.

[Paul_Turner]

Tom

Just over the Camber road from Rye GC is the Romney Marsh and I think the course drains into it.  So Rye is always dry and firm; the only part that I could imagine getting a bit soft, would be the 8th fairway which is adjacent to the lower lying Jubilee course.  

The holes are famous for the humps and hollows in the fairways and some of the green sites are precarious with a lot of trouble if you miss.  Rye has no fairway irrigation and so it gets lightening fast in the summer and maybe a bit too tricky under these conditions (I played there in Spring).  But in the winter (spring and autumn too) the pace is probably just about right for the course.

[RJ_Daley]

I'd have to go along with Tom Mac., that one dominant conditions that makes winter golf good is sandy, well drained soil and moderate enough temps that there isn't a great deal of constant snow cover.  Along with generally higher drier winds, that means fast hard conditions.  That would mean areas of Ohio, Indiana, S. Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, KS, NE etc.  

Here on the frozen tundra of Green Bay, I can't help but think there is something to the global warming.  I had my last round of the year in 1998, 99, and 2001 on the same day of Dec. 14!!!  2000 was bitter cold and heavy snow by then.  Growing up, the latest that golf was considered was about Nov., 15.  Must be sumthin goin on...?

One thing about winter golf where there is snow cover in only sporadic periods and daytime temps are well above freezing, like Wild Horse in W Nebraska, is that they don't have to blow out irrigation lines to prevent pipeline burst and mechanical component damage from freezing.  They actually have to put down some water from time to time when the air has been very cold, and days are windy and dry and dessicaton on greens turf will occur...  a big risk for the super that has to contend with clubs where the members expect to be able to play in winter.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Jim Lewis,
I have to disagree to some extent. Lets take Schmidt and Curley for example.

They are on currently on the tail end of a run of building courses in Southern Calirfornia, Nevada, and Arizona that most architects dream of. They have been virutally non-stop for three years.

Their Goose Creek in Mira Loma is what I would call a success by any means because it attacked a market with-in a market and the result is a course that is almost impossible to get a tee time. Talk to Brian Curely and he will tell you that they don't normally construct courses like that, as if almost apologizing. He actually makes excuses for the minimilism of cost and construction.

Goose Creek is a highly fun and reasonably priced golf course situated in a not very glamorous area--A former cow pasture. If any of you have been to Mira Loma and Goose Creek you know what I'm talking about! The land was minimal cost, located right next to the Santa Ana River, which one would think would have been full of environmental restrictions coinsidering it is in California.

The current clientele for Goose Creek is now fast becoming more affluent simply because it is a good golf course that is resonably priced and is worth the drive to go play it.  I remember when it first opened, writing about how many people would embrace such a concept in my area, and people laughed and said that they wouldn't drive that far. (About 40 minutes from the heart of Orange County) It is also features some of the best strategy offered during this run of S&C glut of courses built. AND THE COST WAS MINIMAL.

Now lets bring one of their other courses like SCPGA-Champions or Legends; Crosby National; and Oak Quarry. Granted that these are different golf courses aimed at different markets, (Upper scale and Exclusively Private) and you see that their architectural merit go out the window as the courses are contrived and repetiticious in a lot of places. Gone was the creativity to make something work and in place are green complexes that make you think that you are at any of the four courses mentioned. One of these courses was reportedly built for some $29,000,000! (I let you guess which one, if it isn't obvious)

However, Go play The Palms in Indio, Another private and you see the same formula that worked for Goose Creek. minimal movement-keep as much of the exisiting site as possible-minimal dollars spent, and you have one of the better golf courses in the Coachella Valley that breaks the mold of repetiticious courses there. Some even have sold their memberships to the ultra-exclusive and inclusive Plantation and have bought into The Palms simply because they like the course better.

I think that this is a perfect example of looking at architectural merit in regards to cost, both cost to build and cost to play.

[Chris_Hunt]

I am trying to get a feel for winter golf here in Great Britain, but it has been difficult until recently as the weather has been like spring on many occasions.

I played at Rye on the 6th of December, with the weather was dry and sunny, and I would concur with Paul Turner about the pace of the ground being perfect in the winter.  The grass is likely longer, the precipitation greater, and the course not only plays a bit slower, but also a bit longer.  These length and playability issues invariably make it ideal for the President's Putter in January.  The only real problem is the lack of daylight and the sun influencing visibility.  I think several tournaments there have been halved due to darkness.

I also managed to squeak in a round at the Old Course last Thursday, and it was frozen solid.  Apart from the biting wind, it was a thoroughly enjoyable round.  With the first bounce of approaches squirting 10 yards, followed by 25 odd yards of roll if the ball was not inctercepted by rough or whin or bunker, coupled with my recently aquired ability to shank my irons, I was using the putter more than half of the time.  I putted my second shot at the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 16th, and 18th, and should have used it on the 17th, believe it or not.  The putt on the 16th was from 160 yards and ended up in the hollow just short and left of the green.  The only real problem with this tactic is getting your short putting stroke (less than 20 yards) back after crushing one 80 odd yards.  Another personal lesson for me on the remarkable nature and near perfection of this course...Even a terrible putt from the fairway is still fun to watch.

I also played Walton Heath, Woodhall Spa, and St. George's Hill recently, and must say that heathland golf just doesn't match the links in the winter season, and likely doesn't in the other three, either...

I think some of these courses should close down for at least a month during the winter.  Kingsbarns closes for the winter, which is acceptable during their prolonged grow-in period, but it would be nice if they opened in the winter a few years down the road and offered some manageable rates for non-Fife residents.  Just an admission of their faux-links status, I guess.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Chris, I'm in total envy.

[Doug Wright]

JP,

Obviously if you're playing golf on the frozen tundra as we do here on the high plains of Colorado this time of year, the only alternative is the ground game that Chris describes; high shots end up bouncing off the planet   So one readily notices those courses that are not conducive to the ground game, and those that excel at it.  

I share Tommy's envy. TOC is "The Course For All Seasons."

Happy Holidays.

[jim_lewis]

Tommy:

As you know, there is no mention of cost of contruction, membership fees, or green fees among the criteria that we GOLFWEEK raters are to consider when rating a course. Rarely am I even aware of those $ figures and I make no effort to find out since they are not relevant for my rating. Do you consider those factors when you submit your rating to GOLFWEEK?

Sometimes I wish we could consider year-round playability, but, of course, we don't. However, all other things being equal
(which they never are, of course), I would take a course in a climate that allows year-round play (Pinehurst #2 or Seminole) over one they is unavailable several months (say, Oakmont, Crystal Downs, Chicago Golf, or ANGC)

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Jim,
Please tell me that you can and do think past the Golfweek critieria, after you have thought about your ballot.

It seems to me that you have mentioned before about the facility at Cherokee Plantation. If I remember right, it just wasn't about the golf. Certainly that aspect aided you in your broader thoughts about the place didn't it?

I think affordability is an important part of the game. It is essentially what is going to get more courses built and more people playing, which of course leads to more people spending advertising dollars on equipment, travel, clothing, etc. I feel that it is all viable to the economy of golf. If we don't have an economy, they cut the budget. And if they cut the budget, it is possible that one of the things that could go would be America's Best since it does cost time and money, even though it does sell magazines subscriptions.

I just don't think the consumer are buying subcriptions just for our ratings either. I think they are more then likely buying them for the coverage and behind the scenes aspects that Golfweek covers so well.

After thinking about your thoughts of year-round playability, Yes, I think it could be an important aspect in determining America's Best. It would definitely seperate the mediocre Modern courses out here even further, which would be more then justified.

[John Foley]

I used to find myself trying to grab my clubs and play w/ every trip I took over the winter. I found that the "hassle" of trying to fit a round in on short trips was got to be difficult. I will still try, but now I've tried to walk a few holes at places where I go and read up on the works & ideas of others.