Ward, the putt Jack made that you described was far more than sixty feet, at least 100' long. He walked over and putted it because Johnny was about to pull out his lob wedge and pitch the ball.
Terry, I played HS in the morning and the Point in the afternoon two weeks ago. The greens at the Point were in pathetic condition, esp. for that course where my previous visits had revealed nothing but pristeen conditions. The comparison between the two courses was night and day, and on this occasion the darkness was in Benton Harbor and not in St. Joe's. The greens at Harbor Shores were extremely firm, understandable in light of the upcoming event. But they were quick and extremely true. Hard to read the long ones? Absolutely. But if we didn't want to have difficult putts, Jack would undoubtedly argue that we have a fairly simple solution -- hit it closer to the hole!
I've played HS on three separate occasions now, and I found it on each occasion to be a blast. I'd go back there any time, and am in for George's road trip later this season.
It isn't long, and if the greens were not severe, the guys with their names on their bags would be raining 62s all over the scoreboard. But just as is the case with places like the River Course at Kohler, or Lost Dunes down the street, there are places at HS that you just cannot hit your approach shot. You might well be better off missing the green left and being 40' from the pin, than hitting the green and having a 25 footer. But didn't Tom Doak ask us during the inaugaral Mashie about why it was that a golfer was always entitled to putt his ball at the hole if he was on the green? I think it was during his discussion of the green on #4, that eminently reachable par-5 that requires a player to get his ball on the green in the right position. . . or else.
Yes, it isn't walkable (they apparently used shuttles for several of the gaps during the Senior event), and that's anathema to many on this Board. So be it. There are some very cool holes, requiring challenging but playable shots, even for a chop like me. I'd certainly like them to cut the damn rough -- our recent round was long because we spent so much time trying to find balls 10 yards off the fairway, but they were playing a Senior major two weeks after our visit. Besides, the rough was even deeper at Point O Woods down the street, and they were only hosting a Better Ball! Why has 4" rough become the norm around here? Hacking balls back into the fairway can't be much fun for the members at Olympia Fields or Butterfield -- but that's exactly what we did on Saturday and today. And again, don't tell me to hit it in the fairway (if I friggin could, I certainly would, but I stink), or "that's why they call it rough, not easy." The game is far more interesting if you're trying to figure out if this lie will jump, come out soft, or whether it's going to turn the club in my hands enough to cause yet another duck hook. Chopping out with wedges is not fun.