Senyor Jorge~
- how gca has influenced your coaching of golfers
GCA has revealed the multitudinous ways of playing angles and terrain into fairways and greens. Without it, I'd be a "hit and hope" coach. I don't push the hard-core stuff on the kids, because a Ross may not play like a Ross if the super doesn't prepare it as such.
- your experiences with some of the gca'ers you've met
My first non-Lynchian GCA experience was Tim Martin at Copake in 2011. Had a blast. Tim made every putt in sight and I somehow holed a 9-iron in front of a gallery of young laborers for eagle around hole 14. I knew instantly that Tim was an awesome representative of GCA. Later in the summer, he joined me and Lynch for a round at Bethpage Black. He didn't have his best that day, yet was able to overcome that handicap and enjoy the course for what it is.
John Lyon is another guy I've played with. John is an absolute killer of the golf ball. I'd love to be his pro/caddie and be able to coach him through a round of golf (provided that he promise unconditionally to accept every word I utter.) John loves to talk about the architecture and has a historian's appreciation of the game, its players and its builders.
Mark Saltzmann, Matt Bosela and Ian Andrew made up the trio of canucks who smoked Canada's Diaper (they can call us that, since they won) in two matches this year. Mark "gets" GCA instantly, I think. It takes me a while to think back to what I just played, but Mark gets it as he is hitting it down the middle and on the green. He also misses putts...never. Matt was a stand-up guy as well, possessed of a very good swing and game, along with a gentleman conversationalist's demeanor to boot. Ian the architect hits the piss out of the ball, thanks to arms developed playing hockey his entire life. He contributes an architect's perspective, but not overly so. He likes to talk trash, too~"That putt was brought you by the letters..."
Chris Denigris accompanied me and the Lyonssss around Leatherstocking this year. David Harshbarger was there as well, but I did not get to play with him. Chris and David are really nice guys. Chris plays quickly and well, both in golf and verbal spar. David admits that his game is evolving, as is his love for architecture. I'd welcome them in my group, anytime.
The guy that I miss is Scott Witter. Scott and I got to know each other as he was building Arrowhead in Akron, NY. He also built Ironwood (Cowlesville, NY) around that time. His first solo 9 was the third nine at Deerwood (North Tonawanda, NY). Each is a marvelous tour of golfing grounds. Scott is a good stick whose architectural career was cut short by the economy and the glut of courses. I hope to finally get together with Scott for a game one day and pick his brain on architecture.
- your time at Fox Chapel
The high school team that I coach played at Fox Chapel in 2004, as part of the MPSL championship. The host was Shadyside Academy. At the time, I was the assistant coach. I remember telling people that "this is a Raynor course" and "it has template holes" without the slightest clue what any of that meant. Shadyside had a decided home-course advantage, but we availed ourselves well and placed second, which felt like a victory. I was able to play with the other coaches. What happens in that situation is, you play too quickly and you don't take the time to understand the importance of the architecture. I played FC without any appreciation for the nuances of Raynor's work. The course played firm, which would have allowed me to work the ball into greens, had I had the presence of mind to do so. In 2004, we were in the absolute center of raising young children, what I like to call the dark ages of my golf game. Now that they are older, I have returned to competent performance.