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Keith OHalloran

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Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #125 on: January 06, 2013, 08:15:33 PM »
John,
Since it opened, they have made alterations to the fescue, the bunkers and some bunker placement.  I don't know enough specifics to give you details, but you did not play the same course that opened years ago.
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Niall C

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #126 on: January 07, 2013, 01:53:51 PM »
Having recently purchased a CG as part of Tom's garage sale, what I found interesting in this earlier edition was what was omitted as opposed to what was included. Looking at the Scottish courses, I suspect that most of the non-Open courses were recommendations with a very obvious and heavy bias towards sea-side courses.

In any new edition I would like Tom to go off piste a bit more, looking at some inland courses. Two spring to mind up this neck of the woods, namely Elgin and Duff House Royal. Belleisle in Ayr also tends to get overlooked by many given the riches of links golf nearby. Specifically I think a tour of some of the courses round Glasgow and Edinburgh would be worthwhile. I'll leave the Edinburgh courses for someone else to suggest but in Glasgow, Cawder and East Renfrewshire are two Braid courses that are worth checking out while Bonnyton is a MacKenzie course that I can't help but believe is worth a visit even though I haven't seen it myself yet.

Niall
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Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +1/-1
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #127 on: January 07, 2013, 03:33:05 PM »
Niall:

I have never heard of Bonnyton ... is that the town?
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Phil McDade

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #128 on: January 07, 2013, 03:53:24 PM »
Interesting history of the Bonnyton club here; apparently the first Jewish club of Glasgow:

http://www.bonnytongolfclub.com/html/history1.htm

Good Duff House Royal picture thread here courtesy of the world's fastest golfer:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,41428.0.html

Both courses attributed to Mackenzie. If you're in town for Duff House Royal, might be worth just a short jog down the road for the ultra-quirky Cullen: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51605.0.html
« Last Edit: January 07, 2013, 03:57:56 PM by Phil McDade »
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Michael Wharton-Palmer

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Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #129 on: January 08, 2013, 12:24:32 PM »
Whispering Pines
Banbougle Dunes
Lost Farms
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Josh Tarble

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #130 on: January 08, 2013, 01:10:25 PM »
Tom,

I just got a copy of the CG for Christmas and wanted to say that it's an excellent book.  I really enjoy your writing style as well.  I really enjoyed you including your own designs and would still like to see more of your newer included.

However,
You may need to be a bit more harsh on Torrey Pines.  That write-up made me laugh since it stated the cliffs were too high to get close enough for interest.  I believe Cape Kidnappers totally proved that statement false!

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Niall C

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #131 on: January 08, 2013, 01:26:42 PM »
Tom

Phil beat me to it. Moorland course on the south side of Glasgow near Eaglesham. I hesitated about mentioning Bonnyton as even though I was born and brought up less than 10 miles away, I've never seen the course. Given the nature of the club, the course has tended to fly under the radar but from what I gather the course has little done to it over the years and so in theory............ Tell you what, I'll do my homework and let you know.

Duff House Royal - I'm on much safer ground here. All about the greens. Two cracking double greens, a wonderful plateau green and the 18th green with its back slope is just a hoot. The other greens are "just" very good. This was the course that MacKenzie passed over the nearby Royal Tarlair to design. As Phil suggests, Cullen isn't far away and neither is Strathlene and Buckpool.

Niall
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Kevin Pallier

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #132 on: January 13, 2013, 04:03:18 AM »
Castle Stuart

Kauri Cliffs

Lost Farm

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Paul Gray

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #133 on: January 14, 2013, 05:43:23 PM »
From a purely personal perspective, The Surrey/Berkshire/Hampshire sandbelt courses, in light of the ongoing tree removal programs, could well be worth a visit. If in said area, Hayling could be worth a trip to the seaside for, but therein speaks my bias.
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In the places where golf cuts through pretension and elitism, it thrives and will continue to thrive because the simple virtues of the game and its attendant culture are allowed to be most apparent. - Tim Gavrich

Mark Steffey

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #134 on: February 03, 2013, 10:46:34 AM »
been reading my new book...

the torrey pines review (north-4, south-3) had me chuckling.
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Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +1/-1
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #135 on: February 03, 2013, 10:52:47 AM »
Quote from: Mark Steffey on February 03, 2013, 10:46:34 AM
been reading my new book...

the torrey pines review (north-4, south-3) had me chuckling.

Mark:

That wasn't even very controversial at the time it was written.  Until they picked Torrey Pines to host the U.S. Open, I don't think anybody spoke seriously of it being a top-100 course.
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Jud_T

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Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #136 on: February 03, 2013, 12:07:50 PM »
Any new ideas for the Gazetteer?
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Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +1/-1
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #137 on: February 03, 2013, 12:31:26 PM »
Quote from: Jud Tigerman on February 03, 2013, 12:07:50 PM
Any new ideas for the Gazetteer?

I have not even thought about the Gazetteer yet.  That will be the hardest part to update, actually ... I've probably forgotten some holes or features of some courses that should make it into that section, over the 17 years since the last edition of the book.

I am starting to think about putting out the book in a series of 3-4 volumes, instead of all at once.  For a while, I was determined just to write about the courses that I rated 5 or higher, and leave the others out to minimize controversy, but I've found that affects the pacing of the book, and there is less variety to the lengths and content of the reviews.

One advantage of this approach would be that I could put out one region of the book sooner, instead of waiting until I'd caught up and seen ALL the courses I wanted to see around the world.
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Joey Chase

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: New Confidential Guide
« Reply #138 on: February 03, 2013, 12:35:10 PM »
Doing different regions in different volumes would be pretty good.  I am hoping there is more on continental Europe this time around.
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