For GolfClubAtlas.com, 2012 is in the books and our fourteenth year concludes with every meaningful measurement trending up (page views, interesting emails, behind the scene dialogues, gatherings, new friendships, emails, # of donations, the list goes on). So what, you say? 2012 is in the rear view mirror - how does 2013 shape up?
Sadly, some will not be a part of this year’s journey as several great friends passed away. Jim Goby who was a stalwart of our UK gatherings, Ralph Livingston, the king of hickory golf, and Tom MacWood, who authored many superlative In My Opinion pieces are gone. Some losses to a web site can be temporary but these are permanent and leave a gigantic void. I reflect back to a gathering of a motley group of golfers at Doak’s Lost Dunes. They included Ted ’The Braying Donkey’ Sturges, Rick ‘Let’s Have One More’ Holland, Ralph, Tom, and One of Golf’s Most Beloved Figures. Ted, Rick and I tapped out of the discussions in the cottage around 2am. I got up at ~5am and sure enough, Ralph and Tom were still going at it. Tom was feeding off Ralph’s encyclopedic knowledge of equipment/maintenance practices and using that to formulate hypotheses on the evolution of architecture. Ralph and Tom freely shared their expertise with all of us but now those inspirational voices are silent. As a reminder of life’s fragility, I learned that my friend Mike Miller suffered a heart attack last week. After ten days in the hospital, he returns home today. Ever the trooper, Mike hopes to be back in front of a canvas within 4 to 5 weeks. Good tidings may be sent his way via the contact info in his Art & Architecture section.
So where does a more somber GolfClubAtlas.com head? As always, that answer depends on YOU. It lies in the quality of the discourse among the Discussion Group participants. It is also found in the In My Opinion pieces, Feature Interviews and Course Profiles that get added each year. With the indispensible help of Joe Andriole and Chris Buie, the Courses by Country profiles continue to mount and become less bad. Personally, I thought that the Feature Interviews were outstanding this year as they offered more variety than ever. From Tom Paul’s views on how society and golf are intertwined to Melvyn Morrow’s impassioned, take-no-prisoners view of the game the reader was entertained like never before. Joel Stewart helps immensely with the Feature Interviews and is presently arranging one with Amy Alcott.
This annual review does lead to a couple of questions: Why did the number of In My Opinion pieces decline this year? True, we declined several for quality reasons but still, the number of In My Opinion pieces (which also includes My Home Course entries) dwindled. Why is that? Any feedback would be most welcome. Nobody enjoys a Sean Arble monster course break down more than I; surely, there are others out there with a similar passion for analysis?
Is it time to revisit the idea of a monthly book review? There certainly exist 20-50 books on golf architecture that are without question worthy of study/debate. Most fall in the 150 to 300 page range. Should we discuss some of these cornerstone books in detail? Perhaps one opus is selected monthly, divided in thirds with each third discussed as a sticky topic for 10 days. By month’s end, we would all be enriched whether it be from gleaning new insight into a previous read or an eye-opening introduction to one of these literary gems. Perhaps a different person could chair each month long review? After a year, we would add a ninth section to the site entitled Architecture Book Discussions and compile threads beneath the titles of the twelve books discussed? It’s not very hi-tech but there is potential to tap into the collective wisdom of this forum and create both scholarly analysis and erudite discussion.
With the addition of many new individuals to our roster, the Discussion Group is back to nearly 1,500 register posters. Is that number too high, too low or just about right? The answer is ... there is no answer! It all depends on the quality of the posts. More so than photos, what distinguishes GolfClubAtlas.com is the writing. The forum did well last year in that regard. The amount of unwarranted rancor was reduced and there were many well articulated discussions/disagreements. Regardless of Churchill’s description of Pat Mucci - ‘A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject’
- and despite the obvious passion that boils over from time to time, the GolfClubAtlas.com Discussion Group consistently offers superior dialogue relative to any sport web site with which I am familiar. Disagree as we must but do so in a considerate manner. We lost a few followers along the way because the low points in the Discussion Group were, well, too low for their liking. Perhaps this site is only as good as its weakest link and if so, it got appreciably better this year as we steered clear of a fight club mentality. I have seen the movie Lawless three times and no one wins in a brass knuckle fight with Forrest Bondurant. We must communicate effectively; be thoughtful, be literate and be appropriate. There is no merit, no knowledge or lasting entertainment in snide, cruel commentary.
Traveling to golf courses has never been easier and I doubt that there is a single noteworthy course in the world that someone reading this post hasn’t seen. To wit, GolfClubAtlas.com’s world international headquarters received this email: ‘...visited two courses in Nepal on our side trip, and I can report that one of them is a must play ... Himalayan Golf Club, Pokhara, Nepal. You should try to get there sometime in your life.’ That’s amazing and this web site thrives on the collective experience of its membership. When people share their exploits in well considered prose, we all win.
Still, what can we change? Indeed, what SHOULD we change? I did just buy a new camera yesterday that has video and hope to start tinkering with video as an add-on to some Feature Interviews. Ben and I are both sensitive to change and committed to keeping GolfClubAtlas.com fresh, yet neither of us believe that change for change's sake is the best path. The question is: Does it make it better? Also, there is something to be said for that which isn’t modified every time you turn around (just ask the original members of The Medalist Club
). Our society - including golf - is under constant alteration. There is a special appeal found in those things that remain constant. Like the Old Course ... no wait, I take that back!
Could GolfClubAtlas.com be better? Sure. Is it going to change? Absolutely, but not abruptly or at any ill-considered tempo. Its eight sections have served us well so far.
For confirmation, we can look at the other common media outlets, which in general, are not particularly close to getting it right. Note Golf Digest’s latest US Top 100 rankings where superior work at places like LA North, Quaker Ridge and Pinehurst No. 2 is dismissed and unwalkable new courses are held in greater admiration. Commercial outlets are obligated to come up with new material every month, week, day, hour. That is a formula that promotes an inferior vision of the game. Golf itself is a bit askew - or it is not framed as well as it should be. Competition reporting and instructional guides are not the essence of the game and don’t reflect its greater purpose. Despite my bullying skills for strokes on the first tee to compensate for a unique but well practiced inside snatch takeaway
, I know golf to be much more than winning or finding the next swing fix. The highest purpose of the game is to promote health and well being through being outdoors with friends (and dogs if you are lucky enough to be in England). It's good to have tournaments and recognize expertise but are the primary goals of the game really about beating the other fellow or getting more distance? Of course not!
Here is a 19th Century quote from the Pinehurst Outlook that Chris found:
There is good reason for its popularity with those who value a clear head, a sound digestion and well tempered muscles, as all right Americans should. For the game requires some strength, but more skill. It keeps you moving over broad spaces out of doors, instead of trotting up and down or skipping about one little spot as in tennis or croquet. You may walk as briskly as you please, but you need not tear your vital organs from their moorings with violent running as in baseball. To stay out of doors all that one possibly can is the straightest road to rest and health in the pine woods region. And during the winter months the weather is not so warm but that some kind of exercise is necessary in order to be perfectly comfortable. Croquet and tennis are good, but somewhat confined in their scope, as has already been said. Walking is the best of exercise, but the majority of people do not love walking just for its own sake. They are reluctant to take walks, even for the sake of the good they will get from them. In the colder weather the botanist and the bird student cannot well pursue their favorite researches, and even in such a company of choice spirits as assemble at Pinehurst each season.What shall the ordinary man or woman do, who just wants to rest the head, give all the muscles reasonable exercise, and inflate the lungs with most vital air while they are about it? The answer is easy they must become golfers.Pity such writing doesn’t drive page views as it means we are only likely to find such prose on non-commercial sites like ours. Being commercial free is a privileged rarity and we all owe a tip of our collective hats to those listed in the Contribution Section. Thanks to their generosity despite the anemic economy, the board of GolfClubAtlas.com has decided to run commercial free for 2013. Seventy-five people have already contributed toward 2013 and we take that as a show of appreciation for the absence of any mind-numbing pop-ups.
Season’s Greetings from the North Carolina GolfClubAtlas.com staff below:
Only joking. You’ll have to ask my agent how I got roped into this mock Downton Abbey pose for the local Pine Straw magazine.
One thing is for sure: the beast that is GolfClubAtlas.com never sleeps and is always on the prowl. Joe often reminds me of E.B. White’s sentiment: "I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan.” I say, we needn’t pick one path or the other! After a moment of silence for those no longer with us, GolfClubAtlas.com will move forward and with your support endeavor to do both simultaneously and extraordinarily well. The game of golf needs friends now like never before and we will be there for it.
Thanks for all the kind notes and well wishes and let’s make 2013 count!
Best,
Ran & Ben