Thanks Tom and Joel for the insight. As we waited on the first Tee Sandy Tatum drove by on a golf cart and said," have a nice round Gentlemen", now how great is this getting! i love how the front nine eleveation changes are so much more dramatic as the terrain drops toward Lake Merced.
both #2 and #8 play into the valley to an uphill green. I was wondering if there were other routing alternatives, or was it simply create the hole based on the terrain? #4, the 230ish yard par 3 seems like a pretty long 1 shotter back in the day. Was the hole lenghtehend on any of the restorations? Up and down from the left bunker, still having a great time!
i met the superintendent in the rpo shop and he mentioned quite a bit of tree clearing taking place. he mentioned that the Eucalyptus was very acidic when it decayed and was burning out the nearby areas. He also mentioned that the club by laws prevented the re-design, but allowed for restoration. Again, great job Tom on getting the course to it's present state.
#6 going back down to Lake Merced reminded me again of The Valley Club as the green looks pretty beningn, but there is so much almost imperceptible slope on those greens. #7 is such a treat, even though I pulled one into the short left bunker. Caddies were saying I was dead, but a lucky bunker shot 5 feet above a front left pin rolling out to 8 inches had me smiling. Love the bunkers surrounding the current green. Great framing.
Lot of tree clearing on the right slope of #8. By the time it is finished it should provide a lot more sun and air circulation.
Drivere, 3 wood, 6 iron to 6 feet on #9. Wound up with a birdie on the shortest and longest hole on the course. Couldn't ask for a better experience at a finer course.