Foulpointe, Madagascar

[Forrest Richardson]

Ahhh, the somewhat lost Foulpointe thread. Perhaps there is time to both edit, correct and complete it...

[Bill_McBride]

Ahhh, the somewhat lost Foulpointe thread. Perhaps there is time to both edit, correct and complete it...

".....and complete it...."

Please Forrest, please. 

[RJ_Daley]

It is the only reason I stick around this godforsaken website is to finally know the conclusion of the tale of Foulepoint.

I have been so inspired by the reference and course description that Tommy N., found and pasted:

Many holes are played as a blind man, the course étant très vallonné, what gives pepper to the play!

I have since tried to model my golf game on these mystical, magical principles.  Playing courses like a blind man has truly added pepper to my play!!!

[Mark Bourgeois]

Yes Forrest please do finish.  Completely apropos because guess what? I've got pictures!

I had a friend who's the ambassador to a West Afr country (not as impressive as it sounds) contact his peer in Mad, and a few old pics turned up in their files.

As soon as I get my scanner fixed they will go up.

Forrest, one pic shows a green perched on a guano covered rock what must be 100+ yards off shore. It looks like the next tee's over there, too.

The kicker is, there's no bridge, no apparent way to get over there! There could be a boat, but I have to think those rocks and surf would smash a boat to bits. Maybe the photo is doctored or maybe the pic is before they finished. (but there are what look like four golfers on that green - construction workers?)

Mark

[Forrest Richardson]

Mark — The rock (guano) hole is not something I can talk about easily. I need time to heal.

[BCrosby]

Mark -

I am surprised I need to remind you, but that rock was MacK's inspiration for his orignal back tee on the 18th at Cypress. He was quoted a number of times as saying "It worked at Foulpointe, it will work here too. Who needs a bridge?"

Alas, the club didn't buy it. They thought a tee you could reach on foot was, on balance, better than one you couldn't. A lack of imagination if you ask me. But there you have it.

The extensive influence of Foupointe is just now being appreciated. I recently saw some napkins from ANGC with penciled notes from Jones that say "shape green entrance like the 8th at Foulpointe." Lord knows what else is out there.

Bob

[Wayne_Kozun]

I have also hear a rumour that Carl Spackler looped at Foulpointe for a while after spending his time in Tibet caddying for the Dalai Lama.  It was in Madagascar that he learned how to deal with gophers!

[Mark Bourgeois]

Bob

Wonder if the editor mistakenly transposed Jones's votes with Hagen's?

Or maybe Hagen had it in the top 3 and Jones lower but not much - could those two have boosted it or would others had to have voted for it?

The good news at least is the editor apparently did not resort to the scoundrel's trick of "tradition points."

Mark

[Pete_Pittock]

Mark, Forrest
That rock has more history than you may be aware. After Dr Mackenzie passed on the project the owner went alphabetically and settled on Dr. No.
(But would that make Tommy the basis for Felix Lighter?)

[Mac Plumart]

Bump

Post #9 is interesting.

[JC Jones]

If its a joke I've wasted the last week scouring the library and Internet looking for a golf course in Madagascar.....Ceylon.....Indo-China. I know more about Madagascar than I've ever desired to. For example did you know that in 1939 Madagascar was the world's largest producer of rubusto (coffee). In 1947 there was an uprising when all hell broke loose. And the village of Foulpointe is also known as Mahavelona - Where one is reborn.

I've had better luck with the others:

http://www.webquarry.com/~raditha/srilanka/travel/nuwara-eliya.html

http://www.elephantguide.com/features_reviews/feat_dalat_sofitel_80years.htm

Here is the post #9 Mac mentions

[Mike Hendren]

I find my own Sidd Finch comment interesting in light of recent revelations by Mr. Macwood.  Hmmm.

[Tim Pitner]

How about reply #4?--Mr. Crosby sniffed it out as a gag; he just didn't know who the perpetrator was. 

[BCrosby]

Tim -

Yes, I thought it was a hoax, but a hoax perpetrated by The National Golf Review. Little did I know.... Turns out I wasn't cynical enough.

Bob

[Kalen Braley]

Even though the course is NLE today, you can clearly see its old bones when doing a Google Maps search of Foulpointe, Madagascar.

[Eric Smith]

Old bones indeed, Kalen - and right on time. Nice to have our eye in the sky back posting!

[Kalen Braley]

Always happy to help Eric!!  

As a bonus, it seems Foulpointe was the "Bandon" of its day.  If you navigate a few kilometers to the east of there, you can still see an existing course with what appears to be 2 additional NLE courses.   I guess its "remote" nature was eventually its death toll.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Foulpointe,+Toamasina,+Madagascar&aq=0&sll=-23.863234,47.342834&sspn=1.815978,2.452698&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Foulpointe,+Toamasina,+Madagascar&ll=-17.707993,49.512055&spn=0.014738,0.024097&t=h&z=16