OMG Yale

[Tom_Doak]

My intern Riley and I stopped at Yale yesterday evening on the way home, and they were nice enough to let us play 11 holes before dark.  In fact Colin Sheehan caught up with us by the third green.

I had not been back there for about 15 years and while I remember the course pretty well, I was astounded by the scale of it on a re-visit.  We think we are building dramatic stuff from time to time, but I haven't seen anything as big and bold as Yale since, well, probably since the last time I played at Yale.  Out of the 11 holes we played, there is nobody today who would have the balls to build 7 of those holes:

You wouldn't build the carry off the first tee
You wouldn't build a bunker as deep as to the left of the second
You wouldn't build a blind shot over the ridge like the third
You wouldn't build a green with the pronounced bank of the eighth (or the bunkers at each side)
You wouldn't build an all-carry 200-yard Biarritz over water like the ninth
You wouldn't build either the tee shot OR the second shot at the tenth, and
You wouldn't even think of building the eighteenth

I can't think of another course you could say that about.

[Mark McKeever]

Well put Tom.  Yale sets the bar when I think of bold features at a golf course....and most courses can't come close.  

The only two I can even think about making any sort of comparison are Eastward Ho! and Boston GC. (still dont surpass)

Mark

[Jim Nelson]

Tom, couldn't agree more.  Yale is one of my favorite courses and is one of the reasons I now prefer quirky courses over the modern homogenized tracks.  I've played twice (shout out to my host who shall go unnamed) and both times I was severely thrashed by nine and ten.  I call ten "the Fortress" (in my mind similar to #2 at PV but with a blind tee shot) as the defensive position would be almost unassailable.  But that doesn't mean I wouldn't jump at chance to take a go at those two again.  fun stuff.  

[Mark McKeever]

Playing Yale is like when Happy Gilmore walks into the batting cages to stand in front of pitches. 

[Dan_Callahan]

Absolutely agree. I first played Yale in the late 90's when maintenance was a huge issue. After my first round there, I remember thinking it was such a shame that what was clearly a unique and spectacular layout had become almost a joke because of the conditions. I have a friend who coached soccer there, and I'd go back a few times a year. In the 2000s, it slowly started improving as they figured out their labor issues and the new greenskeeper brought some professionalism to the place. I haven't played as many courses as lots of folks on here, but in its current configuration Yale is in my top 5 in New England, just a fraction behind Kittansett, Newport and The Country Club. And I think someone could make the case that it's better than all three of those.

[Joe Bausch]

A ginormous photo album of Yale from a fall visit a few years back is here:

http://xchem.villanova.edu/~bausch/images/albums/Yale/

Edit:  I happen to like the album below much more, based mostly on a visit from April 2012:

http://xchem.villanova.edu/~bausch/images/albums/Yale2/

[Ted Sturges]

I wanna be your intern.  That young man is very lucky to have seen (with you) what he has seen in the last few days.

TS

[Brian Finn]

I played Yale for the first time in June.  I was completely blown away by (among other things) the scale of the course.  I can't recall having so much fun while getting beat up by a golf course.  #2 and #8 were my favorite holes, as they stood out among a tremendous set of par 4s.  I could spend hours on/around #8 green.  Yale is an absolute must see for any gca enthusiast.  I hope to make it back there soon.

[Steve Kupfer]

The only CBM I've had the good fortune of playing is Mid Ocean, and it made a significant impression on me. I knew it would be great, but my expectations were wildly exceeded.

Noticing that NGLA and Piping Rock were done almost 15 years earlier than Yale, and Chicago almost 30 years, are there discernible details that show a evolution in style with more Raynor/Banks influence?

[Jim Nugent]

Tom, what score do you give Yale on the Doak scale? 

[Dan_Callahan]

Have any changes been made to the par 5 16th in recent years? That''s the only hole on the course that I thought was boring/uninteresting.

[Jud_T]

Jim,

I believe it was an 8 originally.  Gotta get back out there having only seen the course in the mid 90's...

[Greg Tallman]

My intern Riley and I stopped at Yale yesterday evening on the way home, and they were nice enough to let us play 11 holes before dark.  In fact Colin Sheehan caught up with us by the third green.

I had not been back there for about 15 years and while I remember the course pretty well, I was astounded by the scale of it on a re-visit.  We think we are building dramatic stuff from time to time, but I haven't seen anything as big and bold as Yale since, well, probably since the last time I played at Yale.  Out of the 11 holes we played, there is nobody today who would have the balls to build 7 of those holes:

You wouldn't build the carry off the first tee
You wouldn't build a bunker as deep as to the left of the second
You wouldn't build a blind shot over the ridge like the third
You wouldn't build a green with the pronounced bank of the eighth (or the bunkers at each side)
You wouldn't build an all-carry 200-yard Biarritz over water like the ninthYou wouldn't build either the tee shot OR the second shot at the tenth, and
You wouldn't even think of building the eighteenth

I can't think of another course you could say that about.

How long is C&C's at Streamsong?

Edit: 208... that Bil Coore is a madman!

[Greg Tallman]

My intern Riley and I stopped at Yale yesterday evening on the way home, and they were nice enough to let us play 11 holes before dark.  In fact Colin Sheehan caught up with us by the third green.

I had not been back there for about 15 years and while I remember the course pretty well, I was astounded by the scale of it on a re-visit.  We think we are building dramatic stuff from time to time, but I haven't seen anything as big and bold as Yale since, well, probably since the last time I played at Yale.  Out of the 11 holes we played, there is nobody today who would have the balls to build 7 of those holes:

You wouldn't build the carry off the first tee
You wouldn't build a bunker as deep as to the left of the second
You wouldn't build a blind shot over the ridge like the third
You wouldn't build a green with the pronounced bank of the eighth (or the bunkers at each side)
You wouldn't build an all-carry 200-yard Biarritz over water like the ninth
You wouldn't build either the tee shot OR the second shot at the tenth, and
You wouldn't even think of building the eighteenth

I can't think of another course you could say that about.

Just googled this one... DAMN!

[Howard Riefs]

My intern Riley and I stopped at Yale yesterday evening on the way home, and they were nice enough to let us play 11 holes before dark.  In fact Colin Sheehan caught up with us by the third green.

I had not been back there for about 15 years and while I remember the course pretty well, I was astounded by the scale of it on a re-visit.  We think we are building dramatic stuff from time to time, but I haven't seen anything as big and bold as Yale since, well, probably since the last time I played at Yale.  Out of the 11 holes we played, there is nobody today who would have the balls to build 7 of those holes:

You wouldn't build the carry off the first tee
You wouldn't build a bunker as deep as to the left of the second
You wouldn't build a blind shot over the ridge like the third
You wouldn't build a green with the pronounced bank of the eighth (or the bunkers at each side)
You wouldn't build an all-carry 200-yard Biarritz over water like the ninth
You wouldn't build either the tee shot OR the second shot at the tenth, and
You wouldn't even think of building the eighteenth

I can't think of another course you could say that about.

Just googled this one... DAMN!

Indeed.  

Good photos in Ran's tour:   http://www.golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/yale-university-golf-course-ct-usa/

[Joe Bausch]

A ginormous photo album of Yale from a fall visit a few years back is here:

http://xchem.villanova.edu/~bausch/images/albums/Yale/

Joe: those are some top notch photos. I had been searching for decent ones online and those are the best by a distance. Cheers.

I'm in the process of culling that herd.  Some are pretty good, others are crappy.  I'll finish the cull, re-process, and re-compile at some point!

[Tom_Doak]

How long is C&C's at Streamsong?

Edit: 208... that Bil Coore is a madman!

Greg:

The hole at Streamsong has a forward tee at not much more than 100 yards, and a large bailout area to the left.

Yale has none of that.  I guess you could putt it along the dam if you couldn't make the carry.  The head on my 5-wood had come loose on the trip down, and I didn't think I could get over the water with my 4-iron (and certainly not over the swale), so my only play on the hole was to hit the patented Grant Rogers "bunt driver".  Best shot of the day!

But, you are right ... that Bill Coore is a madman!

[Mike Policano]

You think Yale is bold? Try it with hickories! It opened in the hickory era and must have been a total bear to play. Every time I play Yale with hickories, I shake my head.

[Mac Plumart]

I was wondering about that, Mike.

If I got the chance to play it, would it be playable/fun with hickories?


EDIT...I'm decent with hickories.  I shoot in the high 80s, the majority of the time.  And can hit drives 200-215.

[Tim Martin]

I was wondering about that, Mike.

If I got the chance to play it, would it be playable/fun with hickories?


EDIT...I'm decent with hickories.  I shoot in the high 80s, the majority of the time.  And can hit drives 200-215.

Mac-First go play it with your regular clubs. You can always come back and play it with hickories if you want.

[Tim Martin]

What Scott Ramsey has done since 2003 is no less than startling. Yale is an absolute marvel and as Tom Doak described the boldness of the design is off the charts. All hail to Mac/Raynor!

[Mike Policano]

Mac,

Play it with hickories. Playing Golden Age courses with hickories makes the architecture jump out at you. Ground games options are revealed the modern clubs just fly over.

[ChipRoyce]

Never heard Yale described as such. While I figured I'd play it *sometime*, just got to my top 5 must plays.
Something about big, bold carries (Tobacco Road comes to mind) that makes a course memorable to me.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tom Doak,

WHY wouldn't you build those holes/features, especially knowing how incredible they are ?

[Mark Bourgeois]

After a long pause between plays (12 years) my reaction was different from Tom's. I was shocked how much equipment had reduced the functional scale of the course. Despite adding years in age, I had to move to the blues to have roughly the same distances into the greens that were presented by the whites of yesteryear.

The other thing I do, sometimes, is play persimmon. That makes the whites plenty hard for me and restores the blues to the bear they once were.

As for the aesthetic scale, that really IS bigger than it used to be, for reasons Tim notes.