Sorry I wasn't able to make it - the Bandon KP was one of the great experiences I've had through this site and I hope to take part in another King's Putter in the near future.
I was disappointed you didn't make it too.
I wanted to be in the foursome with "switch hitter" Matt Essig, "doesn't lose, can't miss" Matt Bielawa, and "birdie barraging" Matt Bosela so it'd be simple thing to just say "good shot Matt" after every swing.
It was a "great" time for me. I'm using that adjective for the event, the weather, the people, and the courses. The BBQ'd pig jowls too.
I was originally a bit disheartened to learn that we were going to play several temporary greens at Chambers. After playing a couple of them, that thought was nearly completely gone.
Play to any old spot at Chambers, the bumps, bounces and shapes around the hole are still going to fun. There are lots of "where is this going to go?" thoughts to ponder when playing at Chambers.
And I'm going to echo nearly everything Pete Lavallee said about the courses.
I was expecting good to great things about Chambers. That I got and I think the Open there will be fine.
The conditions will sort themselves out given the attention the course will get leading up to the event.
Aldarra was a _much_ better Fazio than I expected. I'm still very impressed that Victor managed to complete a HundredHoleHike there. It's got quite a bit of up and down.
The Home Course and the Gold Mountain courses were representative examples of good to fine publics I'd be happy to play again.
But in a big and pleasant surprise to me, I thought the Fircrest course was great fun.
It's compact, mostly straightforward and simple, challenging at spots, great movement through the fairways, a few fun "where should the golf ball go?" holes with well managed poa greens free from dollar spot and fairy ring. I was delighted that the fairways were fairly bouncy and the greens were very true.
My thanks to all the organizers and players. I hope to see you all again.