Old Town Club - Fall Photo Tour

[Jon Cavalier]

Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, NC is a 1939 Perry Maxwell original bordering the campus of Wake Forest University.  I had the great pleasure of playing several rounds at OTC on a perfect early-November day at the kind invitation of GCAer Will Spivey.  And while I am a few months late in getting this tour together, OTC's recent near-miss on garnering the threshold number of Golf Digest rater plays necessary for inclusion in the Top-100 make this a particularly appropriate to shine a bit of a spotlight on this architectural gem.

Old Town Club


When it became apparent that time had taken its toll on this old beauty, the members and their Golf Chairman, Dunlop White, chose Coore & Crenshaw to perform an extensive restoration of the property.  For a more detailed discussion of this process and the work performed by Coore & Crenshaw, be sure to check out Ran's excellent profile at http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/old-town-club/ .  Suffice it to say, the duo did a magnificent job.

Late Afternoon at Old Town


Before we begin, a few notes about OTC and these photos.  I was told, on good authority, by members of OTC and by Dunlop White, that the absolute peak time of year to play the course is November/December.  I certainly cannot disagree.  OTC played firm and fast throughout, and given the exceptional green- and green-side features, this made for some very exciting golf.  OTC is not built for lush, soft, ultra-green conditions.  My first round of the day was played during a persistent light rain under continual cloud cover, and the course stayed firm as ever.  After a quick lunch, the sun came out, dried the course immediately and put an entirely new look on the course.  So, while these photos were all taken on the same day, you may notice differences based on the time of day that a particular photo was taken.

The Spectacular 8th/17th Double Green


I hope you enjoy the tour.

Old Town Club

At a macro level, Old Town Club has a few standout architectural features that demand mention at the outset.  The first is the routing.  The first thing that GCA aficionados seem to talk about when they talk about Old Town is Maxwell's brilliant routing of the golf course.  To me, the routing of a golf course has always seemed equal parts engineering discipline, artistic ability and black magic -- I've never quite been able to grasp how it's done, much less done well.  But when it's done well, I know it when I see it.  And OTC is it.  Maxwell's routing begins a three hole loop to the south of the club house in a Par 4, Par 3, Par 4 arrangement.  The members must love this feature.  Beginning with the 4th hole, the course meanders up, over and a round various landforms and features such that no two holes play similarly, no part of the walk is too steep, and never is there a hint of boredom.

The 17th, 8th and 9th Holes


The second feature is the openness of the property and the way the golf course uses that openness to bolster the way the course plays.  Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw and Dunlop White deserve great credit for this feature.  From the first tee, the player can view most of the three hole starting loop.  From the crest of the fourth fairway, more than half the course (and its wonderful landforms) are in full view.  And from the double green at 8/17, the player can look back and see four connected fairways -- the 17th, the 8th, the 9th and the 18th -- quite an amazing sight.  Coupled with the minimal use of encroaching rough, the openness of the course provides for a wide array of options on every hole (in fact, the rough is so minimal, it is possible to walk up 4, across 7, up 17, across 8, across 9 and up 10 back to the clubhouse without every stepping on a line of long grass). 

From the 4th Fairway



The Clubhouse
Old Town's gorgeous brick clubhouse fits in perfectly with the rest of its surrounds. The fried chicken special on the lunch menu is spectacular.



Hole 1 - Par 4 - 407yds
A round at Old Town begins on the first tee in the shadow of the clubhouse, looking out at the generous first fairway, which disappears from view down into a valley before rising to meet the green.


Often, players will face an uphill shot from a downhill lie into the first green.


Though the first green looks inviting, it has serious teeth.  The false front is visible in this photo, as it the abrupt falloff to the left of the green.  Indifferent approaches can land on this green and still end up 15 yards from the putting surface.


The view back down the 1st hole, illustrating the rolling terrain and the spaciousness of the first fairway.



Hole 2 - Par 3 - 145yds
A short par 3 that has been beautifully reworked by Coore & Crenshaw, the second plays slightly downhill over the same small creek that bisects the first fairway.


The second green is wide, shallow and full of undulation. 


This view from behind the second green reveals some of the terrific available pin positions on this hole.



Hole 3 - Par 4 - 361yds
The third hole plays back toward the clubhouse and ends the opening three-hole loop.  From the tee, the player sees only the flagstick and the looming bunker planted high on the right shoulder of the fairway.


Cresting the hill reveals the low-left bunker, which, due to the firm and fast conditions and the slope of the fairway, plays much larger than its actual footprint.


This view from behind the third reveals the internal mounding and the importance of being on the proper tier of the green.



Hole 4 - Par 5 - 520yards
A quick walk past the clubhouse and down a small pathway brings the golfer to the fourth tee.  The remaining 15 holes at Old Town are laid out on the northern side of the clubhouse.  The first par 5 on the course, the fourth hole becomes reachable with a well struck tee shot, as any ball that clears the crest of the hill will bound past the trees at the corner of the dogleg.  For longer hitters, however, this is one of the tighter tee shots on the golf course.


After reaching the crest of the hill, the course opens up to the golfer.  The hole itself doglegs right and follows the tree line down the hill.


Those who don't (or, like me, can't) reach the green in two face either a short, sharply downhill approach or a half-wedge from the bottom of the hill into the third green. 


This view from the right side of the fourth green reveals the wonderfully nuanced putting surface.


This view from the right rear portion of the fourth green shows both the fairway's long decent and the expansive nature of the property.



Hole 5 - 354yds - Par 4
The fourth tee is carved into a sheltered nook on the side of a hill.  The sixth green is visible to the left.  A perfect draw will shorten this hole considerably, as it is possible to carry the bunkers set in the inside corner of the dogleg.  Another tee shot with a variety of options for the player.


The fifth green is benched into a small hill at a far corner of the property.  This green slopes substantially from high left rear to low right front, making accuracy critical on this short approach.


This view from behind the fifth green shows the contour of the fairway and the steepness of this green.  The sun is providing a helpful spotlight on the area from which you do not want to be putting at today's hole.



Hole 6 - Par 3 - 173 yards
The beautiful sixth hole plays back toward the fifth tee.  This hole offers a clinic in visual deception.  From the tee, large bunker on the right looks to be greenside, but in fact there are forty-plus yards between its back edge and the putting surface.  Add to that a horizon green with no landmarks between it and the far hillside and a green that falls away dramatically on all sides and the player is confronted with a fun puzzle. Long or left is no picnic.


The view from the sixth green is one of the prettiest on the golf course.  No fewer than half the holes on the golf course are at least partially in view from here.



Hole 7 - Par 4 - 340yds
Once more, the player is confronted with options off the tee.  Challenge the bunkers on the left and have a better angle and a flatter lie into the tiny seventh green, or bail out to the ample fairway to the right and face a more uphill second from a less favorable angle?  A gorgeous, fun hole.


The approach to the seventh green, seen here through the morning raindrops, presents one of the more difficult short shots on the golf course.  In addition to the small green, the player must contend with a long bunker running along the high side of the green (no easy task getting up and down from there) and more bunkers and a falloff to the right.


The view back down the seventh hole.



Hole 8 - Par 4 - 358yds
The tee shot on the eighth hole is blind to the player, as the fairway drops out of view past the first bunker.  Like Lanny Wadkins was fond of saying, the dome and steeple of the Wake Forest library provides an aiming point (barely visible in this photo at the tree line above the bunker).


Reaching the crest of the eighth fairway provides one of the most thrilling views at Old Town - the downhill approach to the immense green shared by the eighth and seventeenth holes.  The eighth plays to the red flag on the left.  An absolutely exceptional use of a double green, and a truly special feature of this golf course.


This view from the left side of the double green shows just how much contour this massive green contains. The two pins are about 200 feet apart.  The high point of the green is in the middle, and each side has plenty of interest of its own.  During our round, Will was faced with a nearly 100 foot putt from the high rear portion of this green -- his picture perfect putt hit the hole and somehow lipped out.


From behind the double green, the player is presented with a panoramic view of the seventeenth, eighth, ninth and eighteenth (out of frame to the right) fairways, each of which join together to create a swath of fairway several hundred yards wide.  Quite a sight.



Hole 9 - Par 4 - 360yds
In sticking with the shared theme, the ninth and eighteenth holes share a tee box, with a directional stone pointing the golfer in the right direction.  Both holes play back toward the clubhouse.


The refreshing openness of Old Town is felt during the walk up the shared eighth and ninth fairways.


The ninth doglegs right around the trees, with the sharply banked fairway and firm conditions helping to scoot the well struck tee shot around the corner and into a position from where the green can be reached.  On the flip side, not many level lies are to be found on the ninth, making the approach to an elevated green more difficult.


The view back down the beautifully natural ninth hole (one of my favorites at Old Town).


(Tour continued below due to character limit).

[Jon Cavalier]

Hole 10 - Par 4 - 389yds
Holes 10 through 13 play along the edge of the property at Old Town.  The tenth begins with a tee shot over a rise in the fairway that obscures the landing area from the player's view.


The approach to the tenth is one of the most enjoyable on the golf course.  While all golfers profess to love firm and fast conditions, it is only when a golf course takes advantage of such conditions to enhance the playing experience that a player really sees their true value.  Old Town's tenth is such a hole.  The approach plays slightly downhill to a small green that slopes left to right.  Target golf is available here, but a miss right is deep trouble.  The golfer also has the option of playing a low running shot over the left bunker, which is far short of the green, and watching his ball take the natural contours of the land to bound down and to the right on to the putting surface. 


As this view from behind shows, the terrain and the seamless transition from fairway to green practically begs the player to show off his ground game.



Hole 11 - Par 3 - 170yds
One of the prettiest holes at Old Town, the eleventh hole plays downhill to a green guarded up the right side by a small creek. 


Again, the player has the option of running the ball on to this rather well defended green.  This view from the left side of the eleventh also shows the shared fairway of the eighth and seventeenth holes.


A gorgeous setting for golf.



Hole 12 - Par 4 - 409yds
Options - there are many at Old Town.  At the twelfth, the player must navigate an alley of trees before reaching the wide, open fairway.  But before hitting the shot, the player must decide whether to play up the high left side of the fairway, leaving an approach that is slightly shorter but blind to the green and likely from a sidehill lie, or to play right to a lower, flatter part of the fairway from which the green is visible, but from which a longer approach is required.


The twelfth green is benched nicely into a small hillside, and again, this green is receptive to a low, running shot.  The massive back left bunker provides visual interest and makes the green appear far smaller than it is.  As Ran mentions in his profile, this bunker is visible from many different parts of the golf course.


The variety of the landforms and terrain at Old Town is staggering, as this view back up the twelfth hole shows.



Hole 13 - Par 4 - 419yds
The thirteenth hole plays slightly uphill initially and over a small rise.  The ample fairway can be deceiving, as the approach from the left side is far preferable to the right.


Some golfers will find the approach on 13 the longest of the day.  This green occupies the westernmost extreme of the property at Old Town, and once again, a low running shot is welcomed here . . .


. . . as the fairway runs downhill and seamlessly into the green. 



Hole 14 - Par 4 - 354yds
The fourteenth hole at Old Town is, quite simply, one of the best short par four holes I've played.  The fairway slopes high right to low left, with the ideal position off the tee largely dependent on which way the player likes to work the ball on the approach.  A tee shot to the high right side leaves a perfect look at the green but presents a hook lie, while playing to the low right side off the tee leaves a flat lie but requires an uphill approach to a green largely out of sight.


This view from the right side of the fairway allows a full view of the green but increases the likelihood of the deadly left miss.


The steep fall off short and left of the fourteenth green is severe.  The approach is complicated by the subtle false front - anything coming up short will roll all the way back down the slope, leaving a very difficult pitch back up to the green.


Shots that miss long left run the risk of reaching the hazard.  It's a short approach, but one rife with challenges.


A spectacular hole.



Hole 15 - Par 3 - 180yds
The last, and the longest, par three at Old Town, the fifteenth plays back along the creek bordering the previous hole. 


Though the fifteenth green is generous in size, the internal contours allow for pin placements that can change the dynamic of the hole considerably, as this picture from the fourteenth fairway shows.  Pins on the right side are particularly challenging.



Hole 16 - Par 4 - 354yds
A short hole that plays longer due to the change in elevation, the sixteenth plays along some of the most "extreme" terrain at Old Town.  The tee shot plays uphill to a landing area canted from high left to low right, making the ideal aiming point farther left than it appears from the tee.  The righthand bunker is not in play but frames the tee shot nicely.


The sixteenth fairway crests and then plunges downhill, where it flattens briefly before abruptly rising again to the green.  Longer hitters can reach the downslope, but must decide whether they prefer a shorter shot to a green far above them, or a longer shot to a green at the same elevation.  The sixteenth was one of my favorite holes at Old Town.


This view from behind the sixteenth green shows both the varied slopes within the putting surface and the rolling terrain that must be negotiated to reach it.



Hole 17 - Par 5 - 555yds
The seventeenth at Old Town is gorgeous par 5 that proudly displays the best of what Old Town has to offer.  From the elevated tee just steps from the sixteenth green, the player is afforded one of the best views on the golf course.  The small creek forces the player to a decision - to the left is an easier carry but will require the high route into the green, while to the right provides a better the approach shot along the low route.


The large ridge that must be negotiated on the second shot.  The bunker in the center of the fairway is a breaks up the visual while providing a small but menacing hazard.


After cresting the ridge, the player once more gets to play to the wonderful double green, this time from an oblique angle and to the right hand side.  This view from the high left side allows a full view of the green . . .   


. . . while the low side allows a shorter third from a level position.


This view from just behind the green illustrates how the seventeenth provides plenty of room but requires careful thought and solid decision-making for each shot.  A standout par 5.



Hole 18 - Par 4 - 417yds
The finishing hole at Old Town plays parallel and to the right of the ninth hole.  The bunkers on the left side of the fairway gather everything in the vicinity, as the fairway slopes and feeds directly to them.


The approach to the well-bunkered eighteenth green provides one final test for the golfer.


The view from behind the day's final pin shows the long, gentle climb up from the seventeenth to the eighteenth green.


Old Town is a true gem with a wonderful vibe and is, most importantly, an extremely fun place to play golf.  The members here are a happy, welcoming, friendly bunch and with a golf course like this, it is easy to see why, as they must always be in a good mood.  Many thanks to Will Spivey, my excellent host and playing companion, who was kind enough not only to invite me for a round but generous enough to share his substantial knowledge about his course.  Many thanks also to Dunlop White, a great ambassador for Old Town and a true asset to the club, who was nice enough to chat with me at several points throughout the day about the course and the improvements made.

The beautiful home green and clubhouse as dusk approaches.


Thanks for reading.  I hope you enjoyed the tour.

[Joe Bausch]

Beautiful, man!

You gotta get out more, Jon.

[Josh Stevens]

Gosh I do envy North America its autumnal colours. The reds and browns really do make a course.  Although I suppose the price you pay is the knowledge your course is about to close for a few months.

[David Stamm]

Every time I see a photo tour of this course, I have a bite my hand like squeaky from Laverne and Shirley moment because it's so cool looking. Old Town in autumn colors.....wow! Thanks for posting!

[Matt Bosela]

Sensational looking course, photos and tour.  Just stunning all around!

[Tim Martin]

Gosh I do envy North America its autumnal colours. The reds and browns really do make a course.  Although I suppose the price you pay is the knowledge your course is about to close for a few months.

It's open year round.

[Matt MacIver]

Thanks for the thorough and engaging tour, what a great course.

[Jason Topp]

You captured the course well.  Thank you.

[BHoover]

Great photo tour of an exceptional course. Had I known about Old Town at the time, I probably would have chosen to go to Wake Forest when I had the chance!

[Josh Tarble]

Wow! What a course and what a photo tour.  Great work Jon. 

I have to say, this course has a very Crystal Downs-ish look to it.  Especially the front side of CD with the openess, gorgeous bunkering and wonderful terrain.  I'd be curious to know if they play similar at all.

[Jim Tang]

Thanks for sharing.  Fantastic tour!  I love the wide open look of the place.  Expansive property and the bunkering is awesome.

[Peter Pallotta]

Keep posting tours like this one, Jon, and it soon won't matter that OTC has a "near-miss on garnering the threshold number of Golf Digest rater plays necessary for inclusion in the Top-100". It won't matter because there won't be a GD top-100 list requiring such a threshold number; it will have been replaced by, and in fact there will only be, the "Jon Cavalier Top-100"!  

(Okay, maybe also something involving Tom D -- but that's it!)

Thanks much, a wonderful look

Peter

[Ryan Bass]

Great tour.  There appears to be elevation change on nearly every hole but none too extreme.  Only enough to add challenge, excitement and options.  The U.S. is truly blessed with spectacular golf in nearly every nook and cranny.  Love it. 

[Will Spivey]

Jon, thanks for the great write up, and as always, excellent pictures.  You mentioned a couple of points I'd like to amplify:

1) Routing.  The brilliant routing is one of Old Town's greatest features. The overall size of the property is rather small (can't remember exactly, but something like 140 acres -- Dunlop White will know for sure), but the layout feels very open and spacious.  Green to tee walks are all short, yet holes never encroach on one another.  Even so, the intimacy of certain parts of the course - the double green, the shared 9/18 tee box, the 4th, 7th and 17th fairways -- can make for a very sociable day.  The course also boasts two excellent mini-loops (1 - 3 and 10, 11, 18) which make for a great quick golf fix.  As an added bonus, number 3 returns to the clubhouse allowing for an easy refill in the men's grill for those booze-centric rounds.  Last time he played OTC, Pritchett was able to refill his Bloody Mary en route from 3 green to 4 tee.

2) Width.  OTC really highlights how width adds strategic interest and playability to a course.  Jon highlights two great examples in #7 and #18.  The drive on each hole can be either relatively easy or very difficult.  If the player successfully navigates the more difficult/challenging line he is amply rewarded on his next shot.  It is a shame that so many courses today have lost such width through the encroachment of trees.  

[Jon Cavalier]

Guys:
Thanks for the comments and the kind words.  I'm glad you all like the look of Old Town, because its a golf course that more than warrants the attention and the praise.  I'll try to answer some of your questions and respond to some of your remarks here.

Beautiful, man!
You gotta get out more, Jon.

Joe:
Thanks.  And I completely agree with you that I need to cram in more rounds, somehow.  I will do my best.

Gosh I do envy North America its autumnal colours. The reds and browns really do make a course.  Although I suppose the price you pay is the knowledge your course is about to close for a few months.

Josh:
I can understand your envy of the autumn colors here.  Fall is my favorite time of the year to play golf.  
And Tim is correct -- places in the southern mid-atlantic states have the best of both worlds, as they get the fall colors AND they stay open and very playable year round (if a little warm at times in the summer).  While the courses here in the northeast are buried in snow or frozen solid, they're still playing in shirtsleeves at OTC.

Wow! What a course and what a photo tour.  Great work Jon.  
I have to say, this course has a very Crystal Downs-ish look to it.  Especially the front side of CD with the openess, gorgeous bunkering and wonderful terrain.  I'd be curious to know if they play similar at all.

Josh:
I haven't played Crystal Downs, so I can't personally say whether they look or play similar.  I would imagine that, as Perry Maxwell designs, they share a great number of similarities in both look and feel.  I did speak to a few members of OTC who had recently been to Crystal Downs, and though I didn't ask specifically, they did remark that they felt right at home there.

Keep posting tours like this one, Jon, and it soon won't matter that OTC has a "near-miss on garnering the threshold number of Golf Digest rater plays necessary for inclusion in the Top-100". It won't matter because there won't be a GD top-100 list requiring such a threshold number; it will have been replaced by, and in fact there will only be, the "Jon Cavalier Top-100"!  
(Okay, maybe also something involving Tom D -- but that's it!)
Thanks much, a wonderful look
Peter

Peter:
That's awfully nice of you to say, and I can't say I hate the idea.  I'm working on another tour now of a "non-GD Top 100" course that deserves the ranking, in my opinion, so hopefully we can add that one to the list.  Thanks for your note.

Great tour.  There appears to be elevation change on nearly every hole but none too extreme.  Only enough to add challenge, excitement and options.  The U.S. is truly blessed with spectacular golf in nearly every nook and cranny.  Love it.  

Ryan:
That's an excellent observation.  In fact, none of the holes are truly flat, save for the par 3 15th and perhaps the par 4 14th (depending on how you play it).  The other holes vary from moderatly rolling (3, 5, 10, 12, 17) to quite hilly (1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 16, 18), and there are no extremely long or extremely steep uphill walks (and OTC is a very pleasant walk).  Good stuff.

Jon, thanks for the great write up, and as always, excellent pictures.  You mentioned a couple of points I'd like to amplify:

1) Routing.  The brilliant routing is one of Old Town's greatest features. The overall size of the property is rather small (can't remember exactly, but something like 140 acres -- Dunlop White will know for sure), but the layout feels very open and spacious.  Green to tee walks are all short, yet holes never encroach on one another.  Even so, the intimacy of certain parts of the course - the double green, the shared 9/18 tee box, the 4th, 7th and 17th fairways -- can make for a very sociable day.  The course also boasts two excellent mini-loops (1 - 3 and 10, 11, 18) which make for a great quick golf fix.  As an added bonus, number 3 returns to the clubhouse allowing for an easy refill in the men's grill for those booze-centric rounds.  Last time he played OTC, Pritchett was able to refill his Bloody Mary en route from 3 green to 4 tee.

2) Width.  OTC really highlights how width adds strategic interest and playability to a course.  Jon highlights two great examples in #7 and #18.  The drive on each hole can be either relatively easy or very difficult.  If the player successfully navigates the more difficult/challenging line he is amply rewarded on his next shot.  It is a shame that so many courses today have lost such width through the encroachment of trees.  

Will:
Great point about the openness -- I didn't know the course was on 140 acres, and I would have guessed it was more.  It doesn't feel confined in any way.  And the mini-loops are one of my favorite aspects about the course -- the members must love that feature.

Your point about width is one with which I very much agree.  I was stunned at how many of tee shots on Old Town's par 4s and 5s had options for the player to consider, and how well the course managed to present those options in terms of risks vs. rewards.  Big risks had big rewards, while the more moderate risks only provided a slight advantage.  And in each case, there was a "safe" route available for the lesser/conservative player to take if willing to pay the comeasurate price in angle or distance, which was never too extreme.  I didn't have the chance to find out, but I would be willing to venture that Old Town is an exceptional match play course for this reason (among others).

Thanks again.

[Jim Sherma]

This view from the right side of the fourth green reveals the wonderfully nuanced putting surface.

This photo and green is just beautiful. Great golf does not need to be any more complicated than this.

[Dunlop_White]

Hello Jon -- Thanks so much for taking the time to post such great pictures of Old Town. Glad you're such a good photographer as you have treated the DG here at GCA to some great course tours. Eastward Ho, Somerset Hills, Myopia and others. Now Old Town. Just terrific!
I wish the sun would have cooperated for both your rounds because the shadowing on our bunkers and terrain is fantastic with light. Please come back to see us. We are making improvements constantly. Coore gave us a long punch list.

[Matthew Petersen]

Wonderful photo tour.

In many ways, I'm not sure I've seen a course (in pictures) that reminds me more of the amazing opens of Augusta National. Not just a broad expanse, but short grass everywhere, broken up by bunkers, the occasional stream, and crops of trees here and there. Just spectacular.

[Brett Wiesley]

Thanks for the tour. I think my Father and I played the same day!!  Same drizzle, pins and great company with our host.  The pictures are great but to feel it in your feet is special, what a piece of property, what a routing. 

[Dunlop_White]

Thanks for the tour. I think my Father and I played the same day!!  Same drizzle, pins and great company with our host.  The pictures are great but to feel it in your feet is special, what a piece of property, what a routing.

Yes! You are right!! Same exact day! If you recall, I asked if you guys wanted to join Cavalier -- photographer extraordinaire -- for a second round?

All too funny. We had lunch instead.  And if I recall correctly, you guys headed for the Sandhills region of NC, while Cavalier experienced the course in the afternoon sunlight.

It's hard to capture the grandeur of the land in photographs but Cavalier did a great job. Everyone is right. The routing topography is spectacular. Bill Coore said this about Old Town long before he was involved with restoring the course.

“I've always said that any serious student of golf course architecture must first go to Old Town to see how Mr. Maxwell laid out the course over such an extraordinary piece of hilly terrain. Given the hole variety and the fact it's still very walkable, that's quite an accomplishment".

[Tim Gavrich]

Lovely photos of a special place. Thanks for sharing, Jon. It looks like the 4-7-8-9-17-18 mega-fairway is pretty much mowed all the way out; great to see. That huge expanse of short grass is a terrific example of why long rough is so overrated as a hazard. You can pretty much throw out the Fairways Hit statistic at Old Town as an indicator of how well you drove the ball. The course requires an uncommon amount of cunning to be played well, which explains my lackluster score my first time 'round  .

[George Freeman]

I've said it before, but this course just looks so amazing from the wonderful pictures presented on this website.  More so than almost all others. Width, options, angles, strategy, varied/rolling terrain, (what appear to be) firm and fast conditions and a really great looking set of greens.

What more could you ask for?  

Thanks for posting Jon. Keep up the good work.

[Tim_Weiman]

Jon,

I will only say that having not been to Old Town, my golf architecture education is incomplete.

[Quinn Thompson]

Ol' Old Town…can't get away from it.

I had the privilege, honor, and opportunity to help "dig holes" there during the "restoration renovation" some years back…and I've been thinking of that God Damned course ever since... not that it's damned, by all means no; but if there's a Lord, he surely pegs one up there on Sundays, wether we know it or not.

I admit it, being from Chicago; and pulling into a one Perry Maxwell Lane; the only thing I knew was that this was tobacco town, and that  the cigarettes were a hell of a lot cheaper here than back there in the old Daley neighborhoods of Chicago…

Again, in all honesty, I knew a bit more than that…I knew it was good, at one point; and I knew my Boss once played there as a a young Deacon, and that many others in the game had followed his hole in the fence towards the 12th tee…I even did the old photo tour on this here website to see what it was I was signing up for ; to bring the dog or to not bring the dog.

And to finally make a long ramble short ; I mentioned to Sir Dunlop about  year ago, that of all the "gigs" I've had the privilege of drumming on, Old Town may have been the most rewarding, the most satisfying..the one that made the most sense.

"Why", he asked.

Because sometimes you don't need the smell of the Long Island Sound, nor the crash of the South China Sea; sometimes you don't need the cliffs of Canada nor the winding entry roads of Pinehurst; sometimes you don't need sand, nor the rock outcroppings of the High Sierra….

No, sometimes you just need Golf, and good people….and a red-bricked clubhouse. Throw in a proper Magnolia Tree, and your already under par.

Sometimes you just need Golf, and thats what Ye' Old Town is…..

Cheers,
Q.