Some photos of the courses mentioned in the thread.
I will start with Maderas - my second or may be even first most favorite course in CA (from the ones I was privileged to play). From a purists stand point it must be considered bad GCA (hence the title of the thread). It has a lof of forced carries, and may be for some it is unplayable.
But it is wonderfully firm, wildly beautiful and on some holes it takes your breath away.
It has some diagonal hazards, beautiful contours to the green complexes and is overall a serious challenge. The course record is 63 set by Charley Hoffman (per caddie's words).
Sorry for the photo quality, they were taken using my iPhone. And I am not a great photographer by any means.
This is I guess, a second shot on the 18th hole. I posted it to illustrate how the great green colors and firmness of fairways are not mutually exclusive. You can easily get a 30-40 yard roll on these fairways, which I believe is great for good golf. So the firm stuff shouldnt necessarily look like a concrete parking lot.
IMG_0032 by
I.L1986, on Flickr
18th fairway again, just love the colors and the light, bring some sweet memories. BTW, this tree block the right side of the fairway and makes you lay up if you don't hit your first shot to the correct part of the fairway.
IMG_0030 by
I.L1986, on Flickr
18th tee-shot. Notice the tree on the right, and the bunker on the left. You either hit to the perfect spot right in between the two, or you are in trouble. Or just lay up with a shorter club from the tee and have a decent three shotter coming. The fairway sweet spot is actually much wider than what it looks like, so this hole also plays visual games with you. Love it
IMG_0028 by
I.L1986, on Flickr
The hole #17. A sweet short downhill par 3. I have never played the Royal County Down but his hole makes me think of it. Wild, natural and beautiful. 3 months from the day of the game I still remember the wild putting surface. Sweet, sweet, sweet.
IMG_0027 by
I.L1986, on Flickr
More to follow.