[Ran Morrissett]

This month's Feature Interview is with Tom Doak, author of The Confidential Guide Volume 2 -The Americas (winter destinations), which begins shipping in ~three weeks.

Volume 2  includes evaluations on 502 courses, approximately 200 more courses than in Volume 1 covering a geographic area well over 100 times larger. The courses aren't better but the diversity of landscapes is. The quality of photos in Volume 2 is a notch higher too – more blue skies in Arizona and Mexico than East Lothian or South Uist! Tom Doak's picture of the 12th at La Paz is an eye opener. And once again, Angela Moser’s graphics  provide additional visual interest that was absent in the original Guide.  For instance, her illustration of the 17th at Laurel Country Club in Mississippi readily shows what words alone would struggle to convey.

Hotbeds of winter golf from Pinehurst, Arizona, Cabo and South America are featured in this edition. The most northerly courses are in California (yes, the northern part  ), Sand Hollow in Utah, and on the east coast, Old Town in Winston-Salem. From that approximate horizontal line across the United States, courses are covered south some ~7,000 miles to Magallanes GC overlooking the Strait of Magellan. The stated purpose of the book is to suggest potential golf destinations  - and what to avoid. If you are flying overnight to Buenos Aires, no point in starting off with a dud!

As with Volume 1 (The Old Course),  only one course, this time Cypress Point, gets a perfect sweep of 10s from the four contributors. In fact, no other course in volume 2 scores even two 10s though multiple venues did in Volume 1. Others like Pebble and Augusta might have a few decades ago but not at this particular point in their evolution  . Tom's ability to surprise continues. He maintains a strong affection for Shadow Creek despite the minimalist approach found in most (but not all) of his own work. Of course, people look for the zingers. One comes at the expense of a course in Cape Fear where he writes 'even the movie had a happier ending!' Nobody is safe, including his co-authors. He expresses great surprise that I admire the Home hole at Yeamans so much!

Fans of George Thomas, Pete Dye, Mike Strantz, Jack Nicklaus, Perry Maxwell, Tom Fazio, maybe Alister MacKenzie, RTJ, and Luther Koontz  will find the bulk of their best works featured in this Volume. Improvements in agronomy make the courses (and therefore the book) more interesting than it would have been just 20 years ago. Designs like Wolf Point and Mid Pines sparkle under the firm running conditions that are now consistently achievable in their respective weather belts.

To reserve your copy, go here: http://www.renaissancegolf.com/books/buy_the_guide
 
Best,

[Chris Clouser]

Glad to see Tom was able to make it to Bartlesville and see Hillcrest. 

[Peter Pallotta]

A fine interview, thanks Ran.


I think Jeff B noted recently that a young would-be architect had better love to travel; and Tom's global itinerary (both in preparation for/support of the new Confidential Guide and in terms of his own design work) certainly makes my head spin!


Peter

[Tom_Doak]

You can say that again Peter, considering I'm sitting on a plane this afternoon, headed to Alaska!

It may be a few days before I have time to get back here and answer questions about the book, but I will do my best to respond when I can.

[MClutterbuck]

Never thought I would read about San Andres Golf Club on this Forum, much less in a Confidential Guide. What Tom says about the golf culture in these Argentina clubs is spot on. This picture is one of many examples that prove what Tom says. 

[PCCraig]

Just purchased volume 2...can't wait to read it!!

[PCCraig]

Very cool to see Audubon Golf Course in New Orleans make the new volume's Gourmet Choice. I walked most of the golf course and visited the clubhouse when visiting the city this past winter and agree that it's a pretty neat place.

[Daniel Jones]

Nice to see a mention of Capital City in Tallahassee. One of my favorite courses in Florida, albeit one I haven't played in far too long. Looking forward to Volume 2!

[Carl Nichols]

In advance of Volume 2 being published, I thought I'd take a crack at guessing which greens at Bald Peak Colony Club (which I've been lucky enough to play enough times to feel like I know them pretty well) Tom described as "doozies" in his interview.   My favorites, at least, are 2, 3, 8, 10, 14, and 17.  And there's the famous Battleship hole, #12.   

[Bill_McBride]

Nice to see a mention of Capital City in Tallahassee. One of my favorite courses in Florida, albeit one I haven't played in far too long. Looking forward to Volume 2!

There was talk of a Tillinghast-sensitive restoration there a few years ago.  Did any of that ever happen?

[Anthony Fowler]

Thanks Ran and Tom! I have absolutely loved reading volume 1 over the past year, and I've only played 7 courses in the UK. I can only imagine how much fun I will have with volumes 2 and 3.


Tom, since you received few angry letters about volume 1, here's some feedback. The Old Course is not a 10, and you shouldn't be so surprised that the media made a big deal about the 0! You may be right in your assessment, but when you gave out that 0 (and when you created the 0 category altogether), the media was sure to be all over it. 


I've been on this site for about 8 years, and this is the first time I've heard of Audubon Park. On top of that, there's a current thread concluding that New Orleans has no great golf courses. Imagine my surprise to learn that New Orleans has a gourmet's choice! Even in the internet age, there are still delightful surprises and discoveries to be made. That's one of the reasons The Confidential Guide is such a valuable resource.


That's really too bad what happened at Fallen Oak. I suspect you would have seen a lot that you liked, and it was a dumb move on their part to not let you on the property.

[Tom_Doak]

In advance of Volume 2 being published, I thought I'd take a crack at guessing which greens at Bald Peak Colony Club (which I've been lucky enough to play enough times to feel like I know them pretty well) Tom described as "doozies" in his interview.   My favorites, at least, are 2, 3, 8, 10, 14, and 17.  And there's the famous Battleship hole, #12.

It was the 17th that caught my eye, although there were a lot of greens that looked very difficult to hold.

[Tom_Doak]

Nice to see a mention of Capital City in Tallahassee. One of my favorite courses in Florida, albeit one I haven't played in far too long. Looking forward to Volume 2!

There was talk of a Tillinghast-sensitive restoration there a few years ago.  Did any of that ever happen?

Didn't look to me like anyone has worked on that course for many years.  If they did, my hat is off to them for making it blend in.

[Tom_Doak]

Thanks Ran and Tom! I have absolutely loved reading volume 1 over the past year, and I've only played 7 courses in the UK. I can only imagine how much fun I will have with volumes 2 and 3.

Tom, since you received few angry letters about volume 1, here's some feedback. The Old Course is not a 10,

Anthony:


I guess you will have to email Ran and Masa and Darius, too, and tell them that we are ALL wrong, since The Old Course was a unanimous 10 ... one of only five in the world.


As to Audubon Park, when you read my review, you will see that I come up a bit short of calling it an all-time great; but I felt that it deserved its place in the front of the book for the audacious decision to convert it into a fine "executive length" course instead of trying to cram something more into the property that didn't fit ... the design is perfectly suited to the property at hand.  Little did I know at the time that the city is just now embarking on building a 7500-yard Rees Jones "championship" course for the other public park.  I wish I'd gone to press a little bit earlier!

[John Mayhugh]

Thanks for the interview.

One aspect of the CG that I really appreciate is the effort to cover as much geography and variety as Tom does.  It's a great resource for both planning and dreaming.

[Carl Nichols]

Can someone remind me whether there is likely to be a Kindle/iBooks version of TCG at some point? 

[Tom_Doak]

Can someone remind me whether there is likely to be a Kindle/iBooks version of TCG at some point?

Carl:


Not likely, at least for a few years.  I'm publishing the books myself in order to keep control of the product ... and the income, which just helps defray the cost of traveling to all these places over the years.  Author royalties from Amazon sales would not come close to paying for all the trips I've made this year!


At some point, perhaps in 2-3 years when the book series is finished, I will look into putting all the reviews online, at no charge to those who ordered the books, and at some cost to those who didn't.  However, my inquiries into doing that a couple of years ago made it seem that it won't be inexpensive to do, and I cannot guarantee that all of my co-authors would continue to participate.

[Mark Bourgeois]

You have to live on the correct side of Audubon Park, but if you do, you live in one of the very rare areas that meets my criteria for the perfect neighborhood:
1) short walk to golf course
2) short walk to at least one decent restaurant and at least one decent bar
3) short walk to movie theater

The golf course is not "great" architecturally but if you live a 10-15 minute walk away then it is "accessibly great."

[Carl Nichols]

Tom:
Thanks for your reply.
Carl

[Bill_McBride]

You have to live on the correct side of Audubon Park, but if you do, you live in one of the very rare areas that meets my criteria for the perfect neighborhood:
1) short walk to golf course
2) short walk to at least one decent restaurant and at least one decent bar
3) short walk to movie theater

The golf course is not "great" architecturally but if you live a 10-15 minute walk away then it is "accessibly great."

Is the Upperline (my favorite NOLA restaurant) walkable?

[Mark Bourgeois]

...and Patois...and Clancy's...and...

[Bill_McBride]

...and Patois...and Clancy's...and...

+1. 

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