BTW...Cumberwell Park Orange is a very cool nine holer which is incredibly affordable to play. Its really a marker post for where golf should be going not only in terms of design but how it was built. I could play courses like this for rest of my days. Greatness is over-rated.
Ciao
Couldn't agree more. But then I would say that wouldn't I!
Marc
Knowing the course well, do you rate the Orange?
Ciao
Of course, as I was heavily involved in the design I do rate the Orange very highly. It is my "go to" course if I am having an evening round on my own. I love it especially when playing F&F.
I do have to concede though that it is not generally regarded so highly amongst the members although the visitors are often appreciative. It is funny but I have played it on a couple of occasions with some of the clubs elite golfers and although they complain about the greens being unfair etc they often end up getting a real buzz out of playing it. On two occasions (albeit in dry and windy conditions with boundary pushing pin placements) I have witnessed shots played deliberately 6 inches past the pin and then the ball trickles back into the cup. This has elicited much merriment and high fives all round and yet they still regard this sort of imaginative golf as beyond the pale!
I suppose I was rather hoping that long term, The Orange would be recognised as unconventional in its design but not untraditional and therefore become more popular. That’s not to say it isn’t popular but perhaps not so sought after as the Red and Yellow nines although I do think most would prefer it to the Blue nine.
We have of course had this discussion before here with ironically the greatest criticism coming from the person who is accredited with the design. Perhaps Adrian will quite justifiably blame the more controversial aspects on myself and despite our occasional architectural disagreements I will concede that he does know the market very well.
BTW we now have a fifth nine, all par threes but all quite demanding and full length. Designed by a past contributor here I really rate this course except perhaps the 8
th which is an exact copy of a very famous Sawgrass hole but I can see the marketing benefits of it especially as you drive past it on the way to the clubhouse. They are in the process of extending this to an eighteen hole par three course probable opening in about three years.