MPCC Dunes - 01-02-16

[Matt_Cohn]

Jon,

What's going on with the tee box in your first photo? Is this the hole across the street of 17 Mile Drive? Looks like maybe its the abandoned tee box of the previous design.

Correct, it's across the street. Farthest back tee is amongst the rocks, isolated from the others.


Red circle below as it hadn't yet been grassed in this picture.

[Ryan Hillenbrand]

Thanks Matt.

First time I visited the peninsula I thought I had stumbled across a little random single hole someone built, not expecting it to be part of MPCC.

[Jon Cavalier]

Thanks Matt.

First time I visited the peninsula I thought I had stumbled across a little random single hole someone built, not expecting it to be part of MPCC.

Matt is exactly right. That tee gets douched with salt water constantly, and the hole plays like a monster from back there, so I don't expect them to maintain it to the standards of the others. But it's a very cool spot.


If you look at the two aerial shots I posted, you can see the hole across the road and the tee box.

[Matt_Cohn]

That tee gets douched with salt water constantly

 

[Matt_Cohn]

I played a few days ago. My camera malfunctioned for the last few holes, but I got good pictures up through 14 tee, which I've posted at https://www.flickr.com/gp/22522104@N05/JL24eE.


I think results won't surprise anyone given the land, the budget, and the people who were involved. It's spectacular, beautiful, testing...everything, really.


There are two critiques that could potentially be made. One is that it doesn't preserve the old Raynor elements. For example the par-3 7th hole, which used to be an Eden hole, no longer is. It's a Fazio/Jackson/Kahn course all the way around. I'm not personally very affected by this viewpoint, though I know others are.


One could also claim that some elements are just a bit too much. On a few holes there is a lot going on, and the bunker shaping is very involved. I'm not sure I've played a course more defined by sand than this one. But also, the new sandy areas have not matured with vegetation, so the look isn't complete. It'll look a lot different in 5 years.


But sitting here two days later, I can't wait to go back, and that's a pretty good sign!


One other note is that the course was in remarkably good condition after SO much rain. We played the ball down all day and hardly even had a speck of mud. Very impressive.

[Kyle Henderson]

Matt,


Having looked at the drone aerials and lots of ground level photos, the contrast between the perfectly rectangular teeing ground and the flowing line of the fairways and bunkers seems quite stark and unfortunate. Would you concur?


Obviously this has minimal effect on actual play, but it seem like an odd choice for a project that went so far as to position trees and build artificial dunes as part of a comprehensive reconstruction

[David_Tepper]

"One could also claim that some elements are just a bit too much. One a few holes there is a lot going on, and the bunker shaping is very involved."

Matt C. -

I played the Dunes last fall and made similar comments on another Dunes course thread here, especially in regards to the bunker shaping (as exemplified in your photo). It will be interesting to see if that rather busy bunker shaping is maintained over the years or if MPCC opts in the future for shaping that is a bit simpler.

DT 

Another MPCC Dune related thread:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61702.msg1521679.html#msg1521679

[Matt_Cohn]

I actually quite like rectangular teeboxes, so that sat well with me. 

[Matt_Cohn]

I've updated my album with a few more pictures including the last 4 holes which I did not have photos of previously: https://www.flickr.com/gp/22522104@N05/B3A5gw.


I have to mention this photo in particular. I just thought it was a cool place to take some pictures of my friend Nick. Sure enough, 15 seconds later this golf ball was in the hole for a 225-yard ace! It was Nick's second, and the first on this hole from the back tees since the renovation.

[David_Tepper]

Matt -

Oddly enough, that the the hole Bob Huntley once aced.

DT