GCA at the Walker Cup

[ed_getka]

[quote author=Eric LeFante link=topic=64935.msg1550306#msg1550306 date=


They are talking about adding 30 yards to the 3rd hole to bring the barranca back into play.




It would add interest off the tee to move back 30 yards, but the only place I saw where 30 yards could be added would be in front of the alternate second green on #2, but that is a very different driving angle and may not work as well.

[David McIntosh]

Dave

If. as I suspect you are hooked, R Liverpool in two years and some of the best golf on the planet surrounding. Don't miss Delamere Forest! Sublime

Ward,

I think I may well be hooked...was it that obvious?!

I was at Hoylake for the Open in 2014 and would be great to return to get a bit closer to play under the Walker Cup set-up. I have unfinished business in that area anyway in terms of courses I didn't get to on my last visit so could turn into a great trip if combining the two. Delamere Forest wasn't really on my radar but checked out their website today - looks excellent, thanks for the tip.

[Steve Fekety]

You hear all this talk about playing down the 2nd on 17, but why haven't we talked about #2?  For the guys that were out there, what green did they play to? The shorter green across the barranca, or the one way up that hill to the right?  I have only played to the shorter green but figured would they be using the alternate green for the US Open.  I thought that hole was beast.

[Pete Lavallee]

Here are my observations from observing singles play both days:

First it was great to run into Tommy, Lynn and Big John, sorry I missed the other GCA'ers.

#1 Played as a par 4 on Sat. players easily reached with mid irons. They teed off from the practice green on Sun. but players still reached with long irons, Ghim reached the front collar and drained his eagle putt from pin high.

#2 They used the shorter left hand green both days making it a par 4; the barranca guards the front and some players had difficulty getting all the way there; still most had mid irons in.

#3 at 390 this was a driver pitch, both days to a devilish pin in the front right tongue; an appropriate position given a wedge in.

#4  They played from as far back as possible at around 234, still just a mid iron.

#5  This was a short iron in to a far left pin on Sat and a tucked right pin on Sun.

#6 What a great short par 4! It seems like players were ordered not to hit driver and go for the green as everyone we saw layed up with an iron. I did hear one player hit driver on Sun coming up just short and probably made birdie.

#7 Players hit irons from the 278 tee on Sun as a par 3. On Sat. from the 320 tee the all reached with driver on this supposed par 4; this is the new distance threshold for a long par 3!

#8 Great strategy here with a scary tee shot through the trees. The hillside on the left is a layup due to the rough and a miss to the right brings the barranca in play. Still very reachable if you hit the fairway.

#9 Cool par 3 which leaves a very tough up and down should you miss the green.

#10 A  neat driving hole where hitting the upper right fairway gives the best angle in. Again just a drive and pitch at 400 yards.

#11 This played 289 yards and everyone I saw hit a hybrid or 5 wood. The new back tee is well to the left of the normal teeing grounds and gives the hole a totally different look with the new angle. The 16th tee was just a few yards to the right and this could be problematic in a crowded field at the Open.

#12 Great bunkering requires an ariel shot but players have just a wedge. One player missed the fairway by a couple of feet and was only able to advance the ball about 50 yards with a wedge in hand. This was with 2" rough; his ball just happened to sink all the way down.

#13 Outstanding fairway contours help this hole play a little longer up the hill.

#14 At 620 yards this was a three shot hole for most.

#15 Having it play 80 yards on Sat. was pretty cool. The front right area is miniscule and many balls actually rebouned off the fringe cut back to the cup. Sun. pin was just behind the pimple and we only saw one player land just short of it and one hop over for a kick in birdie.

#16 Cool driving hole with a definite speed slot just over the left bunker; you could be 40 yards ahead of your competitor if he drove to the right.

#17 We watched Ghim close out Boote here on Sat. Both players went straight down 17. Boote had a 3 iron and Ghim a 4 iron; definitely a tough birdie hole. Driving into #2 was not apparent to me as the landing area does seem very tight.

#18 definitely the widest fairway in So Cal! I can't imagine the USGA allowing it in it's present state; very cool for members though as its over 50 yards wide and then connects with #1 for something like 100 yards of width.

You see the pictures, you read the descriptions but until you set foot on LACC and take it all in you just can't appreciate how great this course is, just fantastic with an ideal maintenance meld. The 100% Bermuda coverage in the fairways is nice, great lies to nip an iron shot off. The rough doesn't need to be too long to have a significant effect; 1" for member play would be just about right which means not as lot of searching for balls. The reestablished barrancas are an ideal hazard with great unpredictability.

[Eric LeFante]

Thanks for that Pete!

[Tom ORourke]

I watched as much as I could and loved the course. It looked to me like a west coast version of Merion. Just wider fairways and different grasses, but it was long where it was long, and short where it was short. The angles were all important, as at Merion, and the green complexes, when viewed from the aerial shots, looked very similar to Merion with the great bunkering, and not just set at 5 and 7 o'clock.  I liked the fact that it had drivable and 500 yard par 4s, 600 yard par 5s, and a 78 yard par 3, later pushed back to 123 and 135. very cool, and very flexible.
I heard Spider Miller interviewed yesterday and he discussed playing #17 from the second fairway. He said he had mostly left to right players on his team, and right was dead, so they asked him if he thought it was a good play, He agreed, and thinks there will be some trees planted there to stop it for the Open.

[Ross Harmon]

How can they add 30 yards to #3 without the using the long right green on #2? Seems like those two would have to go hand in hand.

[Kalen Braley]

How can they add 30 yards to #3 without the using the long right green on #2? Seems like those two would have to go hand in hand.

Based on aerials, it looks like they could add a tee box to the left of and behind the 2nd alt green.  Would be a little tight, and you would want to make sure 8 green is clear... but it appears to be possible if they removed a tree in its way..

[Joel_Stewart]

I attended and it exceeded my expectations.  The USGA with help from the SCGA put on a great event.


I'll be very interested to see how they scale it up x 10 for the US Open.

[Matt_Cohn]

I watched as much as I could and loved the course. It looked to me like a west coast version of Merion.

I guess you can find similarities, but it's tough when LACC is 7500+ yards with mostly wide fairways. I thought more of Winged Foot West — both relentlessly tough, with greens that dictate everything, and with two or three cheeky little holes thrown in. I mean, there are plenty of differences — wider fairways and more strategic choices — but I don't know of any exact parallel for LACC.

[Alex Miller]

I watched as much as I could and loved the course. It looked to me like a west coast version of Merion.

I guess you can find similarities, but it's tough when LACC is 7500+ yards with mostly wide fairways. I thought more of Winged Foot West — both relentlessly tough, with greens that dictate everything, and with two or three cheeky little holes thrown in. I mean, there are plenty of differences — wider fairways and more strategic choices — but I don't know of any exact parallel for LACC.

Royal Melbourne North perhaps?