John Fought as architect - current Golf World

[ChipOat]

Pretty good piece in the 3/11 issue.

What caught my eye is that, after intensely studying the merits of many/most of the so-called great courses of the Golden Age, Fought "concluded that greens were the heart of the course".

That's hard to argue with and I'm not sure I would, BUT:

You could buiild 18 really excellent green complexes on a lousy piece of property (think mountains) or put a truly wonderful green at the end of a hole with questionable shot values (think Deepdale on a couple of holes) and a bad hole is still a bad hole.

It is true, however, that forgettable green complexes are impossible to overcome no matter how compelling the routing, strategy, scenery, etc. (think TOC on a couple of holes).

The evolution of John Fought from serious player to serious architect is interesting to read.  It sounds like he made the most of Bob Cupp's early tutelage.

[Brian_Gracely]

Fought did the recent restoration of Pine Needles (Ross).  Hopefully many of you will get the chance to see it this fall during the GCA outing.  I believe that Ran is trying to have the Bell family arrange for Mr.Fought to be there during the weekend and potentially speak on Saturday night.  Nothing confirmed yet, but under investigation.

[ian]

Chipoat,

Please provide the examples of Deepdale holes that fit your description? I've played it recently and are curious to better understand your example.

[A_Clay_Man]

The double greens he designed at Cimmaron are not in use. It's a real waste, because the course would be much improved with them maintained as true double greens, IMO. Their uniqueness in the Coachella Valley, would be refreshing.

[Jeff_Brauer]

I got to co-design a course with John a few years ago that never got built.  I got to know him and his abilities quite well through that experience.

I can testify that he is a deep thinker on gca, and has made the transition from player to gca in all respects. He worked unpaid for Cupp for a period of time to really learn the craft, underscoring his personal dedication.

I have enjoyed every course of his I have played, like Langdon Farms and Windsong.  Each has some strong conceptual holes worth emulating in nearly any design.

[ChipOat]

Ian Andrew:

First, understand that I think Deepdale is a marvelous golf "place" and I've enjoyed every one of the many rounds that I've played there.

#2 at Deepdale is a 2nd shot lay-up hole unless you're very long off the tee (which I'm not).  I happen not to like those kind of par 5's which is why #13 at ANGC (another fabulous golf place) isn't my favorite hole on earth (for me to play), either.

I also don't care for holes where the long hitter has a disproportionate advantage in addition to that already inherent in the extra length itself. #5 at Deepdale gives the long hitter a wider landing area over the right hand bunker than for the 230 tee-ball that can't make that big carry.  Similarly, the landing area on #7 is more generous for the long hitter who can carry the corner than for guys like me that need to play "down the middle".  Finally, the tree at the corner of the dogleg on #18 is a Stupid Tree that only the long hitters can drive past in order to get a clear shot at the green from the fairway.

Although Deepdale's greens can be cut "too fast", they are as interesting a set of 18 green complexes as I know - different than National but in the same league, IMO and, as a group, at least as admirable as Shinnecock.  If you can chip and putt effectively at Deepdale, you can play.