Morfontaine-Pics

[Paul_Turner]

Simpson's gem close to Paris.

A gorgeous parcel of land, moving perfectly for good golf; with rocky outcrops adding to the beauty.

From an architectural point of view, Morfontaine is top drawer:

1)  Highly strategic all kinds of options.   Shots are often very different from opposite sides of the fairway.  

2)  Brilliant set of greens.  Plenty of rippling contour with shoulders shrugging, slightly missed, shots away.

3)  Stunning, artistic, bunkering (photos don't really pick them out well).  A mixture of pits and sinewy, snaky bunkers.

The course looks pristine and I suspect virtually unchanged since Simpson's time.  So the current work on the 12th by Kyle Phillips came as a bit of shock.  A new green extending the short par 5.  The new site is more spectacular but a longer walk is the down side.  I wonder what the reasoning was (did Simpson intend the change),  the new green only gains about 50yards.

NAF and I didn't have time to see the additional 9.  The one green site by the car park is every bit as interesting as those on the full 18.



2nd.  Bunkers snaking all over the place.



3rd from the landing zone.  One of the best and toughest holes.  The green is up on that knob in the left corner.


4th.  Scale of the bunkers doesn't really show.


5th green (7th in background)


Back up the 6th.


7th tee. Try and shape it.


From the corner.


Closer


Side one, just see the hidden bunker.


Maybe the best hole, the 8th.


Exciting approach.  See how the pin is hidden.  You can bank your shot in from the right.


Looking back, you can see the terrain better.


Sleeper 9th.  Try and stay left, kick off the bank on the left with a fade.


Approach from left.


Central/right.


Fall off.


Huge false front at 10th.


11th


11th green contours.


11th fall off.


Looking back up the 12th (a few of the holes have islands of heather).  But the real surprise was...


The new green site being built.


The 13th.  That tree has always been there.


Neat green!


Bunkerless 14th.  Sharp swing in the green from the left.


Posing NAF on his rocky throne.


Very tough 16th.  With oppositely canting fairways for the tee shot and approach (separated by the heather island).  Hit a draw then a fade.


Some sense of the cant in the green.


17th in a little dell.


Contours.


Slightly awkward 18th (turning right with right to left cant).  Still another cool green:

[Jeff_Lewis]

Do you have any pix of the original nine? This group would absolutely flip out.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Fabulous pictures, Paul.  You really make me jealous (both of your photographic talents and your clout at getting out on the course).

Isn't Simpson a terrific architect?

[ForkaB]

Mark (and Paul)

Sorry for being in a contrary mood today, but I'm unconvinced that Morfontaine is any better than (or even as good as, say) Ladybank (which, of course, is very good).  What am I missing?

Thirsting for Knowlege

Rich

[Paul_Turner]

Rich

I haven't played or seen Ladybank.  

[Paul_Turner]

I did just have a look at the Ladybank website and from pics alone I'd say it's not close to Morfontaine's quality.    Land has much more interest, hazard placement more varied, hazard shape and style far more artistic and the greens more cunningly contoured.

http://www.ladybankgolf.co.uk/the_course/hole_by_hole.html

[David_Tepper]

Paul -

Thanks for the great (as usual) pix. My only comment is that the tree lines are awfully thick, as the shadows on the course are VERY dark. .

How was the quality of the turf there? My guess is they could lose 1 of every 3 trees, which would improve both the quality of the turf and the look of the course.

DT    

[Paul_Turner]

David

The turf was fine and the trees didn't really encroach other than at the 5th and maybe 14th.  We played early in the morning which didn't help the photography...shadows.

[ForkaB]

I did just have a look at the Ladybank website and from pics alone I'd say it's not close to Morfontaine's quality.    Land has much more interest, hazard placement more varied, hazard shape and style far more artistic and the greens more cunningly contoured.

http://www.ladybankgolf.co.uk/the_course/hole_by_hole.html

Wow, Paul.  If that isn't the crappest (sic) set of pictures of a very good golf course, well, I just do not know......What were they thinking when they posted them on the website!!??

If you love Swinley, you'll love Ladybank.  Trust me.

All the best

Rich

[Keith Durrant]

Well done, Paul !

Love the 2nd and the 17th.

How tight is it off the tee? - the 9th looks tight? - could one find a wayward drive quite easily?
Generally it looks more open than Fontainebleau.

The scale and unique shaping of many of the bunkers is lovely-jubbly!

Where would you rank Morfontaine in comparison with the best British inland courses?

[Stuart Hallett]

Rich Goodale,

Trust me. If you love Swinley, you'll love Morfontaine.

Both have that magic "sense of place" feeling, particularly rare on inland courses. The sites are very similar and display Colt's and Simpson's artistry of circa 1910.

Strategic differences will lead to personal preferences, however both are unquestionably Golden Age masterpieces and references for what inland golf has to offer.  

[Paul_Turner]

Thanks to Tony Ingleton and Andy Levet who sent me excerpts from the European GCA magazine that describes the work by Kyle Philips.

Apart from the 12th the changes are apparently all simply back tees for length reasons.  NAF and I didn't notice anything else and the back tees we saw were added at 3rd and 12th.

The argument for the new 12th green was that Simpson's green was the least interesting on the course.  Which it probably is/was.     But I guess Simpson wanted a breather after wild green like 10th and 11th and before the lumpy 13th.   The back tee on the 12th definitely looked to be a good idea (added a bit of angle too).  Regarding the green, time will tell whether it was worth changing/adding.   I'm sure Kyle will do a good job but we couldn't tell when we visited.

[T_MacWood]

Wonderful pictures. With a golf course that has survived for so long mostly unaltered, IMO they should have left well enough alone. Simpson felt every great course should have at least one thoroughly bad (controversial) hole. I fear this may open the flood gates to further changes. Based on Phillip's plan for Del Paso I question his understanding and appreciation for Fowler and Simpson.

[Philip Gawith]

Rich - I have played Ladybank and much enjoyed it, but I don't recall it having the sort of timeless majesty which some of these pictures invoke. Some of these holes remind me a bit of Ferndown in Dorset.

[Lou_Duran]

Paul Turner,

Nice pictures.  The course seems amply "treed".  I wonder why the site's resident arborist and Francophile has not been quick to call for an overdue harvest.  BTW, is a tree planted or allowed to stay in front of a green or a tee by the original designer strategic, while one added by a green committee or a subsequent architect just tragic and foolhardy?

Can you relate how the course played?  From the pictures it seems like it favors the aerial game (bunkers, swails, exposed rock, trees, etc.).  How about picking the top half-dozen or so holes and tells us how you guys played them or should/could have been played?

[NAF]

Mortfontaine doesnt have a tree problem.. The pics are deceiving, there is tons of width.

[Pete Buczkowski]

Excellent Photo Tour...thanks for the effort.  Your recent European tours have me excited about my Paris trip next spring...Hopefully I can get to experience some of these fine courses for myself.  

[ed_getka]

Paul,
   Thanks for the great photos and report. I was struck by how much in pictures Morfontaine reminds of the Monterey peninsula (without the ocean of course).