Boston GC vs. Old Sandwich vs. Blackrock (Suggestions?)

[Kevin Edwards]

I'm going to the Boston area playing a couple of gems (Myopia, TCC) with some business contacts and I have room for 1 more course--I want to play a modern course.  I was thinking either Boston GC or Old Sandwich---or even Blackrock..  Don't know much about Blackrock except it is fun to play, have heard uniformly good things about Boston GC from an architectual point of view but widely mixed messages on Old Sandwich.. Why is this?  Is it the architecture of the place or something more superficial (the privacy or snob factor there?)...  I play off scratch and like a competitive course so that comes into play as well..  But the architecture and design tenets are still paramount.

I'd love to here peoples' view.. Pro and Con.. If there are any..

[Martin Del Vecchio]

Kevin, I played Black Rock three years ago, and I enjoyed it tremendously.  I even posted some photos here, but I can't find them in this sytem's search feature.

I haven't played Boston GC or Old Sandwich, so I'm not much help there.  But my general feeling from lurking on this board is that people like Boston GC a little better.

If I could choose between the two, I would play Old Sandwich first, because I have loved the two C&C courses I have played (Kapalua and Cuscowilla).  I have never played a Gil Hanse course.

But I will make a prediction:  when your trip is over, you will think about Myopia more than the other courses combined!

[Wayne Freeman]

Kevin-  you're in for a treat!  The Country Club is so cool.  It has the neatest clubhouse with so many great pictures. The atmosphere will blow you away.  Myopia Hunt is really fun.  It's a great old course, host of 4 U.S. Opens and quite possibly the best match play couse ever.  The short par 4's are pure.  
    I played Old Sandwich, Boston GC, and Black Rock last fall and I would pick Old Sandwich, especially for a better player.  It's really not a modern type course, though-  C and C moved almost no dirt and it has such a natural look to it. The walk to the first tee is absolutely beautiful across a pond.  The property was a private hunting lodge. The whole place oozes money-  from the valet service to the guest cottage to the state of the art video swing studio.....  You can't go wrong with Boston GC.  It plays more bump and run type golf and there is a lot of quirkiness there-  I thought because they had to move a lot of land around that a couple of the holes were a little contrived, but I really enjoyed it nevertheless.
    I thought Black Rock was good, but in no way the quality of the other two.  
                           

[Dave_Miller]

I'm going to the Boston area playing a couple of gems (Myopia, TCC) with some business contacts and I have room for 1 more course--I want to play a modern course.  I was thinking either Boston GC or Old Sandwich---or even Blackrock..  Don't know much about Blackrock except it is fun to play, have heard uniformly good things about Boston GC from an architectual point of view but widely mixed messages on Old Sandwich.. Why is this?  Is it the architecture of the place or something more superficial (the privacy or snob factor there?)...  I play off scratch and like a competitive course so that comes into play as well..  But the architecture and design tenets are still paramount.

I'd love to here peoples' view.. Pro and Con.. If there are any..

Kevin:
I would avoid Black Rock.  There are some very strange holes on the front 9.  The quarries on the back that frame the holes are pretty neat and there are a few good holes but I don't think this course will challenge you very much.
Best
Dave

[redanman]

Boston Golf Club very exciting, challenging and thoughtful, perhaps controversial, but certainly not forced.  I found Old Sandwich rather dull and uninspired, a missed opportunity.  Definitely a redhead, brunette thing.  "Better players" won't ever feel "screwed at Old Sandwich. I never felt screwed at either, but I never got excited at OS.

Wayne is a 1, I'm only a five, you decide - chacun a son gout

[Kevin Edwards]

Boston Golf Club very exciting, challenging and thoughtful, perhaps controversial, but certainly not forced.  I found Old Sandwich rather dull and uninspired, a missed opportunity.  Definitely a redhead, brunette thing.  "Better players" won't ever feel "screwed at Old Sandwich. I never felt screwed at either, but I never got excited at OS.

Wayne is a 1, I'm only a five, you decide - chacun a son gout

That's an interesting take on Old Sandwich.  I was told something similar about Hidden Creek.  When I finally got there to see for myself I could not have disagreed more. Hidden Creek lacked the pizazz but at the end of the day you look at the card and it defends itself very well without it.  To play Hidden Creek very well you must think your way from the green backwards and position yourself accordingly. It may lull you into sloppy play. I love the greens and the creative play required to master them.

I will see if I can squeeze in both Boston Golf Club and Old Sandwich.

[redanman]

Hidden Creek lacked the pizazz but at the end of the day you look at the card and it defends itself very well without it.

That's an interesting take, also.  Methinks it has plenty of pizzazzz, all those eyebrows and eyeball bunkers, but I don't think you'll find a course with more disagreement about greatness at the lower end as opposed to greatness at the higher end (e.g. Boston Golf Club) when concerning style and creativity.  Hidden Creek is not top 10 in my New Jersey, but it sure is fun to play.

Hidden Creek is also "very fair" but in reality is just another definition of "good", it's just a matter of preference.

I predict that you'll like Old Sandwich much better and score 5 strokes better than Boston Golf, just judging from your tastes and sense of fairness.

How do you define "defending itself"?  I don't understand that.

One last thing, Old Sandwich is a missed opportunity whilst Hidden Creek?  Everything possible was wrung out of that site.  

[Kevin Edwards]

Fairness?  That has nothing to do with my tastes in golf courses. I love Gil Hanse designs and my appreciation for Inniscrone should document that nicely thank you.

As for a bit of my tastes, I've played Myopia before but not TCC.  I'll wager quite a bit that I will enjoy my round at Myopia more then the one at TCC.  Myopia Hunt Club is as much thrill and fun as I can imagine.  There is not a whole lot of "fairness" in some of the shots or some of the greens at the speeds they maintain the course.

Defending itself implies that the score on the card does not coincide with the initial visual impression of how hard the course should play. HC lets you hang yourself rather then doing it in a penal fashion.

Could you get into some details as to what about Old Sandwich was a lost opportunity, dull and uninspiring? Is the land that good?  Does the routing leave great natural features unused?  Are the greens and hazards dull?

[redanman]

Play it with an open mind - a really open mind.  Then if we disagree we disagree.  I know great supporters who praise it on here, but most with the similar viewpoint to me are not willing to share the viewpoint here. You're a newbie and now is as good a time as any to know that C & C is the sacred cow of sacred cows.

A well-travelled individual who posts here likens OS to a larger version of Hidden Creek. So you really ought to love it there.  

OS is a very good course, but it's not a top 10 modern by any stretch of the imagination, so don't expect that.

[Kevin Edwards]

Play it with an open mind - a really open mind.  Then if we disagree we disagree.  I know great supporters who praise it on here, but most with the similar viewpoint to me are not willing to share the viewpoint here. You're a newbie and now is as good a time as any to know that C & C is the sacred cow of sacred cows.

A well-travelled individual who posts here likens OS to a larger version of Hidden Creek. So you really ought to love it there.  

OS is a very good course, but it's not a top 10 modern by any stretch of the imagination, so don't expect that.

I always try to see new courses with an open mind. Why would one not do so?

Top 10 modern is meaningless to me. Greatly diverse courses like Pacific Dunes, The Golf Club, Shadow Creek and Friars Head can all be considered in that company yet each must be played for the enjoyment of the game and the experience. When playing social golf these are the most important factors I consider.

I do not have a feel for why OS is dull, a lost opportunity or out of the class of what you refer to as top 10 modern.