Sebonack - Nicklaus & Doak

[Scott Szabo]

I came upon these recent features on Sebonack, including interviews with Nicklaus and Doak.  Makes for some interesting reading, I thought.

http://www.nicklaus.com/design/sebonack/SebonackNewYorkGolf.pdf

http://www.nicklaus.com/design/sebonack/SebonackGolf.pdf

[Tim Pitner]

I particularly enjoyed the interview piece.  Great photos throughout.  I wouldn't have any reservations teeing it up there.  

[Scott Szabo]

It was interesting to hear both of them respond to the same questions.  Not sure if they really got along as well as they indicated (only they know for sure!), but I had read of some hesitancy from each at the outset.

At any rate, looks like some great work from both of them.

[Tom_Doak]

Personally, I was really disappointed with the Q&A piece ... I just didn't think it sounded much like Jack, he was being too politically correct.  Maybe that's inevitable for this job, I've certainly been more political about it than my usual self but that was part of the deal going in.  Overall, though, we got along fine, we built a very good golf course, and it was a great chance for me to really see what Jack is all about.

[Martin Del Vecchio]

"I asked Jack Nicklaus, who lives next door to me in Florida, if he was still designing golf courses."

Is this a joke?
 

[Tom_Doak]

Martin:

Yes, that's a joke.  You don't know Michael Pascucci's sense of humor.  Every time we showed up on site, he would tell me he didn't expect to see me there.

[Martin Del Vecchio]

That comment sounds like something Bobby Jones would have said, in the "because people make me out to be such a big deal, I counteract that with extreme modesty" sense.  

Nicklaus had some very nice things to day about you, Mr. Doak.  I hope that your experience was as pleasurable as it appears from these articles.
 

[Larry_Keltto]

I thought this quote from Jack regarding the greens was quite interesting: “Tom likes to have little imperfections. I like that, too, but I didn’t know how to get it done. That’s one of the things I learned from Tom. You don’t have to be perfect. Not-so-perfect is sometimes better.”

I saw a similar statement from Jack in speaking about The Concession.

[Scott Szabo]

I thought this quote from Jack regarding the greens was quite interesting: “Tom likes to have little imperfections. I like that, too, but I didn’t know how to get it done. That’s one of the things I learned from Tom. You don’t have to be perfect. Not-so-perfect is sometimes better.”

I saw a similar statement from Jack in speaking about The Concession.

I think its great that Jack can admit that he learned something from Tom.  With all the possiblities for inflated egos, it's nice to see that even Jack is not too good to admit that he can learn from others.

Also, thanks to Mr. Doak for your time and input with this group.  It's nice to have someone of your caliber be able to share your insights.  It definitely has brought a differenc perspective to golf for me personally.