Another year and "that guy" Kelly is still wrong

[A_Clay_Man]

Rather than waste time playing Evanston Community, those with the werewithall should hightail it to New Mexico and play Black Mesa.

A day trip yesterday yielded the wonderful fact that world reknowned shaper, and legendary prognosticator, (and probably drunk too) "that guy" Kelly is still completely wrong about the condition of the greens at Black Mesa. Not a spot of desication in sight.

Seriously, Pat Brockwell has done a super job of maintaining a canvas that "works" with the design.

Feliz Ano Nuevo

[Mike Nuzzo]

Great picture.

Feliz Ano Nuevo

[Jason Hines]

Thanks for the pic Adam, it hit the spot up here on a dreary day.  Any other course notes or changes since I was there in SEP of '03?  I assume the course is filling in nicely.

Jason

And of course, Happy New Year.

[Evan Fleisher]

What a beautiful picture, Adam!

Sitting here in wet, dreary Dubuque makes me LONG to be somewher else...this place would do just fine...

[Peter Pallotta]

Adam,
thanks much for the great picture. I drove across the United States a few years ago: all very pretty, and then there was New Mexico. Wow! Even the haze from 3 straight 12 hour days of driving and something like 100 cigarettes couldn't dim the magic of the place.
Can you give us northern types more information with which to furnish a dream? i.e. at what time was that picture taken? was the course busy? did you play until sunset? were a lot of layers of clothes necessary?
thanks again

Peter

[A_Clay_Man]

Apologizes to the Morrissett's, if Nuzzo is correct.

Glad I could brighten all you northerners day.

Peter, I didn't mean to imply this picture was taken yesterday. The turf is actually the same exact color of the surrounds right now. A muted golden brown.

We had the course almost to ourselves.

It was approx. 50 degrees yesterday when we teed off just before noon and were fortunate to get some wind to come up around 2 p.m, that reminded us it was late December, and made for more challenging golf. Since we teed off at #10 to start, the almost home stretch of #5, #6 and #7 was directly into the teeth.
 
Both holes 7 and 14 were lessons in multiple options, since driving the green was nearly imposs due to the wind. And we played the white tees.

11+ hours door to door, snow on the peaks, and a twilight rate of $42.20 made for another enchanting day.



Jason, I dont know if you saw this earlier but one major change was to the left bunker on 8. In '03 it was three times the size as the two in this picture. And Pat has really altered the look of all the bunkers since then. Giving them a less linear less manicured look. It really works well.



Another change is on the 4th hole, the one pictured first in this thread. Pat added a new teeing ground well to the left. Placing the cader more directly in-line with the shot at hand. A very cool new addition.

[Jason Hines]

Adam,

Does the new bunker come into play that much or is it more to mess with your club selection?  I am sitting here looking at my saved score card and show 238 yds. to the center of the green from the tips.

[A_Clay_Man]

Jason, I dont know about coming into play. But they certainly look like some blonde babe winking at you.

[Jason Hines]

  .  Look forward to playing some golf with you as a Nebraskan next year.

Happy New Year.

J.

[Gene Greco]

Were you playing with Neil Regan?

Who took the first pic?

Bravo!

[RJ_Daley]

I think I'm begining to see why they call it the "land of enchantment".  

That might be one of the best photos of a par 3 ever taken, IMHO.  What texture, tone, balance, proportion, light and shadow.  

I have an oil New Mexico landscape painting done by my uncle, Richard Daley, who was an early Taos colony artist that displays a very similar use of color, tone, and balance.  So the photo really strikes a cord with me.

[Paul Payne]

That first photo is spectacular. Those three pot bunkers around the green look like they have been there since the stone age. Thanks for the picture.

[Matt_Ward]

Adam:

Thanks for posting the photos. Black Mesa is at the elite end of the top public courses you can play in the USA IMHO. Frankly, too much of GCA is built around "brand" preferred architect names.

What Baxter Spann has done there in concert with Eddie Peck and Pat Brockwell is something any student of golf architecture needs to experience.

At Black Mesa it's just not the form or placement of the bunkers but the utter quality of the land and the imaginative and tour de force routing that Spann provides.

The initial hole Adam pictured is the par-3 4th hole. It's well done but frankly the other three par-3's you play at Black Mesa are even better. The par-3 8th at nearly 240 yards (also pictured) is truly a versatile hole. When the wind comes up the valley to where you stand on the elevated tee it is indeed quite possible for players to pull out the big stick in order to reach the putting surface. Best of all, the green falls off on all sides -- unless the tee shot is well struck and on line all the way the penalty for a miss will be dealt with accordingly.

The juxtaposition of the native terrain -- it's not called "Land of Enchantment for nothing -- and the overlay of a golf course that has the wherewithal to challenge appropriately any type of player is what stands Black Mesa apart from so many others.

I have traveled a good deal in the USA and played many a public course but in my book you can place Black Mesa right alongside the nature of Pacific Dunes and I would opt for the one in NM because so many brownie points go to the Oregon layout because of the proximity of the Pacific Ocean.

For the amount charged and for what you get back in terms of golf magic the time at Black Mesa is indeed well spent.

[A_Clay_Man]

Im not positive, but I believe Pat Brockwell is the author of that photo.





If i'm not mistaken these fairway rolls (above) were the first view I ever had of Black Mesa.

[ed_getka]

I really need to get on the road and see this place.