[Abe Summers]

I'd like to hear more from the GolfClubAtlas about JMP Golf Design Group (Costello/Hollinger/Moore).

Played Luxe Hills today, a course opened in '07 in Chengdu, China, as part of the China General Managers Meeting.

Rented a set and had some problems with the flex shafts and small heads of the irons, but managed 95 (52-43).  Missed my stiff shafts and oversize heads!  The golf course was a good track, well maintained with very low cut rough, but not too many memorable holes.  Four things stood out:

1) Wide fairways - very few demands on the player out of the drive, except on hole 14, which was roughly a 200 yard carry over water from the blue tees.

2) Water on a significant number of holes.  At least 7 of the holes had water, and several had water in play on both the first and second shot.  I didn't lose any balls in the water, but I still don't enjoy thinking I'm playing Doral.  In fact, I admit I absolutely hate numerous water hazards.

3) Numerous bunkers.  Myriad bunkers.  A real lot of bunkers.  Every single hole.  Full of the bloody things.  Not high lips but still.  Ahem... too many bunkers?

4) Big greens.  Probably 10-30% bigger than the average course.

My biggest complaint was the sand in the bunkers.  I do not believe the sand was up to USGA standards.  It was extremely fine and soft and when you walked into the bunker, you would sink.  It made the bunkers quite penal because the ball flew in odd ways out of the sand, and also buried a few times really deep.  The lips were not big but the sand quality gave me trouble.  I know that is not technically the architect's fault.

Overall I thought some of the architectural features were too forced and there was an over reliance on bunkers as defenses.  So I must admit I was disappointed by the overall experience, if only because this is supposedly the "top" course in Sichuan and it didn't challenge me as well as I expected.

[RJ_Daley]

What do the Chinese know about golf and great GCA?  What did you expect?  They can't even do powdered milk and painted toys right.  How many upstart burgeoning capitalists in China know or give a rat's petute about great GCA?  All they want is a place to style around emmulating the western buisnessmen, or their perception of them. 

What does JPM Golf Design Group have to say about the purity of a golf course design the Chinese want?  This may be a case where a design firm fronted by a big name golfer has more chance to influence the Chinese to build something with more golfability and design sense, than a firm that goes over there and builds something to the Chinese committee's skewed perception of western and traditional golf course design.  Without some authority to guide them, they will probably run wild with design-construction demands that are skewed by a lack of tradition and culture for the game, inputting only their upstart, neveau entrante views.

PS: like me trying to come up and use some sort of made up, high class Frenchie word to describe something I know nothing about... 

[Kyle Henderson]

I've played a few JMP courses, all of them modestly priced public tracks:

The Heritage (Bob Moore, Raleigh, NC): Solid course with a handful of interesting holes (14 and 18 in particular) and the occasional weak spot. Though a bit heavy-handed in the shaping department, the features they built do create some excellent, strategic playing angles ( ala Pete Dye, though maybe not quite in his class).

Doak Scale: 5.5

Roddy Ranch (Bob Moore again, Antioch, CA): I play this course regularly ($25 w/cart internet special). They built a couple of ugly lakes on the back nine, but overall created another solid layout on some overly hilly terrain. Every tee shot offers a smart option and an aggressive/risky one. The course is typically windy, but the design allows for enough flexibility in tough conditions to remain playable.

Doak Scale: 6

Callippe Preserve (Brian Costello, Pleasanton, CA): A municipal course built on hilly ranch land. Environmental areas throughout the course make for a few awkward holes, but generally the novice tees were placed to minimize the impact of these areas on high handicappers. The front nine is more spacious, allowing one to play away from danger at the expense of birdie chances. The back nine is a bit tighter and steeper. The course is always crowded (5+ hour rounds, even during the week), but there's a lot to enjoy.

Doak Scale: 5

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()