Tom Doaklaus

[Chip Gaskins]

I also watched and wondered about the greens at Dove Mountain this week and thought "wonder how much those were byproducts of his time with Doak at Sebonack"...

I have played two of Nicklaus' course that we built right after Sebonack (Dismal River and Creighton Farms) and certainly thought they were much different than some of Nicklaus' earlier work I have played (Governor's Club, Cabo Del Sol, Mayacama).

BUT, we have not talked about how Mr. Doak may have been influenced by Nicklaus.

Can we see any Nicklaus in Rock Creek Cattle or Stone Eagle (built at the same time I think)?  I haven't played anything Doak built after his work with Nicklaus, but I know a lot on this board have.  Thoughts?

I suppose Tom could just jump in here and tell us if/how he may have been influenced but I would be fun to hear from other GCAers

[Eric_Terhorst]

Given how prolific and commercially successful Mr. Nicklaus has been in his design career, how could a young architect following in his footsteps not be influenced by Nicklaus?  As a consumer one hopes the followers incorporate the genius and figure out how to avoid the costly mistakes of their industry leaders.

Isn't one of Doak's strengths the ability to incorporate ideas from throughout his golf architecture/playing/historical study experience into his own style? 

[TEPaul]

Chip:

As I mentioned on the Jack Nickldoak thread I think the name Tom Doaklaus may be slightly overloaded on the Doak side of the equation just as Jack Nickldoak seemed to be slightly over-loaded on the Nicklaus side of things.

I think a more even-handed name would be T.J. Doaklaus, don't you?

[Pat Brockwell]

As a fly on the wall watching Nicklaus at Las Campanas Sunrise, I saw him speak and scold, but not listen much.  Watching Tom route the next Black Mesa course, he has already spent more time onsite, walked more miles and listened more than JN did up to planting at Las Campanas. That doesn't even include time on the ground and great conversation with Bruce Hepner, Jim Urbina, and an intern.  Tom and his guys are a lot more fun than Jack.  IMO having fun is a great asset when building a playground.  For Jack's sake, I hope Tom rubs off more on him than visa versa.

[Bill_McBride]

As a fly on the wall watching Nicklaus at Las Campanas Sunrise, I saw him speak and scold, but not listen much.  Watching Tom route the next Black Mesa course, he has already spent more time onsite, walked more miles and listened more than JN did up to planting at Las Campanas. That doesn't even include time on the ground and great conversation with Bruce Hepner, Jim Urbina, and an intern.  Tom and his guys are a lot more fun than Jack.  IMO having fun is a great asset when building a playground.  For Jack's sake, I hope Tom rubs off more on him than visa versa.

Pat, I well remember discussing the second Black Mesa course with you during our visit last May and very happy to hear this project is moving forward.

It would be great if you could occasionally update the group with the ongoing progress, including photos if possible!

Given what happened at Bandon when Tom Doak came in to build #2, this should be an enhancement to Baxter Spann's course #1 and to the Black Mesa complex as a whole.  Way to go!