Golf Magazine Q&A with Doak

[Howard Riefs]

Golf Mag's Cameron Morfit talks with Tom about the "state of the industry in these hard times, which course he wishes carried his name, and why your backside is the first thing to know if you're a rookie on a bulldozer."

http://www.golf.com/golf/courses_travel/article/0,28136,2086046,00.html

[PCCraig]

Golf Mag's Cameron Morfit talks with Tom about the "state of the industry in these hard times, which course he wishes carried his name, and why your backside is the first thing to know if you're a rookie on a bulldozer."

http://www.golf.com/golf/courses_travel/article/0,28136,2086046,00.html

Thanks for posting Howard. Interesting read!

[JC Jones]

Rock Creek in Deer Lodge, Mont., is one where I scratch my head and think raters don't know anything. It's a beautiful setting in the mountains.

I'm having a hard time connecting the second sentence with the first one.

[Kalen Braley]

Rock Creek in Deer Lodge, Mont., is one where I scratch my head and think raters don't know anything. It's a beautiful setting in the mountains.

I'm having a hard time connecting the second sentence with the first one.

JC,

When you include the question, I think it adds the needed context:

Which of your courses are overlooked?

And then he gives that response...makes sense to me.

[Bill Seitz]

Rock Creek in Deer Lodge, Mont., is one where I scratch my head and think raters don't know anything. It's a beautiful setting in the mountains.

I'm having a hard time connecting the second sentence with the first one.

I'm not sure they're meant to be connected in the way you're thinking.  I read it as an oral response, and as such, probably not crafted the way it would have been if it were written (I assumed this was a phone interview or a sit down or something).  If you read it to say something like "Rock Creek in Deer Lodge, MT, which is in a beautiful setting in the mountains, is one where I scratch my head and think raters don't know anything".  TD's saying it's underrated, but also providing some context as to the setting for people who are unfamiliar with the course.  I didn't read it as TD saying it should be rated higher strictly because of the setting. 

Of course, he can let me know if that's wrong.

[Jud_T]

Or perhaps he's smart enough to know that what raters primarily care about is exclusive access, scenery and premium amenities...

[Daryl David]

Tom used to say that Tumble Creek was some of his team's most under appreciated work also because very few folks have seen it.  Not sure if he still feels that way, but it is a very good course that is rarely talked about when discussing his work.