Pat,
Did you have a chance to play either course before it's restoration?
I did have the opportunity to play the original Shore Course and Mike Stranz did a fantastic job of converting a rather mundane layout into a world class golf course. There were always drainage issues, especially down by 17 Mile Drive. Although the original course had a wonderful set of Poa Annua greens there was liitle to write home about regarding the layout. Mike completely reveresed the routing from a clockwise one, to one going counteclockwise, so the views towards Spyglass Hill and Cypress Point would become the background. Now I know you were completely unimpreesed by those views, as your attention is drawn only to the golf course itself, but if you had allowed yourself to take them in you would have been mighty impressed! The sand capping of the layout is what really makes the difference, I'm sure you noticed that it was much easier to run the ball in on the Shore Course. I also love how he turned a very linear golf course into one that has a very serpentine nature; the holes all tend to bend and twist rather that head straight to the green in a runway fashion.
The Dunes Course also had drainage issues and Rees Jones was asked to improve that in his redesign. Instead of sand capping he chose to rumple the fairways; a cheaper but less effective solution. There is definetly a little Raynor flavour on the Dunes, especially going from the biaritz par 3 6th to the short par 3 11th. I understand the Club is considering another redesign to bring back even more of the Raynor influence. Did you pick up any scuttlebutt on that occurring?
Pat,
Did you have a chance to play either course before it's restoration?
I did have the opportunity to play the original Shore Course and Mike Stranz did a fantastic job of converting a rather mundane layout into a world class golf course. There were always drainage issues, especially down by 17 Mile Drive. Although the original course had a wonderful set of Poa Annua greens there was liitle to write home about regarding the layout. Mike completely reveresed the routing from a clockwise one, to one going counteclockwise, so the views towards Spyglass Hill and Cypress Point would become the background. Now I know you were completely unimpreesed by those views, as your attention is drawn only to the golf course itself, but if you had allowed yourself to take them in you would have been mighty impressed! The sand capping of the layout is what really makes the difference, I'm sure you noticed that it was much easier to run the ball in on the Shore Course. I also love how he turned a very linear golf course into one that has a very serpentine nature; the holes all tend to bend and twist rather that head straight to the green in a runway fashion.
The Dunes Course also had drainage issues and Rees Jones was asked to improve that in his redesign. Instead of sand capping he chose to rumple the fairways; a cheaper but less effective solution. There is definitely a little Raynor flavour on the Dunes, especially going from the biaritz par 3 6th to the short par 3 11th. I understand the Club is considering another redesign to bring back even more of the Raynor influence. Did you pick up any scuttlebutt on that occurring?
Pete,
The 1925 Raynor course was not one of his best designs, in fact it was quite mundane.
Rees Jones came in and did a remarkably good job on the budget provide him. He suggested sand capping but it was considered and then declared as too expensive.
Jones did extensive work on the first and second holes. Raised the green on the par 3 fourth hole by some six feet and making it a real Biarritz with improved bunkering. The fifth hole was improved by lowering the height of the fairway some feet to allow the shorter hitter to find the fairway off the tee. The sixth and seventh had some minor alterations with the latter hole receiving a bunker on the right side of the fairway, not left. The eighth and ninth received improved greens and bunkering. The tenth needed no improvement.
Now we come to the real improvement of the ‘Raynor’ course. The eleventh hole was a par four of about 340 yards. He moved the green to higher ground in front of what is now the half-way house. There was a ditch between the eleventh and twelfth fairways that flowed down to the ocean. He eliminated an ugly element on the hole and improved on the drainage considerably. The twelfth hole went from a throw away hole to outstanding one. Lengthened and removing a copse of dying Cypress it opened up a vista of the ocean and Spanish Bay. The fourteenth hole was a par three a couple of paces of the Seventeen Mile Drive. Quite possibly he created one of the better par threes on the Peninsula by moving the hole to the water’s edge and the Tiger tee back amongst the rocks. The sixteenth hole used to be a very short par four and straight ahead leading to the driving range. It is now a dog-leg left at a right angle. The seventeenth hole received the most intriguing putting surface of the course.
When comparing the old and current version I remember that my partner in the 1982 MPCC Invitational, Ray Leach, drove the old 5th, 11th and 16th holes. This with wound balls and wooden headed clubs.
In passing Rees did the job on time for $2,800.00. I have always loved the Dunes both pre and post Rees Jones and I cannot understand the animus he receives on this site.
Bob