[Howard Riefs]

Bethpage Black, #4

[Ronald Montesano]

Howard, the Black 4th is one of the greatest meetings of land and sand, land and sand, that I have had the pleasure to play. I never tire of that vista, nor of that walk, nor of the thought that the hole might have turned left early on if not for Tillinghast.

[JStewart]

A few from Oakland Hills' South Course taken this past weekend ..

The awesome and brutal 5th hole:




Standing on 18 tee looking across 10 green and over to No. 11:




The short but tricky No. 15:

[Joe Stansell]

A surprise low altitude flyover of a C17 seen from the 1st tee of Chambers Bay at the Tuesday practice round of the 2015 US Open. Players on the practice green (to the right) stopped to watch, too.

[Steve Lang]

   Was that Ben Sims in that C-17 trying to get some aerial pics???

[Ronald Montesano]

A few from Oakland Hills' South Course taken this past weekend ..

The awesome and brutal 5th hole:

Standing on 18 tee looking across 10 green and over to No. 11:

The short but tricky No. 15:

JStewart, I've not played nor walked either Oakland Hills course, but I know the South's reputation. I like the three photos you posted above and wonder how you feel about the golf courses at that club. Is the width proper for a club golfer? How high is the primary rough and can you escape with more than a wedge? Are the vistas across holes memorable? How do the two courses compare?


I suspect that you're pretty busy, but if you have time and inclination to answer any of those questions, I would be grateful.

[Jim Tang]

Inverness

[JStewart]

Ron,
A few things have been done to improve the look of the South course since the '08 PGA, namely removing some trees and adding touches of native/heather grass (see below, the par-3 third). There isn't much "width" to the course (as I understand the term anyway). A lot of the holes are lined with deep bunkers, though there are exceptions (for example, Nos. 14 and 16 have no fairway bunkers, and No. 15 has two but they are in the middle of the fairway). The rough is usually not very long but it's thick and adequately penalizing. It's not "chop it out with your wedge" stuff but it's going to make a difference in making solid contact and being able to hold the greens. The course overall could be more playable for the average golfer, but most of the members play it as a par-72 and far shorter than what the pros do so they have learned to navigate their way around. The greens are definitely the crown jewel of the South. I haven't played everywhere, but I can't imagine a much better set of putting surfaces exist.
The North course is also a Ross design and also sports a fantastic set of greens. It's much shorter and easier (though they just lengthened the tips to about 6,800 yards). I'd say it's definitely one of the top-10 or -15 courses in Michigan still, which is saying something with all the great golf there. It's a par-70 with two wonderful par-5s.

[Jason Way]

1,537 driving miles later, I'm back from a road trip through Indiana and Ohio.  I'll post a recap later, but here are pics from 4 of the 5 courses I visited.


The Fort






Hyde Park G&CC





The Donald Ross Course at French Lick





Harrison Hills G&CC

[Jon Cavalier]

Couple more shots from a trio of area hidden gems:


Country Club of Scranton
Clarks Summitt, PA
10th Green
June 2015





Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
Kennett Square, PA
2nd Hole
June 2015





Deal Golf & Country Club
Deal, NJ
15th Hole
June 2015

[Ronald Montesano]

Cavs, that is a unique angle to number 10 at Scranton. The look from the fairway, as you know, is stunning. Actually, the fairway is stunning and the green is stunning. That was our first hole when we played there in 2014 and we looked around and said "we quit. it can't possible get any better."


I have a cool photo that I'll try to dig up of Kevin Lynch and another guy on that #10 green.


Is any of those that hardscrabble muni I challenged you with, by chance?   

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