Home now, settling in and thinking back about another wonderful Dixie Cup (my fifth). So much to report, so I'll start with my duties as one of the team captains.
I am proud to announce that my North squad defended last year's title in epic fashion. We only had two competition days this year due to rain (Friday and Sunday), but my boys made me proud finishing the sessions with a 12.5 to 4.5 margin of victory. Great play and some excellent matches out there!
Now for a recap of the proceedings...
We started the weekend with a real treat, access to the great Donald Ross Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville. We had about 18 folks play and had a heck of a time. Lots of recent rain made for atypical playing conditions as green collars were on the softer side and the rough was deadly thick...but a smooth, comfortable walk made up for that. Ross' routing is just genius and although the course is routed on what appears to be a rather flat (possibly a flood plain?) piece of property, he took advantage of EVERY bit of movement and feature the property had to offer. Bunkering is on the (truly) penal side with steep grass-faced walls and most putting surfaces were canted / slanted rather than containing many internal contours making reading putts a real challenge.
After golf I arranged for the gang to meet in downtown Knoxville at a BBQ joint called Sweet P's Barbecue and Soul House. They had a variety of meats available and a bunch of good sides. And how can you go wrong with Banana Pudding for dessert (or "Monkey Puke" as Wardo affectionately calls it). Everyone agreed that the grub was solid, and we had a fun time dining together. Then we caravan-ed down to Chattanooga.
And that was the last of our good weather...
Friday was going to be 36 holes at Black Creek Club, the brainchild of Doug Stein (member extraordinaire at Lookout Mountain) and designed by Brian Silva. The club maintains a photo album from the construction period, and it was amazing to see the (relatively) flat piece of property that was "pushed" into its current form with bold / engineered angles and shapes. It was truly a sight to behold! All the cool templates are either represented or homage'd in a terrific way. Bad news of the day? Lots of the wet stuff. For those of us silly enough to NOT bring rain gear, we spent a lot of time socializing in the clubhouse and eating lunch. The afternoon was filled with our first competitive round of the weekend as conditions improved (a little). Soft conditions did damped the spirits, but only slightly. The holes are so bold and "big", it was really fun to try and solve their many mysteries. The Alps Punchbowl was a hoot and their collection of par 3's was rock solid with a traditional Biarritz and everything!
Friday's dinner at Black Creek Club was Southern BBQ style, and we had a brief presentation by the head pro and then were regaled by stories from the famous Mike Young library for politically correct humor (not!). As usual, he had the room in stitches by the time he was over.
Our original plan was to play 36 holes at Lookout Mountain on Saturday and finish the weekend at Sweetens Cove on Sunday, but Mother Nature was having none of that. Saturday at the top of Lookout Mountain was rain, rain, rain...but worse than that was the fog! By about 9:30 or so it was clear we were not going to be able to tee it up at L.M...so some quick thinking by Mike Whitaker and logistical adjusting by Eric Strulowitz and we were off to Sweetens Cove to give it a go. With a one-hour time change in our favor, the entire group made our way to South Pittsburg, TN and were stunned by what we saw once we got there.
Sweetens Cove was built on a former (flat as a pancake) 9-hole course in a very rural part of Tennessee. But what the guys at King-Collins did to this property is nothing short of amazing. Nine new holes, each distinct but following a consistent theme are presented for your playing pleasure. Most all of the course is played at green-moved heights making for (and requiring) extremely precise shotmaking. The greens are large, but set-up in what I'd call a repelling format (rather than a receptive one). Results?...anything less than well struck shots are NOT rewarded and require further extrication to escape high numbers. It was a shitload of fun! Another cool thing they did for us was cut two holes in each green, so that after the first "loop" we moved the pins and had a hole new course to explore! Bold contours, elevation change, sandy waste areas, 80-yard-deep greens...you name it, they have it. For me and a few other guys, 18 holes was not enough so we soldiered on for an additional emergency nine. I actually scored my best on the third loop as I began to figure out the required strategy for many of the holes. And, I did our group proud by making birdie on the redan-like 9th hole by holing an uphill 10-footer to close out the day.
Since we had originally planned for a steak dinner at lookout Mountain for Saturday night, we stuck with that plan and everyone met back at the club for good eats and a rousing presentation by the aforementioned Doug Stein. I think we spent nearly two hours listening to and asking questions of Doug. He was engaging, humorous, extremely knowledgeable and full of passion for a golf course he truly seems to love. Doug brought along a boatload of "props" including an original routing drawing from 1926 and other items used during the proposal process to the club's membership as they tried to gain momentum for a restoration of the course. Doug's perspective on "re-discovering" this hidden gem and his subsequent treasure hunt for the artifacts used to restore the course to its rightful design was nothing short of amazing. It really goes to show you what hard work and dedication to a cause will get you. Doug's storytelling that evening was top notch and everyone left feeling satisfied with the food, atmosphere, camaraderie and knowledge they had gained. Thanks Doug!!!
We awoke Sunday to...no rain!!! We all scrambled up the mountain hoping the fog had lifted, and it had! So, it was off on our morning round and final day of Dixie Cup (singles) competition. We started on hole #10 (due to men's league play) and began our trek around a fantastic set of 18 template holes. The course really has it all...great land movement, bold contours, beguiling greens with difficult approaches and head-scratching breaks. The way the current course is routed is one of the opportunities (as I see it) to really improve the course. The original routing calls for the current #1 and #2 to be the #17 and #18 holes, which means that #3 is actually the originally intended #1 hole. And it shows. #1 and #2 are ball-busters to start a round, whereas #3 is a more "gentle handshake" as an opener. The more I've thought of it, starting your round on #3 and following that routing makes much more sense and reads more like a book from page one on instead of starting somewhere in the middle of the story. If they were to ever acquire the house (and associated land) behind the 2nd green and turn that into the clubhouse location...holly crap...what an incredible view but more importantly would give the course a chance to really show off the routing that could be.
After the round we shared a deli-style lunch on the veranda and recounted our rounds and said our goodbyes. I've been to more than 10 GCA events now, and as others here have said...you only need to pack your bags and come to a gathering to know the true power and pleasure of being a part of this community. I've had nothing but good things to say about our participants, and the venues and speakers we get access to are second to none. Period. New friends, old friends, friends for life. I'm go grateful to the group for allowing me to be a part of the happenings and for sharing in our friendships.
Some final thank you's and shout-outs...
* Eric Strulowitz...dude! This was a R.O.C.K. S.T.A.R. Dixie Cup and you made it all happen. How can we thank you enough?
* Mike Whitaker, Craig Disher, Bill McBride...thanks for your usual support as part of the planning committee, invaluable!
* Michael Christensen and Chris Shaida...although you could not be with us, your generous donations helped fuel our wine-induced stupor on Saturday night. A million thanks!
* Doug Stein...you really could go on tour with your presentation shtick. Keep up the passion for LMCC and here's hoping you get everything you wish for.
* North squad (you know who you are)...thanks for helping us raise the trophy again. Maybe next time Whitaker will bother to actually bring it along!
I have a bunch of pictures and will begin posting them under separate thread entries in short order...hang tight!