Re: The Gallery South(Fought)
Matt Ward recently played here and posted some comments above. The original Gallery course is noted for its bunkering. I remember someone referring to it as "the Winged Foot of the desert." A pic is in the article.
From today's Tucson Citizen with pics:
www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=pro&story_id=120903d4_gallerysouthDove Mountain marvel
New Gallery South puts focus on the short game
JACK RICKARD
Tucson Citizen
"The par-4 fourth hole at Gallery South uses a huge lake to force the player to choose how much to "bite off" on the tee shot.
Golf course architect John Fought has long had a deep appreciation and admiration for the work of legendary course designer Donald Ross, who laid out 413 courses back in the 1910s and 1920s.
One reason is that Fought captured the 1977 U.S. Amateur title on a Ross course, Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia. Fought also has been hired to restore several Ross-designed courses.
When he was hired to design the Gallery South Course, Fought and owner John MacMillan were in agreement. Fought would incorporate the sloping greens that were a trademark of Ross designs.
MacMillan even took Fought, golf course superintendent Paul Elwood, project manager Wade Dunagan and director of golf Paul Nolen to Pinehurst, N.C., to view and play some of Ross' best works, in particular Pinehurst No. 2.
The Gallery South course opened two weeks ago, a challenging par-72 layout across Dove Mountain Boulevard from the North Course, which opened in 1998.
"The greens are turtle-back greens. That's how they describe them at Pinehurst No. 2," Fought said. "They are slightly elevated and built into the existing terrain. They feature edges that softly roll off and little subtle movements and hole locations that are distinct.
"The course brings chipping and shot-making back into the game. You don't always have to have deep rough around the greens. The higher-handicap player is delighted he's not in the sand, deep rough, water or getting a penalty stroke. He can chip it back onto the green without much effort."
Fought gives the player plenty of room off the tee, often as much as 70 yards wide. He did not incorporate any of the deep fairway bunkers that are the dominating factor on the North Course, which he designed with PGA Tour standout Tom Lehman. And there are no 700-yard par-5s. The North's No. 9 measures 727 yards from the back tees.
The course plays differently from any of the five tees. The championship markers have a more difficult driving angle.
For those who want to play just nine holes, they can do so by playing the first four, then going to the second of two greens at the par-3 fifth hole and finishing up on 15 through 18.
"I've never been able to accomplish this before on any of my designs," Fought said.
"They built the golf course to accommodate my game," MacMillan, an 18-handicapper, said with a smile. He obviously doesn't go back much farther than the verde (6,312 yards) tees. From the tips it's 7,316 yards with a rating of 73.4 and a slope of 133.
The best hole on the course? That's difficult. There isn't one "signature" hole that stands out.
Perhaps the best could be the par-4 fourth, on which one must decide how much to "bite off" on the tee shot over a huge lake. Or it could be the par-5 10th that has a natural wash bisecting the fairway. One has to choose which way to go.
The Gallery Golf Club is a privately owned, nonequity club. Cost of a membership is $65,000, with monthly dues of $395. MacMillan said there will eventually be 390 members per golf course."
Steve