Huck,

Since you opened the can of worms regarding rankings...I must say I am shocked...shocked I say..that after pealing back another layer of the beautiful onion called Rustic you have not found reason to improve upon your intitial crappy score you first submitted.  Have you found nothing of note through your repeat visit...should the onion theory be debunked....or is your eye so keen one visit was enough..

Huck,

Since you opened the can of worms regarding rankings...I must say I am shocked...shocked I say..that after pealing back another layer of the beautiful onion called Rustic you have not found reason to improve upon your intitial crappy score you first submitted.  Have you found nothing of note through your repeat visit...should the onion theory be debunked....or is your eye so keen one visit was enough..

My eye surely isn't that keen, John.  It's just the rules we follow that a rating can be changed only if the course changes drastically or something else causes such.  As it is, I gave Rustic incredibly high scores the first time... as much as people never believe me about that!   So nope, I have nothing to change in this regard.  There's really only so high scores can go.

I sure as hell did gain greater appreciation for the golf course, though... it really is a course that just gets greater and greater with repeated play.  Before it was just another golf course to me... now, I found myself driving past it on the way to Valley Club yesterday, wishing in a very real sense that I had the time to stop and play it again.... damn near chucking VC to do so anyway.... and I sit here plotting and scheming for a return trip, even as I just returned home.

TH

Well Gib, you know how things go here... little practical things - like dare I say the need for benches - are never enough!  

But private v. public... that is an interesting question, isn't it?

I'm gonna do a Mucci though - I want to hear what others say before I weigh in any more.  Right now the guilt in suggesting it - on top of the fact the course works so damn well in its current public state - has me blinded to the real issues.

TH

Huckster,

I'll leave the Catholic guilt to you and Barnyf . . . . I guess that is what you get for attending Jesuit schools   . . . . . personally, I went to a Methodist University . . . . . I say let's take it private.

As autocrat, my first edict is to get rid of that hideous driving range and replace it with our children's course. Real men don't need a range.

If some inveterate ball beater joins the club, we can build a practice facility over the hill, out of sight. Bring your own shag bag. It can go right next to the fishing pond.

I hereby appoint The Emperor as General Manager with complete autonomy. Anybody who comes in and asks respectfully to play can walk on for a nominal fee. Kids old enough to be on the course and behave will play for free.

Fortson is my head professional and owns the shop.

Geoff will serve as historian and curmudgeon-in-training. Lynn can be membership chairman.

Moriarty writes the bylaws and serves as President for life..

Mike Golden is in charge of making sure Tommy sticks to his exercise regimen.

Gil Hanse is the Green Chairman. The committee has two people.The other is also the historian.

Huckster will be Director of Bench Purchases and interview potential cart wenches.
 
Following organization of the club, I pledge to resign my post as autocrat and return to Northern California as an "out of the area" member.

Please don't change Rustic Canyon in any significant way.  It's lovely as is.

I rather like the rough tall grass surrounding the bunkers myself.  It's good punishment for poor shots.

Also, Rustic isn't really a 6900 yard course.  4 out of the 5 par 5's play slightly uphill and 4 out of the 5 longish par 4's play significantly downhill.  2: 457, 14:  480, 16: 479, 18: 460.  11's a very good slightly uphill 435.  2 plays at least 15 yards shorter, 14 35 yards shorter, 16 maybe 40 and 18 maybe 30 than those distances, not because the tees are placed forwards from the markers, but because of the slope and play style around the greens.  No one that's played there before flies the ball to these greens.  With a decent drive, it's always an 8 iron or less for these back nine 4's, even in still wind conditions.

7:  Great hole as is.  Or at least was and will be again soon.  I don't see a significant advantage gained anywhere by extending short left.

Some things I'd like to see:

8:  I'd change the green to have 3 pin locations instead of 2 without increasing the green size.  The back right portion flattened a bit for another pin location and so that balls long with the pin on front right location don't naturally fall back down close to the pin.  Now lets see who can control wedge distances to 5 yards instead of 10.  The back right would be a tougher birdie.

10:  The hells 1/2 acre I don't think will do anything to the good player and will slow the average player down.  While this new hazard/waste is where the drainage now naturally flows,  it's also where the average golfer puts the second shot 40/50% of the time.  I expect this new feature to add to the average round time around 5 minutes.  I'd preferred that this feature be closer to the green complex, say finishing 25-30 yards short.  Now the second shot for the longish player or the third shot for the average can not be a low bump-run or a mis-hit, but must be reasonably well executed.  It also would make a tougher decision for the long player, go / no-go for the green in 2.   Maybe the tee could go back a bit too.

14:  I think a few extra yards on the championship tee wouldn't hurt, or maybe make a new superchampionship tee.  I wouldn't be able to reach the fairway at all from something placed another 20 yards back, so I couldn't play it, but there are lots of people that could use the challenge.

15:  I don't care much for this green.  There are too many days when if you are above the pin you can not make a 2 putt because the green slope is too severe.  I don't see many people attempting to play uphill bump and run sort of shots here.  Perhaps a narrow bunker placed just short of the green to catch balls too short might be acceptable.

Other non-course layout changes I'd like:

Remove the back fence from the driving range.
Add more tall vegetation to the course side of the driving range.
Add a chipping green and apron in the practice range on the eastern side.
Remove the wood posts and wire guides, especially the ones up to the 16th tee.  It feels a bit penitentiary.  I understand these were placed there after the fires to allow time for the vegetation to regrow, but it's all grown back now and isn't necessary any longer.
Perhaps a caddy program? I'd pay for the privilege.
Flatten the practice greens a bit more, too much slope and only half of the actual greens are usable.

Sounds like a hell of a club.  Once I get the proper HEAVY benches in place, I too return to NorCal and join Gib as out of area member, returning often then, because we will need high quality cart gals and there are so many to interview.  

Then the poor public golfers of SoCal either get good at petitioning the Emperor (and I can give tips on that as well), or they go back to their sad lives.  They always have Tierra Rejada.  

One quibble:  David M.'s suggestions work better for me... Those are:  where the range is we create a putting course, like the one at St. Andrews... use the entire space for that.  Then we put a shag/practice area in between where 9 and 10 are now - there's plenty of room.

There's also plenty of room in the canyon for the children's 9-hole course... and it should be more interesting than just a flat slog... we want some THOUGHT out of those youngsters, and they will learn it there.  It'll also be damn fun for us to play when they're not around.

Of course the 2nd 18 gets built also, going back into the canyon...

TH

Gib,

I don't think Fortson would want to work for Tommy, since he's an evil rater.  He'd be bad-mouthing him behind his back if he even let one rater play comped as a rater.

Would this type of club even have quench wenches?  I'd think a half-way house would suffice.  Olympic burgers on hot dog buns....

If quench wenches are to be around, I volunteer to help Huckaby with the interview process, since all those benches need to be purchased.....

Huckster,
Sorry, but there will be a sign on the first tee of the children's course reading: "No adults unless accompanied by child."

Saw that once on a wee layout in Gullane.

Also, the kids course has to go in front of the clubhouse so the redhead and I can watch the kids from the veranda with a cocktail in our comfy rockers.

My idea for the one at Olympic (and now Rustic) is nine different miniature classic greens. Redan, Alps, Biarritz, etc.

It won't be a flat slog, Neal and I will design it.  

. . . . . I say let's take it private.

Again, this is hypothetical ...

1.  Tear down the existing eatery, cart barn and pro-shop.

2.  Remove the driving range

In the place of 1 and 2, put a putting course, practice area, bunkers, chipping greens configured like those on the course (wow!!! what an idea), etc.

3.  Close off the lower entrance

4.  Plant tall native trees and shrubs to block the site of the homes ...

5.  Build a new entrance road from the west to the new clubhouse / "porch" location (see photo).  Member's cottages will be just south of the clubhouse below the ridgeline (or you could put these behind the newe #18 on the valley floor).

6.  Flip the holes around:
-  #14 is now #1 with a new tee box on the west side of the wash.  Yes, you lose the cross wash tee shot but you now create an eye opening tee shot.  I would keep the hole on the longish side, just to make sure everyone is awake on the first tee.
-  You finish with 3 interesting holes including #17 as the challenging/decision filled short par-4 and #18 with challenge on the tee shot, layup and a green that may present a 1-putt to win the match or a 3-putt to lose it.

7.  Build another 9 holes (at least) farther up the canyon.

8.  (edit)  Remove those cart paths ... if we have firm and fast playing conditions, then the carts won't ruin the turf ...

Mike

Is Rustic always conditioned such that the area around the down-canyon holes is much firmer than the up-canyon holes?  

Based on all of the above 'suggestions' here is the best thing that can be done with Rustic-get a huge flatbed truck, dig up the entire course (as is) and transport it to a site up the California coast, maybe even further, maybe as far north as ......Bandon?  Then make it private, invite only the GCA 1000 (this is starting to sound like a stock index, I can just hear it on CNBC on Squawk Box now, '...and yesterday, the GCA 1000 was down 14 points due to a conflict between Emperor Tom and the Huckster but it firmed in the afternoon when David Moriarity intevened and suggested further shaving around the 12th green would increase earnings in Q2') to join, and then, after all this is done, build another public course at Rustic Canyon with Tom Fazio as the architect and Ted Robinson as the senior consultant for waterfalls and outrageously elevated tees

Gib, why did you give me the toughest job at the Country Club of Rustic Canyon?  I want an easy one, like Director of golf and catering

I would cut the number of stalls at the driving range in half, angle it more away from the 18th hole, and take down all the nets...pour some miracle-gro on the saplings there to serve as the boundary, but if you angle the range away and cut down the stalls, you'd probably have even fewer balls on the 18th than are currently there, AND you wouldnt have the hideous fence.

I agree about leveling out the practice greens...the collar area addition would be nice, but at least make the green behind the clubhouse more than a 2 person facility.

Thats it for me- I love the place!

Just one question...how did the King do in his matches?  I REALLY hope he gave someone fits with only 7 clubs and coming off a long sabbatical.  

Ken

Well since you asked. I didn't give anyone fits, but I did get some sympathy, which worked almost as well.

I had a couple tough matches, but it all worked out. On day one it was Mike Hendren and Darryl Cluster (south) vs. RJ Daley and my own self (north) We started slowly, but I did pretty good for a few holes – from around 6 until 11. Even made a 2 on the seventh, something I doubt I will ever repeat. RJ carried me around after 11, and we kept it close. We weren’t really good at keeping score and just all sort of assumed we tied at the end of the match and all agreed that was cool.

Tommy went through our scorecard and said RJ and I lost 2-up. Ends up he wasn’t counting handicaps, so he asked me to figure it with handicaps. I just went back to the half we originally shook hands on after the round and that’s what we called it.

My second match was a single against Bill McBride, with Sam Seanz (South) vs Peter Pittock (North) also playing in our foursome. I was excited to see the wind howling, and thought it took away anyone who had a full compliment of clubs advantage. First tee, down wind, I hit a nice worm burner down the middle.

I think I was 5-down to Bill after 6 holes. I was hitting the ball reasonably well, but the short game sucked big time. Still my strategy of getting Bill to feel sorry for me was working. Got within 2 with like 4 to go, but then he returned to taking it serious and closed me out 3 and 2. Ce la vie.

I parred the 9th hole Driver-driver-driver-putt-putt.

Both matches were great fun with great company. Perhaps enough to get me out of retirement. I don’t know it is always hard to follow up a fun weekend. I’m pushing for bocce in NorCal for King’s Putter IV.

Dan King

They bought a souped-up jitney, 'twas a cherry red '53,
They drove it down to Orleans to celebrate the anniversary
It was there that Pierre was married to the lovely madamoiselle
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell
 --Chuck Berry