It was an interesting day at Eastmoreland. First, I had arrange a tee time, then learned that someone had just written a letter in the Portland paper, stating that in their many years of golfing the portland muni courses, the author had never seen condiotions as bad as they were at Eastmoreland.
I was fixed on seeing another Egan design, and felt I could place the conditions out of my mind and evaluate the design.
Well, it must've been a full week since that letter appeared in the paper and the entire place was a buzz, full of maintenance workers, top-dressing, what seemed like the entire golf course. The greens were a little sluggish with evidence of what I assume are either thatch problems, or Nematodes, but still very playable.
The tree encroachment is only accentuated by a standard rough presentation. SO, if one is to be errant, into the trees, they are further penalized by having thick lush 4-5" rough to not only deal with, but also the added difficulty of finding one's ball.
Underneath, eastmoreland is great example of variety and thoughtful design. The walk near the Rhododendron gardens reminded me of other inner-city courses, with the juxtaposition of spaces.
Once again, I was floored by the final one-shotter, over the water to an almost Island green. Built in 1918 this shot tester must've been hell, for the DM duffers, back at the end of the great war. I was particularly attracted to the right side of the green, with it's steep drop off. Delicious
No way to putt that one to the hole, until it freezes.