An open letter to Ben Crenshaw

[Tony_Chapman]

September 7, 2005

Mr. Crenshaw,

I missed the turn off Nebraska Highway 97 yesterday, but that's ok I wouldn't want your sign to be any bigger anyway. We drove our way, my brother and I, down that winding road to your little heaven. What a special place you have, and in our home state.

How did you do it? How did you find those holes out there? Better yet, what made you build them where you did? Certainly, you have a special talent for getting things done properly.

What did it look like, Ben, when you first saw that land? Did you see yourself hitting a wedge to that first green in the hill, or driving to the far off green past the bunker in front of the seventh green? Did you give it your all with the 3-wood like I did on the 13th into a 30-mph wind -- and still come up short? How much of that bunker did you want to cut off on the 16th?

Or, did you cut those prairie grasses down to the end and see all of the bumps and humps that God gave you like the impresssive greens at the second and third? Or the big speed slot that you can drive it in on the 14th?

These are things I wonder about. But, there could be more. The good Lord knows everything was right there waiting for you, you just had to find it. But, what a task that must be, I thought.

I hope you enjoyed your day, too. As we enjoyed our burger after the first round my brother, spoke up, "I'd recognize that follow through anywhere." Sure enough, there you were on the first tee. Inspecting your handiwork and having a little fun, I suppose.

Thank you, for the Sand Hills Golf Club. Thanks for being a part of a memory that will last a long time for us. And, thanks for making a golf course that is enjoyable to play.

Sincerely,

Tony Chapman
Grand Island, NE

[Tony_Muldoon]

Great post, what I like most is the wee chappie in the middle seems the happiest of the lot!

[Jason Hines]

Well written letter Tony.  Knowing my luck, I would run into my boss or mother in law on the first tee and you get to meet Ben Crenshaw.

Jason

[Mike Hendren]

Wait a minute.  Wasn't Tom Paul just out there a few weeks ago?

Wonderful post.  I have one initial thought:   Who in their right mind takes a laptop computer to Sand Hills?

By chance, did you see Sandbox wandering around out there?  Congratulations on your good fortune.

Mike

[Tony_Chapman]

Maybe I should make an addendum to this post.

First, I didn't take my laptop to SH. I played there yesterday and didn't get to stay. The bad thing about living three hours from Sand Hills is that your family wants you to make it a one day trip; no big deal.

Mike - My brother and I (I'm the fat guy on the right) played with Brian and his brother Kevin. They are still up there today. And, his best Nebraska experience will be this weekend at Memorial Stadium.  

[noonan]

Awesome.

[Mike Hendren]

Shivas,

What is wi-fi?

Mike

[John_Cullum]

Does Bill Coore at least get cc:'d on this?

[Tony_Chapman]

John - You are correct. I guess I figured since I played with Gracely and that he and Coore are both Wake Forest grads that he could write him.  

[RJ_Daley]

DY must be a silent partner...

[cary lichtenstein]

Don't you'all think this letter should be written to Bill Coore? He probably did 97% of the work!!!!!!!

[John_Conley]

Tony:

I used to shoot a lot of pool.  Sometimes I'd hunt for a shot and finally one would pop that was a little outside the box.  I'd knock one in with a carom, combo, or soldier.  Invariably, everyone says, "nice shot!" because they didn't realize a ball could be made - let alone so easily.

Crenshaw & Coore designed Sand Hills, and their philosophy allowed it to form.  But real credit - in my mind - will always go to Dick Youngscap who "saw" the course.  The hard part wasn't making the shot.  It was seeing which shot to take.

Stories about flyovers in planes or helicopters leading to the folly - and that's what it had to be at the time - of Youngscap building a course, THERE, are true.  He was about 10 days from not having the dough to convert his option on the land.  

Crenshaw deserves credit, no doubt.  As others have mentioned, Coore gets just as much.  But the visionary wasn't C or C, 'twas Youngscap.

[JESII]

Easy boys, Tony was just recognizing Crenshaw's contribution. He was not denigrating or discrediting the efforts of Bill Coore or Dick Youngscap.

[TEPaul]

It seems to be an endless question of what does Ben do and what does Bill do in most of C&C's golf architecture projects. In case someone wasn't aware of it Ben still has another day job!  

It's interesting talking to Dick Youngscap about some of the things Ben did and some of the things Bill did out there. According to him Ben walked right off the property and found holes #14 and #15 precipitating the entire course to get shifted up in that direction even requiring a shifting of deeds.

And if anyone has not looked carefully at that so-called "Constellation Map" of all that both of them came up with, they should. I think it shows something like 136 holes.

[Lou_Duran]

TEP,

I don't have any inside information but I sense that Ben's contributions to the partnership are greatly underestimated.  No doubt that Coore is extremely talented.  I think that Ben provides that intangible of sense and feel that makes their courses so interesting, beautiful, and very playable.  Ben seems to be intuitive and very much of a feel player.  I am unaware that Bill Coore enjoyed so much acclaim before his association with Crenshaw.  This could be one of the most successful true design partnerships in golf history.  

[TEPaul]

"I think that Ben provides that intangible of sense and feel that makes their courses so interesting, beautiful, and very playable."

Lou:

You're not kidding. There's a symbiosis that's developed between those two that's not only remarkable, it's literally unexplainable in the real world.

In the beginning Bill used to call Ben up and explain to him the situation if he needed his advice. And then, some years later the symbiosis developed to such an extent that Bill didn't even have to explain the situation to Ben on the phone---Ben just knew automatically. It was symbiosis and intuition at its finest.

But now, if Bill needs Ben's advice he doesn't even need to call him on the phone---he just talks to him wherever he is and although people around Bill can't hear Ben's answers, he is talking to Bill.  

When I first met Bill and hung around on some projects and such I thought Bill was a bit screwy or had some physical problem when I heard him or watched him mumbling things quietly, but it was just him talking to Ben.

Sometimes I say something to Bill or ask him a question about something and he doesn't say anything---he just sort of stares at me silently. At first I sort of took it personally until he finally told me he was only listening to Ben.

[Lou_Duran]

TEP,

I am assuming that you're being serious.  Perhaps they are like an old couple who can communicate with a scarcity of words.  I do hope that their collaboration continues for many years to come.  At their rate of production and given the exclusivity of some of their projects, not many golfers will be aware of their contribution to the game.

Not a shot at Weiskopf, but can you imagine walking up to Tom at one of his courses and asking him to pose for a picture?  Just looking at the picture starting this thread, is there any doubt regarding the essence of Mr. Crenshaw?

[Norbert P]

. . . if anyone has not looked carefully at that so-called "Constellation Map" of all that both of them came up with, they should. I think it shows something like 136 holes.

 I've never seen this illustration but it is one of my most sought after images from the internet. Regretably, when we were at Sandhills, we got to the clubhouse right as they were closing shop for the season - last official group out of 2003 - and barely had time to buy souvenirs. Anyway, if anybody has the image of this map, if it be legal, I would be eternally grateful. (I have an empty spot on the wall yearning for it.)  

   On Ben, if you haven't read his book "A Feel for the Game", I suggest you do, as it reveals quite a bit about his character and views on golf and golf architecture.  Also, he's just as friendly and real as you'd hope a celebrity would be.  Bill and "The Boys" were generous with their time as well.

[Tony_Chapman]

I guess I should chime in here since some people think that I think Ben Crenshaw bought the land, thought of the idea and did the entire course himself.  

I was simply trying to put into words what I thought of my experience at the Sand Hills and the fact that I happened to meet Mr. Crenshaw the day I was there was the reason for the post. Nothing could be further from the truth that I think he was solely responsible for the place.

Dick Youngscap has brought two of the great modern courses in the US to Nebraska (I inlcude Firethorn here) and he deserves loads of credit. The stories that I have heard are that he worked on that dream south of Mullen for a much longer period of time than I had ever thought of previously.

And, obviously Bill Coore knows what he is doing. But, since the Huskers are playing Wake Forest this week I can't praise him tooooo much.  

Sand Hills, is, quite simply a masterful golf course full of fun shots and that is all that should matter.

It's interesting talking to Dick Youngscap about some of the things Ben did and some of the things Bill did out there. According to him Ben walked right off the property and found holes #14 and #15 precipitating the entire course to get shifted up in that direction even requiring a shifting of deeds.

Tom - I've been thinking. Is there a better set of three consecutive 1/2 par holes in the world than 13, 14 and 15 at Sand Hills? Playing 13 and 15 into the wind and 14 down wind like we did on Tuesday certainly made the back nine a difficult affair to score on. I think Ben was primarily responsible for this stretch.