I've not seen Sebonac but it makes sense for Chamblee to focus on GCGC. Everyone gushes about Shinnecock to the point where it has elevated to mythical status. That little corner of Southhampton is the Muirfield of America, but everybody gets it, okay? - there have been so many bouquets thrown at Shinnecock that it all sounds like repetitious hyperbole at this point.
Joel hit it exactly on the screws: GCGC is "intricate." I consider it almost the ultimate "home club" - that comfortable, intimate place you can escape to on a Saturday morning.
Shinnecock seems enormous - expansive and sprawling, providing a sensation of a long and sometimes arduous journey. The sex appeal is there - a component missing at - for instance - Oakmont.
But when you are done with it - or "it" is done with you, even a great round leaves you exhausted. It is not a particularly difficult walk, but my legs always ache.
Funny, but next door, the walk up the 18th fairway always leaves me energized - and tearfully grateful just to be alive beneath the windmill.
GCGC is a different matter altogether. It occupies far more real estate than one would think, but you never feel far from the comfort of the clubhouse.
The humps, bumps and bunkers seems scaled down a bit; the hazards taunt, but in a decidedly good-natured way. The first hole strikes a perfect opening note; brains and a decent golf swing is all that is necessary to succeed.
Beefy bombers, who can let out the shaft at Shinnecock, are kept buckled and tied in a straitjacket there.
The par-3 18th appears from the tee a 4-iron into the clubhouse patio . . . .
I find it gratifying that in the last ten years, the Garden City's of the world are coming to the forefront - instead of remaining in the shadows, ignored in favor of places like Baltusrol.
So, Brandel Chamblee is definitiely onto something here. If Golf Channel can accomplish one thing, it will be to identify hidden classics like GCGC - which, to me, reflect the true essence of American golf.