Visit with Crenshaw

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

I had the distinct pleasure of playing with Ben Crenshaw and Cheyyene Woods on Friday at Del Monte in the First Tee Tournament.

Firstly what an experience playing with a Hall of Famer and more importatntly all the wonderful things about the man are true.
What a fine gentleman he is.
Of course I could not help myself but talk about architecture, and he was most forthcoming on his views and opinions.
Picking his brain on architectural issues was fascinating..his comments on technology making the job more challenging...how Augusta has lost it's original appeal...just how special Sand Hills is..what a fine example Del  Monte is of "old style" golf.

His passion for his "other" job is clear to see..he just loves the architecture stuff and was most complimentary about our wonderful site,a and to quote "there are some people on that site with a tremendous amount of knowledge"

He even knew some names specifically..so he is well informed with what is being said.

A wonderful experience..and a great ambassador for the agme.

[wsmorrison]

Just don't tell me that he thinks Mike "Mayday" Malone is a golf architecture genius, I don't think I can take that  

I've had the pleasure of having a nearly 2 hour telephone conversation with Ben Crenshaw.  My wife answered the phone and was even more thrilled than I was!  For a different reason, of course.  He was kind enough to call me and discuss William Flynn for my book project.  That was a big help.  I got to meet him in person at Aronimink when he played in the Sr. PGA there a few years back and it was a joy to meet him.  

I'm sure yours was a day you'll never forget.  Isn't golf great?

[Adam Clayman]

It was exactly one year ago I met Ben and the boys on the porch in Parker, Co. In our short conversation he mentioned to me "how Thomas didn't build a single feature that went against the flow of the property" at Riviera.

His passion and his niceness was clearly evident.

MWP, DId Mr. C mention how much he liked the seventh hole at Ol' D?
There have been a few iterations and many changes to the course,(Delmonte) it can be hard sometimes to tell which is which.
Did he show any particular interest in any particular hole/feature?

[Mike_Sweeney]

..what a fine example Del  Monte is of "old style" golf.

I honestly was starting to think I was the only one that likes Del Monte. The West Coast crew here do not seem to give it much love.

[ed_getka]

Mike,
   Nothing wrong with the course.... until you get to the green fee.

Another Ben Crenshaw story. In '99 Herb Wind expressed interest to me about attending the Ryder Cup, but he felt like he didn't want to impose by asking others since he was retired. I wrote to Ben and explained the situation and he had the PGA send tickets to Herb for the whole week. After the epic comeback on Sunday, Herb received a call that evening from none other than ("that nice young man from Texas") Ben to talk about the event. A class act.

[Eric Olsen]

Did you happen to talk about 14 at Bandon Trails?

[mike_malone]

 Now that Wayne Morrison has "outed" me , I must confess to being the brains behind  C+C. It has been a great pleasure working with them, but I really wanted to stay in the background. Way to go, Wayne! You blew it!

   It should have been obvious when I criticized Hidden Creek that that was just a smokescreen.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

He is in love with the par 3 12th...as am I..what a great par 3 hole.
We spent along time discussing the green complex on #7 which he thought was terrific, and in general the subtle nature of the greens that serves to protect the Del Monte course from being ravaged.

It was his diplomatic comments on Augusta that I was most intersted in.
He said that the place was unique..no rough wide fairways and greens that were the appropriate sizes for the shots being fired into them...now however all that is gone, except for the selected few.
As he said the number of people who can win there is now vastly rdeuced...in particular he tends to dislike #1..I believe the word "joke" was applied to the changes there!

But again what a great guy...and if I did not think so already, I now knwo that I have to get to Sand Hills.

[Greg Beaulieu]

Another Ben Crenshaw story. In '99 Herb Wind expressed interest to me about attending the Ryder Cup, but he felt like he didn't want to impose by asking others since he was retired. I wrote to Ben and explained the situation and he had the PGA send tickets to Herb for the whole week. After the epic comeback on Sunday, Herb received a call that evening from none other than ("that nice young man from Texas") Ben to talk about the event. A class act.

A class act indeed. In 1995 I was so moved by his Masters win that I wrote him a short note of congratulations. I had never done that previously with any other sports figure and never expected any sort of response. Imagine my surprise some weeks later when a handwritten note arrives in the mail thanking me for my letter and expressing thanks from himself, Julie, and the children. A true gentleman of the game.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Michael, thank you for sharing a most wonderful day with us. I am and have been a long time admirer of this most gracious man. He is living proof that one should not put too much stock in the political positions of a man who is not in the business of government.

[Lou_Duran]

Tiger,

I damned near fell off my chair.  Here is hoping that more people will come to that realization.

BTW, I too had a nice visit with Crenshaw and his agent Scott Sailer (sp) late last year.  As with Michael, he was gracious, soft-spoken, and well-versed on a variety of subjects.  He is aware of gca.com, but really does not want to go public with his views on golf architecture and specific courses because he believes that they are highly subjective and likely to be viewed as negatively by some.  He did tell me to give his regards to TommyN.  Ben comes across as a humble man who is comfortable with himself.

[johnk]

Tiger, by that rule, how much stock should we put in your political positions?

I think the rule is exactly opposite.  Put way more stock in the opinions of gracious gentlemen than in those of men in "the business of government"!  And I would count you in the former group...

Anyways, on Del Monte, I've never played it, but as a Duke's club card holder, I get a free round every year.  After reading this thread, I'll have to actually use one.

And if anyone wants to play, let me know, I have some unused discount coupons... (they could be expired by now)...

[RJ_Daley]

Lou said:

He is aware of gca.com, but really does not want to go public with his views on golf architecture and specific courses because he believes that they are highly subjective and likely to be viewed as negatively by some...

MW-P, don't take this harshly, but doesn't your comment about his possible thoughts on ANGC qualify as perhaps indicating his private thoughts not for public consumption.  I know you are only paying a high compliment to someone that really inspires good will to a wide section of the golf world.  But, he probably would rather tell the powers that be what he thinks at the 'champions dinner' rather than have it taken for his complete thoughts and dissected here.  Or, he'd probably come on here and tell us just what he thinks.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

John i do not want to get off a delightful subject. I am deeply involved in the process and do take part in the business of government. That would make me a better source of information to  assit in making determinations of positions than someone who is ont and does not. Much like I would the informational lead from every architect on here over mine or most of us who learn so much from them. I may not agree with their final position but I would trust their ability to get the data in front of me to make an informed decision.

[Lou_Duran]

Tiger,

I am just curious, if Ben was an activist in the Republican Party and ran campaigns to elect Republicans to public office, would you think less of him than you do?  BTW, don't doubt that he has a full grasp of the issues.

Dick,

I don't think Michael was out of line in sharing Ben's comments.  Ben knows very well that he is a public figure and I am sure that he is not loose-lipped.  There is probably little negatively he can say about Augusta, a place he clearly loves, that hasn't already been said by numerous others in much harsher terms.

In reality, Ben is a private person, maybe even a bit shy, who has little to gain and much to lose by detailing his admitedly subjective, personal views on golf architecture, architects, and specific courses.  Maybe someone with more gravitas and near-mythical reputation like Ran can get Ben to open up on this site.  It would be great reading.