Friday 3/30 - Nationwide Tour at Wente Vineyards

[Matt_Cohn]

Who else wants to go watch? It's a tough walking course but a great field.

[Matt_Cohn]

*bump*

Aww, c'mon, somebody must want to go see some professional golf! It should be a beautiful day tomorrow.

[John_Cullum]

It is a great looking golf course on television, probably a tough one to carry a bag around.

[Matt_Cohn]

Blah, I didn't wake up early enough to head out there either. I only would have had a couple of hours.

Yes, that would be a heck of a course to walk. I hope they have a shuttle from 9 to 10. I wonder if they have a shuttle for the gallery?

[Tom Huckaby]

Funny thing is, it's really not that bad of a walking course... IF you get a shuttle out to the first tee, and one up the hill from 9 green to 10 tee.  Those are really the only two long walks, or hills to climb.

I would have loved to see the pros play Wente.. but real life sadly intervenes.  Hope to see some of it on TV this weekend.

[Phil Benedict]

I played Wente twice with a client. The local rule is that the vineyards are considered OB.  I think that's too penal and that they should be treated as a hazard.  There are vineyards all over the place (hence the name).  Does anyone agree with me or am I a whiner?

[Tom Huckaby]

Phil:

You're not a whiner, that would make more sense, at least for the vineyards are are internal to the course.  Those on the edges, well.. that's just OB plain and simple.

BUT... the problem is under the rules of golf you can't make those hazards - there has to be water running somewhere in them to do that - go to usga.org, find definition of hazard, water hazard.

They could be declared OB and not break the rules, although it's odd to do that for the internal ones as well.  The main thing is they don't want people going into them and hitting the ball... so they do what they must.

TH

[Mike Benham]

I played Wente twice with a client. The local rule is that the vineyards are considered OB.  I think that's too penal and that they should be treated as a hazard.  There are vineyards all over the place (hence the name).  Does anyone agree with me or am I a whiner?

The vineyards are quite a distance from the middle of the fairway, except for maybe one hole on the back, 13 I believe where you can chose to fly over a vineyard ... out of bounds 40 or so yards from the center of the fairway is reasonable to me ...

[Phil Benedict]

The vineyards are quite a distance from the middle of the fairway,

So are most of my drives!

[Kyle Henderson]

Actually, they've changed the local rules such that these days the vineyards play as a hazard for the public, requiring a penalty drop at the point of entry. It only plays OB for the Nationwide tourney.

Matt: I'll be spectating out there tommorrow afternoon if you're heading this way.

[Matt_Cohn]

Kyle,

Saturday and Sunday are my last two days working at Golfsmith (by choice of course) so I'll be there all weekend. After Sunday however I'll be a man of leisure (until I find a new job).

[Kyle Henderson]

Beautiful weather at the course today. Only one guy under par after 3 rounds. Fast and firm conditions at the fore. I saw a lot of guys struggling to lag their putts within 4 feet of the hole, extremely fearful of the lightning quick greens. Good drives got 50 yards of roll. Slightly over shaped drives ran through the fairways into thick rough and probable bogeys. Yesterday, the tournament leader took a 14 on a par 3 out of a thick path of long grass... Winds also playing havoc. Good fun to watch for sadistic types.

[Matt_Cohn]

I always thought that course was freaking hard. It's nice to know that it actually is.

[Mike Benham]

Yesterday, the tournament leader took a 14 on a par 3 out of a thick path of long grass... Winds also playing havoc. Good fun to watch for sadistic types.

13 ...

[David_Tepper]

Wente, which I have never played, looks to be well on the way to being the toughest course on the Nationwide Tour for the 2nd year in a row.

What makes it so tough? How does it compare to Poppy Ridge?

[John_Cullum]

Yesterday, the tournament leader took a 14 on a par 3 out of a thick path of long grass... Winds also playing havoc. Good fun to watch for sadistic types.

13 ...

I watched it twice and my count was 12, but he signed for a 13.

[Kyle Henderson]

Wente, which I have never played, looks to be well on the way to being the toughest course on the Nationwide Tour for the 2nd year in a row.

What makes it so tough? How does it compare to Poppy Ridge?

I personally think Poppy Ridge tends to play tougher year round due to inconsistent green speeds, stiff winds, frequently unlevel lies and the fact that any drive that misses the fairway is in nasty rough or fesque. Wente's fairways are much wider and the rough is much tamer apart from the the month of March when they begin to institue tournament conditions. Neither course is easy, to be sure.

[Eric_Terhorst]

"I watched it twice and my count was 12, but he signed for a 13."

John Collum, as you watched it did you have the same thought I did--"Drop it on the cart path!"

Then I wondered if a player can legally pick up a ball, place it on a cart path, taking a penalty in the process.  In hindsight that sure looks better than the poor guy slashing around in thigh-high rough.

He needed some help from a rules official.

[Mike Benham]

I personally think Poppy Ridge tends to play tougher ...

You do know that Poppy Ridge is California's only Scottish Heathland course and consists of three nines aptly named Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Merlot and is located in the wine country of Livermore. Rees Jones, 1995 Golf Digest Architect of the Year compares the design and playability to Scottish links courses.

[Kyle Henderson]

I personally think Poppy Ridge tends to play tougher ...

You do know that Poppy Ridge is California's only Scottish Heathland course and consists of three nines aptly named Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Merlot and is located in the wine country of Livermore. Rees Jones, 1995 Golf Digest Architect of the Year compares the design and playability to Scottish links courses.

As a born and bred Livermoron, I have indeed been exposed to the NCGA's marketing campaign for Poppy Ridge. Yet, since I have not been to Scotland, I can only guess as to how the turf conditions and "playability" of the old heathland courses might compare to Mr. Jones' modern effort.

My guess is that it truly doesn't.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Poppy is not the only California course inspired by the great courses of Scotland.  

[Tom Huckaby]

Kevin you really know how to ruin a man's morning.  

I've seen that ad before and just shook my head in disgust.... The only inspiration I can see from Royal Dornoch at The Bridges is that the latter was inspired by the former to have 18 holes.

[Kyle Henderson]

Poppy is not the only California course inspired by the great courses of Scotland.  

I always thought they named that course "The Bridges" because its ridiculously over-penal nature bridges the gap between a glorious, sunny summer day at Royal Dornoch and a visit with one's proctologist.

[Kalen Braley]

Amen Tom,

You would think they could be sued for false advertising for putting out crappola like that.  But then again cmon, don't the baked out dry hills of the bay area remind you of scotland??  

[Tom Huckaby]

Amen Tom,

You would think they could be sued for false advertising for putting out crappola like that.  But then again cmon, don't the baked out dry hills of the bay area remind you of scotland??  

Funny thing is I actually can see SOME Scotland at Poppy Ridge.  Oh it takes an active imagination... but as you stand on the upper holes and look down at the lower, with the tall grass swaying in the wind, well... those lower holes at least have some Scotland look to some extent.  But of course that's looking at them sideways, and not at any bunkers nor any green.  

The Bridges has as much Scotland as my back yard does.  I live in San Jose, CA.

BTW, how in the heck did that guy make a 13 at Wente?  And what hole was it?  Was it Tin Cup stuff?  I just can't get my head around a situation where he could have taken some sort of drop.

TH