Tumble Creek

[Tommy_Naccarato]

I was very fortunate to have experienced Tumble Creeek, another one of Tom Doak's Renaissance Golf recent creations.

It is my opinion that Tumble Creek maybe one of the very best conditioned golf courses I have ever played. Granted these photos will not do the conditions, nor the architecture justice, this course will confuse many of you if your expecting bold strategy in the fairways. What the Renaissance Boy's have created here is what I feel is a masterfully designed golf course which plays from the putting contours back. This means, put your ball out there on teh ample width fairways and try to figure out if you left your self a suitable angle to get to the putting surface. These putting surfaces aren't your normal "Doak" greens either; or at the very least, what he is becoming known for. What exists here are some pretty intelligent contours that require great faith in what you are looking at. Never mind the fact that fairways are better maintained then most greens on public golf courses.

The bunkers are somewhat of shift down in gears for Renaissance. Sort of a throwback to the way they were designing them at Apache Stronghold, and frankly speaking, they are magnificent to not only look at, but to play for!

I urge you if your in the Pacific Northwest, seek out Cu Elam, Washington. You will not regret it.

[Anthony_Nysse]

Great pics, Tommy! Things look quite flawless to me...good close ups of the bunkering, too!

Tony Nysse
Sr. Asst. Supt.
Long Cove Club
HHI, SC

[wsmorrison]

Very nice.  Thank you Tom.

It may be a coincidence, but that's a lot of single bunkers left and multiple bunkers right.

[Tom_Doak]

Wayne:

Tommy only used pictures of four different holes (and multiple pictures of the same holes) so I think the imbalance is just a coincidence.  Here's the front nine:

First hole - 3 fw bunkers right, 3 greenside bunkers left
Second hole - single greenside bunker right
Third hole - multiple fairway bunkers right, greenside bunkers L + R
Fourth hole - multiple fairway bunkers left, greenside bunkers L + R
Fifth hole - fairway bunkers L + R, greenside bunker R
Sixth hole - fairway bunkers L, greenside bunkers L + R
Seventh hole - approach bunker R, greenside bunker L
Eighth hole - multiple greenside bunkers left

I think it's pretty evenly balanced.

Thanks for posting the photos Tommy, the pics of #11 and #13 are terrific.  And to think I always thought the front side was prettier.

[wsmorrison]

Thanks, Tom D.  I thought it was likely a coincidence.  The photos are excellent and the course looks highly interesting.

Does the infamous Pacific NW weather allow for firm and fast conditions?  The few photos posted sure indicate that the ground game options would be a lot of fun.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Wayne,
Although I've never been there, I do believe Tumble Creek is on the "dry" side of the mountains and thus is basically dry from May to Oct.
The inland Pac NW is one of the prime golf turf growing areas in the US. Dry and warm in the summer with low to moderate humidity. Throw in good water quality and low pest pressure, and good golfing turf should be the reality.

[wsmorrison]

Thanks, Don.  That course looks like it is made for firm and fast!

[Jerry Kluger]

Tommy: Great photos - it looks like a bit a heaven. Are the faces on the bunkers as steep as they appear?

[Tom_Doak]

Wayne:

I wish it was always firm and fast, but the soils are less than ideal, so in the spring (or after a rain) it won't play too firm.  But normally it's quite dry in the summer and fall.  We did have a bit of rain just prior to our event, though.

[RJ_Daley]

I gotta say, this doesn't look too Tom Doak-like.  Although, not a very good photo.  I couldn't find a home page website for Tumble Creek by googling...  is there one?

[RJ_Daley]

On second look, it isn't TD, it is Hardy Jacobsen, I think.  
Here is the link I finally found to the Tumble Creek portion of the resort.
http://www.tumblecreek.com/

[Sean Leary]

I have had the opportunity to play it three times now and with each time I came away more and more impressed.  I have played a number of Tom's courses, and numbers 4 and 11 are as good as it gets.

It plays very firm and fast. Don Placek from Renaissnce putted on number 4 from about 60 yards off the green.  The conditions are literally perfect.

Tommy, where is the waterfall picture

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Sean, Haven't used it yet, but will be coming soon!

Tom, I wish I had more photos, especially from the front and I also wish I would have taken some time to go around the course and just shoot photos. The course looks like a supermodel!

Much thanks for the use of his camera goes to Tony Dear who kindly lent me his after my beloved Canon has developed some problems which has prevented me from taking images of Chambers Bay, Oak Brook and the delightful VA course.

[Jeffrey Prest]

Many thanks to Tommy for the pictures and to RJ for tracking the course website down. You have no idea how good those fly-by videos look to someone living in the flattest part of England...

I love the way Tom Doak produces what I call 'frontier golf' - courses that look great, without being manicured to the nth degree. Those ragged bunkers fit this kind of setting perfectly.

[RJ_Daley]

Tommy and Jeff, once a fellow gets to look at the website photos of the three courses, it becomes a primer on GCA aesthetics and design-construction.  The Palmer and Hardy-Jacobson courses look pretty artificial and forced into their settings, compared to TDs.  

Personally, I still can't figure out that when these guys like Palmer design (apparently the goofy little photo above par 3 by the pond) dig ponds for fill material, think they need to pile it all up behind the green to stage-frame it rather than use a good quantity under the greensite to give it some pushed up contour and character.  Frankly, I think it is a waste of money or at least a misplacement of the cost to dig the stuff out of the pond site, if you are just going to pile it up like crap behind flatish boring greens!