John Kirk and I had the distinct pleasure of peeking in on Old Mac a few weeks back. Jim Urbina was kind enough to give us some of his time. Construction was under way; heavy equipment was moving about, Bruce was shaping the Sahara 3rd, Brian was creating dirt art with his excavator over on #6.
What a piece of property.
It’s more pure golf country, guys and gals, as described by Tillinghast or Mackenzie. Rumpled terrain, 10-20 ft rollers. An abundant amount of sand. Perfect-sized bluffs and depressions upon which to locate tees and greens. Ocean views. Wind. Scraggly trees. Cool vegetation. Everyone John and I talked to had HUGE smiles on their faces.
A while back Tom gave a basic outline of the sequencing of holes so I don’t think I’ll be blowing the cover on anything by mentioning a few.
The Sahara 3rd is going to be epic. I will not say too much about it…. I really like the 7th greens complex up on the bluff. Tom has mentioned the 16th (Alps) will probably be one of the last holes to be built, but from the existing landform you can already tell it holds A LOT of potential. The face of each golf hole has yet to be fully worked through, but we could definitely get a feel for the “bones” of the course.
Below is an aerial with a crude stick-figure routing. The first two holes will play over terrain much like Bandon Trails, then you will cross the bluff at the Sahara and play to a green located in the “bowl” which comprises the majority of the course. The Hogsback 4th plays parallel to the bluff with the short 5th situated between it and the long 6th. I saw the makings of a crazy railroad tie/sleeper hell bunker on the “Long” 6th. I look forward to playing #7, which is Plateau, if I recall correctly. It ought to be a hoot considering the fast and firm turf conditions I’m sure Old Mac will feature. This green is very close to Pac Dunes 13.
Then you will turn around and blast inland towards the 200+ yd Biarritz 8th. 9 is the Cape, bending to the right, which Tom told me will feature a man-made “natural” hazard of sand and gunk on the elbow. Most of #3-8 had been shaped, 9-14 had not. 15 still needed cleared. 1, 2 and 16-18 basically had been cleared, nothing more, very crude still.
There has been a lot of skepticism regarding the Old Macdonald concept. I can’t say I am crazy about the name, but y’all ought to quit harping on the course. At the heart of the matter, few things in golf course design are novel. Every new course reuses and recycles design concepts that have proven timeless in the challenge they offer. That’s what Macdonald did ages ago at NGLA, and that’s what Renaissance is doing in Bandon.
I snapped a handful of pictures but will only post them with Tom and Jim's blessing.
Old Macdonald will be fabulous.
(I took down the image)