A Fan's Photo Tribute to Kingsley Club - 18th hole commentary now in progress

[Chris_Hufnagel]

Jud, thanks for the photos...

What happened to the wooden flagsticks? 

Are those the new permanent ones or do they use those early in the season perhaps because of the weather? 

I hope we haven't gone away from the wooden ones permanently...

[Bart Bradley]

Jud:

Did they mow the hill on 17 in the center?  I recall that there was long grass in the center of the hill behind the bunker so that simply carrying the hill was not the only objective.

Bart

[Jud_T]

Bart,

No I don't think they did.   That photo is probably from the right side and the perspective is slightly skewed.  

[George Freeman]

Are they taking the rough line in or out on the right side of the layup landing area on #17?

Course looks phenomenal, as usual.  Thanks for the pics!

[Jud_T]

I didn't really notice much of a change George, probably down to early season mowing patterns, but Dan would be the man to know...

[Howard Riefs]

Some pictures from this weekend, posted on Jackson Chen's behalf:

Which holes are pictured?

[Andrew Lewis]

7, 2, 4, 16, 3, 17, 16, 18

[Howard Riefs]

7, 2, 4, 16, 3, 17, 16, 18

Thanks, Andrew.

[Jackson C]

Some pictures from this weekend, posted on Jackson Chen's behalf:


Jud, thanks for posting the photos for me.

What a present - to play golf in Michigan in early April!  Such a great course and experience.

Four random takeaways about the course for me:

A) #9, very difficult not to overclub on this hole.  I been told multiple times the miss is short, but really the mind and senses tell you NOT to be short.  So I blew it over nearly every time.  Did Mike DeVries design this hole understanding this?  If so, kudos to Mike.

B) #2, simply love the hole.  Yes, it is severe but all the bunkers/trouble make it interesting to me.  Trouble doesn't have to mean death.  You are simply challenged to make a precise recovery shot.  To me that is fun.  Flop/chip from 15 feet under the hole to a 10 foot circle. Then make a 10 foot putt for par.  That is a great and rewarding challenge.

C) #2, again.  The Championship tees (Gold) although further from the hole is a much easier/less intimidating shot.  It looks right down the throat of the hole.  The Members tees (Blue) is tough.  Postage stamp green with a bunker in the direct line and a prevailing cross wind.

D) #16, tricky Mike DeVries.  Cannot land the ball middle left unless you stick it pin high.  Short of the pin and it rolls left into the bunker 10 feet below the hole.  This lesson I can quickly learn.

Hope everyone going up the remainder of the Spring and this Summer has a blast.
It is so much fun and so special.

[RJ_Daley]

Man, the early maintenance meld looks absolutely tantalizing at Kingsley Club during this freak early season.  I wonder if the greens are anything like ours here on the same latitude across lake Michigan.  We are at mid summer lightening speed, and with very drying wind and little  if any water applied after they only just recharged the system, the place is playing firm and fast as any time else you will find it except fall when water is shut down.  This is a rare treat that must be all the more rare and wonderful at a great course like KC. 

[Dan_Lucas]

Chris

The wooden flagsticks just arrived from re-finishing. We got the fiberglass ones to use early and late season to extend the life of the wood.

Mowing lines on #17 are a big change this year. We are allowing most of the left fairway to revert to native. Re-focusing on the old (right) fairway. Putting more emphasis on execution on the tee shot. The center bunker complex will now (again) be the left side. Second shot landing area shifting slightly right, adding area on the right and taking away on the left.

[Chris_Hufnagel]

Chris

The wooden flagsticks just arrived from re-finishing. We got the fiberglass ones to use early and late season to extend the life of the wood.

Mowing lines on #17 are a big change this year. We are allowing most of the left fairway to revert to native. Re-focusing on the old (right) fairway. Putting more emphasis on execution on the tee shot. The center bunker complex will now (again) be the left side. Second shot landing area shifting slightly right, adding area on the right and taking away on the left.

Thanks Dan!  I am glad to hear about the flagsticks it is just one of the little details I love about the club! 

17 should be really interesting with the changes along with the new back tee - how long do you think it will take for the fairway to revert back to native grass and look the other native sections of  the course?

[Tim Bert]

Mowing lines on #17 are a big change this year. We are allowing most of the left fairway to revert to native. Re-focusing on the old (right) fairway. Putting more emphasis on execution on the tee shot. The center bunker complex will now (again) be the left side. Second shot landing area shifting slightly right, adding area on the right and taking away on the left.

NOOOOOoooooo!!!   

This slicing lefties game just got worse. How about a little more room on the left side? 

[Dan_Lucas]

Chris

It will probably be next season before it really looks like the rest of the native, though it will play tougher than the mowed rough by June or so. We will do a little overseeding of hard and sheep fescue to introduce some grass that hasn't been trained to grow at 1/2".

Tim

We will all have some adjustments to make. As a guy who can feature the push-fade and snap hook on consecutive swings I have no sympathy for you.

[JC Jones]

Chris

The wooden flagsticks just arrived from re-finishing. We got the fiberglass ones to use early and late season to extend the life of the wood.

Mowing lines on #17 are a big change this year. We are allowing most of the left fairway to revert to native. Re-focusing on the old (right) fairway. Putting more emphasis on execution on the tee shot. The center bunker complex will now (again) be the left side. Second shot landing area shifting slightly right, adding area on the right and taking away on the left.

Pinching in the left side of the fairway is a direct shot over my bow!  I know you're still bitter that I birdied 17 against you from that left side, but this is taking it to another level 

[Bill Seitz]

The changes on 17 won't affect the way I approach the hole, and actually may help me a bit since I have a tendency to end up in the left rough on the layup.  This may help my eye take it further right.  I will miss the view back up the fairway from the 17th green.  I always thought it looked really cool to look back on hill with the split fairway.  I really liked that visual.  Looking forward to seeing it for myself in a few weeks. 

[Tim Bert]

Dan - I'm not asking for much.  How bout the left edge of that bunker marks the left edge of the fairway instead of the right edge. You know, give the shorter hitters a tiny bit more room to be left.

[George Freeman]

Mowing lines on #17 are a big change this year. We are allowing most of the left fairway to revert to native. Re-focusing on the old (right) fairway. Putting more emphasis on execution on the tee shot. The center bunker complex will now (again) be the left side. Second shot landing area shifting slightly right, adding area on the right and taking away on the left.

Very interesting.  I'll be honest, I'm bummed to hear the 17th will get narrowed down again.  I really liked the massive width and the option of going left or right (not many people could go over that center bunker complex, even from the old back tee).  That said, it's not like the right fairway (soon to be only fairway) is narrow.  My major issue with the original iteration of the hole was the cramped feeling caused by the trees, not necessarily the lack of width in the old fairway.  Now that the trees have been cleared and there is a large "corridor", I think the hole will still look/feel pretty open, even without the left fairway.

Dan - why did the club decide to revert back to one fairway?  Cost?  Playability?  The double-wide only got a couple seasons of play, correct?

Also - would love for Mike D. to chime in.

[Jud_T]

How many of you guys intentionally aimed for the left side off the tee?

[Tim Bert]

Jud - My friend Jason, who played with the two of us the past two Labor Days , usually aimed for bombIng it over the hill left of the bunker. He felt like the carry was shorter and the shot better suited his eye. The left side of the fairway on the downslope wasn't as generous as the right side but it had a little tilt to it that generally brought things back into play as opposed to running through the left side.  I know he will miss it!

I like the idea of wide before the hill and narrow it down after the hill. Require more precision for the bombers or for the 2nd shot of the short hitters. 

I trust Dan and Mike know what they are doing.  I just hope it stays wide enough off the tee that it doesn't turn into a lost ball hunting fest on the left side.

[George Freeman]

How many of you guys intentionally aimed for the left side off the tee?

Jud - a lot of it depends on the wind, which tee you're playing, and what type of ball flight you have.  During last year's Peninsula Cup (playing from the old back tee), I instructed my playing partner to aim for the left fairway at least twice out of our three rounds.  We had wind in our face and it was the only way he was going to get his ball down the hill (you need a little less length to catch the hill when going left).  It made even more sense b/c he plays a right to left ball fight and could aim at the center bunkers and draw off of them.  

And the plan worked on one attempt: he got his drive to the catch the slope and it took it all the way to the bottom, giving him the option of going at the green in two with something less than a 3-wood (which I think is suicide considering the severity of that green).  His tee shot would not have reached the hill if he had gone right.

[Terry Lavin]

The resurrection of this thread surely violates some internet statute of limitations.

[Bill Seitz]

The resurrection of this thread surely violates some internet statute of limitations.

Would you prefer that we continue to litter the front page with different Kingsley threads?  I think there are only three as of now.  This is just our way of trying to entice you up there for a few rounds. 

[Jud_T]

Actually we're just feeling a bit jilted by the Dismal Love Fest....

[Terry Lavin]

I'll try to get there after Crystal Downs this summer.