"GACAAF"--The portion of "The Barn" You Didn't Get To See

[Tom Naccarato]

Just outside of Newton Square, PA, on the outskirts of Philadelphia sits one of the most important command and control centers in Golf, if not the world. To most, it is known simply as "The Barn" but to important others it is simple known as the Golf Architecture Control And Administration Facility, AKA "GACAAF."

You see, at last night's festive gathering, many of you didn't realize that deep below "The Barn" existed a strategic defense alliance like no other. If the Commies were to attack, David Fay and Jim Vernon would both be put on a Netjet, taken to this facility where strategic decisions could be made for the good of Golf. The person responsible for the day to day operations of this facility? Why of course, Golf Club Atlas's main Doyen, Tom Paul.

At GACAAF, constant monitoring of golf course situations and 24 hour policing can be accomplished in a safe & secure environment which the outside world will never see; never know. Or so they thought...... I can only show you one picture of the inside of this facility; its the only picture you'll ever see. Many Golfer's died in getting this picture to you and they did it no different then Russian Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky did in the film Dr. Strangelove--a hidden camera in the pant leg while bending down to tie a shoe trick.

I give you "GACAAF."

[Jed Peters]

Priceless.

Nice work, Tom.

[J_ Crisham]

And I thought the Greenbriar was the place to be in case of imminent threats against our country! Priceless!                 Jack

[Marty Bonnar]

Tom(my),
welcome back - again!

Just brilliant.

Does this make Tom Paul, Mr Waverley? And can I be Ilya Kuryakin? (sp?)

FBD.

[John Moore II]

Very good stuff. But you forgot the satellite image of MacWood on a course somewhere. M&M made for a pretty fair, yet somewhat unintelligent, Tag Team.

[Tom Naccarato]

Martin, I always figured Tom Paul to be more of a Dr. Strangelove type. The similarities are remarkable, if not undeniable. I'm sure Kye Goalby will back me up on this....

[Tom Naccarato]

John K. Moore, I contemplated for all of about ten seconds once, about getting on one of those Merion threads and telling them, Gentleman! There will be no fighting in the War Room!!!!

[Marty Bonnar]

Inquiring minds...



Spooky, eh?

FBD.

[JohnV]

Major T. J. "King" Kong:

Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one sixty-four degree wedge; two boxes of Titleist Pro-V1s; four days' golf shirts; one foul weather supply kit including: Gortex Rain Suit, 1 pair Rain Gloves, wind-cheater umbrella and 1 six-pack hand warmers; one miniature combination range finder and wind gauge; one hundred dollars in green-fee coupons; one hundred dollars in pre-paid caddie's fees; nine packs of tees; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Bandon with all that stuff.

[RJ_Daley]

Oh come now Marty.  You put all that work into the photo, it now demands you draw in the smoked glasses! 

[Bart Bradley]

global thermonuclear war...do you want to play a game?

 ...


Wow..great job Tom

Bart

[TEPaul]

TommyN and MartyB:

My Goodness, you guys are absolutely amazing! Good SHOW. I'm sorry no one took a photo of the upstairs "Control Room"; it's not as impressive as that top photo above but pretty cool nonetheless and I hereby welcome all golf architectural maniacs to stop by any time.

[Marty Bonnar]

Uncle Dick,
I can never resist a challenge:



Tom, please forgive me...

FBD.

[Michael Blake]

That is some funny shit!


I don't think General Buck (or whatever George C Scott's character's name was) would have let ANYONE into the Tom Paul GACAFF War Room.

[Dan Herrmann]

OK - It's December 18, and we have our Thread of the Year!

Tommy - THANKS!  I'm still laughing!

You know, your photo of GACAAF isn't that far from reality.  Having been an IT pro for 20+ years, I thought I had seen it all.    My 19' 4:3 monitor is just so inadequate now.

[Neil_Crafter]

Tommy
Nice one!
My question - who will play the Slim Pickens character riding the bomb down?

[John Moore II]

John K. Moore, I contemplated for all of about ten seconds once, about getting on one of those Merion threads and telling them, Gentleman! There will be no fighting in the War Room!!!!

Now that would have been incredibly funny. I Just wonder how many people would have gotten he joke. 

[Tom Naccarato]

Kubrick was a genius....

Dan, Just go out and get an Apple. There is no better computer in the world.

[RJ_Daley]

Marty, that is the funniest photo I've seen on GCA.com.  It has gone right into my rotation of screen saver slide show.  When it comes up and anyone asks me why I have Dr. Strangelove's photo on my GCA slide show, I'll tell them that I actually met him in Nebraska.

...and, I'm confident that "we'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but we will meet again some sunny day", in Nebraska.

[RJ_Daley]

You know, zees barn uf mein, vit zum verly modest rrenovashuz, und vee culd einvite zee finest minds of GCA to zurvife a neewclear cunflict by staying in dere for vun hundrit yeearz.  Vee only neet to shtock it vit enuff beir und krraut unt 10 vimen vor effrey male, unt vee vill be aple to cum out und repupulate zee eart vit gulf corse vanatics effrey vere. 

[Peter Pallotta]

Funny stuff, Tom - thanks.

An aside - Did you know that two films were made from the same source material (the same book, I believe) i.e. "Strangelove..." and also the less-well-known though equally terrific "Fail-Safe". 

Both were based on the idea of an inadvertent nuclear strike by the US, but Strangelove (and Kubrick) went for the dark/absurd comedy, while Fail-safe (directed by Sidney Lumet) did it as a straight drama.

If you've never seen the latter, wow - Henry Fonda as the President having to decide what to do to prevent all-out nuclear war...and what he decides to do is stunning.

So, the gca parallel -- two architects can work with the same material and come out with totally different courses. Why? Not talent, but INTENTION.

But speaking of talent, I have to tip my hat to Sidney Lumet (and to any golf architect who, like Lumet, produced such consistently fine work and for so much less praise and fame than he deserved ) for a career than included:

12 Angry Men;
The Pawnbroker;
Failsafe;
Serpico;
Dog Day Afternoon;
Murder on the Orient Express;
Network;
Equus;
Prince of the City;
The Verdict;
The Fugitive Kind;
Long Day's Journey into Night;
The Hill

You don't think (or at least, I didn't) of a "Sidney Lumet Film" in the same was as you do a "John Ford Film" or a "Martin Scorcese Film" -- Lumet seemed to merge more deeply into the background than many of the great directors did, putting the material front and centre and letting IT shape the film instead of his own personal style.

Anyway, just thought it had the obvious gca parallels

Peter

[Norbert P]

Peter, those two books were written by different authors.

The novel Fail Safe , was written by two political science professors, Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler.                   (I have never read it)

Dr. Strangelove was based on the paperback novel Red Alert (1958) by Peter George. George collaborated on the screenplay with Kubrick and satirist Terry Southern. They also published a novel after the movie, which I read, that is quite fun, but after seeing the movie, doesn't add much more to the cinematic story. 

 You give an interesting parallel.   I have more fun with DR. Strangelove than I do Fail Safe as Dr.S has much more to offer for multiple viewings. Once the suspense is over in FAil Safe, well, then it isn't so much fun to watch again. Perhaps this correlates to whether I would play Winged Foot or North Berwick. I suppose for competitive thrills of suspense, Winged Foot might do it, but, since I'm not competitive, in a human or skillful way, nor do I have access to WF, I'd have to say North Berwick gets "put in the DVD player" again.

BTW, I've never heard a discouraging word of Lumet's body of work. A true craftsman of cinema. 

[Peter Pallotta]

Slag - thanks much for that. Now that you spell it out, all those names/titles (like Red Alert) come back to me and ring true. I must've blurred them together in my mind over time because of the similar themes and plot mechanics. But interesting - I had a different take on the films and the gca parallels than you did -- to me, Kubrick and Lumet were both masters, but Lumet left a lot more "room" - room for the audience to participate and interact with the film. With Kubrick, I always feel like you're getting -- and are expected to get -- only and exactly what Kubrick wants you to get. Maybe not coincidentally, Kubrick wasn't really known as an actor's director I don't think, while Lumet was adored by them

Peter

[Tony_Muldoon]

Great Fun.

Peter and Norbert, nice coda.  Like Peter I believed they were from the same source.

Perhaps this helps explain; according to Wikipedia,

"Fail Safe

Lawsuit
The book so closely resembled the novel Red Alert by Peter George, that George filed a plagiarism lawsuit. The case was settled out of court."

The same idea was clearly in the air at the time.

[Rich Goodale]

Tommy

Great idea and execution

All others

Great replies, many of which are classics.

As for Kubrick war films, the one for the ages, and particularly in this age where the "generals" of politics and the economy seem to be fiddling while Rome burns, is "Paths of Glory."