My first topic...here we go

[Charlie Goerges]

  Ben,

  I told you it is over for you. 20 posts on your first day. I'm going to IM you the # of my therapist. Now start having a few typos and misspelling a few words.

  Anthony

GRAY!!

Give the man some slack! Cast not the first STONE! Judge not lest YE be judged!


You know, you and I started within about a week of each other. And I know that my number of posts is excessive. That makes you 2 x excessive fella!

[Anthony Gray]

  Ben,

  I told you it is over for you. 20 posts on your first day. I'm going to IM you the # of my therapist. Now start having a few typos and misspelling a few words.

  Anthony

GRAY!!

Give the man some slack! Cast not the first STONE! Judge not lest YE be judged!


You know, you and I started within about a week of each other. And I know that my number of posts is excessive. That makes you 2 x excessive fella!

  Charlie,

  For the love of God................Shoot Me!!!

  Anthony

[Ben Sims]

Wake up.  Take shower.  Shave. Login to GCA.  See that my topic is updated and there is actually a new topic concerning using the jet to build bunkers in one way or another.  Fiance' looks over, "What are you typing at 7a.m.?"  I reply, "Just something for work honey." 

This might be the end of me....

[Doug Wright]

Ben, welcome to GolfClubAtlas, and thank you very much for your service.

What do you think of the AFA courses? It's been awhile since I played them.

[Charlie Goerges]

Just tell her what I tell my wife Ben, 'I'm chatting with my girlfriends'. Then when she pushes you out of the way to see what you're writing and realizes how boring it really is (to her) she'll leave well-enough alone.

[PCCraig]

Just tell her what I tell my wife Ben, 'I'm chatting with my girlfriends'. Then when she pushes you out of the way to see what you're writing and realizes how boring it really is (to her) she'll leave well-enough alone.

I've been told to "Stop Golf-Blogging" (in reference to GCA).

[Garland Bayley]

RJ:  New golf courses in the Bend area and on the Oregon coast can ONLY be built in areas zoned resort/recreational ... even the ones which seem to be marketed as private have to have a resort component, too.  I believe that law was passed back when the late Howard McKee was helping write land use laws for the state.

Of course, there are some people who would suggest that the government of Oregon is borderline Communist for making such rules, but those who enjoy the golf courses out there should count their blessings.

According to a special I heard on Oregon Public Broadcasting, the resort owners seem to either obey the letter of the law, but not the spirit, or in some cases circumvent the law altogether. It seems here is a bit of resentment and the beginnings of grass roots opposition to how the resorts have been operating. The opposition wants to force them to open up to the public more or severely curtail them with environmental laws.

The owners have to remember they are not in Florida. They are in Oregon. Things are different here (or so the saying goes).

[Ben Sims]

Doug,

On the iPhone at work, so I'll be brief. AFA courses rank as best in the military, I think. My fave was RTJ's (gasp) Blue course.

Garland,

Back to Cali v. Oregon. What grassroots opposition are you referring to?  Is it centered in central or coastal regions?  This thread is getting interesting.

[Charlie Goerges]

Wake up.  Take shower.  Shave. Login to GCA.  See that my topic is updated and there is actually a new topic concerning using the jet to build bunkers in one way or another.  Fiance' looks over, "What are you typing at 7a.m.?"  I reply, "Just something for work honey." 

This might be the end of me....

Ben, it just occurred to me that you and Hamilton Hearst are the only two members of this forum who can casually discuss 'the jet'.

[Garland Bayley]

Wake up.  Take shower.  Shave. Login to GCA.  See that my topic is updated and there is actually a new topic concerning using the jet to build bunkers in one way or another.  Fiance' looks over, "What are you typing at 7a.m.?"  I reply, "Just something for work honey." 

This might be the end of me....

Ben, it just occurred to me that you and Hamilton Hearst are the only two members of this forum who can casually discuss 'the jet'.

Sorry, but Hammys gone. That makes Ben "The One and Only".

[Garland Bayley]

Doug,

On the iPhone at work, so I'll be brief. AFA courses rank as best in the military, I think. My fave was RTJ's (gasp) Blue course.

Garland,

Back to Cali v. Oregon. What grassroots opposition are you referring to?  Is it centered in central or coastal regions?  This thread is getting interesting.

It is centered in the central region near the "resorts" they can't get on. On the coast, anyone can get on the resort courses.

[Charlie Goerges]

Wake up.  Take shower.  Shave. Login to GCA.  See that my topic is updated and there is actually a new topic concerning using the jet to build bunkers in one way or another.  Fiance' looks over, "What are you typing at 7a.m.?"  I reply, "Just something for work honey." 

This might be the end of me....

Ben, it just occurred to me that you and Hamilton Hearst are the only two members of this forum who can casually discuss 'the jet'.

Sorry, but Hammys gone. That makes Ben "The One and Only".

Well then Ben's in the really rarified air!

[Ben Sims]

Garland,

As I suspected!  Is the current economic condition enough to force the Bend area resorts into "succumbing" to public play? I want to play Tetherow and the "pine valley west" Wicked Pony as much as anyone.

[John Mayhugh]

Ben,

Welcome!  Glad to have you participating.  Since you're from the Atlanta area, ever seen Long Shadow?

[Garland Bayley]

Garland,

As I suspected!  Is the current economic condition enough to force the Bend area resorts into "succumbing" to public play? I want to play Tetherow and the "pine valley west" Wicked Pony as much as anyone.

As far as Tetherow is concerned, just call them and book the round. They need customers.
Don't know what the situation will be with Wicked Pony. Since it will be first course finished, you may be able to get on as a resort guest under the zoning laws, but they plan a resort course that may be the only one you will eventually be able to get on when it is finished.

[Ben Sims]

Mr. Mayhugh,

No I have not been to Long Shadow...yet But trust that Mr. Young's work is well thought of back in my homeland of North Georgia.  I have many friends in the airline business that swear by his Wolf Creek when on an extended layover at Hartsfield ATL airport.

[Bill_McBride]

Mr. Mayhugh,

No I have not been to Long Shadow...yet But trust that Mr. Young's work is well thought of back in my homeland of North Georgia.  I have many friends in the airline business that swear by his Wolf Creek when on an extended layover at Hartsfield ATL airport.

Ben, don't wait to go to Longshadow, it is that good.  You won't find many more fun courses and it's just an hour east of Atlanta and maybe 40 minutes south of Athens.

[Ben Sims]

Mr. McBride,

What does Long Shadow compare to?  I know that's a loaded and completely subjective question that most architects cringe at.  But is it unlike anything we've seen in North Georgia for public play?  Is it on level with Cuscowilla?  The website looked awesome.

Back to thread.  I'd like to dig deeper in this Cali v. Oregon question.  I have a thesis, and I'll be submitting a paper to the site regarding it in the next month or so. Oregon's top 10 public courses will surpass California's top 10 public and Carolina's (both states) top 10 public in volume of rounds played and in the all important magazine rankings by 2015.  The speed with which the Oregon golf machine has infiltrated and significantly affected the modern views of course architecture and destination golf is quite astounding.  While Long Island and a lot of the northeast continue to dominate categorically the number of amazing private layouts--and have so for decades--Oregon has moved in on Pebble, Pinehurst, Myrtle Beach, and others as a top tier destination.  I think its something we take for granted on this site and it's importance to American golf cannot be ignored.

[Bill_McBride]

Mr. McBride,

What does Long Shadow compare to?  I know that's a loaded and completely subjective question that most architects cringe at.  But is it unlike anything we've seen in North Georgia for public play?  Is it on level with Cuscowilla?  The website looked awesome.

Great question, what does Long Shadow compare to..........I really don't have anything contemporary to compare it to, Cuscowilla is close.   Those two would make a wonderful weekend.  Cuscowilla has apparently found a degree of success that makes affordable access dicey.  That enhances the LS experience even more.

Here's my take on LS:  It plays fast because there isn't much water and Georgia has been drought stricken, so the ball is rolling hot and the course was designed for those conditions.

There is tremendous variety, no fairway bunkers left and right and greenside bunkers at 7 and 5.  There are long par 4s, short par 4s, short par 3s over water, one long par 3 with the biggest front bunker you've ever seen and a green so steep you can fly a 4-wood to the back and the ball will wind up close to the pin behind that big bunker.

You can run the ball onto the long par 4s.  You'd best be accurate on the short par 4s.  There are a couple of holes where you have no idea what's going on.   

You have to play every par 5 very carefully, planning a precise layup or going for broke.  There are no holes where you just ho-hum a second shot out there and try to wedge close.

This is a thinking man's course with great variety and thought required all the time.  Is there anything out there to compare?  Cuscowilla maybe, I don't know much else.

[RJ_Daley]

Bill, somehow I don't have the sense that L.S., compares to Cusco in a feel of play sense.  I like them both.  But, Cusco seems more stylized, formal, and rigid to me, and L.S., feels more open, rural and rugged, casual, which makes me more comfortable to play.  I guess I'm just more of a country bumpkin than the guy to be playing with the caddie at a club...  The maintenance meld (the time I saw it at L.S. is more natural and IMO conducive to freewheeling traditional buddy matchplay golf).  The fun factor of the design at L.S. and laid back feel, with plenty of FW ground and green contour and strategy makes me more eager to go over to first tee and go another round, and it is way easier on the wallet to do so. 

I'm still trying to think of another common known golf course that I'd compare L.S. to that I've played recently.  I need to work it out in my mind a little more, but I'm leaning towards Erin Hills in a more straight forward sense, without all the blindness and severity.  L.S. is manufactured to not have blindness, opposed to natural drape upon the land and incorporate the quirk that such presents, yet the feel of hole corridors has me thinking it was similar. 

[Jay Kirkpatrick]

Ben,

Pleasure having you.  My younger cousin was AFA class of 04 and cross-commissioned to fly choppers for the Navy in Guam.  Had a great time at his graduation (all of you should see a AFA graduation at least once in your life), and wanted to play the AFA course very badly but ran out of time. 

You picked an excellent career for playing golf around the world if you take advantage of it. 

[Anthony Butler]

Sorry, but Hammys gone. That makes Ben "The One and Only".

I'm fairly sure that was Bernie Madoff's screen name.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Ben,
Welcome to the site, glad to have you on board and delighted to see that your time in the air serving your country has allowed you time to realise what a joy gca can be.
I look forward to reading your contributions...

[Ben Sims]

Michael,

Thank you for the well wishes.  I am certainly not the quietest guy around, but believe me, I am both humbled and honored to in the company of people such as yourself and the entire forum.  Again, I hope my outlook as a somewhat educated version of "The Retail Golfer" will help to temper the minutiae of some of our threads while realizing the bigger picture of how our great game stirs souls and enriches lives. 

Ben