[Jay Flemma]

Lousy weather:  44, rain all 18 holes, but a ten minute stop in the half-way house and a good Sun Mountain waterproof suit were enough to get us through the whole round in some dismal weather:)

15



3 fwy



11 with principal's nose...



I was as excited as Dr. Maturin getting ready to see all the inhabitants of the Galapagos while sailing with Captain Aubrey in he H.M.S. Surprise.  He got to see the flightless cormorant, testudo aubreii, and the swimming iguanas, I got to see the alps, the Road, The punchbowl, and the cape, etc.

Quick impressions:  366 bunkers, and man are they deep!  The fairways are unbelievably wide.  350 acres for one course...great idea because we had room to play the game, and hit a recovery shot, but if you get out of position there, the holes just get harder by an order of magnitude.   The angles everywhere are fantastic...though it was tough going in the cold rain and wind that we had.

Cold lobster opener, mac and cheese, and manhattan clam chowder for lunch.  Coffee with Baileys to keep warm.

[jeffwarne]

Lousy weather:  44, rain all 18 holes, but a ten minute stop in the half-way house and a good Sun Mountain waterproof suit were enough to get us through all 18 holes in some dismal weather:)

15



3 fwy



11 with principal's nose...



I was as excited as Dr. Maturin getting ready to see all the inhabitants of the Galapagos while sailing withb Captain Aubrey in he H.M.S. Surprise.  He got to see the flightless cormorant, testudo aubreii, and the swimming iguanas, I got to see the alps, the Road, The punchbowl, and the cape, etc.

Quick impressions:  366 bunkers, and man are they deep!  The fairways are unbelievably wide.  350 acres for one course...great idea because we had to to play the game and hit a recovery shot, but man, if you get out of position there, the holes just get harder y an order of magnitude.   The angles everywhere are fantastic...though it was tough going in the cold rain and wind that we had.

Cold lobster opener, mac and cheese, and manhattan clam chowder for lunch.  Coffee with Baileys to keep warm.

350 acres of fairway???
 

[Jay Flemma]

No...the course sits on 350 acres.  Why did you think I meant one fwy??

From Ran's piece:

"Set over a whopping 350 acres, the holes match the grandness of the rolling property and the golf here is bold and broad shouldered. The golfer feels like he can hit out as opposed to guiding the ball through narrow playing corridors."

[Jay Flemma]

Oh...one more thing...a pair of zero gloves were an absolute necessity yesterday.  It's tough to putt in them, but at least I could swing a golf club without it slipping.

[George Pazin]

Jay, I think he thought you were saying that the total acreage for fairways is 350.

At any rate, I've now had 3 good friends not on this site play NGLA. One absolutely loved it, the other two shrugged and said, it's a nice old course, didn't see anything special there.

How do you deal with two crazy friends?

Seriously, is there any way anyone else relates to the views of these two guys (brothers, actually)?

[Jay Flemma]

Jay, I think he thought you were saying that the total acreage for fairways is 350.

At any rate, I've now had 3 good friends not on this site play NGLA. One absolutely loved it, the other two shrugged and said, it's a nice old course, didn't see anything special there.

How do you deal with two crazy friends?

Seriously, is there any way anyone else relates to the views of these two guys (brothers, actually)?

The fine line between a birdie and aquadruple bogey is razor thin.  My playing partner played the 13th hole...IMO the easiest on the course...drive into the right front bunker, bladed pitch out to 60 feet by, putt back into the same bunker, stay in same bunker, pitch out to 25 feet, made putt.

I was on the 1st green in 3, but the wrong section and it was a miracle I made six after HITTING the HOLE on my par putt...it just meandered 10 feet away!  The course is relentless, and murder if your short game isn't sharp...but that's my favorite kind of golf.

One more thing:  I guess NGLA shows how a course can be under 7,000 yards and still be challenging in the face of technological advances...tons of hazards turneed perpendicular to the line of play (and deep), and major vertical movement in the earth...is that the hilliest site any CBM/SR/CB course is on? 

[Phil McDade]

How do you deal with two crazy friends?

Print them a T-shirt that says: "I played NGLA and all I got was this lousy T-shirt"

 

[Tom Yost]

If only I had a reason to believe that I would be received at NGLA.

 

[jeffwarne]

Jay, I think he thought you were saying that the total acreage for fairways is 350.

At any rate, I've now had 3 good friends not on this site play NGLA. One absolutely loved it, the other two shrugged and said, it's a nice old course, didn't see anything special there.

How do you deal with two crazy friends?

Seriously, is there any way anyone else relates to the views of these two guys (brothers, actually)?

One more thing:  I guess NGLA shows how a course can be under 7,000 yards and still be challenging in the face of technological advances...tons of hazards turneed perpendicular to the line of play (and deep), and major vertical movement in the earth...is that the hilliest site any CBM/SR/CB course is on? 

NGLA is awesome...
but 44 degrees and steady rain add quite a bit to he challenge
Note I played there yesterday morning as well.

Wouldn't Fisher's be equally hilly, if not hillier?

[John Mayhugh]

Wouldn't Fisher's be equally hilly, if not hillier?

Yale, especially the second nine?

[Wayne_Kozun]

This doesn't look like the Mississippi Delta? 

[Jason McNamara]

This doesn't look like the Mississippi Delta? 

Yeah, where's the cradle of the Civil War?

[Tom MacWood]

My stomach hurts.

[DMoriarty]

NGLA originally purchased 205 acres from a much larger (350+ acres) parcel, and then purchased an additional 2.5 acres shortly thereafter.  NGLA's original 207.5 acres included the land for the current golf course, the current driving range, the clubhouse, any other outbuildings, and reportedly enough land for a marina on the Bay.   Depending upon how one measures, the golf course sits on approximately 165 acres.

[Dale Jackson]

The Mississippi Delta was shining
Like a National guitar
I am following the river
Down the highway
Through the cradle of the civil war
I'm going to Graceland
Graceland
In Memphis Tennessee

So if Paul Simon used Graceland as a metaphor for the United States, are you using NLGA for a metaphor for golf architecture?

[Jay Flemma]

First off, props to all the music fans who got the reference.

I just like that song  I love that album too.  We also got a huge bonus next year when PS put out a live DVD/CD of a full live show where he played the good songs off Graceland with a long line of his old hits.  

But I did feel like I went to Graceland:) It was a pilgrimage of sorts.  I also feel like I studied, and I also felt like I went to church.

And I froze.  I brought a change of EVERYTHING because I was 44 and rainy on the weather report and treated it as though it were St. Andrews or County Down...I was gonna play through it come hell or high water...and there wass high water

But it's the cold that got me in the end.  The rain suit stayed waterproof (wish I had a matching waterproof hat) and the zero gloves let me hang on to the club without slipping.  Problem with them - no feel in the short game and yesterday was so cold and so wet I didn't want to take them off.  Still, even in that downpour, the club didn't slip.

Fave holes:  2, 3!, 7, (I got out of the Road Hole bunker to eight feet and made the putt.   That made the day).  11, (The Principal's Nose was cool), 12, 16, and 18.

Man that must be the hardest first green in creation.

Three things that resonated with me:  first, the severity of the fairway movement.  It was the wildest playing field I've played.  We dont play golf on terrain like that any more, but we should.  Even courses that are "severe" according to mainstream standards pale in significance to the National.  Second, does any one get that same feeling that they get at Garden City?  You know...being out on the windswept plain in the multi-colored fescues, with all those uninterrupted views of the course.  Third, do the rest of you feel that no matter howe great the stories, the pictures, and the expectations are...that when you see it, it surpasses them all, no matter how high they were.


Jeff, we ate lunch at noon...were you the group coming up 18 around then?  We went out after that and got in right before the rain turned into a total downpour.

[Mike_Young]

Jay,

"The Mississippi Delta was shining
Like a National guitar
I am following the river
Down the highway
Through the cradle of the civil war
I'm going to Graceland
Graceland
In Memphis Tennessee

So if Paul Simon used Graceland as a metaphor for the United States, are you using NLGA for a metaphor for golf architecture?""

What would RW say if he knew you were using the words of another musician at his course???
"Remember when you were young,
You shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond. "

[Jay Flemma]

Nice one Mike!  Bask in the shadows...of yesterday's triumph:)

[Dale Jackson]

And sail on the steel breeze

...always loved those lines

[Mike_Young]

He was kind enough to host us one day.....
I think he is there about 4 days a week in season.....
shine on.....

[Jay Flemma]

Nice.  That's a life story, Mike.  I've met a lot of great musicians, but not him.  My friend played behind him and in front of him quite often; he sez he can play.  You gotta love it that he "gets" the course and loved it so much he calls it home.  

So tell me your fevorite memory of that day.

Dale, that's your second great pickup on the musical reference...sweet!

[Wayne_Kozun]

Are you guys implying that Roger Waters a member at NGLA? 

[Tom Birkert]

Man that must be the hardest first green in creation.

It certainly is very tricky (pin was back left when I played there) but how about the 1st at Oakmont??

[Jay Flemma]

Tom, I gotta go with NGLA on that comparison...Oakmont rolls away from you and all, but those contours at NGLA are more fierce.

[Mike_Young]

Are you guys implying that Roger Waters a member at NGLA? 

I don't think it would be proper to name names of NGLA members.....did you see that name mentioned somewhere here?

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