Apropos of nothing, here's a few snaps of Muirfield's 13th from this morning...

« **on:** December 10, 2009, 05:35:15 PM »

I thought I'd try posting a few snaps having paid attention to a recent thread showing
how it was done so here goes.

I played Muirfield this morning on a beautiful sunny day as one of a Scottish Golf Union 4-ball
using a special winter concession and wanted to share a few long shadow snaps from one of
the best par threes that I've played in Scottish golf...

Bunker renovations around the course looked absolutely fantastic and the course was
in remarkable condition considering there's only 14 more shopping days until Christmas...

« **Reply #1 on:** December 10, 2009, 05:39:42 PM »

Keep 'em coming Jim and welcome. The photo threads are always the best ones.

Anthony

« **Reply #2 on:** December 10, 2009, 05:42:57 PM »

There's PLENTY more from PLENTY of other courses in Scotland and Ireland but as these were the
freshest I thought I'd send them first.

« **Reply #3 on:** December 10, 2009, 05:49:26 PM »

Jim...how wonderful!!! How wonderful!!! Thanks for sharing!

« **Reply #4 on:** December 10, 2009, 05:57:22 PM »

Those are terrifying deep bunkers, and the green is rather narrow..........

But I'm 2 for 2 hitting the green so hey! Love it!

« **Reply #5 on:** December 10, 2009, 06:52:53 PM »

Alas I had only one pass at and no time for photos of the back nine. I do hope you'll share more shots!

« **Reply #6 on:** December 10, 2009, 06:56:04 PM »

These pictures make the foot of snow on my lawn look that much worse

Great pictures!

« **Reply #7 on:** December 10, 2009, 07:01:02 PM »

Jim,
apropos of nothing at all, please tell us more about yourself...

cheers,
FBD.

« **Reply #8 on:** December 10, 2009, 07:10:44 PM »

Jim,

Thank you for the pictures of Muirfield. What an awe inspiring setting from the looks of your photos.

I've been reading your website a lot these days in anticipation of making a trip over next year. You and the rest of your crew do a great job!

One tid bit I noticed on the Muirfield write-up is that readers of your site vote Muirfield as their favourite golf course. Curious, is it your favourite as well?

Look forward to more of your posts and welcome to GCA!

« **Reply #9 on:** December 10, 2009, 07:24:16 PM »

Jim,

Welcome to the group. Thanks for sharing these photos of Muirfield. I truly miss the course. Brings back wonderful memories of my day there.

« **Reply #10 on:** December 11, 2009, 06:35:42 AM »

I haven't really had the time to post in CGA as I'm so busy contributing to the
www.top100golfcourses.co.uk website. They do not as yet have a forum where
photos can be incorporated into posts (though one is in the offing very soon)
and as I was bursting last night to share a few snaps of my day at Muirfield, this
website came to the rescue!

When I first played Muirfield 6 or 7 years ago, I didn't "get" the course and could
not understand what the fuss was about, especially as it's not even (whisper it) a
true links in the eyes of many!!!

Returning a few years ago, I just LOVED the place (granted, a good few golfing bridges
had been crossed in between visits) and could not wait to get back again yesterday
to appreciate the honesty of the golfing challenge that's presented on such an
understated, classy course - a bit like Portmarnock, I would humbly suggest.

Not everyone will agree with the gentleman's club regime inside the clubhouse but
what a unique golfing experience! Any male who calls themself a golfer should sample
a day at Muirfield; at least they allow Joe Public to front up twice a week on a
Tuesday and Thursday to play (paying top dollar, of course), unlike the three new
courses on the other side of the 6th teebox in the Archerfield estate.

Note two of our fourball ended up in this fantastic bunker short right of the first green:

See how close the wall is to the green on the second hole :

I'd forgotten just how good the 3rd hole is, it's green tucked behind a sand hill :

Hope these additional snaps of the opening three holes whet your appetite for a
potential visit sometime in the future...

« **Reply #11 on:** December 11, 2009, 08:21:08 AM »

This last photo is evidence of the prevalence of foursomes at Muirfield. The walk path to the left goes off toward the fourth tee, the one at the top is for the other pair heading toward the fairway - or green in this case.

Those twin paths are present near every green. The one headed toward the fairway is worn (or cut) through the rough so your trousers don't get wet in the early morning dew or the rain.

« **Reply #12 on:** December 11, 2009, 10:37:44 AM »

Thanks for posting these photos Jim, very uplifting on a dull dank December day.

« **Reply #13 on:** December 11, 2009, 08:17:10 PM »

Quote from: Jim McCann on December 11, 2009, 06:35:42 AM

I haven't really had the time to post in CGA as I'm so busy contributing to the
www.top100golfcourses.co.uk website.

Is that the one where Bearwood Lakes is Top 10 in GB&I as voted by users (no offence intended to our many very smart and good-looking BLGC members)?

« **Reply #14 on:** December 12, 2009, 07:29:03 AM »

Scott,

Bearwood Lakes at this moment in time is ranked 26th in England, 60th in GB & I
on the www.top100golfcourses.co.uk website.

When editor Keith Baxter produced a book entitled "Top 100 Golf Courses of Britain & Ireland 2007 -2008"
in June of 2007, he included a two page feature at the back of the book to rank courses based on average
reviewer scores on the website between May 2005 and December 2006.

Bearwood Lakes attained postion 30 in that chart.

« **Reply #15 on:** December 12, 2009, 08:37:57 AM »

Jim,

Looks like a real dogtrack...

« **Reply #16 on:** December 12, 2009, 08:54:36 AM »

Jud,

I don't know how you've arrived at such an assertion of Bearwood Lakes

(I haven't played there and it's certainly not on my list of places to play in England)

but I've checked the scores of the 39 reviews received on the Top100 website for
this place and they are as follows

(6 is excellent, 5 very good, 4 good, 3 average, 2 poor, 1 very poor) :

24 rate it as 6, 7 give it a 5, 5 rate it 4 and 3 give it 3.

The overwhelming majority of ordinary Joe Public golfers seem to like the place but
maybe contributors to the Top100 website are just easily pleased...

« **Reply #17 on:** December 12, 2009, 01:36:13 PM »

Jim,

He's talking (jokingly) about Muirfield. Relax.

« **Reply #18 on:** December 12, 2009, 02:10:18 PM »

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to play Bearwood Lakes but found it a delightful walk in the park with a lot of variety and challenge, and very busy.

« **Reply #19 on:** December 12, 2009, 02:45:53 PM »

Mark,

Thanks for setting me right regards Jud's comment - sorry, an irony bypass on my part got me all defensive about Bearwood Lakes!

I suppose Martin Hawtree doesn't involve himself in too many (if any?) bum projects so Bearwood is more than likely a top track -

Aidan's fantastic photos certainly seem to indicate as much.

« **Reply #20 on:** December 12, 2009, 07:56:43 PM »

Jim I'd reserve judgement until we see the Donald's latest world-beater

« **Reply #21 on:** December 13, 2009, 08:55:15 AM »

Jud,

I must admit that Martin Hawtree's involvement in Mr Trump's Scottish golf project took me a little
by surprise but then if Trump is serious about providing the best then he should surely hire one of
the best in GB & I to transform his golfing plans into reality.

I've seen enough of Hawtree's recent work (Lahinch, in particular) to know he'll not create monsters
that sit uneasily on the landscape.

I'm not comfortable about the real estate that's going to accompany the two courses, nor am I happy
that Trump now wants to use more land than originally envisioned (which may result in the compulsory
purchase of some properties!!!) but I am delighted that the all too powerful environmental lobby
has been thwarted in this instance as I'm sure a measure of ecological stability can actually be derived
from such a development.

Can you imagine how many of the links courses around the British Isles would have ever got off the
ground if there had been the same type of environmental impact studies conducted 150 years ago?

Nonetheless, many like me will be following this project very closely over the weeks and months ahead...

« **Reply #22 on:** December 13, 2009, 09:01:30 AM »

Jim,

I hope the course turns out well. Seems like a great piece of property. We can only hope that Trump loves the game enough to at least leave his ego out of the golf course portion of the development. I can't say I had any obvious issues with the work at Lahinch, but I may have been too busy trying to stay upright in the 40 mph breeze we had that day...Of course we did have that double eagle on #4 in our group....

« **Reply #23 on:** December 13, 2009, 06:56:46 PM »

Great pictures Jim, and Aiden! I'll remember my day at Muirfield forever, and I was one for two on 13.
Jim, I really enjoyed the top100 site, glad to see The Torrance is moving up!

« **Reply #24 on:** December 13, 2009, 08:02:37 PM »

Quote from: Jim McCann on December 12, 2009, 07:29:03 AM

Scott,

Bearwood Lakes at this moment in time is ranked 26th in England, 60th in GB & I
on the www.top100golfcourses.co.uk website.

When editor Keith Baxter produced a book entitled "Top 100 Golf Courses of Britain & Ireland 2007 -2008"
in June of 2007, he included a two page feature at the back of the book to rank courses based on average
reviewer scores on the website between May 2005 and December 2006.

Bearwood Lakes attained postion 30 in that chart.

Hi Jim,

The list I was referring to was this one:
http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/htmlsite/story.asp?id=243

News:

Jim McCann

Anthony Gray

Jim McCann

Mac Plumart

Bill_McBride

Kyle Henderson

Ryan Admussen

Marty Bonnar

Eric Smith

Ron Csigo

Jim McCann

Bill_McBride

Andrew Mitchell

Scott Warren

Jim McCann

Jud_T

Jim McCann

Mark Pearce

Aidan Bradley

Jim McCann

Jud_T

Jim McCann

Jud_T

Gary Slatter

Scott Warren

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