Crooked Stick
I was blown away by the routing and contouring given the site was initially extremely flat. There are many techniques used by Pete there that I probably would not have picked up on without him pointing them out....to me, that is a key sign of sound design. The course sits within a large residential development, but you never feel as if the homes are encroaching on the course. Lakes, vegetation, and mounding are used to create naturalized buffers that keep homes within view, but far enough away that they do not distract play.
Contouring in the fairway was cleverly thought out to lengthen holes by reducing roll. Almost every hole at Crooked Stick has a fairway that slopes back to the tee. Simple, but smart design, although new technology allows players to carry many of these slopes with ease (i.e. the John Daly effect).
Many of the greens appear to be raised, when in reality are level and often below the fairway. Pete clears out the front and sides for a number greens around CS to create the illusion that the green is elevated. Judging distance on the approach becomes tricky in some instances. These are the first few ideas that stand out to me, but there are many more that i took away from the round.
French Lick
Location, location, location. Can you beat the views from this property without an ocean in site??? Incredible all around, particularly on the back nine. Although extremely long on the card, Pete designed this course course with the average golfer in mind. The corridors are narrow intentionally, but the rough is kept short. Pete's theory was that the average player strikes the ball better from light rough rather than a tight lie on well conditioned fairways. If your looking at an aerial or have played there, you'll notice many of the bunkers look like they are floating in the rough, considerably distant from the fairway...this was done intentionally for players that bomb it but miss their target considerably left of right. He wanted to leave room on either side of the fairway for the average player to recover. When, not if, a major comes here, they simply have to grow the rough out to make this course 18 holes of hell. There's one problem with that theory....the average golfer cant afford to play there at $350/person. We were the only ones there Sunday morning. Side note....12,000 people can fit on the hill behind 18 green. That should make a loud finish come Sunday of a future PGA Championship.
Also, The one routing quirk everyone in the group brought up (not in front of Pete) is that all the trouble is left on this course. Later in the round Pete addressed this subject on his own, saying "most good players miss it left." Sorry lefties, i dont think he had you in mind with this routing.
Pete's favorite hole on the course...No. 12. Why? "The man upstairs designed this one. All I did was stick a flag on one end, and a tee box on the other." On the contrary, No. 14 sits on top of 140' of fill. A small revine was literally filled in to support the eastern end of the course. While many would argue the need to do this, i think we can all agree its an engineering miracle that that dirt doesnt move.
Woodland CC
I would venture to say Pete mentioned this course as one of his favorites for more sentimental reasons than anything. The course was originally laid out by Bill Diddell in 1952. Pete was mentored by Bill in the early part of his career, particularly when he was looking to begins plans on Crooked Stick. I would bet Pete mentioned Bill's name about 200 times during the tour. Land at the NE corner of the property was sold in 2000 for a retail development. Pete was brought in to re route nearly the entire course as 7 holes were lost in the land sale. The only hole that remains from Diddell's routing is the current 17th, but Pete still refers to this course as Bill's. The new routing is pretty impressive, and uses many of the original course's contouring although the corridors have been altered dramatically. I was in the cart with Pete as we drove around the course. I can answer questions about particular holes if needed.