Something new and unique in golf design

[Randy Thompson]

What do we have here, in the rough just off to the left of the newly seeded fairways on hole 14, Oh my, itīs a church! The inauguration was last Saturday the day the photo was taken. Imagine, the first fourteen holes have not gone so well and you have been swearing like hell, pop in and ask for a quick forgiveness and while your at it, canīt hurt to say a qucik prayer for some parīs on the upcoming 16-18! Look for this to become the next fad in golf and remember you heard it first from Randy reporting live from Santiago, Chile! Damm, itīs going to be a long winter....boring!

[Tom_Doak]

Randy:

There are actually several courses in the UK where you have this feature.  The coolest is after the tenth hole at St. Enodoc -- wish I had a picture to post here!  Also West Cornwall GC, also that church comes at the fourth hole, which is a bit too early in the round for me.

[Peter Pallotta]

Ha - "a bit too early for me" - good one, T.

R - very neat. A different take on the old 'not even god can hit a 1 iron' line, since from there he'd probably only have a 7 iron left.  I hope the green is suitably contoured, so as to present some strategic interest/challenge...   

Is there any chance Hogan was a catholic?  I'm wondering if I should be treating my Apex blades as relics...

P

[David_Tepper]

Here is a pic of the church on the St. Endoc course: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_Enodocs_church.jpg
Here is a map of the St. Endoc course, showing where the church is located: http://www.st-enodoc.co.uk/churchcourse.shtm
 
The church is behind the 10th green and below the 14th tee. I believe the church was buried almost completely under a sand dune at some point in its history.

[Peter Pallotta]

Ah...thank you, David.  That is just lovely.

Peter

[Bill_McBride]

The church at Burnham & Berrow with the perpendicular Gothic towe comes into view again and again. At one point the course had to be rerouted because of traffic to the church.  What other course has both a church AND a lighthouse?

[Randy Thompson]

ah ya ah, it impossible to invent anything new, maybe I could put a bunker in the middle of a tee!

[Ronald Montesano]

There is a small chapel and graveyard off the 9th/18th fairway at Tanglewood West/RJR/Championship/WhateverTheHellTheyCallItTheseDays in Clemmons, N.C., near Winston-Salem.

[Bill_McBride]

ah ya ah, it impossible to invent anything new, maybe I could put a bunker in the middle of a tee!

When you play the 4th at Elie in Fife, there's a pub just OB left where you can pop in for a quick pint before hitting your approach.  That's pretty cool!

[Jim Johnson]

The Kapalua Bay course, on the island of Maui, has a church near one of the par 3's.
Comic actor Bill Murray, golfing one year in the pro-am event of the Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua Tournament, took his entire gallery into the church with him during a wedding, walked down the aisle to the altar, dipped the bride and kissed her, and then turned to the groom and said… “here you go, I’ve warmed her up for you”.

[Tim Gavrich]

There's a church that is very much in play off the right side of the first fairway at the charming Fenwick Golf Course near Old Saybrook, CT.  That may not seem very useful, but it's a nine hole course, so it may come in handy the second time 'round.

[Bryan Izatt]

Randy,

Just to help with your boredom, here's another.   Highland Links on Cape Breton Island.

[Randy Thompson]

Realamente incredible, I need to get out more.

[Lester George]

There is a church in the corner of the dogleg 2nd hole at Abenakee in Bidderfordpool, Maine.  Club members are not allowed to tee off before 10:00 on Sunday becuase of services.  The wondows on that side of the church are plexiglass.

Lester

[michael damico]

Bryan, what number hole is that?

[Bill_McBride]

The church at Burnham & Berrow with the perpendicular Gothic tower comes into view again and again. At one point the course had to be rerouted because of traffic to the church.  What other course has both a church AND a lighthouse?

Here is the church at Burnham & Berrow, with credit to Mr. Sean Arble:



And there's the lighthouse peeping over the top of the clubhouse.   This is as fun as links golf gets, with some blind tee shots over marker poles and a few seaside holes.



And the lighthouse again on the club logo (a brilliant yellow on a dark green sweater, very sporty!).

[Bill_McBride]

There is a church in the corner of the dogleg 2nd hole at Abenakee in Bidderfordpool, Maine.  Club members are not allowed to tee off before 10:00 on Sunday becuase of services.  The wondows on that side of the church are plexiglass.

Lester

A photo of the church Lester mentions:



Hmmm.   Back to the drawing board.  I'll see if Lester can provide a larger photo!