[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Recently got a chance to play Ogeechee GC outside of Savannah, GA the newest old course by Pete Dye.

For those of you unfarmilar with its interesting history it was designed and built by Dye back on the former plantation of Henry Ford in the mid 80's for a Saudi Shiek who didn't even play golf.  I guess he needed to have a golf course incase any of his guests wanted to play.

When the Sheik was indited in the Savings and Loan collapse and fled the country the course was siezed, locked up, and basically sat idle and almost overgrown.  The US Government has had the Ford Plantation for some time since then.  Then back in about 1997 I think someone came in and bought it from the Justice Department and started to the Ford Plantation development which included the golf course.  They had to come in and do some extensive restoration work and the private Ogeechee GC @ Ford's Plantation was born.

I loved the course and it has further proven a theory that I have been working on.  I call it the "Prince Theory"  I love a lot of Pete's early work, much like I liked Prince's (or whatever we are supposed to call him now) music back before he got so popular he could do whatever he wanted with his "Creative flair" unchecked.  Somewhere he (Prince I am talking about) went a little over the edge and stopped making music and just started making noise that closely approximated music.  The same goes for Michael Jackson.  While both of them still undoubtedly have talent and can make some good music from time to time some of their unchecked "Creativity" have lead to some hideous mutations of their talent as well.  The same could be said for Dye.  I love lots of his stuff, but there have been those momentst recently that I have said "whew! where did that thought come from"  

But I have digressed.  Back to the topic at hand Ogeechee GC was a breath of fresh air.  The front nine through the live oaks lots of great holes.  Lots of Dyes trademark RR ties and cape holes.  The back nine one of those that people often say "Could never be built today" it is routed out through an area that once was old rice paddys.  They filled in with dirt from the front nines lakes and the results are some spectacular holes with Dye's usual sense of strategy.  

I had heard about this place off and on, and rumors of its past history.  I was wondering how many other people have ever been out there, I would like to hear your thoughts on it.  I don't know exactly how long the course has been open on its latest rebirth.  I would guess it has been a few years though.  Comments? anyone know?

Turboe

[BillV]

Darryl

I got to play at Ogeechee last spring and really liked the front nine a lot.  I thought that it compared favorably to any of the four 9's at Long Cove and Harbour Town for character and quality and it really lacked any of the claustrophobia of the aforementioned.  The Club is a great setting but the Jeckel and Hyde natureof the two nines makes one think that they are playing two different golf courses.

The mounding gets really artificial and out of hand on the second nine to this observer.  Overall it detracted for  me so much that I felt something was missing.  If he could have built a more homogeneous course I would have been more favorable in my opinion.

I intend to play it again someday as I really did like the two golf courses.  Small greens, dontcha think?

I first learned about it in Links about 2 1/2 years ago.  they had a feature on it.

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Bill,

It was kind of funny it was when I was done and standing on 18th green looking over the entire back nine and knowing that there was no elevation change when Pete started that it really struck me that some of the mounding looked artificial from that vantage point.  I really didnt think it was that obtrusive while playing the back nine itself.  The only area that really stood out to me was that ridge pushed up on the left side of #13.

Your concerns about Ogeechee were always the same things I had said about The Dye course at Colleton River.  Now there I thought the mounding was over the top on the back nine.  Also at CR Dye used that same mounding on the front nine routed throught the live oaks, it didnt seem to fit there.  At Ogeechee he left the front nine through the trees more natural and kept the dunescaping to the back nine, where I thought one could be convinced that it should have been there naturaly.

All in all I really enjoyed the golf course.

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Bill,

And yes I did think there were some small greens, but there were some decent sized ones as well.  I am sure the small greens will not be any problem for the ammount of traffic that they will ever see.

Turboe

[redanman (Guest)]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it too.  The ridge left of 13 is the one that did it for me too!!!

[GeoffreyC]

I concur with Bill's comments.

The front 9 I thought was some of the best work I've seen from Pete Dye.  Its full of strategy which I think is even more difficult to do with the tiny greens. The short par 4 7th or 8th if memory serves me correctly couldn't have a green more than 2500 sq. ft.

The back side was clearly overshaped as tends to be the case with many modern courses yet as you said, the strategy is there and the constructed elevation changes work well.

Its a bit of a schizophrenic golf course. I'd give the front 9 an 8 but the back is no more then a 5.  Together, it still makes for a modern course worth seeing.

They sure don't get a lot of play and its quite a striking setting to play golf.  High on the experience scale.

[Nick Ficorelli (Guest)]

I also played Ogeechee last spring and found the tee boxes to be very small, some that required my three playing partners to remain off the tee when I hit....we shared the feeling that the original intentions were for limited members and play, something that will have to be addressed if the membership grows at all.

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Nick,

You are exactly right on the original ideas.  When the sheik that built the place didnt even play golf.  Supposedly when he was going to have some guests that wanted to play they just sent the staff out to mow the greens and playing surfaces specifically for that day.

I doubt for any near future they wont have any problems with too much play as I think there is only a handful of people who have homes there that use it as their primary residence.  

Geoffrey,

The 8th was the par three over water with that huge live oak directly behind it, a great hole. 7th was a pretty long par 4 457yds, I think you were referring to 6th 417yd slight D.L. left and a fairly small green.

Turboe

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