“ How did NGLA change you?”

[Lyne Morrison]

“ How did NGLA change you?”

For those fortunate enough to have played Macdonalds tribute to course architecture, what imprint did it leave?

Thanks, Lyne

[Jeff Taylor]

It was the 2nd best day of my golfing life. After ending up on the downside of the 2nd fairway, I realized that great golf holes do not have to be long. Staring at the green from that angle, I realized that I had little chance of playing an offensive shot. The light came on.

There was a buzz about the place that was palpable the entire time I was there. Even now, if I think hard enough, I can still feel it.

Lastly, it was the beginning of wanting to trade quantity of golf for quality of golf.

[Mac Plumart]

I can't say that NGLA "changed" me, rather it highlighted some core principle's of golf and how enjoyable they can be when done right.


The lack of rough really highlights what a drag it is to look for balls in the long grass, while at the same time demonstrating the fun and strategy that adequate and usable width can bring to the table.

It highlighted to me what a difference great golf turf can bring to the table in terms of playability and drainage.

It highlighted to me the effectiveness of defending the course at the greens, while allowing for different angles of approach.

It highlighted how fun it is to "think" before striking the golf ball, even all the way back to the tee.  And how important that facet of the game should be.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

It raised the bar for every golf course that I have seen before and since.

[Daryl David]

Same effect on me as Royal Dornoch had when I first played there.  I was gob smacked.  One of the highlights of a golfing life well lived.

[Neil_Crafter]

I expect we will find out quite soon Lyne!

[Mac Plumart]

Same effect on me as Royal Dornoch had when I first played there.  I was gob smacked.  One of the highlights of a golfing life well lived.

But "why" David...why were you gob smacked.  Why was it one of the highlights of a golfing life well lived.  Please detail.

[Chip Gaskins]

it didn't.  i found it after several plays, underwhelming.  great history, yes.  great golf course, no.  let the flaming begin.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

This reminds me...when is the annual GCA Event at NGLA? Did I miss the announcement?

[Mark Chaplin]

Lyne - I think I must be on a different wave length. It's a great course in a lovely setting but it hasn't changed me. I was invited to spend a few days there this last month, but couldn't make it work by just making a mid week trip, sadly without a Saturday night the airfare is prohibitively expensive.

[Rich Goodale]

It confirmed my suspicion that all golf courses, particularly the most feted ones, are imperfect.

[Mac Plumart]

This reminds me...when is the annual GCA Event at NGLA? Did I miss the announcement?

Steve...as always, that event is always played on 4/1.

See you there.  Just tell'em you are with the Golf Club Atlas Group.

[Lyne Morrison]

Thanks all for commenting.

I was struck by a comment made by Jeff Fortson back in the archives where he noted “It changed my entire outlook of golf course architecture. I think it is the best piece of golf course artwork in this country and maybe in the world  …. make it a must on your to do list in golf…”

Good to hear that the course has left a significant and meaningful impression on others too. I can gain a sense from a few of the responses above of something quite unique and powerful unfolding -

Nice post Jeff Taylor (what was the best golf day I wonder..).

Thanks, Lyne

Cheers Neil : )

[Jeff Taylor]

Teeing off on #1 at The Old Course will stay at the top of my list of great golf memories. Not to mention, hitting the tee shots on 17 and 18. Putting out on 18 and shaking the hands of great friends is a special thing. I hope you get that chance if you haven't already.

[Jeff Fortson]

Lyne,

The first time I played NGLA was in 2001 and the last in 2003 and I still feel the same way.  I can remember every hole like it was a part of my being.  When I qualified for the US Mid-Am in 2010 it was played at Atlantic GC a few mile down the road.  I drove over to NGLA and just stood on the side of the road next to 13 and 14 and then down near the 17th green looking up at the tee shot on 18 and it was like seeing the girl that you let get away.  Like the ending to Dr. Zhivago, you're calling out to her and she can't hear you.  Oh, what I would do to play another round there. 

Keep in mind, everytime I played NGLA, except for one, I played it following an 18 hole round at Shinnecock.  Those are still the greatest 36 hole days I've ever had and I doubt they will ever be topped. 

I had been to Scotland before I had played NGLA and I played all the great courses over there.  TOC is still my favorite course for what it represents and it's history/lack of heavy influence from human engineering.  However, NGLA represents to me a museum piece of architecture that is the standard bearer of what great golf architecture can be.  It is a living art piece that allows you more than to just observe, it allows you to truly interact with it on a sporting, physical, and spiritual way.  I could wax poetic on the place until I were dead.  My favorite conversation that I have ever had at a GCA type function (King's Putter II) was with Gib Papazian on the strategy of each hole.  Many of the participants of the event had yet to play NGLA and sat there and watched Gib and I draw out in pencil the schematics of each hole on the white tablecloths in the Pasatiempo grill room.  As many of you know, Gib has one of the greatest minds of anyone I've ever met and it was so fun to see him point things out that I hadn't noticed.  I could spend weeks just walking the course and never play it and still get a thrill from the experience.

If you don't "get" NGLA then in my opinion, you don't "get" golf.


Jeff F.

[Colin Macqueen]

Jeff,

Talking about "waxing poetic"!  Why has Pat Mucci given up on his "Enchanted Journey" series after having got through the 7th. hole?

NGLA would be my first choice of courses in the USA to play and I haven't even sighted it!

Cheers

Colin

[Jeff Taylor]

Jeff Forston,
I agree. I will never forget it.

[Mac Plumart]

Lyne,

The first time I played NGLA was in 2001 and the last in 2003 and I still feel the same way.  I can remember every hole like it was a part of my being.  When I qualified for the US Mid-Am in 2010 it was played at Atlantic GC a few mile down the road.  I drove over to NGLA and just stood on the side of the road next to 13 and 14 and then down near the 17th green looking up at the tee shot on 18 and it was like seeing the girl that you let get away.  Like the ending to Dr. Zhivago, you're calling out to her and she can't hear you.  Oh, what I would do to play another round there. 

Keep in mind, everytime I played NGLA, except for one, I played it following an 18 hole round at Shinnecock.  Those are still the greatest 36 hole days I've ever had and I doubt they will ever be topped. 

I had been to Scotland before I had played NGLA and I played all the great courses over there.  TOC is still my favorite course for what it represents and it's history/lack of heavy influence from human engineering.  However, NGLA represents to me a museum piece of architecture that is the standard bearer of what great golf architecture can be.  It is a living art piece that allows you more than to just observe, it allows you to truly interact with it on a sporting, physical, and spiritual way.  I could wax poetic on the place until I were dead.  My favorite conversation that I have ever had at a GCA type function (King's Putter II) was with Gib Papazian on the strategy of each hole.  Many of the participants of the event had yet to play NGLA and sat there and watched Gib and I draw out in pencil the schematics of each hole on the white tablecloths in the Pasatiempo grill room.  As many of you know, Gib has one of the greatest minds of anyone I've ever met and it was so fun to see him point things out that I hadn't noticed.  I could spend weeks just walking the course and never play it and still get a thrill from the experience.

If you don't "get" NGLA then in my opinion, you don't "get" golf.


Jeff F.

Great post!  I agree with the sentiment.

[Jeff Fortson]

And to further comment (in regards to what specifically changed me)...

When I stepped on the 1st tee, I was impressed with what lay in front of me and then was floored by the uniqueness of the first green.  So many GREAT hole locations and I had 17 holes left to see.  The tee shot on the 2nd is blind and I remember the assistant pro from NGLA that I was playing with told me where to hit it.  So I did.  Then we got up on the crest of the 2nd fairway and the view of the 2nd green falling away to the Alps of #3 presented itself.  It's that moment that NGLA "changed" me.  

Simply put, NGLA, more than any other course (with the exception of TOC and a couple others), inspires me to play great golf.  The reward for playing intelligent and well executed shots is unmatched on all levels in my experience.  A lot of the time when playing golf on most courses I find myself going to a rote, well rehearsed shot making process that can sometimes leave well executed shots feeling routine or unremarkable.  At NGLA I start each hole with a gameplan that seeks a result, but when the desired shot is not placed in the intended spot I'm filled with the excitement of what I will have in front of me even though I may have missed my mark.  But, even more impressive to me is that the process is so organic and free of mechanical urges.  I am forced to hit the shots that are FUN to hit and watch; shots of touch and feel.  It takes an artistic mind to truly enjoy the course IMO, because the canvas laid in front of you is so unique and special.  The shapes and trajectories of the shots you play there stick out in your mind more than the vast majority of golf courses you'll play in your life.  You'll remember which brush/club you used and distance is relative to the shot you feel inside your bones, not what your bushnell tells you.  

It's a unique place, unmatched in America.  There are a select few that come close to NGLA in inspiring me in the USA but none have surpassed it yet.  And, to be biased, I hope none do or I may just lay down after the 18th and never get up.


Jeff F.

[Lyne Morrison]

Jeff F thanks for joining in and sharing such a special and personal experience.

“It is a living art piece that allows you more than to just observe, it allows you to truly interact with it on a sporting, physical, and spiritual way.” 

Surely these words sum up the very essence of outstanding course architecture.

Great words.

Thanks, Lyne

[Mac Plumart]

And to further comment (in regards to what specifically changed me)...

When I stepped on the 1st tee, I was impressed with what lay in front of me and then was floored by the uniqueness of the first green.  So many GREAT hole locations and I had 17 holes left to see.  The tee shot on the 2nd is blind and I remember the assistant pro from NGLA that I was playing with told me where to hit it.  So I did.  Then we got up on the crest of the 2nd fairway and the view of the 2nd green falling away to the Alps of #3 presented itself.  It's that moment that NGLA "changed" me.  

Simply put, NGLA, more than any other course (with the exception of TOC and a couple others), inspires me to play great golf.  The reward for playing intelligent and well executed shots is unmatched on all levels in my experience.  A lot of the time when playing golf on most courses I find myself going to a rote, well rehearsed shot making process that can sometimes leave well executed shots feeling routine or unremarkable.  At NGLA I start each hole with a gameplan that seeks a result, but when the desired shot is not placed in the intended spot I'm filled with the excitement of what I will have in front of me even though I may have missed my mark.  But, even more impressive to me is that the process is so organic and free of mechanical urges.  I am forced to hit the shots that are FUN to hit and watch; shots of touch and feel.  It takes an artistic mind to truly enjoy the course IMO, because the canvas laid in front of you is so unique and special.  The shapes and trajectories of the shots you play there stick out in your mind more than the vast majority of golf courses you'll play in your life.  You'll remember which brush/club you used and distance is relative to the shot you feel inside your bones, not what your bushnell tells you.  

It's a unique place, unmatched in America.  There are a select few that come close to NGLA in inspiring me in the USA but none have surpassed it yet.  And, to be biased, I hope none do or I may just lay down after the 18th and never get up.


Jeff F.

This is one of the truly great posts on GCA.com.  Jeff, thanks!

BUMP

[Patrick_Mucci]

Lyne,

I think it broadened my architectural horizons in terms of the variety of the holes and features that were revealed on initial and subsequent visits.

It opened my eyes to quirk and alternative methods of play by a broad variety of golfers.

Each subsequent visit revealed more and more about the course and it afforded me the opportunity to see how dramatically different the course played under different wind conditions.

I also learned the creative use of internal and perimeter green contours feeding balls into adjacent bunkers.

How to visually intimidate a golfer and how hole locations can dramatically alter the golfers perspective on how to play a hole when dire consequences are the product of a misjudged or mishit shot.

There's much more, but I'm out of time.

[Lyne Morrison]

Thanks for joining in Patrick, much appreciated.

Your comments suggest that Bernard Darwin was on to something when he wrote "...one is always learning; let the wind shift but a point or two and every shot is changed. Men who have known the course for years will argue learnedly, with no hope of agreeing, on the best line to a particular hole, with a particular wind. There is absolutely nothing cut and dried about it, and the more you play the course the more humble you become, and the more you realise how little you know about it."

This all sounds so very intriguing, the posts above and Darwin of course, little wonder the course carries the esteemed reputation that it does.

Slightly different subject - when reading the history of a neighbouring club today, suggestion was made that while NGLA in its early days was not exactly an "Eveless Eden" women were "tolerated rather than welcomed." Would you know how things stand today? Are there women out on the fairways enjoying the challenges of the course? Many female members?  Is there a womens comp and / or committee?  - Just curious given that i am - well - a woman  : ) and a golfer who happens to love fine classic architecture.

Am enjoying revisting your Enchanted Journey.
Thanks, Lyne

[Terry Lavin]

It changed public golf in America. Let's see who posts the reason why this is so.

[J_ Crisham]

Wind Mills on all miniature golf courses?