Bill
Thats one of the great things about golf - so much of our feelings about a place are tied to the experience of being there. When I view the scene below I know its a thing of wonder and awe which the golf archie has created. I don't love the building (well I do like the shop), but I do love what it represents. I don't get anything like the visual sense of sheer delight when I look at the Stonewall pic (the bunkering looks worse than anything I see in the Kington pic), but I am pleased some do.
Ciao
[/quote]
Sean,
I absloutely love the look of the 18th hole at Kington and it is now on my list of courses that would really want to play. I get what you are saying about the pro shop and mounding tying into the overall experience of playing Kington, and I think it looks great.
I guess we are really comparing apples and oranges when we talk about the finishing holes at Stonewall and Kington. Perhaps my camera did not do an adequate job of capturing the beauty of Stonewall's 18th. Keep in mind that the green and surrounds are largely hidden from the tee. As you walk to your ball to hit your second shot, the "picture" gradually appears, and what a beautiful picture has been painted!
Let's think about it: You started in the old farmhouse/locker room where you put on your shoes, played 17 holes around the facility on what is clearly an old farmsite, and then you end your round with this view. I just thought it was one of the most beautiful, peaceful, feelings that I can recall on a golf course. Standing on the rise about 180 yards from the green, I had the sense that I was in a museum looking at a great painting and feeling what the artist wanted me to feel.
