Reports: Pete Dye Golf Club outing, Aug. 18-19, 2013

[Carl Johnson]

If interested, send me a personal message with your e-mail address and I will contract you directly with the details.  This would be for myself and five other GCA golfers, but the total field is limited so I may need to act quickly.

[Dan Herrmann]

Highly recommended golf course!

[Mark Steffey]

i 2nd Dan's endorsement here!   very interesting course.  clubhouse is something else too to enjoy.  make the effort if you can be in the area to take part in this.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Carl, what a nice offer.  I would come in a heartbeat but cannot because of a conflict.  It is a great place to be.

[Brian Finn]

Wow...this is an incredible offer.  I have wanted to play PDGC for some time. 

Carl - I sent you my info via PM. 

Thank you!

[Joel Zuckerman]

Great offer, and exceptional GC.

Just back from WV last week, and played several fine courses, though none quite to the caliber of PDGC.  One that is at least within hailing distance (the guy I played with drives to work each day from Bridgeport, the town where PDGC is located) is the GC at Stonewall Jackson State Park..I would recommend it without reservation.

[Tom Allen]

Hi Carl.  This a wonderful gesture.  I am very interested in attending, and tried to send you a PM, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to send you (or anyone else, for that matter) a private message.

When I click on your profile to do so, I keep getting a "Many apologies, but you can't view just any profile" message.  If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it, so I can possibly take Carl up on his offer.

Thanks, Tom

[Brian Finn]

Hi Carl.  This a wonderful gesture.  I am very interested in attending, and tried to send you a PM, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to send you (or anyone else, for that matter) a private message.

When I click on your profile to do so, I keep getting a "Many apologies, but you can't view just any profile" message.  If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it, so I can possibly take Carl up on his offer.

Thanks, Tom

Tom - right below Carl's name, there should be two small icons - an envelope, which if you click allows you to email him, and a callout bubble that will allow you to send a PM. 

[Connor Dougherty]

Carl,
I sent the info as well.

Thanks for putting this up!
Connor

[Carl Johnson]

If interested, send me a personal message with your e-mail address and I will contract you directly with the details.  This would be for myself and five other GCA golfers, but the total field is limited so I may need to act quickly.

I have three solid takers so far.  Need two more to make it go.

Carl

[Carl Johnson]

We've got a team.  Carl

[Tom Allen]

Update:  I (and four others) had the pleasure of accepting Carl's invitation to play the Pete Dry Golf Club as his guest Sunday and Monday.

What an absolutely wonderful course.  To me, the course was like Pete Dye on steroids.  It was a bit soggy, so some of the holes lost some potential bite, but to offset that, they played longer.  But to me, the course is classic Pete, but on a grander scale.  The topography often played tricks with my sense of distance. I enjoyed every minute of it.

I'll save a more thorough analysis for later; this post is primarily to emphasize the appreciation I have for the members here, especially Carl.  I met five GCA'ers for the first time, and had an absolute blast.

Finally, Carl was an exceptional host.  More importantly, he deserves to be publicly applauded for offering this rare opportunity to some of us who might never otherwise have a chance to play this outstanding private example of Pete's work.

My many thanks again Carl.

Tom Allen

[BHoover]

Thanks again to Carl for hosting us.  It was great to meet another group of GCA guys and the golf course was spectacular.  

[John Nixon]

Would love to hear more details. Or did everyone have to sign a non-disclosure agreement?   

[Steve Wilson]

Being the sole West Virginian I signed my non disclosure agreement with an X, but it wasn't my real X so I can spill some beans.
The only unfortunate thing about the outing was the general softness of the course which defeated the ground game.  On Sunday, Carl, used to playing at Carolina Country Club, was able to utilize the run up shots to good effect, but more rain overnight and the following morning made those techniques less predictable and thus unreliable.

As a team we managed to finish at -13 with eleven birdies and one eagle, but we lost our momentum on holes 18, 1, 2, and 3 as we managed only pars depsite being within chip shot range for our approaches on 1, 2, and 3.

As a group staying at Black Diamond Lodge (on the property, again thanks to Carl) we had a fine time on Sunday evening.  Four of us were watching the disastrous Solheim Cup while Tom Allen administered a sound thrashing to me through a series of games 8 ball.  A word to the wise, don't play pool for high stakes with Tom (unless you are better than I am which is very possible).

Scott Sander won the "I walked Pete Dye Golf Course" Award on Sunday.  It was an intra group thing.

Having two Brians in the same cart (was I supposed to tell that?) simplified matters for those who find it dificult to remember first names and last names for that matter.

With much thanks to Carl for his generosity I think I can say that a good time was had by all.  I'll leave further commentary on the course to the others who were seeing it for the first time.
  

[Carl Johnson]

Glad everyone enjoyed their rounds and happy to be able to offer the opportunity.  A couple of additions to above.

Lots of photos of the course and environs were taken (not by me, though).  Possibly, some could be posted???  Scott Sander's video of our ride through the mine tunnel between 6 green and 7 tee would be an interesting novelty, if possible to post.

The course was softer than we (or at least I) would have liked, but golf is an outdoor sport last I checked so you go with what you get, which in this case has been a rainy summer in the southeast.  At least while we were playing we only had light sprinkles a few times on Sunday, and clear skies during the round on Monday.

Though winning the Monday scramble was not a priority, we came close, one shot out of a tie for first (and then a card play-off) or two shots out for an outright win.  Our short game disappeared on our back nine (holes 5 - 15), as Steve mentioned.

Re: Tom Allen's pool playing skills.  All you have to do is hear his first break and you will immediately visualize a misspent youth.  The common area of our cabin included what appeared to be a fine pool table.  I would not know about such things.

On Friday Steve Wilson and I played a round at Preston Country Club, a daily-fee course in the very small town of Kingwood, WV.  It is definitely worth a play if you're in the area.  It will pleasantly surprise you.  http://www.prestoncountryclub.com/

[Tom Allen]

I took quite a few photos.  I'll do my best to compile the best and add them here, as soon as I figure out how to post photos. I'll probably upload to photobucket, and then copy the images from there.  (I'm open to any and all alternative suggestions).

We had a great time, and as Carl explained, he put together a very competitive team (present writer excluded, of course).  We were SOOO close.

The course is quite playable from the Dye tees.  You frequently had the option to play away from the trouble, which I never seem to be able to accomplish.

17 might be my favorite hole.  The green is quite undulating, but Pete was kind enough to leave a small piece of earth-moving equipment nearby should you feel that the contours are too severe.  I'll make sure to include a photo of that.

18 was a beast.  That hole is a monster regardless of the tees you play from.  Let me just suggest you do not want to be 200+ yards away, playing from the rough, on a severe side-slope.  Trust me on that.

[Joe Bausch]

While Tom gets his photos ready, I'll give this photo album from a GCA gathering at PDGC about 5 years ago:

http://xchem.villanova.edu/~bausch/images/albums/PeteDyeGolfClub/

[Scott Sander]

The mining tunnel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzrPdfHizrI

Unfocused thoughts:
-Terrific topography for an all-caps "PETE DYE" golf course.  The scale and scope of the place are bold enough to leaven even the sharpest edges and most stark man-made features.
-There are several holes that you'll recognize from other Dye courses - the Brickyard/Long Cove/Kampen big-hill-to-the-left-short-par-4... the par 3 with the apostrophe shaped green that curls around water... the not-really-a-"Cape" cape par 4.  I'm not sure if the ones at PDGC are all best-of-breed, but they're at least close.
-Carl's fascination with the waterfall that runs out from underneath the 10th green made my weekend.  First, he accurately (IMO) commented that for something that is assembled to look rustic it doesn't look very rustic.  Then, when we finished the hole, he scrambled into the woods and scrub and ticks and such to find the source of the water to see if it was a pump-driven loop or an actual waterway.  Must have followed it for 25 yards uphill in inhospitable terrain - and reported back that it appeared to be a genuine stream.
-It looks like it would be a bad walk, but it's not a bad at all.  There are two Dye courses I play in Central Indiana (Eagle Creek and The Fort) that are much more exhausting.  The only long walks are over bridges or the tunnel - and as such enhance rather than detract.

As for the gathering, I can't say enough good things about the company or the gentleman whose largesse brought us all together.  
I do hope Carl enjoyed the weekend - if nothing else he finally got to eat at a Bob Evans for the first time in his life.

[Carl Johnson]

The mining tunnel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzrPdfHizrI

This is super cool - once.  Great video.  Route from 6 green to 7 tee (with an outside alternative).

Unfocused thoughts:
-Terrific topography for an all-caps "PETE DYE" golf course.  The scale and scope of the place are bold enough to leaven even the sharpest edges and most stark man-made features.
-There are several holes that you'll recognize from other Dye courses - the Brickyard/Long Cove/Kampen big-hill-to-the-left-short-par-4... the par 3 with the apostrophe shaped green that curls around water... the not-really-a-"Cape" cape par 4.  I'm not sure if the ones at PDGC are all best-of-breed, but they're at least close.

Scott is a Dye course afficianado, and was good about pointing out Dye characteristics on the course.  As far as I can recall, this is the first Dye course I have ever played.

-Carl's fascination with the waterfall that runs out from underneath the 10th green made my weekend.  First, he accurately (IMO) commented that for something that is assembled to look rustic it doesn't look very rustic.  Then, when we finished the hole, he scrambled into the woods and scrub and ticks and such to find the source of the water to see if it was a pump-driven loop or an actual waterway.  Must have followed it for 25 yards uphill in inhospitable terrain - and reported back that it appeared to be a genuine stream.

Those who know me well understand that such explorations are normal behavior for me.  Since I'm "into" artificial water features (e.g., the "stream" down 18 fairway at the Quail Hollow Club here in Charlotte, my home town), checking the waterfall source in more detail was necessary.  Yes, the waterfall at the 10th green could be made to look somewhat more natural (naturalness is also something I'm "into").  I thought the falls were probably recirculating, but based on my brief excursion into the woods it would appear to begin with a very small stream behind 10 green, which is piped into the ground, then out again, still behind 10 green, then piped under the green to a constructed "falls" on the lower side.  From bottom of the falls the water must then be piped into Simpson Creek, a large creek, which is a major water feature throughout the course.  Still, given the amount of water over the falls, and size of the uphill stream, there may be a little pump bump.  Further investigation may be necessary.  I do not think Scott will mind me mentioning that his approach to the green on Sunday appeared to go directly into the waterfall.  In any case, the ball was never found.

-It looks like it would be a bad walk, but it's not a bad at all.  There are two Dye courses I play in Central Indiana (Eagle Creek and The Fort) that are much more exhausting.  The only long walks are over bridges or the tunnel - and as such enhance rather than detract.

As for the gathering, I can't say enough good things about the company or the gentleman whose largesse brought us all together.  
I do hope Carl enjoyed the weekend - if nothing else he finally got to eat at a Bob Evans for the first time in his life.

I'd been told we could have dinner on Sunday and breakfast on Monday at the Pete Dye Club House.  That turned out not to be true - the dining room was not open for either meal.  For Sunday dinner a very nice barmaid at the Club directed us to an Outback Steakhouse, "you know, just up on the hill."  When I asked for better directions, there was a wave of a hand and "out there up on the hill."  When you are in W.Va. such a description is not good enough.  Fortunately, Steve Wilson was familiar with the area and got us to the Outback - also my first ever visit to an Outback.  For breakfast Monday morning we found nearby two choices: Tudor's Biscuit World on the side of a filling station and a Bob Evans.  Steve really wanted the Tudor's Biscuit World because he'd never eaten in one of those places (nor had the rest of us), but I pushed for the Bob Evans, another first for me.  And yes, I enjoyed the weekend very, very much.  It's always fun to be chipping your second shot into the green on par fours, which with the big hitters in the group (the first five applicants for the team) we were able to do many times.  And the company was great.  Another observation: Steve Wilson proved that the course is playable (from the middle tees, at least) with hickories.

[Tom Allen]

OK, here are the pictures of our trip.  They do not hold a candle to Joe's pictures, but I did capture a few shots while we were playing.

Hope this works:

http://s36.photobucket.com/user/TAllen01/library/Pete%20Dye%20Golf%20Course%20August%202013

[BHoover]

A few things that surprised and impressed me about the course. First, the scale and elevation change was impressive and confusing at times. Very difficult to judge distances and carries on many holes, especially on the first time playing the course. The views were tremendous.

Second, I think it's interesting that Pete Dye offers the average golfer the chance to play most holes safe and make, at worst, bogey. What I mean is that the average golfer has the option of moving the ball up (or down) the fairway and onto the green. But the better player may be tempted to be aggressive. Do that and pull off the shot, you may be rewarded.  But just as likely, the better player may find a hidden bunker or an unseen narrowing of the fairway. Pete Dye cleverly used the terrain to hide hazards or drop-offs or narrowing of the fairway to force you to think before you play your shot.

Third, we were a good scramble team, but our pitching and chipping game left a lot to be desired.

PDGC was fun to play despite being soft, but it would be an absolute BLAST to play when it's fast and firm.

[Dan Herrmann]

^^^
That was my biggest gripe about PDGC when I played with Joe a few years ago.  It was heavily watered.  We got a fair amount of rain overnight one night we were there, and the sprinklers were on full blast the following afternoon.