The Return of The Doakaphiles

[Mike Hendren]

The 18th at Dismal River is the greatest 18th hole in the world.

I'd rather play Sebonack than Merion - it's not even close.

Give it a rest guys.  I'm a HUGE fan of Tom Doak's work and count my time traipsing around Dismal River last year with him and others as one of my all-time favorite experiences in golf.  I told my wife it would be like her spending three hours at Martha Stewart's house.  Tom was incredibly gracious and surprisingly likeable.  I make every effort to seek out his work.

That said, the hero worship on this site makes me want to puke.  Reminds me of the grown men crowding the ropes in front of the kids to get autographs at Merion.  

Bogey

[Mac Plumart]

In the end, voicing opinions and discussing is what this board is all about.

[Mike Hendren]

In the end, voicing opinions and discussing is what this board is all about.

Precisely.   Even better when those opinions are backed up by commentary.  Doak = Great doesn't add much to study of golf course architecture. 

Cheers.

Bogey

[Terry Lavin]

Bogey, please, take a couple Ambien, get some rest and delete upon awakening!

But, (sorry for the pun), to the point:  There is a lot of group-think around here, to be sure.  It took me a long time to become rapturous when looking at yet another majestic Doak hole, whether it hugged a shoreline or took a serpentine path across an otherwise barren meadow.  But (there it is again!), I have to admit that my journey from Lost Dunes to Pacific Dunes to the preview of Dismal Doak has been one littered with the flotsom and jetsam of golfing joy.  Before I made it to Sand Hills, I had no idea that moonscape could be so alluring.  After a few holes (sorry) there, I felt like an ass (becoming incontinent) for not having earlier appreciated how one could take next to nothing landscape, treat it minimally and wind up with such a maximum player experience.

Perhaps Bogey has tired of all of this minimalism.  Perhaps we have jumped the shark.  Who knows and who cares?  Despite all of his crapping (no sphincter control left) on us Doakaphiles, I'm fired up for my first go-round at Dismal Doak later this year.  Enemagonna (all gone now) tell you all about it in a great gca road trip post dump sometime in late August.

Many apologies, but I just had to let it out.

[Ronald Montesano]

Sebonack is a seminal work...it may be the only piece of its kind where max and min were forced to work together. It may represent the delay of the shark-jumping that TL(C?) references above.

[RJ_Daley]

Enemagonna  ?    

You are just two puns away from attaining, "Order of the Coif, Scribe of the Year".   

[Mike Hendren]

Terry. Sound advice.  Surely this has nothing to do with the fact that I'm off work this week, packing boxes in anticipation of the movers arriving Wednesday.    That plus the fact that I had planned the Erie Canal Tour for this summer only to be Heisman'd by the move.

Kindest regards,

Bogey

[Terry Lavin]

I'm also going to pile (oops) on here and say that it's beneath you (unforgiveable) to dump (almost finished) on Tom Doak the day after his co-creation hosted a major which is a huge compliment to any architect.  Congratulations, Tom and please feel free to shoot some effluent Bogey's way today.

[Jeff_Brauer]

In the end, voicing opinions and discussing is what this board is all about.

Perhaps you shouldn't start any post on a "butt boys" thread with the words "in the end"........just sayin

[RJ_Daley]

This seems like the Judge seated on his private bench, writing a morning opinion on his own parchment of TP, and passing it under the stall partition to his clerk to transcribe and distribute to we who are waiting for a decision.  Please leave enough paper for Scalia to write a dissent when you are finished.  

[Rich Goodale]

In the end, voicing opinions and discussing is what this board is all about.

Perhaps you shouldn't start any post on a "butt boys" thread with the words "in the end"........just sayin

Tooshay!

[Mac Plumart]

Ditka Doak is pretty damn good...there ain't no question 'bout that.

[RJ_Daley]

I think you punsters and wordsmiths are in a gun fight with a knife if you are going to challenge the Judge speaking ‘ex cathedra’ from his morning 'en banc'.   He can ‘dookis tecum’ and ‘incertiorari’,  ‘prima feces’, ’inanimus rectum’, ‘finis inuendo’, until the ‘caveat is emptor’.

Feel free to make up your own frat house, legal latin scatology, if you must:   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legal_Latin_terms

[Joel_Stewart]

I'd rather play Sebonack than Merion - it's not even close.

Thanks to Terry for bringing Bogey down to earth.

The Sebonack - Merion example here is taken out of context.   If Mike had read the thread it talks about being in US Open conditions and as I said, playing a US Open course is no fun.

[Bill_McBride]

Terry. Sound advice.  Surely this has nothing to do with the fact that I'm off work this week, packing boxes in anticipation of the movers arriving Wednesday.    That plus the fact that I had planned the Erie Canal Tour for this summer only to be Heisman'd by the move.

Kindest regards,

Bogey

Did you find your ideal Craftsman bungalow?

[Patrick_Mucci]

The 18th at Dismal River is the greatest 18th hole in the world.

I'd rather play Sebonack than Merion - it's not even close.

Give it a rest guys.  I'm a HUGE fan of Tom Doak's work and count my time traipsing around Dismal River last year with him and others as one of my all-time favorite experiences in golf.  I told my wife it would be like her spending three hours at Martha Stewart's house.  Tom was incredibly gracious and surprisingly likeable.  I make every effort to seek out his work.

That said, the hero worship on this site makes me want to puke. 
Reminds me of the grown men crowding the ropes in front of the kids to get autographs at Merion. 

There's certainly no hero worship on my part, just a statement of fact.

I can't speak to Dismal River, as I've never played it.

But, when asked, on June 30, 2013, if I'd rather play Sebonack or Merion, it's not even close.

Let me phrase it another way for you.

Do you want to torture yourself or have an enjoyable day playing golf.

It's that simple.

Merion had to undertake what some might call drastic measures to protect par, Sebonack did not have to make substantive modifications.

It's not even close, after playing Sebonack, you'd want to return to the 1st tee for another round.
At Merion, you'd be exhausted and in no mood to retorture yourself again.

Now, if you asked me about playing 1948-1951 Merion, you might get a different answer, but, we're in June/July of 2013

[JMEvensky]

Merion had to undertake what some might call drastic measures to protect par, Sebonack did not have to make substantive modifications.

Apples to oranges.Merion was hosting a slightly more talented field.

If Merion had hosted the Women's Open,think the golf course would have been altered to that degree to protect par?

If Sebonack had hosted the Men's Open,think the golf course would have been so unaltered?

[Tim Martin]

Merion had to undertake what some might call drastic measures to protect par, Sebonack did not have to make substantive modifications.

Apples to oranges.Merion was hosting a slightly more talented field.

If Merion had hosted the Women's Open,think the golf course would have been altered to that degree to protect par?

If Sebonack had hosted the Men's Open,think the golf course would have been so unaltered?

+1

[Mike Hendren]

Mooch, you're the last guy on here that I thought would be AFRAID of Merion.  The bombers and gougers I understand, but you?

Bogey

[J_ Crisham]

Mooch, you're the last guy on here that I thought would be AFRAID of Merion.  The bombers and gougers I understand, but you?

Bogey

This is about to get interesting........

[Ed Brzezowski]

WOW   this thread has the underpinnings of a classic.

First the ' questionable" title. Second the dissing of Tom  D. and a Martha Stewart reference too. Capped off by a " afraid to play Merion"  manly bitchslappin??

In see alot of green ink shortly. Who would be afraid to play anything? I thought this site was about discussion and intelligent discourse? What better way to learn than to be ocassionally humbled?  Too get ones butt kicked so to say.

[Jim Nugent]

If Sebonack had hosted the Men's Open,think the golf course would have been so unaltered?

A key question in any consideration of Sebonack for the men's Open.  If the answer is mostly no, Tom and Jack may have opened the door to a new style U.S. Open course, one more like ANGC through most of its history. 

Sebonack has had some professional events, hasn't it?  How was the course set up, and how did the players do? 

For the question of which course you'd rather play now -- Merion or Sebonack -- this question seems irrelevant though.   

As for Doak butt boys -- Tom is unarguably one of the very best architects on the planet now.  I can make a real good case that he is THE best.  So I look forward to almost all discussions of his work.   

[Terry Lavin]

I think you punsters and wordsmiths are in a gun fight with a knife if you are going to challenge the Judge speaking ‘ex cathedra’ from his morning 'en banc'.   He can ‘dookis tecum’ and ‘incertiorari’,  ‘prima feces’, ’inanimus rectum’, ‘finis inuendo’, until the ‘caveat is emptor’.

Feel free to make up your own frat house, legal latin scatology, if you must:   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legal_Latin_terms

All I remember is caveat idiot and vendor emptor but I could be wrong.

[Josh Tarble]

If Sebonack had hosted the Men's Open,think the golf course would have been so unaltered?

A key question in any consideration of Sebonack for the men's Open.  If the answer is mostly no, Tom and Jack may have opened the door to a new style U.S. Open course, one more like ANGC through most of its history. 

Another reason to be excited for Pinehurst next year. I am very hopeful that more people get to see width and F&F conditions are as confounding as deep rough and narrow fairways.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

My thread was titled Doak's Best finishing hole, not Dismal River's 18th being the best in the world.  However, it could be among the absolute best in the world--that will be judged by those who experience the hole.