Wolf Point Club: A pictorial!!! (18th hole posted)

[Josh Tarble]

Thanks Mike....I wouldn't want cart paths anywhere near this place!

I always hear how FUN it is and just wonder why nothing of the sort has been duplicated on a public design.

[Lou_Duran]

What is the "client's" one (or two) favorite hole (s)?  Mike's and Don's?  Why?  Is 14 anyones?

Lou, the client doesn't look at it like that.
All I know about his feelings for the 14th was once it was brought up (by a visitor) that it might be a good idea to soften the green and he told me he'd fire me if I ever touched it, or any of the other greens.

I surmiseyou are not a fan of the 14th, but you are in the minority of those who have played the course, at least as far as what they tell me.

As I thought more about the course, it became one of my favorites.  For me it is always a three-shot hole and it requires three well-executed shots to have a chance at par or lower.  Like with so many other holes at WP, it probably takes several times around to get some level of comfort.  Left and long were problems as I recall.

I'm surprised the owner hasn't expressed his special affection for a couple holes (parents who say they love all their children equally are just being PC, I think).  I would be interested in yours and Mike's.

I like the look of #5 a lot, but the second shot is so demanding for a short hitter like me, that aiming to the right corner is probably my most sensible play.  And like the very difficult into-the-wind 6, the creek left invites a shot to the right, where getting it up and down from that angle to the rumpled green is next to impossible.

#7 is my sleeper hole.  It allows you to chew of as much as you can handle, though the carry, even downwind, was much further than it looks.  The prudent play to the left for the short knocker leaves a difficult short iron shot to a very cool green.  I bet your son has his way with this hole.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Lou,
he really hasn't stated his favorites, although he does have some favorite hole locations, and BTW I'm $20 lighter after a recent round with him where he shot his age -2. As you know, he is a thinker, and he loves to solve puzzles, so WP is the perfect course for him.

As for me, I really do like all the holes but am a little more fond of the "subtle" holes like 6 and 16. I just love how simple they look yet how complex they really are. Seems like the opposite of a lot of modern golf where we try like crazy to junk it up, yet the line of play is really straight forward and not difficult. I'm a fan of looks easy-plays hard. I guess its the sadist in me because I love to see good players come out here and drive it 30 yards from the green on 16 and walk away with 6 because they don't understand the hole.

[Lou_Duran]

Amazing!  Beating his age by two strokes.  IMO, the mark of a good course is the development of its players.  Your client has become quite a good player.  I am glad he is doing well.  How about his friend Dale?  Is he providing some competition?  Nice men.

#6 looks simple?  With my over-the-top move, for me it is terrifying.  But I also join company with Brauer and Fazio with a preference for the opposite, a course that looks harder than it plays.  It works better commercially, and I already get plenty of feedback to remind me just how poorly I play most of the time.   

[Mike Nuzzo]

In the beginning of the project I was a little concerned.
I had never seen a great golf course on a flat sight.

I started my research on a plane for Seminole - warm, coastal and most important flat.
Turns out Seminole is not flat, only the middle is and there is nothing worth bringing home from the non-dunes areas.
The dunes were cool and maybe helped me a little later on, but not with any overall plan on how to handle flat.

Ran's review pointed out the strategic nature of 16.  I liked the look from above and the concept on the ground, even if I wasn't a fan of all the Wilsonish bunkers.

To make the most of my trip I used what I thought were good angles.
I reflected the hole and used the angles on this par 5.
Looking back at the old routings, it took some time to make the fairway that straight down the left side.

Looking at the green from the tee, and seeing it sit atop several different bunkers is one of my favorite elements of the hole.

Here is a comparison of Wolf Point and a reversed #16 at Seminole:
(note the back "tee" behind the 2nd green - long hole from there.  I've never played from back there, but I have started in the middle of the 2nd green next to the greenside bunker)

[Ben Sims]

Thoughts on #3

#3)  I don't like it when Wolf Point is characterized as a place where it's impossible to lose a ball.  First, some people take this statement be derogatory, as if the golf course is too easy or just so far out of the norm as to not warrant validity to the design.  Secondly, I've lost 2-3 balls on this hole.   

Left to right ball-flighters quickly run out of room to the right of the bunker line.  By far the most successful plays of this hole will flirt with one of those fairway bunkers on the middle left.  The second shot is where you make you're money; it's not a point and shoot layup.  There's strategy in spades.  The layup is dominated by the diagonal scar bunker directly in the line of play.  The best play is left and past it, the bad play is right of it.  The worst play is going for the green and leaving yourself short and right, below the green, with a deep bunker to contend with and a green sloping away. 

More and more plays of this hole reveal a character that I liken to #8 at Chambers Bay.  I call it a survival hole.  Keeping your wits and playing aggressively only when it is absolutely necessary may win the hole.  There's no chance of bowing your chest out and swinging away like a wild-man here.  It's the quick way to lose the hole and shatter confidence for the all-important tee shot on #4.

I like #3 less than any of the opening 9 holes.  I think this mostly due to how I play the hole and not any lack of strategy.  The bunkering is arguably the best on the front 9.  That's a great compliment for such a well-bunkered golf course.  And it begins another theme at Wolf (there's so many great ones) where the three-shotters have great interest on their second shots. 

The putting surface is on the lesser side of the wild-scale for what is the average at Wolf.  I think that is justifies given the exposed and far-off nature of the third green site.  But, I will say that it is possibly the most underestimated in terms of difficulty. 

[Kyle Henderson]

The true “par” value never seems to be an integer on any given hole from the world’s greatest match play courses. That trend continues here with the creek-crossing  4th.


Even with the wind quartering from the right, a strong player can reach this green with a 3 wood (or less), but most will play two shots before pulling out their Texas wedge.


Again, central hazards spice up the proceedings by forcing players to choose between several plausible attack vectors.


Running approaches must be on line, as lengthy bunker shots will follow misdirected strokes of aggression to the left (as illustrated below) and right. The putting gets much trickier after this, so make a bird while you can.

[Don_Mahaffey]

I'll admit that when we were building the course, I was unsure about #4. It is short, and plays down wind, and is followed by a brute, so being easy wasn't my concern, I just didn't know if it was going to be interesting enough to keep the golfer engaged. Well, I believe I was wrong about that. The severe left to right slope of the green combined with the small hill left of the green makes an approach from the left very tough, especially if the pin is along the left side which it often is. The bunkers are not in play that much from A, but as you move back and especially from C & D, you start to factor them into the drive. This hole fits very nicely within the match play theme at WP. Interestingly enough, it seems to favor the short hitter, and that I can't explain other than when the pin is up and the drive is long, or left, it is next to impossible to get close, but a little bump from 30 yards in front of the green is all there for you. I've seen a lot more birdies from that spot then pin high left, right or long.

I'll also add that this hole seems to me like what you might find on an under the radar links in the UK. Maybe I'm giving the hole a little too much credit, but the undulations, below grade bunkers scattered about with no apparent intent, just the feel of this hole is unlike what I find on other most other US courses.

[Adam Lawrence]

I'll also add that this hole seems to me like what you might find on an under the radar links in the UK. Maybe I'm giving the hole a little too much credit, but the undulations, below grade bunkers scattered about with no apparent intent, just the feel of this hole is unlike what I find on other most other US courses.

Maybe that's why I like it so much! One of my favourite holes on the course.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Thanks Don
I am a big fan of this hole and green.
If your aerial were zoomed out a touch more you'd see a bunker on #1.
From the tee, that bunker looks like it surrounds #4 green.

This was the first green we finished.
The back right corner seemed a little plain.
So we roughed that part of the green and surrounds up a bit.
This was before the rainiest month in recorded county history (no joke).
The rains roughed it up even more, accentuating the drainage exit paths and swales.
When we went back to finish, again, the roughed up bits were more pronounced and very natural looking.
This was a theme we carried throughout the course - in part because it was also the rainiest year in recorded county history.

Looking from the front towards the left side


Looking from the back.
If you saw this picture first, would it look like this is the direction of play?

[Charlie Gallagher]

   As the pictorial tour continues, I trust that the late afternoon photos that Mike has sprinkled in will reveal the radical character of the undulations in these astounding greens. The previous months GCA home page photo showed a radically contoured green at Prestwick. A number of the greens at Wolf Point would rival that green in undulation. Often the more dramatic contours or knolls can be found on the near side of the poorer, but safer,  approach line.
   An agronomic point about the severe nature of the contours is important to mention and understand. If I remember correctly Don Mahaffey stated that green speeds could really not get much above a stimp speed of 10.5, too many hole locations would be lost and the greens would become near unplayable. Slightly saner speeds have two benefits in my mind, the grass has a better chance to stay healthy, thus reducing maintenance costs, and the contour still presents extreme challenge. You had better be good at reading and have a good stroke or you're going to have a long day at Wolf Point. I recall several mistakes that I made on those greens. The enjoyment factor is greatly enhanced by the contour because challenge is everywhere on the greens there.
   

[Charlie Gallagher]

    Three other points following my recent post.
    The grin factor at Wolf Point is an omnipresent reality of play there. That, and lots of laughter and head shakes in wonder.
 After playing the course I realized that for the rest of my golfing life I will mentally measure all other golf courses against it. In that regard, I believe Mr. Morrow, Mr. Sims, and I are probably in agreement about the rare quality of the golf course.
    Finally, where do I get my Mike Nuzzo Society membership application, Mr Morrow?

[Sam Morrow]

The thing that strikes me about 4 is that the fairway flows so seamlessly into the green, the entire hole feels like it's an extension of the green.

Charlie,

No application for the Nuzzo Society, it's a club for the people by the people.

[Kyle Henderson]

The 5th hole ups the ante a bit, as it features some of the most prominent manmade and natural contours found during the round.


The tee shot sets up for a fade, though the ground generally tilts a bit left away from the 20 feet-high promontory built to provide a better view from the owner’s onsite domicile.


The right side is protected by the most extensive bunker complex on the property. Par is an exceedingly rare score from these sandy depths.


A comparison of the tractor-shaped land forms in the foreground with the preexisting creek-side undulations gives some indication of the artistry on display.


This view gives a clearer sense of the natural character found in this portion of the property before construction – it’s no wonder it served as a model for the shaping found elsewhere. While trees often serve as obnoxious hazards in a game of golf, the pictured specimen sits within a wide enough corridor to imbue strategic character to its position.


My accidental push was fortunate to carry the bunkers and bound down the right side, leaving a short wedge approach. I suspect few players will come at the green from this angle.


Even with overcast skies, the complexity of this green is plain to see in pictures. Does surface drainage get any better than this? Does putting get more exacting and enjoyable?


I didn’t realize just how daring my approach was until I was nearly close enough to mark my ball. Still, three-putts are ALWAYS a possibility at WPC, even with such close proximity.

[Charlie Gallagher]

    Both Paul Jones and Sam Morrow have made the point that photographs, even these fine pictures that Kyle has carefully assembled, don't do full justice to what is on the ground at Wolf Point. These of the 5th hole don't really show the amount of elevation descent from the right side of the fairway to the left, or from the low point of the fairway as it runs up to the green's surface. 
    A remarkable feature of this brawny animal is that it sits just above the flood plane of the stream that meanders through the property. Don told us on the day I visited that during periods of heavy rain the fairway floods from it's left side.  Rather than attempt to hold the water back with a levee, the design team decided to let nature take its course, so at certain times the hole not only has a hazard that runs around the back of the green, but one that can naturally, if temporarily, invade the fairway area its self.

[Adam_Messix]

Kyle--

Thank you very much for putting up this pictorial of Mike Nuzzo's fabulous Wolf Point.  I've probably said this before, but I think Wolf Point is a paradigm, a model for what golf course architecture and maintenance should be.  Don does a fabulous job of presenting the course in a way that highlights the architecture and minimizes expense. 

One question to those who have played it...  in my one play, of the many things I captured was a huge "sense of place" in the cultural geographic sense, did you all get that too? 

[Charlie Gallagher]

Adam,
    If you mean the synthesis of ground features, flora, sky, grass, bunkering, strategy, wind, and the surrounding countryside, I sure did. I would hasten to add that from a golfers view point, I believe the course could be replicated on many flat sites, albeit most likely without the stream meandering through.

[Thomas Dai]

Very impressive. Lovely to see so much grass cut nice and tight and the gentle, subtle contours. It certainly appears from the photos to have been a pretty flat canvass with which to work with. Thank you for the photo tour. Very much looking forward to seeing the rest of the holes.

By the way, how 'private' is 'private' at this club? For example, how many members would there be in total?

All the best

[Don_Mahaffey]

There are no members at Wolf Point. The course is part of a large cattle ranch and for the private use of the owner.

[Sam Morrow]

There are several ball buster tough holes at Wolf Point and I think this is the first of them. As often is the case at Wolf Point you feel like you have all the room in the world to drive it. A shorter hitter such as myself is best off playing it as a par 5, I could never carry the bunker complex (like Kyle Henderson and Patrick Kiser) so for me I need to take it down the center and play an approach short and right. The natural contours of the property down towards the creek are at full display here leading into a great green site.

Looking at the last picture you see 6 green, this is one of my favorite features at Wolf Point, the golf course can be played in reverse, going from 6 green back to 5 green might be one of the best looking par 3's I've ever seen!

[Mike Nuzzo]

#5 after clearing


#5 ready for play

[Bill_McBride]

must be interesting during a heavy rain.  Do all those wrinkles and swales drain into the creek behind the green?

You guys do some nifty shaping!

[David Harshbarger]

Mike, the before and after look like not too much grading was done.is that right?

[Mike Nuzzo]

David
Yes that is correct.
A little polish, pipe and turf.
It isn't easy to tell, but each swale in the green picture is also in the dirt picture.
This area was inspiration for the course.

Bill
Those were natural swales.  They always did drain into the creek before we started and still do now.

Kyle's tee shot on #5 was way out of the stadium and foul.
The only time I've played from where his ball landed is when playing the evening loop - which has the 5th as a par 3 from the house.

Cheers

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle's tee shot on #5 was way out of the stadium and foul.
The only time I've played from where his ball landed is when playing the evening loop - which has the 5th as a par 3 from the house.

Cheers

It was foul in execution, but (undeservedly) fair in outcome.