I recently spent an entire day at NGLA, and paid particular attention to the areas of transition, between fairway and green.
Based on my observations, those who claim the course looks unnatural............. are all morons.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Green after green emerges seemlessly from the fronting fairway and the fronting fairway is a continuum of the fairway in the DZ.
What's manufactured is the back of the green.
It's built up from grade, but, looks perfectly natural.
The greens, with rare exception flow along the landform along with the fronting fairway.
So, again, please identify, on a hole by hole and feature by feature basis, where the course looks unnatural.
Thanks
P.S. Several caddies approached me and some were asking if some or many of the posters on GCA.com were living in their parent's
basement and not getting out into the real world, let alone golf courses, often enough.
They said, where do these guys, who have never set foot on the golf course, or who have played it once, come up with their
positions ? I answered their question with a question. "Why do you think I annoint them as morons"
One caddy approached me on the 5th green and asked if I was a "moron".
I responded that I was the "Chief of Morons" and after some conversation, annointed him as an MIT (moron in training)
After an incident on the 15th hole, I elevated him to full moron status, and informed the other caddies that he was
bordering on "Flaming Moron" status. Great guy, alot of fun, and like so many caddies at NGLA, knowledgeable about the course,
and lurkers on GCA.com.
I think one of the neat things about the caddies at NGLA is that they understand the architecture and the different methods of
play it presents and that they have to consider and blend the ability of the player with the options that the architecture
presents. I'll start another thread on playing NGLA and trying to introduce a relative new golfer to it's challenge
In addition, I spoke to several members who laughed at the comments, based solely on watching the
Walker Cup on TV, or a solitary play. I think most lamented that the coverage didn't present the entire golf course, rather,
some of the later holes. Some indicated that my conveying "moron" status on GCA.com posters was an act of kindness.
Other architects have told me that they see something new every time they visit NGLA.
That the course contains incredible subtlety in addition to the basics.
I found that interesting in light of the analysis of the course by those whose perception of the course is what they've gleened
from some random views and/or a single play on a given day.