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Steve Okula

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Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« on: November 20, 2013, 02:01:02 PM »
Last month, I visited the Doak course under construction near the charming little town of St. Emillion, in the heart of the Bordeaux wine producing region (arguably the greatest in the world).

Anyway, the course is still very much under construction, with maybe half the holes seeded in the past four months or so. At this stage, it's difficult to get a take on it, with so much of the course not yet shaped or even cleared.

One of the proprietary family, Andre Morgue d'Algue, is managing the project. Impeccably mannered, as are all the Morgue d'Algues,  Andre asked me not to post photos, for fear that the present raw state of the site would create a bad impression in a public forum.

However, he made an exception for one of his own shots, this one of the 14th hole. The lady on the tee is Kristel Moegue d'Algue, Andre's sister and a champion amateur golfer.

« Last Edit: November 20, 2013, 02:52:55 PM by Steve Okula »
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The small wheel turns by the fire and rod,
the big wheel turns by the grace of God.

jeffwarne

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2013, 03:03:31 PM »
 ;) ;D
« Last Edit: November 20, 2013, 04:14:06 PM by jeffwarne »
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"Let's slow the damned greens down a bit, not take the character out of them." Tom Doak
"Take their focus off the grass and put it squarely on interesting golf." Don Mahaffey

Joey Chase

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2013, 03:06:20 PM »
Steve,

 Thanks for the picture.  I am hoping to visit the property when i am in the area this winter.  I hope the project is moving along well.
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Scott Warren

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2013, 03:08:34 PM »
It appears Kristel has posted a few videos of the course on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7SEjKSmXgjRvjBlydwc2Xw
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David_Tepper

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2013, 03:21:23 PM »
Steve O. -

It appears the hollows around the green on #14 are grass-filled and are not bunkers. Is this the "finished product" for this hole?

DT  
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Tom_Doak

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2013, 03:23:24 PM »
Nine holes are seeded [1-2-3-4-12-13-16-17-18].  The clubhouse is at the upper end of a narrow property, so this was never really planned as a nine-hole loop -- the nine that are built include three of the par-3 holes and none of the par-5's.  

Only a little of the rest is shaped; we hope to be able to complete the work next spring and summer.

The soils are very heavy there so we would not expect to have too much play in the winter -- and certainly, walking around it this winter will be muddy.  But the whole course is set in a beautiful little valley that gave me a lot of variety to work with in routing the holes.

P.S.  There will be some grass bunkers, but most of those around the 14th are meant to be sand.  We just haven't put the sand in them yet since it would get contaminated during the grow-in.  

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Adam Lawrence

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2013, 03:30:44 PM »
Kristel has put that photo, and several more, on her Facebook feed. Looks good.
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Adam Lawrence

Editor, Golf Course Architecture
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Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are the best of all.

David_Tepper

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2013, 03:48:25 PM »
Tom Doak -

Thanks for answering my question about #14.

DT
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Jeff Tang

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2013, 05:21:41 PM »
That.......is a very cool picture. Something about that picture / hole just seems right, the type of land I'd enjoy playing golf on. Can't wait to see more of the course.  
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So bad it's good!

Dan Kelly

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2013, 05:32:43 PM »
Quote from: Tom_Doak on November 20, 2013, 03:23:24 PM
P.S.  There will be some grass bunkers, but most of those around the 14th are meant to be sand.  We just haven't put the sand in them yet since it would get contaminated during the grow-in.  

Have to say I love the grass-bunker look. Might not work, but I love the look.
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"There's no money in doing less." -- Joe Hancock, 11/25/2010
"Rankings are silly and subjective..." -- Tom Doak, 3/12/2016

Sean_A

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #10 on: November 20, 2013, 06:14:38 PM »
Yes, I was going to say Doak has gone to deep grass faced bunkers?  I like not seeing sand from afar on parkland courses so I hope so.

Ciao
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Kyle Casella

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2013, 09:58:59 AM »
Couple of questions- will this be public access? If so, will the 9 hole loop be playable next summer?

PS- and the critical questions: will the beverage cart have Grand Cru classe available?
« Last Edit: November 21, 2013, 10:00:34 AM by Kyle Casella »
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Steve Okula

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #12 on: November 21, 2013, 10:30:32 AM »
I may be wrong, but I don't think there will be any holes open in 2014. If all goes well, you may be able to play 18 holes by summer 2015, but Tom would know more about that than I do.

I'm pretty sure they will take green fees, at least at first. There is some real estate development on the property, and they'll need to get people in to sell it.  
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The small wheel turns by the fire and rod,
the big wheel turns by the grace of God.

Matt MacIver

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #13 on: November 21, 2013, 10:58:46 PM »
Count me in for a great looking hole on its own, what with its Alpinization and no sand....
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Tom_Doak

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #14 on: November 22, 2013, 11:35:35 AM »
Quote from: Kyle Casella on November 21, 2013, 09:58:59 AM
Couple of questions- will this be public access? If so, will the 9 hole loop be playable next summer?

PS- and the critical questions: will the beverage cart have Grand Cru classe available?

There will always be a public access component, with the hope of attracting play from the tourists who visit the area because of the wine industry (and the fact that St. Emilion is a beautiful town, even if you don't drink).  The development component is fairly small, and will never fill up a tee sheet.  There will also be a membership, though, of people with homes in the area.  There are not a lot of other golf courses on the east side of Bordeaux.

The nine hole loop will probably be playable by the end of summer, but they do not intend to open it until they can open the whole course, or at least be close to opening the whole course.  Hopefully, that's in the late spring of 2015.

P.S.  I hope to God there is no beverage cart, but I would not object to a little wine-tasting table by the tee of the par-3 9th.
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Jud_T

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #15 on: November 22, 2013, 11:41:26 AM »
Make a hole in one and win one of these:

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Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Bill Brightly

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #16 on: July 04, 2014, 05:46:20 PM »
Quote from: Steve Okula on November 20, 2013, 02:01:02 PM



One more vote for keeping grass bunkers. I think it fits in so perfectly with the background here!
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Jaeger Kovich

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #17 on: July 04, 2014, 08:19:17 PM »
Quote from: Bill Brightly on July 04, 2014, 05:46:20 PM
Quote from: Steve Okula on November 20, 2013, 02:01:02 PM



One more vote for keeping grass bunkers. I think it fits in so perfectly with the background here!

Yeah, but once it rains, it will turn into a bathtub with the clay subsoil. Thus becoming un-mowable, and will turn into a jungle, and near impossible to get the ball out of, if you could even find it.

On clay, if it doesn't surface drain, you are asking for problems.
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Mike Sweeney

Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #18 on: July 04, 2014, 08:34:27 PM »
So there is a picture of a VERY fit, very tall, sounds like very good golfer/blond woman on GCA and guys are commenting on the bunkers!!??
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Tony_Muldoon

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #19 on: July 05, 2014, 02:09:45 AM »
Quote from: Mike Sweeney on July 04, 2014, 08:34:27 PM
So there is a picture of a VERY fit, very tall, sounds like very good golfer/blond woman on GCA and guys are commenting on the bunkers!!??


Mike you missed out "charming "
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Let's make GCA grate again!

Jon Wiggett

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Re: Doak' St. Emillion Teaser
« Reply #20 on: July 05, 2014, 07:41:04 AM »
Quote from: Jaeger Kovich on July 04, 2014, 08:19:17 PM
Quote from: Bill Brightly on July 04, 2014, 05:46:20 PM
Quote from: Steve Okula on November 20, 2013, 02:01:02 PM



One more vote for keeping grass bunkers. I think it fits in so perfectly with the background here!

Yeah, but once it rains, it will turn into a bathtub with the clay subsoil. Thus becoming un-mowable, and will turn into a jungle, and near impossible to get the ball out of, if you could even find it.

On clay, if it doesn't surface drain, you are asking for problems.

Not sure this is right as I assume there will be drainage in there even if it was designed to be a bunker.
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