... under Courses by Country and Architecture Timeline.
There are many reasons to be excited about the updated Confidential Guide when it rolls out next year. As a magnet for conversation, it will help spark many a healthy debate on the merits of this course or that. In particular, I personally will be most interested to see which, if any, courses Tom Doak changes his grade by 2 or more (e.g. a 4 goes to a 6 or an 8 is downgraded to a 6). The reason will most likely be that the club has/hasn’t been a great custodian since his last visit. On a few occasions, it might be pilot error (Royal Aberdeen
) but by and large, the updated Confidential Guide will highlight some of the outstanding restoration work that has occurred in the past 20 years.
One example of a two-bagger
might be St. George’s Golf and Country Club on the north shore of Long Island. I was fortunate to stroll around the property twice this year. Tom’s “5” from 1995, though harsh considering this is Emmet’s undeniable masterpiece, was warranted from what I could tell from the before photos in the clubhouse. No longer, at least to me! Here is my new screen saver:
Long views mesmerize – hard to pull your eyes away, yes? As a sucker for golf on a wide open plain and always keen to see something new and different, Emmet’s work proved to be right up my alley. The story of its restoration is the usual Rubik’s cube of having the right architect, board, and Green Keeper tumble into place. After six seasons, Green Keeper Adam Jessie has the place nearly pitch perfect. Except for NGLA, some stuff at Bandon and maybe Oakmont, I have never seen an American course with more bunkers that gather balls from far away. Emmet’s bunker placement – and there are 117 around the property – coupled with Adam’s firm playing surfaces and short grass that leads into them help make St. George’s play like a UK course.
It’s the exact opposite of that dreaded form of American golf whereby you hit the ball exactly to Point A and then exactly to point B and so on and so on until you fall asleep.
Here, the golf is much more lively and the proceedings really heat up
after the ball hits the ground. Do your approach shots stay on the putting surface at 16 and 17 or do they reverse gear down the false fronts and leave you with recovery shots that have you peering skyward in despair? Where do the tee balls finish across the diverse landscapes of 12, 13 and 14? How about your blind approach to 10 where you’ll have to wait ‘til you crest the hill to learn your fate. All wonderful facets of play on a true classic course!
Models stroll the streets of Manhattan without eliciting much attention because the competition is so fierce. It’s the same for golf courses on Long Island. As it plays under 6,300 yards, some people (I initially typed ‘idiots’) pass on St. George’s and seek a more ‘manly’ test like Bethpage Black. Spare me! Last time I played the Black, the bunkers were often separated from the fairway with ten to twenty yards of rough. That’s both tragic and boring.
One of my favorite threads this year was initiated by Mark Rowlinson who challenged everyone to come up with their favorite ‘short’ courses. While some people became fixated on the definition of short, at 6,232 yards, none of us categorize St. George’s as long. Still, this par 70 packs a punch. It’s perfect length and tight routing allow golfers to whisk around in 3 hours of less.
Kyle Henderson and Joe Bausch sang its praises previously on this Discussion Group and Kyle’s photos captured the magic of the place. Those gentlemen are always spot on and this is another example. Hope you enjoy the final GolfClubAtlas.com course profile for 2013.
Best,