Best of Golf: The Men's Locker Room at Forest Creek

[Ran Morrissett]

I am probably the worst person to write about a locker room or clubhouse. From Southern Pines CC, USA to Brancaster, England to Newcastle, Australia, my modus operandi has been to change shoes by the car, say a quick hello in the pro shop and head to the tee (I don’t even know where the locker was at my old home course in Stockton!). Without sounding like the great unwashed  , I have always thought of the locker room as a place to accidentally leave something behind. It’s all about the golf course - keep things simple! The fewer moving parts, the less to remember, all the better.
 
Nonetheless, for every rule there is an exception and occasionally something is done so well that it adds value and enjoyment to the golf experience. Such is the case of the men’s locker room at Forest Creek, located five miles from my home. There is no place better in Moore County to kick back and swap lies   with fellow golfers.
 
This article is clearly a departure from the ‘GolfClubAtlas.com, strictly about golf course architecture, blah, blah, blah’ mantra that I have harped on since its inception. When we announced the new section Best of Golf, we at GolfClubAtlas.com decided to help espouse the game’s many faceted allures. Just as sitting with a buddy at a baseball stadium and admiring the freshly cut field can be invigorating, so can socializing with friends before or after a round. The locker room at Forest Creek is the ideal place to do so.
 
Put another way: if I didn’t play golf, I would learn just so I could go hang out here!

FYI We expect to publish two more Best of Golf articles next week, one with a God of Grass and another whose subject will be on golf books.

Best,

[Jerry Kluger]

The men's locker room at FC is not really a locker room - it is a separate man cave that makes everything okay when you've stunk it up on the course and want to kick back and enjoy a cold one with friends or play some cards or have something good to eat or all of the above. The courses are also way up there in quality and the views from the beautiful clubhouse are special as well.  The Pinehurst area is one very special place.

[Colin Macqueen]

Gentlemen,
This locker room is extraordinary! What a haven wherein to lick one's wounds and find solace or bray about one's conquests and grow in stature! And then be comprehensively walloped at chess! Just wonderful. Another reason to head to Carolina!

Ran,
Best of Golf it is then and judging by the present writings and future topics this will be a terrific addition which to me simply rounds out what is the pre-eminent golf forum in existence.

Cheers Colin

[Steve Sayre]

And the locker room operation managed by one of the nicest guys you'll meet in your travels: Lou Walker.  Always a smile and your beverage of choice ready to deliver on a second's notice.

[Sean_A]

Any chance of some pics and a more detailed description of the layout?

Thats why Ran created Best of Golf!  This post is just an intro.

Ciao

[Eric Smith]

I've long dreamt of one day developing a golf course worthy of mention on Golf Club Atlas, but upon learning of places like this and other serious man caves (Kinloch comes to mind), I think a modest practice area with a killer locker room would suit me just fine. I would learn to tend bar, work on my chess game and I already know how to drive a range picker. Best of Golf, one day!

[Steve Lang]

 
So what is in said locker room?

Space for hitting bay & swing critique gallery



Space for putting & high tech gizmos



Don’t forget Man Attics above the Locker Room for Other tastes too!

[Ian Mackenzie]

Agree 100%.
I have a few pics and even a video of the locker room at FC on my computer.

If I only possessed the acumen to post pics...

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

Mac,

I can help, too. Email or call me and I can walk you through it.

Par exemple.... guess where this is!

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That is my uncle Wink Mckinnon in the green shirt and my younger cousin James in the blue with caddie.

Malcolm

[Sean_A]

Brian

You have to be one of the biggest golf house whore(s) I know.  You don't want to visit a golf club, you want to visit a club that happens to have a course on the grounds  . Geez, its a locker room.  

Ciao

[Tommy Williamsen]

A nice locker room isn't necessary for a club but it sure helps to have a nice place to go.  It is one of those little pleasures in life.

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

To my eye the locker room looks like a series of horse stalls with no closure or tethers along the main alley.

The bar and lounge look terrific!

[Rich Goodale]

Why do so many men golfers spend so much time in dark and dank locker rooms when there is a bright and cheerful grill room/bar only a few steps away?  The only answer I can think of (based on experiences at plces such as Champions and Muirfield) is that some men really enjoy an environment where they can ogle mostly overweight and elderly naked men and/or do not want to deal with the general public.

[Sean_A]

Brian

You have to be one of the biggest golf house whore(s) I know.  You don't want to visit a golf club, you want to visit a club that happens to have a course on the grounds  . Geez, its a locker room.  

Ciao

Yup, I do love a good house. And so do you!!

The day at a golf club starts when you leave your house and ends when you get back home - the design of the golf holes is an important element of that but golf is ultimately a pastime - something you do for pleasure - a cool halfway hut adds to that - as does  a cool clubhouse, lockerroom, barm nice staff, good food and different traditions. I just think that, in reality, this other stuff is a lot more central to our enjoyment of the day out than folks on this board seem to suggest. Why do a half assed sloppy job when you can build something super cool like this? And it doesn't take much money to make a cool house - Waterville's a good example of very modest yet with a bit of character.

I haven't been to Chechessee, but I'd like to hear what those who have been would say about the place if there was no house, just a course - would the experience be largely similar? Playing a cool course then shoot off home after? I thin they'd say all the other stuff was key to why they loved it so much.

Yes, I do think the extras help make a day's golf and are influential as to whether or not I want to return.  But I get the impression you take this stuff, if not to the Nth degree, how bout Mth degree?  Of course, when I see fancy houses and changing rooms I also balance that against  how much cheaper might the green fee/membershp be if things were a bit more simple - something I hold in very high regard.  I tend to go for the modest houses that have some character.  McMansions don't do much for me because I know they cost a bomb to run and most of the time, these are empty gin palaces.  The bigger the house, the more difficult it is to create atmosphere and atmosphere is just as important as character.

Ciao

Ciao 

[jeffwarne]

To each his own.

My favorite 19th hole is the first or 10th tee ....

[Matt MacIver]

One of the most economical clubhouses I've ever seen was at Devil's Paintbrush, near Toronto. Really one large square with a small pro shop, locker room, restaurant and bar each in one corner. And lots of energy and activity, which is key. Not just anyone can design a good locker room but it's as important to have something going on when you get there. Cassique in Kiawah comes to mind - great locker room but just a place to tie your shoes. Secession on the other hand is always full of good craic.

Why hang out in a dark dank dungeon with the guys vs being out in the sun?  I'd rather do both but my opportunities are so slim to hang out with the gang that we all will do it where we always have, close to the beer, tvs and in private.  The way I play golf I need a private forum to express my thoughts.

[PCCraig]

Forest Creek has an incredible men's locker room!