Eastward Ho - An Appreciation and Photo Tour

[Greg Gilson]

Jon, thanks again for a great tour. Words & pictures both brilliant.

[Chris DeToro]

Great pictures.  Eastward Ho! is a blast to play and such a beautiful setting.  The wind direction and its influence on the architecture is pretty impressive too.  I found that on the second hole--you can't feel the wind because the tee is set back in a cluster of trees and there are trees down the right side, but it blows pretty hard from right to left, bringing the bunker and the street into play and leaving you with a longer approach to the dogleg right hole for those that want to play away from the right treeline. 

[Paul Jones]

Thank You Jon.  This course just made my short list !!!!

[Mark McKeever]

I have nothing but the highest praise for this golf course.  Its a very special place and may very well be the most under rated course in the top 100 classic.

Mark

[Ally Mcintosh]

The course looks fantastic.

When we had a 2 week holiday last year in MA,  we spent 5 days on the cape and I had a very kind GCA'er offer to arrange a game for me at Eastward Ho!... Unfortunately, I had to turn him down as my two rounds at Boston and Yale had used up my brownie points the week previous.

I had a pang of regret at the time but it's even bigger now looking at the contents of this thread.

[Michael Graham]

As others have said Jon, what a fabulous photo tour. Sitting at my desk looking out to a rather dark, overcast and altogether miserable November afternoon in Edinburgh how enjoyable it was to be transported to a beautiful autumnal day in Massachusetts. What a course!

Michael

[Aaron McMaster]

Thanks for the tour, Jon. Exceptional tour.

I apologise in advance for the utter naivety of the question but what's the amazing orange grass? I belief on your side of the pond you have something which is referred to as heather but isn't actually related to the stuff we have over here. Is that what I'm looking at? It looks as if you could actually find a ball in there, much like our stuff, and that it would also provide an appropriate penalty without completely taking a player out of the hole which, again, is much the same as our heather.

Peter,
That's called blue stem.
the "orangeness" is due to late fall and a bit of the fantastic fall lighting in the pictures.
Generally is a brown looking plant-Shinnecock is  surrounded by it, and is much more native and durable than the fescue that you see so symetrically surrounding many modern courses .
The Bluestem tends to establish more slowly so it seems to be used less often at newer courses

Paul,

This is actually called Little Bluestem, there is also big bluestem which will get 6-8' feet tall so obviously not a golf course turf.  Little bluestem is very dense, unplayable, tough to control, once established it will proliferate natives so prolly more the reason you don't see it on many courses.  Pete is correct, it's very slow to establish.

Great tour though, can't wait to play this place someday.

[Pete Blaisdell]

Jon

  You have a gift, ---really!

  Have not played the HO in 15 years . You brought back some fond memories ( played as guest of John English ) and reminded me that along with Winchester CC , these two tracks are so underated in the golf world, it's a crime . I can think of 30-35 courses in this country that are on the perrenial Top 100 list that can't hold a candle to these two.

  Again, great photos and writeups. Looking forward to your next pictorial.

[Jon Cavalier]

I have nothing but the highest praise for this golf course.  Its a very special place and may very well be the most under rated course in the top 100 classic.

Mark

Completely agree.

[Jon Cavalier]

As others have said Jon, what a fabulous photo tour. Sitting at my desk looking out to a rather dark, overcast and altogether miserable November afternoon in Edinburgh how enjoyable it was to be transported to a beautiful autumnal day in Massachusetts. What a course!

Michael

Jon

  You have a gift, ---really!

  Have not played the HO in 15 years . You brought back some fond memories ( played as guest of John English ) and reminded me that along with Winchester CC , these two tracks are so underated in the golf world, it's a crime . I can think of 30-35 courses in this country that are on the perrenial Top 100 list that can't hold a candle to these two.

  Again, great photos and writeups. Looking forward to your next pictorial.

Thank you, guys.  I'm very glad that the photos have brought back fond memories for you both -- your comments make me happy to have posted the tour in the first place.

[Jon Cavalier]

Great pictures.  Eastward Ho! is a blast to play and such a beautiful setting.  The wind direction and its influence on the architecture is pretty impressive too.  I found that on the second hole--you can't feel the wind because the tee is set back in a cluster of trees and there are trees down the right side, but it blows pretty hard from right to left, bringing the bunker and the street into play and leaving you with a longer approach to the dogleg right hole for those that want to play away from the right treeline. 

Chris:

This is a great point.  The one thing missing (for better or worse) from my day was wind.  It was actually quite calm.  But you're right -- it is very easy to see how the wind can have a dramatic effect, and make the course play more difficult.

[Carl Nichols]

Great pictures.  Eastward Ho! is a blast to play and such a beautiful setting.  The wind direction and its influence on the architecture is pretty impressive too.  I found that on the second hole--you can't feel the wind because the tee is set back in a cluster of trees and there are trees down the right side, but it blows pretty hard from right to left, bringing the bunker and the street into play and leaving you with a longer approach to the dogleg right hole for those that want to play away from the right treeline. 

Chris:

This is a great point.  The one thing missing (for better or worse) from my day was wind.  It was actually quite calm.  But you're right -- it is very easy to see how the wind can have a dramatic effect, and make the course play more difficult.

I played it on a relatively windy day, and I thought it was plenty hard.  4 and 7 were both into a 2- or 3-club wind, and then 15 was dead downwind.   

[Bill Healy]

Jon Cavalier,
Thank you for this complementary review of Eastward Ho!
The golf course is a remarkable routing on quirky topography in a spectacular seaside setting.
If you want more information on the golf course, you can go to the club website and download a monograph on "The Golf Course at Eastward Ho!".
Your thoughts and comments are generally right on, but I have a few follow-up comments.
On the green at Three, there is a slight false front which can pull a short approach or a ball with considerable juice back into the shallow hollow in front of the green.
The best view on the golf course, IMO, is looking back at the front nine from the elevated teeing ground at Nine.
Twleve is a terrific golf hole.  It is an underestimated short par four which yields many more double bogeys than birdies to good golfers.  The 333 yard hole plays longer due to the uphill tilt and the three crossing ridges.  The green is well protected (note the Fowler Grave greenside bunker short right), and the putting surface is domed with roll off to all sides.
Fifteen was Fowler's favorite hole on the golf course.
Eighteen is the best!
There is not much room to add length----the design and the topography provide the members with plenty of challenges.
Hickory shafts were used by Ran Morrisett when he played with Brad Faxon during a celebration of the Foster renovation in 2006, and in 2012 the members used hickory shafts for a 90th anniversary celebration.
I am curious what camera you used?
Is it possible for me to obtain your images?
Thanks again for your terrific photographs and commentary.
Bill Healy

[Jon Cavalier]

Bill:

Thanks for your comments.  I sent you a PM.

Jon

[Sean_A]

Jon

Very fine.  Exceptional pix, ones which really make me wish I was there.  Its a Fowler an all Fowlers are on my do list...somewhere.  Thanks.

BTW - does anybody know what is Fowler's work?  I realize that no two Fowlers look the same, but Eastward Ho! is a bit outside the box.

Ciao

[Pete Lavallee]

BTW - does anybody know what is Fowler's work?  I realize that no two Fowlers look the same, but Eastward Ho! is a bit outside the box.

Ciao

Sean,

According to Ran's review only the 9th green was changed due to a Clubhouse expansion. The rest is pure Fowler, enhanced by a sympathetic restoration by Keith Foster in 2001. They did extensive tree removal, green recapturing and significantly firmed up the approaches. It's probably the best example of using terrain to defend par than any other course in US I've played!

[Jon Cavalier]

BTW - does anybody know what is Fowler's work?  I realize that no two Fowlers look the same, but Eastward Ho! is a bit outside the box.

Ciao

Sean,

According to Ran's review only the 9th green was changed due to a Clubhouse expansion. The rest is pure Fowler, enhanced by a sympathetic restoration by Keith Foster in 2001. They did extensive tree removal, green recapturing and significantly firmed up the approaches. It's probably the best example of using terrain to defend par than any other course in US I've played!

Based on what I was told while there, this is exactly right. The 9th green was moved from a location that was farther right - the green was lost to make way for a clubhouse expansion. It's amazing how well the green blends in - you would never know its not the original site.

And I agree - at this course, terrain plus typical wind is more than enough to keep things challenging for most players. It's a true gem of a golf course.

[Scott McWethy]

I have no idea if Eastward Ho has ever produced a history book on itself, but I did come across a small 30 to 40 page history book on the club.  I can't find a date anywhere but it does appear to be issued by the club.  I must have picked it up somewhere in years past, and if anyone is interested in the history I'd be happy to share it and send it off. 

[Jeff Bergeron]

They have a terrific history written by a member posted on the Clubs website.

[Bill Healy]

The green at Nine is not the original green.
The original green at Nine was thirty yards longer and to the right.  The approach was hit over a hollow to a small green with a considerable back to front tilt.  In 1922, after the ceremonial opening round with Francis Ouimet in the foursome, the Boston Herald remarked on the severity of the original ninth green.
Clubhouse expansion required the repositioning of the green at Nine, and the current green is much less severe.
The original ninth hole must have been a real bear playing thirty yards longer to a more severe green into the prevailing wind.
Bill Healy