Both you and Jeff Sherman Warne rate Augusta CC quite highly. Can you talk a bit more about this place?
Ciao
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I sure like Bogey's lists.
Sean,
I'm afraid I simply can't be objective about Augusta CC, having grown up there toting my bag literally thousands of times between the ages of 11-18.
The course I really grew up on had small(no doubt shrunken), tilted greens, and had a lot of width. Incredible elevation change like its neighbor. In short classic, somewhat architecturally neglected old Ross/Ogilvie.
In the 80's Nicklaus bastardized it with questionable green rebuilding and a green moved (#8) creating a long very awkward par 5 over Rae's creek which still has drainage issues.
In the late 90's Silva did Ross "restoration" based on the original Ross plans-not sure they were ever in the ground, but the Silva greens bore no resemblance to anything I ever saw dating back to 1974, but that's understandable as much would've changed since the 1920's if those plans were indeed in the ground.
Some of the new work has grown on me and the greens are much larger with ample contour, but I do miss a bit of the old charm and small tilted greens.
Example #2 green was a small elevated plateau which was lowered and replaced by a much larger green.
#4 ditto-tee was raised and green lowered and essentially neutered.(to be fair this was done pre Silva)
#11 and 13 greens the same treatment (13 was once a par 5 and the explanation was that it was formerly a par 5 green but the cool thing before was a long par 4 with a SMALL elevated run-up suggested green i.e.variety)
The greens are bent which they struggled with in summer for years but seem to have that figured that out, but still in the summer bent is always going to be soft.(no doubt part of the reason for green expansion)
To be fair though I have not played there in the summer in 15 years.
The routing has only changed by switching 1 and 18 and moving 8 green so it's pretty much intact and the course remains a great walk, despite all the elevation changes.
Quite a few trees have been planted but they do not change the strategy and most are no big deal, though the ones left of 8 fairway look like something out of the Hobbit, and contribute to the bad drainage on that hole.
There still is generous width.
The ninth hole has always had drainage issues on the tee shot as well, being the low point of the property being next to 12 green at ANGC, (though quite a bit higher)
I loved the old course and I really like the newer version.(and it's certainly a great improvement over the awful Nicklaus version of the late 80's) My one complaint is the surrounds are kept very irrigated and soft. The last time I played it was during a drought yet pitch shots just off the green brought up black mud in the divot.
A shame as it's a fantastic routing and design, and sentimentally on of my favorite places in golf.
Please understand I consider it one of the best courses in the south, but as I said I have a hard time being objective having seen a lot of versions. By all accounts of others it's much improved and a great place.