Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea

[Josh Tarble]

I admittedly know nothing of the course - and the time change is going to make it a little difficult to watch any of the President's Cup, but the more images of I see of the course, I am intrigued by it. 


The setting looks very cool



And I saw a tweets from Joe Passov that made the par 4th 14th look very cool - especially during a professional match play event.


   


Anyway...does anyone have any experience or thoughts on the course?  It certainly hasn't sparked much interest, especially compared to Royal Melbourne a few years ago, but it does look like it could at least be somewhat interesting.

[David_Tepper]

Jack takes you thru the whole course:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INYgvs-AoQA

[Tommy Williamsen]

A lot of water on this "pretty" golf course

[Josh Tarble]

Thanks for posting that David.

Tommy,
Definitely agree with that statement. I'm wondering how far above sea level it is, maybe not much choice.

Certainly an interesting choice for the President's Cup.

[Michael Marzec]

Josh:


Considering the land the course is built on was once under the Yellow Sea, I would hazard to guess it is only a few feet above sea level at its highest point!

[Jeremy Rudock]

I think I played this course once on Golden Tee.

[Joe_Tucholski]

Just watched Nicklaus talk about the construction of the course.  He talked about his vision and then how things turned out (envisioned ocean, dunes and forest but ended up with a mix everywhere and also the softening of the greens).  He spent most of his time talking about development of the country and his observations mirror my observations from living in Korea for the past year. 

When they started the course 5 years ago there was nothing around the golf course.  The course is all manufactured because, as Michael mentioned, it is on filled land.  In an incredible short period of time a 100 or so skyscrapers were built and the course is essentially now in a city.

The course I played over the last year has also been engulfed by skyscrapers.  My first round there were tons of cranes as all the skyscrapers were starting to be built.  By the time I left, less than a year later, all the skyscrapers are completed.  The area will go from a population of zero to hundreds of thousands in a blink of an eye when people start to move in.  It's incredible the amount of development in the outskirts of Seoul.

It probably says something that we have more to say about development of infrastructure than the courses.

[Anthony Gholz]

Josh:  Thanks for bringing this topic up.


Does anyone see a correlation of the tree outlines and the bunkers?  The bunker edges are very not Nicklaus and, actually, more Alison (Hirono) only they are perfectly maintained and therefore anti-Alison. 


Of course as Jack covered in the broadcast, the whole thing is artificial, and the amazing thing (for me as a retired architect) is that the whole development came together at all.  The fact that it occurred in 5-6 years is stupendous.  In detroit we can't get funding for our side of the new international bridge that's been discussed for decades and still no ground broken.


BTW IMO the bridge is the best part of the entire development design.


Tony

[Kalen Braley]

This is fairly fascinating what they did in this area.  Every last thing was planned out in advance right down to the street widths....
 
Its part of the "Free Economic Zone".  It'll be interesting to see what becomes of this in the years to come.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songdo_International_Business_District

[Josh Stevens]

How many times during his little Vid did Jack say that it was pretty.?  IS this perhaps a course that is largely designed just to look good rather than be good? Not unusual in Asia

[John McCarthy]

What grasses are used in the fairways, roughs and greens?

[Mark Pavy]

IS this perhaps a course that is largely designed just to look good rather than be good? Not unusual in Asia

How many courses in Asia have you played?

[Josh Stevens]

One or two.  I have worked and travelled through Asia for 30 years

[Mark Pavy]

Josh, do you have a couple of examples (Asian) of courses that are designed to look good, rather than be good?

[Bill_McBride]

Anyone who has played his Grand Cypress course near Orlando will immediately recognize the Nicklaus template 9th and 18th holes.  Nine is a dogleg left, 18 a dogleg right, around a big lake.  The two greens could be a double green.  However, Grand Cypress doesn't have $100,000 of stonework above the lake at each green side. 

[jeffwarne]

Given what's surrounding it,and what was there before, I rather like the look of it.
I even like the trees on top of the dunes which Jack didn't sound too thrilled about.
Nicklaus seems to generally build strategic courses and aside from the too many obligatory lakes, it looks like it would be fun.


Wonder if Phil did his stupid goofy handshake with Zack after he hit the wrong kind've ball and cost them the match. (who even carries a different kind've ball in their bag in a professional event?)
Ever the class act he followed it by saying. "we spotted the International's best team two holes and they still couldn't beat us-just saying"
Will he blame his stupidity on his captain?

[John Kirk]

It's certainly not natural beauty, but the view from the 5th tee towards the sparkling new skyscrapers is pretty amazing.

I like the sound of the Korean crowds.  They are very emotive and expressive.

[Ben Kodadek]

What grasses are used in the fairways, roughs and greens?

Bent on greens and fairways, fescue rough.

[Josh Tarble]

Given what's surrounding it,and what was there before, I rather like the look of it.
I even like the trees on top of the dunes which Jack didn't sound too thrilled about.
Nicklaus seems to generally build strategic courses and aside from the too many obligatory lakes, it looks like it would be fun.

Jeff,

I completely agree.  The course looks very artificial but when you see the overhead of completely straight shorelines and giant high-rises it somehow all works in my opinion.  It wouldn't work if every course was exactly like it, but for this one course I really enjoy it.

[Carl Rogers]

On the tube, it looks very formulaic.

[Norbert P]

 
  Gotta love the sound of a golf ball hitting the faux rocks.  The network actually replayed the moment for all to appreciate.

[Don Jordan]

I don't think I have seen more chip shots played on the greens than I did yesterday I think I saw about 5 in the time I was watching yesterday. Not sure if it is a design or maintenance issue, if they didn't have long rough on the edges they might not have had to but still seemed a lot.

[Robert West]

On the tube, it looks very formulaic.

... to say the least. I've read about the professional players' love of Jack's courses which I always took for their preference for a course that rewards consistency over a 4 day period. I just don't think the architecture is very interesting and it's obviously a new (an adjective that so frequently is followed by "artificial") course and they really really are going after these pins.

It seems from my cursory glances at this tournament (it's been a busy weekend) that there are only so many paths to the greens and that typically the pros are all using the same one. The landing areas are so obvious that approach shots are colliding on the greens. The course is flawless and beautifully done well, the setting looks spectacular and uniquely urban on television, but this seems to be the typical Nicklaus, built for the pro and the pictures course.

I hate to say it's boring but it looks like the creativity has been replaced by the need for consistency. I don't think it's bad to want low scoring play and it's obvious that birdie friendly golf gets more ratings but with the match play format in use it would seem to me that more artful golf would prove to be more compelling.

[Jim Hoak]

I thought the course looked terrible on TV--very simplistic, contrived, unimagined.  But the 18th hole was sure strategic--led to a lot of fun finishes.

[Sam Morrow]

I didn't watch much of the tournament but I thought the course looked kinda cool