Eugene Country Club--Wow

[Keith Phillips]

I'm no Texas fan and am happy for Oregon (particularly Casey Martin), but imagine a final four basketball team suffering an injury during the semis and putting 4 men on the court for the final...WOULD NEVER HAPPEN... and there is zero chance the rule isn't changed soon...just dumb...every team qualifying for the tourney can finance a sub or two for the trip...again, while I'm happy for Oregon, I almost feel an asterisk is due...reminds me of the great 'Harvard Beats Yale 29-29' football game from 1968.

[Pete_Pittock]

William,
Great tournament, and you probably didn't need to pack rain gear. Raza's laborious putting routine made me want to root for Texas, but I put aside my Bbeaver hat and rooted for the home team
.
For a while I was wondering why they couldn't call the Hossler- Foushee a draw, like in international competition, but
the format requiring 3 points doesn't make that possible with a possible 2.5 -2.5 finish.

If Hossler hadn't continued the semi-final match with a gutsy performance par on 17 it would have been USC in the finals, five on five.

[Kalen Braley]

Not to be a buzzkill here..

But if he hadn't drained a long 30+ foot putt to close out the match on 17, he would have likely lost the next two holes to lose the match.  It was a semi-miracle they even made it to today anyways...

http://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/texas-star-golfer-beau-hossler-injures-shoulder-uses-putter-out-of-bunker/

[William_G]

Pete...the injury to Beau was very strange, hopefully is not a lifetime tendency

to call a draw I think the coaches would have to agree, but the stakes are too high and I think the 4 man teams have won previously

still an insane victory for men of OR and the Pacific Northwest in addition to the WA win in womens

[Keith Phillips]

well that IS a buzzkill - fact is he DID make the putt, and they DID win the match, and as I recall there was another match on the course so Texas could have won that (I forget the status of that one) - anyway, I'm not here to defend Texas, they'll do just fine with me.  I just know no comparable sport where a sub wouldn't be allowed...in soccer once you've used your 3 subs you can't sub for an injured player...but you can in the next game!  Maybe Davis Cup?  What happens in the Olympics if a relay runner injures himself in the semi-final but his team makes the final anyway...I presume they can fill with a sub? 

[Keith Phillips]

Back on topic, I'm not sure TV did the course much justice.  I'm sure it's great and would love to see it in person one day, but (a) for those of us from the East it's hard to imagine leaving Bandon if we do make it to Oregon; and (b) I can only wonder how the course would rate if it were located in the NY or Philly metro areas.

[William_G]

Back on topic, I'm not sure TV did the course much justice.  I'm sure it's great and would love to see it in person one day, but (a) for those of us from the East it's hard to imagine leaving Bandon if we do make it to Oregon; and (b) I can only wonder how the course would rate if it were located in the NY or Philly metro areas.

TV does not do any course justice... you have to be there

correct...if traveling from the East Coast you need to get up early, leave your airport early, and fly into Eugene (EUG) at around 12:00 noon and play our club, then drive to Bandon afterward or head over the next morning after a great evening...but you have to be motivated to do that, and most lazy Americans and those on this site, sadly, are not   

yet I'm playing with some motivated dudes in EUG then Bandon just like that in about 4 weeks

ECC has to be judged on it's own merits in a state of a population of 4,000,000 pop., you can do the math

Keith, it sounds like you need to travel more...there are jets flying everywhere right now

[Matthew Essig]

What I don't understand is that Firestone is the perennial tournament course whipping boy around here. Eugene CC looks and seems to play a lot like Firestone, yet the general consensus seems to be positive for Eugene CC.

Eugene CC seems to be narrower than Firestone due to tree overgrowth.

apples and oranges

How so, Mr. G?

come out and visit and it will be self evident...happy to host

I believe travel is the best way to understand other golf courses

TV does not do it justice, nor does typing an answer on GCA

Brian, do some research, study, and you will figure it out, but unfortunately, Firestone will remain as it is 

Having played both of these courses, I will wade into this...


I was completely taken by Eugene when I played it a few years ago. I found it to be a solid layout (despite the somewhat random water hazards) with some great one-shotters. Admittedly, a part of the appeal was the uniqueness of the evergreen backdrops. And while the fairways do look tight and can be downright intimidating off the tee, I found the course far more forgiving than Firestone South. Wider fairways, larger greens (as I recall), easier recovery shots from the trees.


What really sets Firestone apart -- and what I think many people fail to see on TV -- are the substantial elevation changes and severe fairway contours. Finding a level lie at Firestone requires a precise shot off the tee. It may seem a monotonous "up and back" layout, but I guarantee you will find most every hole to be quite challenging.


As Mr. G says, they are indeed apples and oranges. But both are perfectly delicious.

Fantastic piece!

[Charles Lund]

Eugene Country Club was the perennial best course in Oregon for years until the Bandon courses were built.

Charles Lund

[Dave McCollum]

Keith,

I agree with you that subs should be allowed.  However, an asterisk on the H-Y game in 1968?  The “beats” part was editorial hyperbole.   The actual game was a fair fight:  Yale kicks ass for the entire game, Harvard wins the last 42 seconds.  A great finish with lots of drama like the 2016 NCAA golf finish, but no missing man.  Well, maybe, from my point of view.  I was injured and riding the bench for that one.  Seemed like a win for us.  Strange, people still remember.

[Keith Phillips]

William G...5 continents, 41 countries, 100 days business travel for 25+ years - including numerous trips to Portland, Oregon, one of the truly great mid-size cities in the country, and two memorable Bandon trips with more to come...I'm actually trying to learn to travel less!!


Dave, it is awesome that you participated in that game in any way - certainly an entirely different fact pattern from this golf tournament - for those unfamiliar with the story please see this youtube link


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sveyK5xFHzU


Eugene was clearly a great host for this event, and it is great that the Golf Channel exists to give us some dramatic, emotional team golf to balance some of the more robotic pro game.

[Dave McCollum]

It was awesome, although entirely pedestrian at the time, just plodding through our lives, doing what we did.  We knew that Yale was formidable, but we were undefeated and thought we were good enough to give them a game.   Not so, as it turned out, except for the finish.  Those Harvard guys had heart and courage and finished like champions.  A useful life lesson.  I’m still happy to be part of it and grateful for the experience.  Thanks for the video, although I’d recommend the documentary by Kevin Rafferty about the game.  One thing is certain:  Harvard-Yale have to be the biggest blah-blah training centers in the US.  Even the football players can talk.  That, too, was awesome.

[BCrosby]

Dave -


I was at the '68 game. My roommate left early. He never forgave himself.


Most exciting sporting event I have ever attended.


What position did you play?


Bob

[Andrew Buck]

OT but it seems a ludicrous rule that Texas couldn't sub for Hossler in the final match.  I understand a player having to finish his match, which Hossler did most epically in his semi-final, but the idea that Texas couldn't go to its deep bench for a sub for the final strikes me as silly.

Honestly, this is somewhat the same "spirit" that prevented Casey Martin from competing at the highest level that helped them win a National title.  The reality is 7 rounds of competitive golf in that pressure for 6 days takes a toll, and to be able to "sub" could really benefit many players. 

[David Davis]

William G...5 continents, 41 countries, 100 days business travel for 25+ years - including numerous trips to Portland, Oregon, one of the truly great mid-size cities in the country, and two memorable Bandon trips with more to come...I'm actually trying to learn to travel less!!


Dave, it is awesome that you participated in that game in any way - certainly an entirely different fact pattern from this golf tournament - for those unfamiliar with the story please see this youtube link


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sveyK5xFHzU


Eugene was clearly a great host for this event, and it is great that the Golf Channel exists to give us some dramatic, emotional team golf to balance some of the more robotic pro game.

Keith,


That's some serious traveling (sounds all too familiar) and as such you certainly know better than to judge a course by tv coverage. Eugene CC is really an excellent course and of high architectural merit. Routing, greens and surrounds is what's it's all about with a cool and unique history regarding the renovation. That alone to me makes it really interesting. I'd say take the time to make the visit and then come back and tell us what you think. Cheers

[William_G]

after 2 weeks and 2 great NCAA Championship finishes...the sprinklers were on for the first time last night

the members have filled the tee sheet for play today, as the course will be untouched from last night

thank you to the NCAA for asking our club to submit a bid after a successful regional was held here

insanely cool finish last night

 

[Norbert P]

    Hmmmm. . .
  New golf practice facility built a few years ago down the road at Shadow Hills CC ---  first National Championship for Ducks  ---
           Coincidence ?


  Congrats to all who competed.

[Dave McCollum]

Bob,

I was a running back as a freshman.  Vic Ghotto (sp?) was the captain and the main man at my position, so I switched to cornerback.  Got banged up the week before at Princeton.  The most amusing bit was the dinner at the Boston Harvard Club honoring us as Ivy League co-champions.  They gave us a tie tack.  It was engraved, but something you could find at the Coop.  True amateur sports back in the day.

Dave         

[Connor Dougherty]

Wow. So much to talk about on one thread for me here.


I'll start with the fact that Sulman is a friend of mine, we had a Landscape Architecture class together at Oregon and we figured out that we were both hoping to go into...believe it or not...golf course architecture. He's a good kid and I've seen how hard he works at the game first hand, and I'm unbelievably happy for him. His performance in the semi and the final was the stuff of legend. Given the way he's playing, I would not be shocked if he ended up putting the GCA on hold and pursuing a professional career. Who knows, someday you may all be playing a Dougherty & Raza golf course  .


Okay, now to the topic of the host, Eugene CC. Admittedly, upon first visit, I was underwhelmed. I thought the site was too flat, But there is a ton of micro movement that's so easy to miss (I know I certainly did my first visit) and you don't realize how much that movement adds to the golf course. RTJ's routing was largely predicated on the fact that he wanted the water hazards in front of the greens, a move which, in my opinion, made a tremendous hole in the 6th, but also created more of a do-or-die shot in the 5th and 7th, which is not particularly my cup of tea. There's a lot to learn from Eugene and anyone who didn't try to take Gray up on his offer if you were swinging through town on the way to Bandon would be foolish.


And, at the risk of sounding like a suck up (full-disclosure, I'm currently working for the contractor they hired for a project and the views expressed here are my own)[size=78%], oversharing,[/size][/size][size=78%] or similarly getting bashed by the anti-Fazio's of the site, the most recent master plan for the golf course was completed by Jackson-Kahn, the same firm largely responsible for the recent renovation at Monterey Peninsula. They're putting out consistently good work at this point and I hope they get a chance to work with the site at Eugene.The master plan does call for pretty extensive work which will likely not be put into effect for a few years, but I hope the club does consider putting the money into the suggested changes based on the suggestions I have heard and their overall body of work.[/size]

[Jeff Shelman]

I'm happy for the Ducks and for the members of Eugene CC. That is why teams want to host and I'm glad it paid off.


Regarding the golf course, it's really good. It's challenging, yet playable and has a good mix of holes.


There are trees, but usually if you are blocked out, etc., you hit a poor shot. I've only played there twice, but I don't recall spots on the course where you can be in the fairway and be blocked out, etc.

[Mac Plumart]

Chris, I played it a few years back. Very impressed with the routing on such a small piece of property. Such a great amenity right there in the city.

I think the better a player you are, the more you will like Eugene CC. I'd imagine it was perfect for the NCAA championship.

[William_G]

Chris,

Hope you and your family had  a great time and made it home safely.

As to the weather, I'm reminded as I watch the delay at Muirfield Village, that the NCAA's at ECC went off without even a hint of a weather delay which is the norm here.

As to the golf in the playoff at the NCAA's...the pressure on Funk and Raza had to be unlike anything known to golfers.

In addition, to get it close on #10 with that hole location under those conditions, 2 times by Raza, is just insane.

Truly a "fairy tale" and a win for golf.

[Steve Lang]

   William_G,


Are you saying it never rains in Eugene???  I've never seen such a wide selection of wet weather gear as at Fiddler's Green there last time we passed through!

[William_G]

lol Steve

the weather here is not such that you would have weather delays as opposed to the East (OH, MI, IL, NY, PA) where a lot of golf events occur...here, it's very rare to have electrical storms, thunderstorms, and or lightning

just chatting today with a Urologist buddy while watching our daughters play softball and we both commented on how "in Eugene the umbrellas only come out when it's smoking hot and sunny"

and as you pointed out we do have attire for inclimate weather, yet the weather is relatively temperate even with rain and it doesn't cause us to change our activities, we dress for the weather for sure

hope that clarifies

rain does happen here, LOL   

[Steve Lang]

    W_G
I remember back in the mid-1970's when some friends moved from Ohio to Portland and Seattle, they commented that it rains all the time (i.e., a little everyday) but that was said mainly to keep the SoCal folks from moving up there! 


p.s. they're still out there


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