When I think of the heathland courses around London, the phrase 'good taste' comes to mind. There is good golf in pleasant settings where the holes seem at one with the land. Those courses are far removed from the fussy modern designs that dishevel rather than enhance the landscape. Happily, there is something of similar virtue in the United States, Full Cry at Keswick outside of Charlottesville, Virginia.
This Pete Dye re-design of a 1949 course opened in the fall of 2014 without any of his razzle-dazzle features. Instead, something more understated emerged with the star attraction being the countryside as opposed to manufactured features screaming at you for attention. The focus here - I am thrilled to report - is the golf. Golf balls skittering along the ground, tactically placed bunkers, and intermediate size greens define the challenge. 20 years ago I could not have imagined seeing shots chase like they do at Keswick. Shots kick onto greens here because 1,900 (!) long bed trucks filled with sand transformed the clay playing surfaces into something altogether more conducive to good golf. Like the California Golf Club of San Francisco, it is what is underneath that allows what is above ground to play as good as it looks. Virginia's climate is poorly-suited for fast and firm - Keswick represents a brand of golf rarely on offer in the state.
One neat trick that Dye performed here was to make the bunkers harass the better player more than they intimidate the weaker one. Time and pilot error (!) have proven to me how effective Keswick's small bunkers are. While appearing benign they serve up gummy lies and awkward stances which make them more hazardous than big bunkers that render level lies and broad stances. Too many courses feature huge expanses of sand that bother the duff more than dictate strategy to the tiger. Leave it to Dye to pivot from the mainstream.
The golfer goes on a tour of the handsome Virginia countryside. Some of the expansive views remind me of golf in rural England, especially when you happen to be on the Keswick grounds when the fox hounds are off for their morning excursion!When I first saw the course two months before it opened in 2014, it was a sea of green. Fortunately for me, a family member for the group I work for owns the resort and repeat visits with customers have allowed me to observe the maturation process and understand the creative process. Too often, I fear 'we' blow in and out too quickly to absorb the subtle stuff. Certainly, building big, splashy features that create obvious talking points for raters, magazine photographers and first time guests was the modus operandi in the 1980s and 1990s until, alas, it wasn't. Those designs are terribly expensive to maintain and their high volume luster wanes with time.
Subtle aspects are more difficult to recognize and take longer to understand than bolder ones. At Keswick, the open greens work in concert with the sand-capped fairways to produce proper, thoughtful golf. The expense to sand cap fairways is far, far greater than to build huge wooly bunkers that are easy to photograph - yet the cost of sand capping is transformational to how the course actually plays. This is surely the case of Pete Dye working with the right owner who a) gave him what he needed for the design to flourish and b) didn't saddle Dye with any superfluous demands like how holes would look on television.
Green Keeper Peter Mcdonough has carried through on Dye's expressed vision for a fast playing course that was fun for all. Conditioning at Keswick starts underground but it allows subtle features to exert influence on the field of play, making Keswick a timely reminder that what appears simple can actually be complex through its nuances. Like still waters, quiet designs can run deep.
Here is the link:
http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/full-cry-at-keswick-golf-club/Best,