Stars Wars and GCA

[Ryan Hillenbrand]

My interest in  course architecture eclipses only slightly my devotion to Star Wars.. Sitting though the latest installment with a theater full of fellow male Gen Xers, my thoughts wandered to the course equivalent of each chapter in the 8 series.

Here's my list, based on order of release, not number. Let's hear yours. I realize this is relevant only to nerds.

1. A New Hope - The Old Course. The one that started it all, introduced us to a "galaxy far, far away". Enjoyable and full of challenge, but in the end the good guys win.

2. The Empire Strikes Back - Pine Valley. A plot twist where it ends with the bad guys handing the rebels (golfers) a defeat, a course meant to be hard and not necessarily fun. But while licking your wounds most say it's exhilarating and the best of them all.

3. Return of Jedi - Sand Hills. Balanced is returned to The Force. Courses are built again to be fun with less land being moved and the ability for mid to high handicappers to play the course with alternate routes.

4. Phantom Menace - Bandon Dunes Resort - A prequel on the history of the cannon, telling us how we got there, especially for those of us in the States who haven't had a chance to play overseas. Backhanded compliment to Bandon since Phantom Menace had a good start and finish, but boring and corny in the middle, while the same isn't true at Bandon

5. Attack of the Clones - Erin Hills - Another modern design meant to tell the story of an earlier era and be accessible to the average income player, but begins to fracture due to a tragic love story

6. Revenge of the Sith - TPC Sawgrass. The Dark Side exacts revenge. Built purposely to be difficult to challenge the absolute best. Oppression for the average golfer.

7. The Force Awakens - TPC Scottsdale. Ok - this is more a critique on a tournament than the course. I had trouble with this one. A new cast of characters with a few old ones, enjoyable,  but you eventually realize its just a redo of the original story, without the mystique and spirituality. Aimed at pulling in new fans, less interested in the traditional ones.

8. The Last Jedi - Top Golf. Other than a name and involving clubs & balls, the original spirit of the game is gone. Designed to attract those seeking entertainment value and with little care of the games origins. Doesn't matter if it makes sense, as long as there are plenty of explosions, witty characters, and buys you time waiting for the next Guardians of the Galaxy to come out.

That's my take. As you can tell I'm not a big fan of the Disney-fied versions thus far. Though I did enjoy Rogue One.

[BHoover]

I would liken Rogue One to a groundbreaking, universally lauded non-hole course.

[Kalen Braley]

Bhoover - Rogue One = Sheep Ranch?


P.S.  I learned something new today.  I didn't realize Star Wars is classified in the Space Opera genre....make sense I suppose.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera

[Alex Miller]

Bhoover - Rogue One = Sheep Ranch?


P.S.  I learned something new today.  I didn't realize Star Wars is classified in the Space Opera genre....make sense I suppose.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera

I'm down with Rogue One as Sheep Ranch! It's my favorite SW movie since... well I'll just say favorite released in my lifetime. 

[Kalen Braley]

I must admit, I never bothered with the 3 Prequels, largely based on the so-so reviews


When The Force Awakens came out and had so many excellent reviews, i saw it, but felt like a duped sheep given it was just a retread of A New Hope with a few wrinkles...


Safe to say, I will not be paying money to see The Last Jedi, given the mixed reviews...but it sounds like I need to see Rogue One if it really is different.

[Josh Tarble]

I actually just tried to watch Phantom Menace for the first time on Saturday night.  It's absolutely one of the worst movies I've ever seen.  I found zero redeeming qualities with it.  It made me mad that it's even considered Star Wars.  Brutal. 


In that regard I vote it as Quintero.  The most irredeemable golf course I've ever played.  It is a perfect example of why golf is too expensive, too hard, too boring and too long. It makes me furious that it's considered a top Arizona course.


And I'm going to see the Last Jedi next weekend. No spoilers! You're actually the first person I've found that hasn't really liked both of the new ones. 

[BHoover]

To be honest, I’ve tried watching the old Star Wars movies. With the exception of The Empire Strikes Back, they are ridiculously bad. I did enjoy Rogue One, however, which was why I thought it was best compared to a good 9-holer.


Full disclosure, I prefer Star Trek. Someone should compare Star Trek flicks to architecturally significan courses.

[Josh Tarble]

To be honest, I’ve tried watching the old Star Wars movies. With the exception of The Empire Strikes Back, they are ridiculously bad. I did enjoy Rogue One, however, which was why I thought it was best compared to a good 9-holer.


Full disclosure, I prefer Star Trek. Someone should compare Star Trek flicks to architecturally significan courses.

Star Trek is a fine TV show with bad movies   


(I actually have liked the rebooted movies - mainly because they're not original Star Trek style)

[BHoover]

To be honest, I’ve tried watching the old Star Wars movies. With the exception of The Empire Strikes Back, they are ridiculously bad. I did enjoy Rogue One, however, which was why I thought it was best compared to a good 9-holer.

Full disclosure, I prefer Star Trek. Someone should compare Star Trek flicks to architecturally significan courses.

Star Trek is a fine TV show with bad movies   

(I actually have liked the rebooted movies - mainly because they're not original Star Trek style)

See, I prefer the movies (both the originals and the reboot) to the TV show. But that’s just me. I also have enjoyed several cartball, target-style courses!

[Kalen Braley]

Cmon now, easy on the older movies man.  It was a different time....and a different standard for special effects and cornball quota! 


P.S.  I saw the original Star Wars at the Drive-Ins with the fam damily.  It was nothing short of epic at the time. 

[Ryan Hillenbrand]

I actually just tried to watch Phantom Menace for the first time on Saturday night.  It's absolutely one of the worst movies I've ever seen.  I found zero redeeming qualities with it.  It made me mad that it's even considered Star Wars.  Brutal. 


In that regard I vote it as Quintero.  The most irredeemable golf course I've ever played.  It is a perfect example of why golf is too expensive, too hard, too boring and too long. It makes me furious that it's considered a top Arizona course.


And I'm going to see the Last Jedi next weekend. No spoilers! You're actually the first person I've found that hasn't really liked both of the new ones.

Come on Josh, you-sa no like- a the Jar Jar Binks? 

That could lead to another thread - Who's the Jar Jar of golf?

[George Pazin]

Golf is too great to have a Jar Jar.


The original Star Wars was a favorite, remains so. Empire was a great follow up; they should have stopped after Jedi.


Anyone who thinks, maybe I should see another, would be better off hitting the links. Any golf course. Any. Golf. Course.


That's about the only link I see to golf courses. The worst golf courses in the world are a better investment of time & $$$ than any of the other movies.

[Ronald Montesano]

Why does this thread exist?


Cannons are for firing, canon is different, Canons are for photos.


ESB cannot be a course as fine as Pine Valley. It needs to be the antithesis of what is revered here. That's the point of bad guys/bad courses. However, if it must be a beloved course, it needs to be one that was altered for the worse, like Luke's hand.


Golf needs a Jar Jar. Everything needs a Jar Jar. Don't take this fncking game so seriously.


If you're going chronologically, ANH cannot be TOC, as ANH is the 4th in the series, and TOC is TOC.


You lost me at Top Golf. That's nae golf.

[jeffwarne]

My interest in  course architecture eclipses only slightly my devotion to Star Wars.. Sitting though the latest installment with a theater full of fellow male Gen Xers, my thoughts wandered to the course equivalent of each chapter in the 8 series.

Here's my list, based on order of release, not number. Let's hear yours. I realize this is relevant only to nerds.

1. A New Hope - The Old Course. The one that started it all, introduced us to a "galaxy far, far away". Enjoyable and full of challenge, but in the end the good guys win.

2. The Empire Strikes Back - Pine Valley. A plot twist where it ends with the bad guys handing the rebels (golfers) a defeat, a course meant to be hard and not necessarily fun. But while licking your wounds most say it's exhilarating and the best of them all.

3. Return of Jedi - Sand Hills. Balanced is returned to The Force. Courses are built again to be fun with less land being moved and the ability for mid to high handicappers to play the course with alternate routes.

4. Phantom Menace - Bandon Dunes Resort - A prequel on the history of the cannon, telling us how we got there, especially for those of us in the States who haven't had a chance to play overseas. Backhanded compliment to Bandon since Phantom Menace had a good start and finish, but boring and corny in the middle, while the same isn't true at Bandon

5. Attack of the Clones - Erin Hills - Another modern design meant to tell the story of an earlier era and be accessible to the average income player, but begins to fracture due to a tragic love story

6. Revenge of the Sith - TPC Sawgrass. The Dark Side exacts revenge. Built purposely to be difficult to challenge the absolute best. Oppression for the average golfer.

7. The Force Awakens - TPC Scottsdale. Ok - this is more a critique on a tournament than the course. I had trouble with this one. A new cast of characters with a few old ones, enjoyable,  but you eventually realize its just a redo of the original story, without the mystique and spirituality. Aimed at pulling in new fans, less interested in the traditional ones.

8. The Last Jedi - Top Golf. Other than a name and involving clubs & balls, the original spirit of the game is gone. Designed to attract those seeking entertainment value and with little care of the games origins. Doesn't matter if it makes sense, as long as there are plenty of explosions, witty characters, and buys you time waiting for the next Guardians of the Galaxy to come out.

That's my take. As you can tell I'm not a big fan of the Disney-fied versions thus far. Though I did enjoy Rogue One.

Ryan,
I like Star Wars, and I think I'd like Top Golf.


Comparing The Last Jedi to either does both of the former an injustice.
It was Star Wars meets Lord of The Rings with a dose of "bad Disney" and Alvin and the Chipmunks.
45 minutes could have been cut and NO ONE would have noticed


My wife and son think I'm a Curmudgeon but I give it emphatic thumbs down

[Garland Bayley]

...
My wife and son think I'm a Curmudgeon but I give it emphatic thumbs down

If you are a Curmudgeon, maybe you best not try TopGolf.

[Nigel Islam]

I just saw The Last Jedi and I am with Ryan on this one. The first movie I ever saw was Star Wars, and I've loved the franchise ever since. I'm just not sure I can embrace the new movie.

[Ally Mcintosh]

My interest in  course architecture eclipses only slightly my devotion to Star Wars.. Sitting though the latest installment with a theater full of fellow male Gen Xers, my thoughts wandered to the course equivalent of each chapter in the 8 series.

Here's my list, based on order of release, not number. Let's hear yours. I realize this is relevant only to nerds.

1. A New Hope - The Old Course. The one that started it all, introduced us to a "galaxy far, far away". Enjoyable and full of challenge, but in the end the good guys win.

2. The Empire Strikes Back - Pine Valley. A plot twist where it ends with the bad guys handing the rebels (golfers) a defeat, a course meant to be hard and not necessarily fun. But while licking your wounds most say it's exhilarating and the best of them all.

3. Return of Jedi - Sand Hills. Balanced is returned to The Force. Courses are built again to be fun with less land being moved and the ability for mid to high handicappers to play the course with alternate routes.

4. Phantom Menace - Bandon Dunes Resort - A prequel on the history of the cannon, telling us how we got there, especially for those of us in the States who haven't had a chance to play overseas. Backhanded compliment to Bandon since Phantom Menace had a good start and finish, but boring and corny in the middle, while the same isn't true at Bandon

5. Attack of the Clones - Erin Hills - Another modern design meant to tell the story of an earlier era and be accessible to the average income player, but begins to fracture due to a tragic love story

6. Revenge of the Sith - TPC Sawgrass. The Dark Side exacts revenge. Built purposely to be difficult to challenge the absolute best. Oppression for the average golfer.

7. The Force Awakens - TPC Scottsdale. Ok - this is more a critique on a tournament than the course. I had trouble with this one. A new cast of characters with a few old ones, enjoyable,  but you eventually realize its just a redo of the original story, without the mystique and spirituality. Aimed at pulling in new fans, less interested in the traditional ones.

8. The Last Jedi - Top Golf. Other than a name and involving clubs & balls, the original spirit of the game is gone. Designed to attract those seeking entertainment value and with little care of the games origins. Doesn't matter if it makes sense, as long as there are plenty of explosions, witty characters, and buys you time waiting for the next Guardians of the Galaxy to come out.

That's my take. As you can tell I'm not a big fan of the Disney-fied versions thus far. Though I did enjoy Rogue One.

Ryan,
I like Star Wars, and I think I'd like Top Golf.


Comparing The Last Jedi to either does both of the former an injustice.
It was Star Wars meets Lord of The Rings with a dose of "bad Disney" and Alvin and the Chipmunks.
45 minutes could have been cut and NO ONE would have noticed


My wife and son think I'm a Curmudgeon but I give it emphatic thumbs down

They needed to cut out a subplot or two, slow down a few scenes and reduce the jump cuts. Other than that, I liked the left turns in the plot.

[MJohnson]

I was only able to get into the original Star Wars film at the third attempt. The first two nights, we queued and failed. I enjoyed it at the time as it was so ground breaking. It probably looks old now as the special effects have come on a lot since then.


I can't imagine going to see the new film as I have not seen the last four and the volume is always turned up so high. Shows my age I suppose.

[Thomas Dai]

“May the 4th be with you” said the golfer to his playing partner who had just taken a double-bogie on the 3rd.
Groan
Atb

[Matt MacIver]

Jar Jar = Doak 0...no reason to exist, waste of money.


I disliked the ending of both Rogue One and Last Jedi...much like Wild Dunes Links...or Cypress Point from what’s said here.

[Peter Pallotta]

An aside: maybe another way that Star Wars is like golf courses is that it's important you watch/play them at the right time in your life.
I never watched the original Star Wars as a kid. The first time I saw it I was in my early 30s, and by then I'd already seen the parodies (Mel Brooks' Space Balls) and read the deep thoughts (Joseph Campbell on its mythic elements). It was bound to be a disappointment, and it was. I've never been able to get into the series since.
Which is to say: if you're a 19 year old hot shot who hits it 300 yards, I wonder if you can 'get' NGLA. Or someone like me, who probably should try to play hidden gems instead of 10s -- because after years of reading *about* Pinehurst #2 and Sand Hills, I must have dozens of (unhelpful) preconceptions I'd bring to the table and that would get in the way.
All that said, though, Yoda seems like a truly great golf course -- no amount of parody or homage can touch or dampen his unique charm.

[Brian Finn]

I hesitate to even dip my toe in this water, but it seems the most fun analogies to draw might be between characters and courses, to which many have already alluded.

Yoda seems like a truly great golf course -- no amount of parody or homage can touch or dampen his unique charm.

I'll pick off the lowest hanging fruit, and hopefully experts will weigh in with more nuanced examples.

Yoda = The Old Course

[BHoover]

Spaceballs is Tobacco Road

[John Kavanaugh]

My Dad was 17 when WWII ended and I was 17 when the original Star Wars hit the theaters. A couple of you had to be there moments.

[Sven Nilsen]

ANH is pre-spruce up NGLA.  The reworked version is not post-spruce up NGLA.