Has Kapalua Plantation become....

[BCrosby]

Michael -

I agree. Take no. 1 at Cuscowilla. A very wide fairway. A Wal-Mart parking lot for a fairway. Yet the only way to get at the green is from the left near the nasty bunkers on that side. Terrific stuff.

I think Cuscowilla's only weakness is its par 5's. It only has two and one of them I don't like much (no. 14). I've never been able to figure out where to hit my second shot on that hole. (I would love to know why C&C only built two at Cusco. It wasn't like they had space limitations.)

I've never played KP and have no feel for the wild terraine. But on TV the par 5's there look delicious and much superior to the two at Cusco.

It took a lot of guts to design KP. It took more guts to build it. It is sui generis among courses most of us play or see on TV. But you are right, Cuscowilla, though not as daring, has lots of design similarities.

Bob

[Mike Hendren]

Doug and Bob,

The tall stuff right of the short par-three on the back caught my attention and prompted my previous post.  

The following quotes were from Golfweek:

"Appleby hit into the shoulder-high brush and had to take a penalty drop so far back that his only option was to hit wedge to where most guys where landing their drives. He hit 7-iron to 5 feet for a bogey, saved par out of a bunker on the next hole, and it only got better."  

"Appleby led by as many as four shots when he made the turn, but his momentum slowed when he tried to drive the green on the 305-yard 14th and lost his ball in the waist-high vegetation and had to scramble to make bogey."

"Woods lost his opening tee shot and made double bogey, missed a 4-foot par putt on the next and spent the rest of the day trying to make up lost ground. He wound up with a 3-under 70 and was nine shots behind."

Regards,

Mike  

[Michael Whitaker]

Bob - I like 14! Especially the crossbunkers you have to clear for your second shot. It's a tough hole that takes three good shots to reach the green and then, like every hole at Cuscowilla, it's a bitch to get down in two.

We usually play the "Middle" tees at Cuscowilla, sometimes moving to the back tee on 9 and 18 to play them as par 5's. Both holes are in the 490 range from the back tee, but finishing uphill as they do on the approach shots they feel like holes in the 510-520 range. It makes for a fun finish to the nines.

We've GOT to organize an outing down there this spring or summer!

[grandwazo]

My pal has returned from his week at Kapalua as the guest of Mercedes and offers the following update.  He had the pleasure of Roger Clemens and Olin Browne as his playing partners, Roger can hit it 300+ yards and next to Tiger had the biggest gallery throughout the day.  Olin Browne was a very, very nice guy and a pleasure to play with.  The Plantation Course is amazing when you get to experience the elevation changes in person and it is without a doubt a strategic golf course even though it looks like you could land a 747 on many of the fairways.  The course was in impeccable condition, the greens running just quick enough to balance out the severity of the slope.  They had a ton of rain just prior to the tournament, but the course had no issues.  Mercedes does everything first class and the Pro's were in absolute heaven.  One topic of conversation was that from a family point of view, Disney is the best event if you have a young family, as a golf professional, strictly from a golf point of view, the Memorial is the best event, but from an overall experience, especially with a wife or girlfriend along for the trip, the Mercedes Championship is their favorite.  BTW, my friend is a New Yorker and Clemens conveniently forgot to mention his plans for next season.

[BCrosby]

Michael -

My problem with the second shot at 14 at Cusco is that all the alternatives seem unattractive. Hit it over the cross bunkers and you are left with a severe uphill/sidehill shot. Hit it down to the left and the next shot to the green is too long. I did find a flat, narrow alley just right of the cross bunkers once (though I didn't mean to hit it there). Also, the flat, fill dirt landing area for the drive seems more unnatural than the rest of the course.

Again, only hole on the course I don't love.

An outing at Cuscowilla would be a great idea. Consider me signed up.

Bob

P.S. We might want to swing by Madison and check out MIke Young's new course there. The front nine should be playable this Spring. So far, it looks fantastic. It is definitely worth a side trip.