THE SECOND PLAYS DOWN TO THE LOWPOINT ON THE PROPERTY - THE GREEN HARD AGAINST THE STONE WALL

THE SIMPLE YET EXCELLENT PAR THREE FOURTH

I had obviously heard great things about this course. One friend who has traveled all over chooses it as his favorite in the world. While I would not go that far, I do believe that it is one of the best I have had the pleasure of playing and easily in the world top 10. I think it has more in common with Shinnecock than the other links courses I played on the trip. The fairways are relatively flat and have very little rumple or small scale contour. The course is very fair which is not a prerequisite for me to like a course, and in fact I often find fair boring and mundane. Where Muirfield shines is the routing. It takes advantage of every aspect of the property and flows seamlessly – one good hole after another.

THE SECOND SHOT AFTER A BLIND TEE SHOT AT THE ELEVENTH (VERY EVOCATIVE OF THE SEVENTEENTH AT YALE)

When you combine the course with the experience – four ball in the AM, an amazing lunch with a few Kummels, and then an foursomes match in the afternoon – and the result is one of the most enjoyable days in my golfing life.

THE SUPERB THIRTEENTH PLAYS TO ONE OF THE LARGER CONTOURS ON PROPERTY

THE HOME HOLE

]]> http://punchbowlgolf.com/2010/08/muirfield/feed/ 7 http://punchbowlgolf.com/2010/08/long-time-no-blog/ http://punchbowlgolf.com/2010/08/long-time-no-blog/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:39:49 +0000 Will Smith http://punchbowlgolf.com/?p=2160

ZACH KELLY ESCAPES FROM SHELL BUNKER

Its been a while. I have been working very hard on starting a new business and have had no time to update the website. It is my hope in the coming months to get back in the habit of updating the site. I will start with some photos and comments from a recent trip to Scotland with Murray International Golf. Cameron Murray, owner of the company, is a friend and he does an amazing job of putting  together an itinerary and making sure things go smoothly. I can not recommend his services more highly.

Stay tuned for Muirfield…

THE SIXTEENTH AT MACH DUNES

In this third and final part of my interview with David McLay Kidd about Mach Dunes (part 1 and part 2, here), the architect refutes one of my and others’ main criticisms of the course- an unwieldy routing with lots of blind shots and long transitions between greens and tees. It was my thought that if David and his team had compacted the routing at Mach Dunes and created a shorter course (7,200 yards was about the yardage from the tips) that wandered over less of the site, than maybe the environmentalists would have been more willing to make a few concessions and allow slightly more grading in the affected areas, resulting in a more playable and walkable course.

David refutes this by saying that he believed that they would look at it in the complete opposite way, that making the affected areas more compact would increase the overall degradation of the natural environment of the site. He also defends the length by saying that Tom Doak has made building shorter courses “half trendy”  and he was trying to build something that would still be a challenge 100 years from now and was different from its 6,400 yard neighbor. If only David was accurate in saying that a trend was developing around shorter courses golf would be in a much better and more sustainable place. (Video after the jump).

Our conversation shifted to the cost of building an extreme minimalist course like Mach Dunes. David shared that the construction cost of the course was half of what Bandon Dunes  cost a decade earlier. This was partly because of the restrictions and also because it was a project without significant backing.

David is very frank in saying that the course may not meet people expectations if they are hoping for a modern, polished golf course- “it could be that people’s expectations are far higher than what the course is not capable of delivering today.” He goes on to say that Mach Dunes is “a step way the hell back in time,” but the fundamentals are there and it will take time for the course to evolve in to greatness.

We also talk about his design at the Gleneagles West development which may open in 2012 and then we talk about an amazing site on the Washington coast that is permitted and was once under construction. Unfortunately the environmental restrictions are such, that in my opinion, a good course could not be built. David poses the question about how far we as golf guys would be willing to go to be able to build a course on sand next to the ocean. And that ultimately is the question. At Mach Dunes, David gives his answer. It is my sincere hope for David and the game of golf, that the course is given the time to evolve and change into the great course that it could be.

THE BEAUTIFUL SETTING AT MACH DUNES

This is the second part of my lengthy discussion with David McLay Kidd about his new course Mach Dunes in Scotland (Part One, here). One aspect of Kidd’s perspective on the course that I really respect is his bravery to put a product out there that he and the rest of the team knows has flaws. As he tells me, he wants the course to be judged on what it will become in fifty years when it has had a chance to evolve through grow in, management and environmentally sensitive alterations and not in one snap shot on opening day. You don’t hear an architect say this very often because it is sign of his lack of control. It is also show of humility that is often wanting in today’s top architects. (Video and Interview after the jump)

As Kidd says, getting the course in the ground was only the first step of many which may be tough story for many golfers to understand after making the trek out to the Mull of Kintyre. I am looking forward to seeing how the course changes over the decades, and I do think that is time frame we are looking at without a major change in environmental regulation.

Mach Dunes is a rarity in modern golf, a throwback to the 19th century where man did not have the ability to move large amounts of earth. Of course many of these course have been altered over the past century to make them more playable. At Mach Dunes, Kidd and team certainly had the technological ability to move dirt, but they were simply not allowed to. The restrictions seemed draconian and it seems like every minor grassing line, bunker, and tee site were endlessly argued over. The question is whether enough golfers will enjoy this rugged and different form of golf to make Mach Dunes a regular stop on their tour of Scotland.

One element that I did not get to experience is the grazing of sheep to control the rough. When I was there the rough was very thick as there had been very little play to thin it out. Kidd points out that the sheep had always been part of the ecology of the site and in fact the construction period was the only time that they not been on the site for as long as he can remember which has led to a denser native rough at opening. “The sheep are not a tourist attraction,” says Kidd. The black faced sheep were chosen because of they type of vegetation that they do or do not eat. As Kidd points out, Mach Dunes is breaking ground when it comes to looking at a site’s ecology and how it functions before and after the construction of the golf course. Golf will only benefit from this holistic approach.

Sagebrush was on my short list of places I wanted to get to this year, but after seeing this video, it has jumped to the top of my list. I spoke with Richard Zokol this afternoon and he let me know that USGA is going to conduct a case study on Sagebrush’s firm and fast conditions. As another storm rolls into DC, it’s stuff like this that really feeds the day dreams.

AN ERODED BUNKER AT MACH DUNES

Mach Dunes opened in July of this past year at roughly the same time as Castle Stuart to the north. Neither is in the heart of Scottish golf touring area and so few if any have played them both. I did make it out to the Mull of Kintyre a few weeks before it opened and I had been warned in an email from architect David McLay Kidd, to, “just remember it’s a work in progress not a Fazio-esque insta-course!” I took this to heart and did not worry about conditioning as I played my way around. (Video and Interview with DMK after the jump)

There were some aspects of Mach Dunes that I thoroughly enjoyed. I thought the bunker work was excellent. The hazards look very natural and the chunks and clods of the faces that had fallen away and eroded really gave the course a rustic and ancient feel. Much has been made of the wild contours on the greens at the Kidd’s Castle course on the East coast, and similar contours can be found here. I did not find them overwhelming and if kept at the right speed, they will be enjoyable.

There were other elements of the course that I did not like nearly as much, such as its playability and routing. I knew that Kidd had been under very tight environmental restrictions on this project, and when I left the course, I leaned toward believing that if this was the best that could be produced than maybe the land even though it consisted of beautiful dunes should not have been converted into a golf course. Others who have made the trek out to Mach Dunes have had mixed things to say. This site’s co-creator Colin Sheehan who played the course just after its opening went further by writing a negative post on golfclubatlas.com, which immediately met with criticism from a number of sources.

I decided to go directly to David McLay Kidd and get the whole story. The result was a very interesting conversation that I recorded and have edited into a series of videos. In this first video, David explains in detail the background of the project. You can clearly hear his passion for this project. While each of the videos are long, I do believe that they shed some light on how Mach Dunes came to be, why the course is the way it is and where golf course design and development is heading in the face of stricter and stricter environmental restrictions.

The second video will cover the decision to build Mach Dunes, the expectations of the golfing public, and a discussion of using sheep to manage the roughs.

The third video will cover the routing and the future of environmentally sensitive golf projects.

The Isle of Man sits dead in the smack of the Irish Sea, almost equidistant from the coastlines of Ireland and the U.K. As I later learned, it is part of the British Isles, but technically not British, or Irish for that matter. It is not under the rule of the Queen, not a member of the EU, and has its own identity entirely – stamps, currency, government, etc. Its low income tax and “relaxed financial regulations” make it a tax-shelter haven. And no joke, the native Manx cats have no tails.

As is often found on the course, golf isn’t just about the drive; sometimes it’s the approach that counts. Castletown’s first impression was one of the most unique I’ve encountered. As our chartered plane approached the island from above, a Y-shaped peninsula came into view. The terrain looked a blend of dirty brown and sage green. It took me only a minute to realize those pastures weren’t fields at all but fairways, our fairways!

Our second approach to the course via the sweeping lane that separates a shallow beach from the golf course reflected the unpretentiousness that often accompanies good links golf. No big fancy signs, no guardhouse to keep out the rif-raf, and no elaborate landscaping either; just the sea on the left and the course on the right. Castletown Golf Links is no slouch of a course by any stretch of the imagination. In its remoteness one may think that no course designer worth his shirt would have ventured this far to layout a championship venue. Wrong. The course was originally designed by Old Tom Morris himself and revamped by Mackenzie Ross, Turnberry’s re-designer, after WWII.

THE DIMINUNITIVE THIRTEENTH

One trip around the links and it is evident why two legendary course designers have put their stamp here. The panoramic views of the Irish Sea are endlessly breathtaking. After all, the course is virtually surrounded by water on all four sides. The Langness Peninsula also lacks the large sand dunes that are commonly found on seaside courses. While it makes for some fantastic views, it also provides no shelter to break the unrelenting wind that will howl for all 18-holes. This is my promise to you.

The teeth that are built into Castletown Golf Links are given even more of an edge since my focus was often led astray. I admit that originally I had a tough time recalling a few of the holes on my singular trek around. One hole which did not suffer from my lapse in memory was the par-3, 13^th. It is a prime example of how a hole need not be long to be difficult. At 133-yards in length, from the back tee no less, looking at the scorecard one may think it is a birdie opportunity. Wrong. I can assure that it is downright impossible to hold a shot on putting surface with the prevailing helping gale.

THE SPECTACULAR SEVENTEENTH

The Prairie Club has released two videos recently. The one above is of Tom Lehman talking about the design of the Dunes course and specifically the sixth hole. Having spent a great deal of time on this hole including shaping the green, I can’t wait to get back out there and see and play it next summer. I have said many times that working with Tom and Chris Brands was an enjoyable and educational experience. I am very proud of the product we produced and I hope that they will get the credit and additional work they deserve.

Video of the Pines course after the jump.

This video features Graham Marsh talking about what a pleasure it was to work in such ideal land for golf. I have heard that the Prairie Club team has been hard at work making this course even better than when I last saw it in the fall of ‘08. The course has a different feel to it thanks to some pine trees and its location near the canyon rim.

I hope the video of the HORSE course is soon to follow (Geoff Shackelford’s video of it can be found here)

An interview with Tom Lehman from the day before construction can be found here.

An interview with fellow shaper Kyle Franz can be found here.

Tim Liddy recently went to Australia with a golf study tour of Alister MacKenzie courses by the ASGCA, SAGCA and EIGCA . They studied New South Wales, Royal Sydney, Metropolitan, Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath. Tim has a good friend (Andy Coogan, who grew up across the street from Carnoustie Golf Course in Scotland -another story) that lives in Melbourne and is a member of Victoria Golf Club, so he took the opportunity to study Victoria and talk to its Director of Grounds Ian Todd.

Above is some of their conversation.

Thanks to Tim for shooting and editing this interview. When I was at Victoria in 2003, I had the pleasure of playing the course with Mike Clayton who has been in charge of restoring and renovating the course. It was one of the most pleasurable rounds of the decade and his thoughts on golf course design made a strong impression on me at the time. The work he has done there is remarkable, and Victoria is not to be missed.

Welcome to Golf House Club at Elie, you are on the south coast of Fife in Scotland, a stiff forty-five minute drive south from the home of the sport. The spectacle bunkers at that awkward bunker shot distance from the 12th green seem a fitting vantage to view this spectacular yet unheralded links. The two shot 13th in the distance wriggles away from the rocky coast to its green nestled at the base of the cliff, before the routing heads inland and upland.

A truly hospitable links for those who enjoy missing crowds, and reasonably fared to boot. One of the few courses to feature a parascope–a necessary modern addition to safely navigate the rocky crag at the first tee and potential litigation thereafter. Also, the town sports one of the finest restaurants in country–Sangster’s–for you foodies.