MID OCEAN"S FAMOUS FIFTH

I traveled to Bermuda at the end of October right after the PGA Grand Slam. I had long wanted to see this course because of its C.B. Macdonald design heritage. The fifth hole makes just about every list of the eighteen best holes in the world. After strolling the course and playing a round, I was duly impressed.

(video after the jump)

For me, Macdonald courses are like coming home. His use of template holes create a continuity to his designs, but each course is distinct. Macdonald used templates as a jumping off point for his holes, letting the site and the terrain dictate the end result. Eighty years later his courses are still fun and playable, yet challenging. His greens are bold, but not in the artificial way found on modern courses.

I had the opportunity to interview Norman Furtado, the course’s long time superintendent, on the fourth green. In this first of three videos he discusses the courses design history and their recent switch to tifeagle bermuda, which resulted in some alterations to the putting surfaces. This work was conducted by Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf.

This past spring I spent a little time helping out Jim Wagner of Hanse Golf Course Design at French Creek Golf Club in Elverson, PA. I was there to assist in making a few changes to a number of bunkers mostly due to maintenance issues. This video shows the work that was done to the massive bunker that crosses the seventeenth hole, a medium length par three.

French Creek is truly a very unique course. Gil and Jim are not afraid to take chances in their routings and in building their courses. I have a few other French Creek videos that we will be rolling out soon.- W.S.

Tom’s enthusiasm for anything related to golf, from green design to siting of the clubhouse, is evident in the fianl product at the Prairie Club. He and Chris decided to route the golf course in a way that was very different from how Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw used the landscape at Sand Hills and Tom Doak did at Ballyneal. The course attacks the dunes and the result is a dramatic course that is still very playable due the course’s width.- WS

Finishing the first green at the Prairie Club

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