Tom Doak and John Dunn stroll twelfth hole at Old Macdoanld and discuss this version of the classic North Berwick hole. Another great view for any fan of golf course design. My hats off to the Kemper Sports team. They sure know how to build up buzz for their new offerings.

THE FOURTEENTH AT BALLYNEAL

The back nine at Ballyneal is every bit as good as the front, if not better. While it may not have any holes as good as the seventh, I believe that top to bottom it is one of the best nines in golf. To me the tenth is a great par four that rewards the bold drive over the bunker on the right. A safer drive to the left will most likely leave a blind approach. This is a feature often seen at Ballyneal, where the fairways are extremely wide. This strategy puts a higher premium on driving than first appears. (Video after the jump)

Ballyneal is a course that reveals itself over multiple plays. One can not help be blown away by the scale and beauty of the place on the first time around, but playing it in a variety of wind conditions and pin positions shows off the subtlety and detail of the design. The closer is a clever dog leg left that unlike many holes on the course only has a dune on one side of the hole rather than both. The safe play is out to the right which is the correct play if the pin is on the right. If the pin is left the player is faced with an approach over a pair of cavernous bunkers. He can try to fly them and hold the green or he can use the contour to swing a running approach around them. Some of have criticized the hole as being a let down as a closer. To me this criticism falls flat. The people who say this have not been playing close enough attention to the course itself, but instead have been paying too much to the surroundings.

What’s your favorite hole on the back?

Another great video of Old Mac. I won’t editorialize too much, but I do think it interesting that both the road hole green and the redan (11 & 12) at Old Mac do not have any bunkers behind them. It certainly makes for manageable recovery shots even though there will be less chance for a heroic up and down. Also, this is far and away the most sartorially put together I have ever seen Tom Doak.

A BEAUTIFUL APPROACH AT THE 14TH

I was fortunate enough to make it out to Cherry Hills this year to see the work that Renaissance Golf completed last fall. Cherry Hills has never been my favorite course. When I lived in Denver, I attended a caddy orientation class there but opted to loop at Denver Country Club because I liked the course better. Renaissance led by Eric Iverson redid every bunker on the course, altered the third and thirteenth holes, and cleared a select number of trees. The work has started to reveal the potential of the place and I hope that the membership will realize that with a more aggressive makeover, the pride of Denver golf could leap to the upper echelon of  William Flynn designs.

The routing on this course is very solid, with the front nine occupying the interior of the property and the back working around the outside. The first few holes, after the famous opening tee shot, are relatively flat. The new third is short par-four that requires a well stuck tee shot to avoid the myriad of bunkers. The green is elevated and surrounded by tight mow. The course starts to hit its stride at the fifth and never really slows down after that.

The tree clearing that has been completed only illustrates how much more is necessary. There are still a number of spruces that should be removed both for aesthetics and for playability. The clubhouse sits above the course on a hill and should have spectacular views of the mountains. While the Rockies can be glimpsed here and there, they are often blocked by unnecessary trees. Cutting down trees should help with drainage and getting the course to play firmer and faster.

Additional tree clearing will help the course but the thing that will make Cherry Hills stand out, would be the renovation of the creek that winds through the course. Old photos show the creek as a sandy wash that was natural and rustic. This creek has been channelized and is now devoid of character. Surrounded in blue grass and removed from the line of play, the creeks are an afterthought in their current configuration. An aggressive stream restoration would vastly enhance the uniqueness of the course and add to the strategy of the golf holes.

Take the 14th pictured at the top of the post. This is already a very good hole, but imagine the creek on the left as a sandy wash, darting into the corner in front of the green. The hole could become all world. While Cherry Hills has been adding length to combat altitude and advances in technology, bringing the creek more into play would have a more tangible affect on the difficulty of the course.

Renaissance Golf, working off some thorough research from Mark Fine, has done a splendid job restoring some of the luster to jewel of Denver golf. I hope that they are given the opportuntiy to really make it shine.

GOLFERS EJOYING A BEAUTIFUL EVENING AT COMMON GROUND

The game of golf is at a crossroads. We can chose to continue develop costly and overdone courses that are too difficult and too expensive to play or we can look for new solutions. At Common Ground Golf Course near Denver, Tom Doak and the rest of the Renaissance team have reworked an uninspiring and dull course into a compelling design filled with both subtle and bold strategies. And they did it all for $4.5 million. The average guy  pays $50 or less to play a course that engages the mind and body. While this is not Tom’s greatest course, it is one of his greatest achievements.

I was able to stop in at Common Ground in the the spring of 2008 while the course was still under construction. Eric Iverson, Renaissance’s lead design associate on the job, gave Kyle Franz and me a tour around the site. I captured some video as we discussed Renaissance’s plans for the course and some of the inspiration for the feature work and look of the place. I returned this past spring for a round and was blown away at how well they had executed their vision for the place (Video after the jump)

I will go into more details about the course in a later post, but the bottom line is that this a fun golf course that has not been dumbed down for the masses. There is a good mix of wild and relatively subtle greens. The bunkers are expertly placed to make the golfer think about every tee shot and every approach. The conditions for this young course were superb, with the dwarf-bluegrass playing firm and fast.

While golf course aficianado may be studying some of Doak’s better known works like Pacific Dunes and Ballyneal eighty years from now, modern golf course architects should make a point in studying Common Ground today.

THE SUBLIME SECOND AT BALLYNEAL

Kye Goalby and I snuck out to Ballyneal for two rounds of golf recently. It was the first time out there in over a year and we were anxious to see the how things were evolving out in the Colorado Sand Hills.

Every time I visit Ballyneal,  I am reminded about what a great place it was to work and now to visit. Rupert O’Neal has shown a deft touch when it comes to adding buildings, creating a very cozy and intimate feel with the lodges. The new bar with its panoramic view of the chop hills and the golf course is awesome. And all of that is just a lead in to the Tom Doak designed golf course. (Video of the front nine after the jump)

This video focuses on the front nine. You know you are in for a different experience when you open the scorecard and see that there are not individual tee yardages, but rather a range of yardage. This seemingly small difference really sets the tone. It signifies that you are not going out on the course with the idea of posting a score for your handicap, but rather you are heading out to have FUN and hit creative golf shots. And that’s exactly what the course was designed for.

The second is a great example. After climbing up to one of the highest points on the course, the player is invited to let rip with a driver. Downwind a well struck drive can be propelled way down the hill. Into the wind, one would be lucky if they were hitting less than a long iron into this green. Either way, the green is open on the right so that players can run the ball in. The green itself is one of the tamer on the course, which means that it is still rather wild. There are a ton of cool shots around the green- most but not all ask the player to play along the ground and use the contours to get the ball close to the hole.

The seventh is another great example. This short, drivable par-four plays around the corner of a chop hill to a green that is nestled between two large slopes. What makes this hole so distinctive and fun is that the area to the left of the green is all mowed tightly. This leads to a myriad of options on both the approach and on putts. The massive contour allows players to swing the ball into pin positions that are tucked between the bunkers that eat into the right side of the  green. The seventh is just a fabulous hole.

These are two of my favorites, but the rest of the nine is equally enjoyable. For those who have been there, what’s your favorite hole on the front?

Josh's Painting of the Seventh at Ballyneal

The first time I met Josh Smith was in Valentine, NE. I had just hit a grouse with my sweet PT Cruiser rental. The grouse had gone through the grill and completely disabled the car. I pulled up in front of the hotel after the lone taxi in the area had come fetch me forty miles down the highway. I was short on cash and Josh was quick to cover the last twenty that I owed. I knew I would like the guy right away.

Josh is one of the most interesting people I have come across in the world of golf course design, construction and maintenance. He has seen the business from a wide variety of angles, but perhaps his most unique perspective stems from his immense talents as an oil painter. (Video interview after the jump)

Josh’s path in the world of golf has been long and winding. Like many in the business, Josh has worked hard to find a niche that allows him to be intimately involved in the game he loves. I see some similarities in his story and mine. First and most interesting is the effect that Pacific Dunes had on his thinking on golf course architecture and his desire to be involved in golf course design and construction. Secondly, is the kindness showed to him by the likes of Tom Doak and Mike DeVries. The world of golf is often cutthroat but I know how much effort some in the business take in fostering the dreams and ambitions of people just starting out.

The video above features a number of Josh’s paintings and Josh tells the tale of of his circuitous path in golf. For anyone considering a career in golf, it is an educational and enlightening story. The second part of the video will follow soon.

THE INCREDIBLE SETTING OF CAPE KIDNAPPERS

The setting of Cape Kidnappers is so spectacular, I’m not sure it matters whether the golf course there is any good.  But this website is devoted to golf course architecture, so that’s the direction we’ll go.

Apart from the scenery, my first impression after playing Cape Kidnappers was that the topography is quite severe.  For anyone who’s ever seen pictures of the place, this might seem obvious – of course fingers of land bordered by frighteningly deep ravines that culminate in 500 foot cliffs down to the Tasman Sea constitutes extreme topography – but those fingers, apart from being jaw-droppingly dramatic, are also the most gently sloped and best-suited land for golf on the property (given one huge bridge to make the routing work.)   The rest of the course, however, is located in hillier, choppier land, also divided by deep ravines, but with much less spectacular views.  The challenge for Tom Doak and his crew, led by associate Bruce Hepner, was to match the quality and complement the drama of those finger land holes with a set of inland holes occupying more difficult and less thrilling terrain.  Not an easy task.

Overall, I was very impressed with the inland holes.  Doak and company were able to make these holes interesting and playable despite the severity of the topography. The approach to the first hole, for example, plays from a sidehill landing area across a ravine to a green benched into a fairly steep hillside. Instead of being a monstrously difficult opener, the hole is actually quite playable – the ravine is seamlessly filled, eliminating a potentially difficult forced carry, and the green, still tough to hit with a long approach, offers a generous amount of fairway right of its surface where the golfer is likely to miss given his sidehill stance in the tee shot landing area.

THE APPROACH TO THE FOURTH

Several of the inland holes were among my favorites on the course.  The short par five 4th plays blind over a ridge and down into a huge right-to-left sloping fairway, making possible a great second up a hill, to a green set on the far side of a diagonal ravine dotted with bunkers.  A broad upslope in the putting surface means it isn’t good enough to just get the second shot in the vicinity of the green for an easy birdie.  A short shot from the wrong side of the green can make for a very difficult up and down.

THE SEVENTH

The long par four 7th plays back inland from the cliff-side sixth, across a deep ravine to a fairway set into the crest of a saddle.  From the landing area, the approach plays downhill across a valley to a raised green attractively framed by dramatic bunkering.  Given the severe contour of the land surrounding this fairway and green site, it is likely that quite a lot of work was required just to make the hole playable, but whatever earthwork was done blends in beautifully with the natural topography.  The green complex is one of my favorite on the course, which is quite impressive considering it looks to be entirely created from a broad and bland hillside.

And lastly of the inland holes to note is the long par four 18th.  The hole’s primary difficulty is encountered on the tee shot, which plays uphill to a crowned fairway running diagonally from right-to-left away the golfer.  The green, set down into a narrow valley, acts as a punchbowl, gathering shots onto its surface from around its edges.  Undulations in the putting surface, however, call for good distance control on the approach in order to avoid a tough two putt.

THE PAR THREE SIXTH

HITTING AN APPROACH TO THE TWELFTH

Of course the land closest to the Tasman Sea provides for some excellent golf as well.  Doak’s routing does a good job of interspersing these finger land holes with the inland holes.  The golfer gets a taste of being cliff-side for two holes – the 5th and 6th – on the front nine, before a more substantial stretch on the back nine from twelve through sixteen that plays back and forth, and across the fingers.  Of these, the par three 6th – playing across a deep ravine to a green set into a saddle near cliff edge – and the long par four 12th – where the green is located just past a diagonal rise in the fairway and set against the limitless backdrop of the Tasman – make the best marriage of spectacular setting and inspiring golf.

THE TEE SHOT ON THE FOURTEENTH (MATTHEW MOLLICA)

Finally, the modified road hole green of the short par 4 14th deserves special mention.  Possessing the narrow, angled, and raised surface of the original, the green here ties into a rise behind the green, creating a slot beyond the road hole pot bunker where a short approach can be run onto the back of the green.  The smart – and long – golfer will therefore play long and left of the green off the tee in order to set up a clever approach angle to a back hole location and avoid the ravine that runs the length of the hole.

THE FOURTEENTH GREEN

Playing golf in such a spectacular setting tends to minimize any critical feelings one might have toward the golf course but, fortunately, at Cape Kidnappers nothing really stands out as a missed opportunity.  The weakest hole in my opinion – the par three 3rd – is necessary to negotiate the choppy terrain right of the second hole and, importantly, make possible the great 4th.   The 5th hole, despite a great piece of land, wide fairway, and centerline bunkering, stands out as one of my least favorite holes – mostly because it doesn’t seem reasonable to lay up on the right side of the fairway for a better angle when a short lob to a large green could be had by going left (though that angle could be much more valuable to a shorter hitter).

Cape Kidnappers is worth a visit solely because of its breathtaking location.  But the golf course makes the most of the site’s natural gifts – the routing complements the scenery and maximizes the best features of the property while remaining very playable despite some challenging terrain – and it possesses the details that make for thoughtful and interesting golf.

PACIFIC"S AMAZING THIRTEENTH (COURTESY OF LARRY LAMBRECHT)

On my trip to Bandon in February, I played Pacific Dunes for the first time since the Renaissance Cup, six or seven years ago. I was relatively new to golf course design and certainly new to the construction side of things when I last played there and I have since seen a lot more great courses. I was anxious to see if the course was as good as I remembered it. It was and then some. While playing I filmed a little video and took a few pictures which can be seen after the jump.

The routing explores the property that produces a golf course that has a wonderful rhythm and pace. The Pacific is encountered and then turned away from only to be embraced a few holes later. The interior holes like seven and eight are as good as the clifftop fourth and thirteenth. The tenth and eleventh are such outstanding holes that it far exceeds the awkwardness of having back to back par threes.

The bunkers are some of the best in golf. They have evolved and eroded to look even more natural than they did when the course opened. The staff does an amazing job of getting the course to play firm and fast. I love the way the greens seamlessly bleed into the surrounds with no definition to the green edge. This encourages players to play the ball along and use the great contours that surround the greens.

The thing that really stood out to me though was the greens themselves. Much has been said about how the owner Mike Keiser wanted somewhat conservative green contours because he believed that is what the retail golfer (the resort guest) would prefer. Under these constraints, the Renaissance team produced an amazing set of greens that are in no way boring. There are filled with lots of small scale humps and rolls that make putting fun but nothing goofy that can lead to a long day. You feel that if you are having a good day on the greens, reading them well and putting a good stroke on the ball, than you can make some putts. I love wild green contour, but the greens at Pacific Dunes are an excellent example of how to use small scale contour in a way that produces exciting and interesting greens.

Seeing the first eleven holes at Pacific Dunes under hydroseed was one of the reasons that I decided to get into the golf course design business. I was happy that after a long time away, the course still inspired me. Thanks Tom, Jim, Brian, Bruce, Don and the rest of the Renaissance crew.