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revkev

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I'm very blessed to be playing two incredibly different and contrasting golf course on a regular basis.

 

I've switched leagues this year and my league course is Temple Terrace in Tampa. The designer was Tom Bendelow who designed Medinah outside of Chicago. The course was built in 1921 and is very unique for Florida in that it has a healthy dose of elevation change. It's tight with lots of mature trees and in play OB. It's only about 6400 from the tips which is where my handicap group plays from. Even at that there is only one par 4 over 400 and that plays downhill. The greens are very small and subtle. It's certainly a course that demands accuracy and creativity as you have to carve shots under and around trees to well guarded greens.

 

My club is the Bayou in Largo. It's a big course designed by Tom Fazio. The tees that I play from are listed at the same distance as the tips at Temple Terrace but it plays much longer. It's only a mile from the Gulf and so the ground is no where near as firm. It has four par 4s over 400 from my tees eight from the tips which are around 7200 yards.

 

Where TT is tight Bayou is open off the tee. There is only one shot with water in play at TT while nearly ever shot has a Hazzard in play at Bayou.

 

Besides length Bayou's biggest defense are its greens which are huge, firm and undulated. It's relatively easy to hit the greens but not so easy to hit them in the quadrant where the pin is. Marginally struck shots invariably go over the green and that's when the fun really begins there. :)

 

I can back the ball up at TT where as a well struck wedge might release and run out 20 plus feet at Bayou.

 

These courses present nearly every shot imaginable. But it's fun to see how two great architects from different eras approached golf course design to make them game fun and challenging.

 

How about you? Who designed your course and what's unique about it?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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Different courses with different challenges keeps the game interesting

Driver:    :honma:TR20 10.5*

Hybrids:   :callaway-small: Epic SuperHybrid 3 18*   Epic 4h 23*   

Irons:    :mizuno-small:JPX900 Hot Metal 5-GW

Wedges:  :cleveland-small:CBX2 52* 56* 60*

Putter:  :EVNROLL:EV8

Ball:    :bridgestone-small:Tour BXS

 

 

 

 

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My course was designed by Rees Jones. While much of his work is kind of brand typical, there are some courses of his that he seems to let go of preconceived expectations and builds some engaging tracks.

 

My club is by far the favorite of his courses, as it is set on very severe hilly property and instead of trying to make it a tough parkland course, he was able to keep all the drama of the property by relying on contours, ridges and hillsides, making it play much more wide open while defining good and bad lines to the green to take.

 

Its expanse amidst the hills is very well done and along with the scenery, is a very challenging course that still rewards well executed shots.

WIT  :titelist-small: Sta Dry Bag:

 

Driver:       :taylormade-small: '17 M2

 

Woods:     :taylormade-small: M2 3W and 5W

 

Hybrids:   :callaway-logo-1: Apex 3h and 5h  

Irons:          :mizuno-small:   MP 18 MMC

 

Wedges:   :callaway-logo-1: MD PM Grind, 56* and 60*

Putter:      :scotty-cameron-1: California Sonoma

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My home course, El Macero, was built by a guy named Bob E. Baldock. Baldock was a prolific architect from the middle to late 20th century all over the west coast. He doesn't have any "famous" courses but I've played a few that have been quite good. He designed the shore course at Monterey Peninsula Club which is among the best I've ever played. EMCC is a classic parkland style course with tight fairways lined by oaks and other old growth trees. Fantastic greens, water is in play on about a third of the holes and it can be challenging if played from the blues or the championship tees. 

 

The public muni I play most often is William Land GC. It's older, built in 1924 and is also a parkland style but plays much easier due to layout and distance. It is a gorgeous course however! The main architect was Sam Whiting who also designed the Ocean and Lake courses for the Olympic Club in San Francisco. 

 

Finally, my favorite local public course, Haggin Oaks' MacKenzie course, was designed by a little known architect by the name of Alister MacKenzie. I'm told he designed other courses as well.

Driver:  :ping-small:  G 10.5* W/Tour Stiff 65g Ping Shaft   

Fairway Woods:  :cobra-small:  Cobra F6 13.5*, F6 Baffler 16*  

Irons: Split Set-  :ping-small: i200 3i - 7i ,  :benhogan-small: Ft Worth 15s, 8 (36), 9 (40), PW (44) 

Wedges: :benhogan-small:  TK, 52* & 56*

Putter:  :ping-small: Sigma G Kushin 

Bag:  :ping-small: Hoofer 5way

Balls:  :taylormade-small: TP5/X

 

 

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My course is private and it was designed/built in the early to mid 50's. I couldn't tell you who designed it. But I'm pretty sure nobody of any notoriety but a decent layout just the same. Old school. Although pretty flat generally speaking it has it's own unique challenges. From the tips the course measures 6560y and from the white tee where I play it's 6030y. The holes are tree lined but not all that tight. There is OB on 6 holes and water comes into play on 11 holes. As you might expect from an older course the greens are all push-up style and small with smooth bent grass.  Several greens incorporate false fronts with many sloping sides and backs. There are only four greens with a forced carry approach due to water or sand. Fairways are bermuda. Over all I enjoy playing it and find it challenging.

My Sun Mountain bag currently includes:   TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 771CSI 5i - PW and TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges

                                                                               :755178188_TourEdge: EXS 10.5*, TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 929-HS FW4 16.5* 

                                                                                :edel-golf-1: Willimette w/GolfPride Contour

 

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I play at the Columbia Point GC in Richland, WA.  They say it's considered an upscale muni and it's celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year.  The architect is James J. Engh who specializes in mountain golf courses since he is in Colorado.  Courses in Colorado include:

Sanctuary -  Sedalia, CO

The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa -  Gand Junction, CO

Harmony Golf Club -  Timrath, CO

Four Mile Ranch -  Canon City, CO

Other locations include:

The Creek Club at Reynolds Plantation -  Greensboro, GA

Tullymore Golf Club -  Stanwood, MI

Blackstone CC -  Peoria, AZ

The Club at Black Rock -  Coeur d'Alene, ID

 

I haven't played any of these courses, some are private and some are public.  I do know that the Club at Black Rock has several celebrities as members, and it's beautiful, but golf season is short.

 

Columbia Point GC replaced Sham-Na-Pum GC 20 years ago. Sham-Na-Pum was a short tree-lined course that was absolutely beautiful, but the wind blew down a bunch of the trees one year, and the city decided to develop the area so they brought in Jim Engh to build a new course.  The course plays just under 6700 yards from the tips, but I play from just under 6100 yards.  The course is odd in that the front nine is par 37 with three par 5's; the back nine is par 35 with one par 5 and three par 3's.  The front nine is a tough walk with some steep elevation changes; the back nine is relatively flat.  The greens and tees are bent grass; the fairways are a mix of blue grass and rye.  Since this is not a mountainous location, Engh created a lot of mounds lining many fairways, so uneven lies are very common.  There are very few flat fairways.  If you have difficulty hitting off uphill, downhill and side slopes, it will be a long day, even in the fairway!!  The greens are fairly big,  but not huge like some major resorts, and they are quite firm so stopping a ball is difficult.  There are very few straight putts!  I find the par 3's to be particularly difficult, especially when the prevailing wind blows 15-25 mph because they are all into the wind (well, it seems that way!)

 

I guess the signature hole is the 14th, a classic 309 yard risk-reward hole from the tips.  Sand runs along the right side of the fairway all the way to and in front of the green with water right of the sand and right of the green.  It also runs along a 4-lane street that enters the city, so lots of spectators who love to honk horns!  

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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Pete Dye.  TPC Valley--many people say its harder than the Stadium for the amateur.  Used to host the Web.com Tour Championship.  

Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.

In my Ogio Ozone XX Cart Stand Bag:

Ping G400 10.5 Deg Driver, stock Stiff shaft
TM Rocketballz 19 Deg 5 Wood, stock Matrix Osik Stiff shaft
TM Rocketballz Stage 2 21 Deg Tour 4 Hybrid, Rocketfuel 80h Stiff shaft 

Callaway Apex CF 16 Irons, 4-P, Stiff Shafts
 
Scor 48 and 55 degree wedges.  
Renegar 60 Deg Steel Shaft Lob Wedge

TM Ghost Spider Si 38" Counterbalanced Putter

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There are 20 shots where a water hazard comes into play at the Fazio course.  You can remove some of those in play situations by taking the right line off the tee and executing that shot.  I love courses that are open off the tee so that you will find the tee play but yet the line that you choose matters. 

 

Bayou is one of those courses - you won't be spending lots of time looking for your tee ball - but there are times where you can be in the fairway and have no shot or that the shot you have is extremely difficult because of where you hit your drive.  It starts on one where anything left of center risks being blocked by two trees down the right side - you can hook it around those trees but you can't hook it around them and keep it on the green.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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My home club, Stoneleigh GC in Round Hill, VA, was designed by a woman, Lisa Maki.  She only designed a handful of courses, so may not have a distinctive style.  She apparently studied in Scotland and England, and I can see just a few design elements that she learned from the Old Course.  We have a number of severely contoured greens, elevation changes, and quite a few blind tee shots.  As the site used to be apple orchards and dairy pasture, we don't have a ton of large trees to get in the way, but the ones we have are RIGHT in the way.  Interesting, and in places unfair, always entertaining.

 

I also play in Southern Pines at Talamore and MidSouth.  Talamore was originally designed by Rees Jones, with lots of bunkers but relatively benign greens.  The course was just redone, many bunkers removed, a few strategic sod-faced bunkers installed, and completely new grass on the greens.  MidSouth is an Arnold Palmer design.  It has more water than is common in that area, lots of bunkers again, but many of those seem to be more for "directional guidance" than for punishment.  Greens range from pretty small to huge, with some rolls but nothing severe.  

:titleist-small: Irons Titleist T200, AMT Red stiff

:callaway-small:Rogue SubZero, GD YS-Six X

:mizuno-small: T22 54 and 58 wedges

:mizuno-small: 7-wood

:Sub70: 5-wood

 B60 G5i putter

Right handed

Reston, Virginia

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Pete Dye.  TPC Valley--many people say its harder than the Stadium for the amateur.  Used to host the Web.com Tour Championship.  

 

Whoa! That's an awesome home course!!!

Driver:  :ping-small:  G 10.5* W/Tour Stiff 65g Ping Shaft   

Fairway Woods:  :cobra-small:  Cobra F6 13.5*, F6 Baffler 16*  

Irons: Split Set-  :ping-small: i200 3i - 7i ,  :benhogan-small: Ft Worth 15s, 8 (36), 9 (40), PW (44) 

Wedges: :benhogan-small:  TK, 52* & 56*

Putter:  :ping-small: Sigma G Kushin 

Bag:  :ping-small: Hoofer 5way

Balls:  :taylormade-small: TP5/X

 

 

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Whoa! That's an awesome home course!!!

Yeah, we're blessed and it's a pretty good deal cost wise!

Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.

In my Ogio Ozone XX Cart Stand Bag:

Ping G400 10.5 Deg Driver, stock Stiff shaft
TM Rocketballz 19 Deg 5 Wood, stock Matrix Osik Stiff shaft
TM Rocketballz Stage 2 21 Deg Tour 4 Hybrid, Rocketfuel 80h Stiff shaft 

Callaway Apex CF 16 Irons, 4-P, Stiff Shafts
 
Scor 48 and 55 degree wedges.  
Renegar 60 Deg Steel Shaft Lob Wedge

TM Ghost Spider Si 38" Counterbalanced Putter

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  • 4 weeks later...

Grew up on William Langford outstanding old school now play Tom Fazio

Very partial to Doak's minimalist approach

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I've played one Doak course and it was brilliant. I also played a Weiskopf course at Lake of the Izard that I fell in love with. There are so many ways to design golf courses.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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Dominic Polumbo designed both of mine.

 

My favs are the golden age CB MacDonald and Seth Raynor designs. The old money clubs. I love the template holes like short and redan style with their bunkering.

 

Lately it seems like Doak is killing the architecture game. I haven't played nearly enough to have a good opinion of him but I like what I see in articles and on the net.

 

Reese Jones... ehhh. Killing the architecture game and not in a good way. Never been a fan of many Reese designs.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

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I play at the Columbia Point GC in Richland, WA. They say it's considered an upscale muni and it's celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year. The architect is James J. Engh who specializes in mountain golf courses since he is in Colorado. Courses in Colorado include:

 

Sanctuary - Sedalia, CO

The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa - Gand Junction, CO

Harmony Golf Club - Timrath, CO

Four Mile Ranch - Canon City, CO

Other locations include:

The Creek Club at Reynolds Plantation - Greensboro, GA

Tullymore Golf Club - Stanwood, MI

Blackstone CC - Peoria, AZ

The Club at Black Rock - Coeur d'Alene, ID

I haven't played any of these courses, some are private and some are public. I do know that the Club at Black Rock has several celebrities as members, and it's beautiful, but golf season is short.

 

Columbia Point GC replaced Sham-Na-Pum GC 20 years ago. Sham-Na-Pum was a short tree-lined course that was absolutely beautiful, but the wind blew down a bunch of the trees one year, and the city decided to develop the area so they brought in Jim Engh to build a new course. The course plays just under 6700 yards from the tips, but I play from just under 6100 yards. The course is odd in that the front nine is par 37 with three par 5's; the back nine is par 35 with one par 5 and three par 3's. The front nine is a tough walk with some steep elevation changes; the back nine is relatively flat. The greens and tees are bent grass; the fairways are a mix of blue grass and rye. Since this is not a mountainous location, Engh created a lot of mounds lining many fairways, so uneven lies are very common. There are very few flat fairways. If you have difficulty hitting off uphill, downhill and side slopes, it will be a long day, even in the fairway!! The greens are fairly big, but not huge like some major resorts, and they are quite firm so stopping a ball is difficult. There are very few straight putts! I find the par 3's to be particularly difficult, especially when the prevailing wind blows 15-25 mph because they are all into the wind (well, it seems that way!)

 

I guess the signature hole is the 14th, a classic 309 yard risk-reward hole from the tips. Sand runs along the right side of the fairway all the way to and in front of the green with water right of the sand and right of the green. It also runs along a 4-lane street that enters the city, so lots of spectators who love to honk horns!

Jim Engh also designed Fossil Trace in Golden Colorado and Red Hawk Ridge in Castle Rock, CO. Sanctuary is definitely my favorite as it doesn't really lend to others he has designed in CO.

 

He has some interesting courses/designs. Always well kept. Have played most of his in Colorado, he brings in a very visual approach to the design as opposed to traditional design. Not necessarily my favorite designs but always good to bring out of towners in to show something unique vs what they would usually play in Texas.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

:callaway-small:  Epic Flash SZ 9o w/ Ventus 6X

:callaway-small:  Rogue 4wd w/ ATMOS Red 7X

:755178188_TourEdge: CBX 20o w/ ATMOS Blue 7S tipped 1"

:mizuno-small:  JPX 900 Tour 4i - PW (standard lofts) Rifle

:titelist-small:  SM6 51o, 59o, SM7 55o   

:titelist-small:  2019 ProV1x

:tp-mills-1: Custom Ming

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Just personal preference of course but for me A.W. Tillinghast did it best.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

:cobra-small:______S9-1 Pro D - Matrix Ozik XCON 6 S
:cobra-small:______S9-1 Pro 15* - Matrix Ozik XCON 7 S
:nickent-small:________3DX 17* - Matrix Ozik Altus Hybrid SG
:Hogan:______ICON Black 4-PW - KBS Tour V S
:cleveland-small:__________588 RTG 49  RTX 52.10  56.12 - DG S400
BobbyGrace.png.1dc40002fcec0eee8603b71b3e706e89.png______Amazing Grace NYC Tour CS
:taylormade-small:_______'19 TP5X
(the preceding have all been gamer approved)

"The most important shot in golf is the next one“ - Ben Hogan

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Just personal preference of course but for me A.W. Tillinghast did it best.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

The Walla Walla Country Club here in Washington is a 1936 A.W. Tillinghast design.  My wife and I are playing a tournament there on June 24-25.

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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Just personal preference of course but for me A.W. Tillinghast did it best.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Have you played any of his courses? I will never forget my grandfathers funeral. It was a mild day in Pennsylvania in early November. I've just preached, we are at the wake and my cousin comes up to me and says, too bad you don't have your clubs. I say, "Tommy, I drove, they're in the trunk." "Poppy would want us to play golf you know."

 

My clubs were in his Beamer and off we went. I pulled the tab out of my clerical. What a brilliant golf course- shot 76 in my church cloths. It was my first time ever playing the Pro VI. It was about the most fun I've ever had on a golf course. We talked about grandpa, laughed, cried, I'm crying now thinking about that day and that course.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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Have you played any of his courses? I will never forget my grandfathers funeral. It was a mild day in Pennsylvania in early November. I've just preached, we are at the wake and my cousin comes up to me and says, too bad you don't have your clubs. I say, "Tommy, I drove, they're in the trunk." "Poppy would want us to play golf you know."

 

My clubs were in his Beamer and off we went. I pulled the tab out of my clerical. What a brilliant golf course- shot 76 in my church cloths. It was my first time ever playing the Pro VI. It was about the most fun I've ever had on a golf course. We talked about grandpa, laughed, cried, I'm crying now thinking about that day and that course.

I was very blessed to grow up in South Texas where Tillie had a hand in a whole mess of fantastic tracks. I regularly played Riverside GC (formerly Austin CC), Oak Hills CC, San Antonio CC and Brackenridge Park GC. I've also played rounds at Colonial CC, Brook Hollow GC, River Oaks CC, Oklahoma City CC and Interlachen CC. Built from 1920-1936, they all still present serious tests in beautiful settings.

:cobra-small:______S9-1 Pro D - Matrix Ozik XCON 6 S
:cobra-small:______S9-1 Pro 15* - Matrix Ozik XCON 7 S
:nickent-small:________3DX 17* - Matrix Ozik Altus Hybrid SG
:Hogan:______ICON Black 4-PW - KBS Tour V S
:cleveland-small:__________588 RTG 49  RTX 52.10  56.12 - DG S400
BobbyGrace.png.1dc40002fcec0eee8603b71b3e706e89.png______Amazing Grace NYC Tour CS
:taylormade-small:_______'19 TP5X
(the preceding have all been gamer approved)

"The most important shot in golf is the next one“ - Ben Hogan

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We have a couple Donald Ross designs that we can play, he only designed the front nines of each of the courses. The. Ack nines were added later, I'm not sure who designed them, but they tried to keep the same feel for the course so it's not 2 different types of courses from front to back nine.

Lefties are always in their Right Mind

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