"currently battling with my dear friend, the Silverstripe CMS" - 18 hours ago
"is thoroughly relaxed at another Irish farmhouse B&B, this time one run by a character and a half, Sharon Moore.... http://fb.me/Fd1zVe5z" - 1 day ago
"Is this the Nellie bunker you were talking about mate? Safely avoided I'm pleased to report http://fb.me/EHAvCmyU" - 2 days ago
More episodes and tall tales of our adventures on day 212 at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club at Balgownie Links will come shortly. Just had an aborted live TV interview. The full coverage will follow soon.
Also in the pipeline:
Walking on the moon at Cruden Bay (day 213)
The seaside bliss of Moray (day 214)
Famous hospitality at Nairn (day 215)
Spectacular views at Castle Stuart (day 216)
Ok team, so here we go with part two of day 186 of puregolf2010 and I have quite the act to follow up after JP has painted quite a picture of the National Golf Links of America.
Before I start gushing superlatives about Shinnecock I’m going to pin my colours to the wall and declare Shinnecock as one of my absolute hands down favourite golf courses. Top 5 this year without one iota of doubt. The story of Shinnecock is not about the cocktails, the swish locker room (great showers) or the food – it is about the golf course: this is pure golf. Allow me to elaborate…
Shinnecock was originally designed in 1891 by Willie Dunne on this magnificent piece of rolling land in Southampton on Long Island (it is right next door to NGLA and another club whose clubhouse blots the skyline and is called Sebonack). The course immediately appeared on the USGA radar and hosted the 1896 US Open (won by Foulis) one of four Opens that have been held here (along with the 1986 (Floyd), 1995 (Pavin) and 2004 (Goosen) Championships).
Lets now fast forward to the present day and our host for the afternoon, Mr David Jennings. David hails from Connecticut but has been a member here for many years. Yet another great guy we’ve met who is part of the financial world and now keeps himself busy as a company director and helping friends out here and there… By the looks of David’s golf swing he must have done quite a lot of business on the golf course over the years as he definitely could play. David is a true gentleman who is quite rightly proud of the club that is Shinnecock. It’s generally not about crazy nights in the clubhouse here or wining and dining large outings of clients here but about taking on this spectacular golf course.
So to the golf course and the beautiful array of colours that lay out on the wide open expanse laid out below the clubhouse. From an elevated tee by the pro-shop (where earlier Dodgy had made quite the impression on the staff and visitors) the round begins with a straight forward opening hole played down into the battle ground.
Our first taste of the small greens here at Shinnecock which are very traditionally designed and much smaller than the traditional links style greens across the way at NGLA. Shoulders roll off the bunkers and you can’t be short-sided and expect to recover. Many of the greens have a false front and angle away from you making the landing area appear very small from down on the fairway - a very simple but effective design. Fortunately the putting surfaces were not rolling at US Open pace and mere mortals like us could have a chance today.
The course routing is brilliantly done as the holes wind around the huge property so that you are constantly faced with a changing wind direction. Only twice do holes consecutively run the same way, on the 2nd and 3rd, and then again on 11 and 12. And from most holes you look up the hill at the grand clubhouse looking over the golf course.
Walking down the 3rd hole, a par four played to a fairway angling away to the left, I thought to myself I should not have had that Southside over lunch and ‘the fairways should not be rolling at me like the ocean”. The heat was scintillating - we had picked a scorcher of a day for our double header with the mercury hitting 100 most of the day… The second and third holes run in the same direction away from the clubhouse and with little wind the first four holes are flat and generally left me asking, is this it?
So +1 through the opening four and then we arrived at the number five hole after guzzling a couple of liters of water which crucially made the fairways stand still. The 5th is the first of two par fives and the first of a couple of birdies today. Jamie learnt a lesson not to go over the green where there is a steep drop off and when the pin is tucked tight to the top of the hill you just have to take your 30 footer for par and walk off..
The 6th hole is the only hole on the course with a water hazard and is aptly named ‘pond’. The number one handicap hole at 456 yards it plays through a myriad of bunkers both and the fairway and the green. This is the hole where two solidly struck shots leaves you putting for birdie and pleased to have missed the real experiences with the hole.
The 7th (below) is a world famous hole for both the right and wrong reasons. The ‘Redan’ as JP explained below described a hole where the green is tilted from right to left, guarded by a by bunker short and angles away to the left. Eg, you need to come in with a very high cut to hold the slope, or preferably bounce the ball in through the opening on the right. The Redan at Shinnecock formed part of the original al design by C B Macdonald and was wisely kept by Mr Flynn. This is the hole that the USGA had huge issues with during the 2004 Open when the greens were just too fast and after 6 groups had played the hole the average score was 6-point-something. So they decided to water the green after each group thus favouring the later groups and all hell broke loose. But they had to do something as the hole was swiftly becoming completely unplayable. All three of us missed long which left us playing up to a green sloping away from us with the pin tightly cut near the top of the slope. Dave went first and didn’t get it up the slope so it came tumbling back towards him. JP went second and gave his chip a little much juice and was left with a 30 footer back up the hill. Then Dave tried again and did something quite spectacular, holing his shot from off the green – a shot many of the pro’s would have paid huge money for – particularly those in the first 6 groups! I opted for the texan wedge and rolled it just over the crest of the hill for a cheeky par.
The 8th and 9th holes play back in general direction of the clubhouse with the 8th a short par four with a green that slopes away from you and is devilishly difficult to hit, and then the 9th climbs up to the clubhouse for a truly spectacular finish to the nine with the bunkers (see photo two below) guarding the front left of the green. A miraculous up and down and I was out in 35.
To the back nine and the rollercoaster 10th hole which plays uphill, downhill and then back uphill. If you bomb it down the hill you’re left playing a wedge into an elevated green with the most severe false front I’ve seen. A ball hit with spin will literally roll off the green and then 40 yards back down the fairway. That is not an exaggerated “40 yards off the green” but you’ll actually have close to a full swing getting it back up top. I laid up short with 2 iron from the tee and had a flat approach across the gully and there was no way my 6 iron was going to spin back off the green.
11 is a short uphill par three surrounded by bunkers and a roll-off back left which is actually the worst miss and from where it is impossible to get up and down from unless you are Greg Norman. Or Phil Mickelson. This wee postage stamp reminded me of 17 at NSW.
The 12th tee is a great place on the golf course. I looked down upon the 11th green and thought of the disasters that much have occurred on that tiny piece of soil, and then refocused on the beauty of the 12th fairway (picture below looking back down 12 fairway from the green), a monstrously long par four along the perimeter of the course. A good bounce and a flush 6 iron down the breeze later and I was tapping in for 3 – it’s great to be back playing hard and fast golf where the elements really play their part.
Standing out on the 13th fairway with 8 iron in hand I stopped thinking about the beauty of the course and realised I was in red numbers at Shinnecock. I looked up and the green looked like there was absolutely no landing area – false front, bunker left/long and short/right with a green angling away to the right. Where do you hit it?? (Note – JP and Dave were sensibly just taking in the beautiful way this hole is framed with the clubhouse perched off in the distance). Shinnecock is not a place to start thinking too much and moments later my 8 iron was floating up in the air against the wind and plugging into the bunker short right - double.
On the 14th hole – the location for Shell’s wide world of golf where some pro’s jaunted around in a helicopter playing the 18 finest holes in this area – you start to realize that this back nine is a special special creature. I’m going to leave this hole, and the downhill strong par four 15th to the photographs below. The light in these parts is particularly good and the golfing vistas along the 14th and 15th holes are about as good as it gets.
16 is another green perfectly framed by the clubhouse. A three shot par five, particularly into the wind, Dave said it is a hole that the winner of the Open normally makes birdie on. And it’s very much a birdie hole if you get into position for your third shot. Walking off with 5, my hopes and dreams of an under par round at Shinny were dashed and I limped home over the last two holes to finish +4, 74. Another kiwi misses the cut.
The 17th rounds out the set of par threes with another green angling away to the left and surrounded by bunkers – almost redan-esque but without such a severe tilt on the green. The par threes as a set? In a word – perfect. Up there with both NSW and Riviera as the best of the year.
And then 18, well what can you say… The site of much history, drama and great golf shots. Jamie’s 2 iron out of the bunker to 20 feet would rival Mr Pavin’s four wood from 1995, although I dare say Mr Patton had more pressure on his shoulders.
We play a lot of golf, and recently on some of the better golf courses going around. But very very few courses are as breathtaking as Shinnecock. In particular the back nine here has to be one of the great nine holes in world golf. Despite holes 10 – 18 being our 28th to 36th holes of the day in 100 degree weather, I was in another world walking around the back nine. A pig in mud. The design elements, the grandiose of the holes set amongst the rolling topography and the sheer beauty of the terrain was awe-inspiring and an experience I will never forget.
Thank you David for your company and making the day possible. A day that will be very hard to look past in years to come when reminiscing about the year that was golf.
Kinloch Golf Club just north of Richmond Virginia was the venue for our latest golfing adventure. But firstly it was our grandstand to watch the Mighty Mighty All Whites take on some random footballing country that goes by the name of Italy. Supposedly these I-talians can play a bit, but to me it looked like they were far better at falling over, holding their faces and generally acting like wusses. Holed up in the sweet confines of the Kinloch club house we were rooting on our boys from down under, those famous footballers whose combined transfer value is around $250 kiwi pesos. When ‘that goal’ went in circa 10th minute of the match we stopped, mid conversation with one of the staff, and jumped out of our seats with delight and surprise and complete disbelief. This first Hour Or So in Kinloch had nothing to do with golf but it was a good Hour Or So. The staff at Kinloch were as friendly as the All Whites were staunch – they all came by to say G’day to the visiting kiwis and to welcome us to their club. The bar staff even started cheering on the All Whites with us. But we’d left our caddy waiting on the range so at half time, with the scores locked up at 1-1 (note to ref: you’re a disgrace for awarding that penalty), we wished the boys our best and went to take on Kinloch.
Kinloch, like it’s kiwi namesake borders a serious lake (hence the name), although this lake in Virginia at about 72 acres large is dwarfed by Lake Taupo in our native homeland of New Zealand. We met our caddy, Jeff, and were welcomed by the Director of Operations, Phil Owenby. It was a tad warmer than it gets back home so after we hit a few balls on the range it was time for rotation number one of the sweat sodden glove, a couple of bottles of water and then we were off to the first tee.
First impressions once out on the course were that this place is bliss. We had the course to ourselves and before us lay a huge, perfectly manicured golf lovers paradise. And to top it off we were blessed with the services of our caddy Jeff who had a real skill for reading putts. And for being a good punter. Jeff has previously looped at Caves Valley where his brother is the caddy master and we might see him again there in a couple days time. The whole caddying scene is very different to NZ – a caddy master organizes the whole rigmarole putting the caddies together with the players. The caddies generally wait in the caddy shack until they ‘get a bag’ for the day. I guess you could say we’ve got a little used to taking caddies over our 7 weeks here in the US but I don’t particularly think it is a trend that would catch on in New Zealand or Australia with our downunder DIY (do-it-yourself) attitude. Nevertheless I’d say Jeff saved me a few shots today so perhaps there is some sense to it all. The caddy master here, and generally boss of everything that goes on outdoors was a chap called Kevin Cook. Kevin made us feel completely at home at Kinloch, despite not playing with a member, which is normally the rule of thumb here.
Back to the golf course. Two words describe this Kinloch (which is a parkland course as opposed to the Links on steriods that Jack Nicklaus built by Lake Taupo). Those words? Risk Reward. All of the par fives fit this description: the 3rd a short one enticing you to hit your second over water, and then both the 9th (pictured below) and 11th which have split fairways and hazards going everywhere but if you take it on the right line you can get on in two no worries. Split fairways suit both JP and I perfectly – we aim it straight and either (1) hit a draw and land on the left fairway, or (2) hit a block and hit the fairway on the right. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t go straight down the middle into the hazard like what happened on the 8th at Riviera. Yes I can remember that far back… Kinloch also has a couple of short par fours – the first of which suckered me right in.
The 4th hole, at 330 yards and downhill, is always going to be a driver. I didn’t even need to use the ridiculous justification that 'jeez we’re only going to play the hole once' to hit driver here. The green angles to the right and there is a hazard running along short / right of the green. The creek is only 5 yards wide so there was a strong element of the 'she’ll be right' philosophy. But the play is NOT to try and hit a high cut to land the ball softly on this shallow green and make a tap in 2 as if you knock it out left, the fairway actually slopes down sharply to the right and the ball will roll right down to the front edge of the green. Jeff told me to do this on the tee, but I still hit the high cut – straight into the hazard – bogey 5. A great hole. (And of course there is a huge lay up area to play it as a 4 iron wedge if you are that way inclined). The 4th is pictured below:
7th tee and JP and I were fading. Amidst the excitement of the footy, we hadn’t had much to eat. But, or course, there was a half way house between 7 tee and 9 green with, of course, a chef right there ready to rock and roll and fry up a burger or whatever else may tickle your fancy. Burgers all round and what a burger it was – even by the Supremely High Standards of burgers that are set here in the US. Away we went again.
There are some strong par fours here, one of which we encountered on the 8th hole. 470 yards or so, with a huge lake short left. JP hit two cracking shots and two putted for par. I hit a snap slice, a thin 2 iron, and then the most flukey hack from the trees to 6 feet to make my par. News only got better as Kevin was there to ask how we were going, and tell us the All Whites had drawn with Italy. Boom. NZ drawing with the World Champions – that’s like the two of us both shooting 67 at Bethpage Black off the tips. It just doesn’t happen.
The heat was pretty immense and we made the call to use a cart for the back nine. (picture sweat covered shirts like that fine picture JP painted for you all from yesterday). The back nine started with some strong par fours (10 and 12) and the two par fives (11 and 13) and so by this stage we were both thinking a cart was a good option. My minor gripe of the course was that a couple of these par fours, in particular 10, could have had more of a shute off the tee to a narrow fairway. The 10th hole has the most amazing shaped fairway which snakes to the hole, and to me I would have flagged the fairway bunkers here, brought the trees in a bit tighter and give the hole the 'understated by I'm going to really grab you when you miss the fairway and try and roll it up out of the rough' character.
The finish here is awesome as the closing holes flow around the lake – 13 a par five down to the lake, 14 a gorgeous par three surrounded by water, 15 a risk reward par four where driver actually paid dividends, 16 an almighty par four that wraps around the lake and climbs up to the green and that JP would quite happily never see again; 17 is a strong par three across a creek, and then 18 is 18. Picturesque. Where JP made birdie. He has a knack of doing that.
The course was in perfect nick. Greens pure. Fairways carpet. You’ve heard it all before, but this course, well it’s the shiz. The greens were rolling at around 13 on the stint meter – so you need to be on form with the short stick and not putting like Ed.
As we shook hands and thanked Jeff we saw another hole nestled under the clubhouse. The story behind this is that the owner and designer of this place – Vinny Giles – is not only a quality golfer (last year he was the Senior United States Amateur Champion at the age of 66 much older than his competitors) but he is also a gambling man. And such the genesis of the 19th a par three over water that is there to settle all bets Once and For All. We had no such bets to settle because we are povo and play simply for pride. Pride claimed by Jamie courtesy of his one shot victory with the aforementioned 18th hole birdie. Oh yeah, and check out the clubhouse behind the 19th green below:
Kinloch is a place I’d love to come back to and Kevin assured us we’d be welcome any time. It’s a place of First Class service, a world class golf course and where everything is just done right. Dotted around Kinloch were the rankings from a magazine called ‘Golfworld’ which somehow rated the top 50 private clubs over a number of categories: the golf course, service, food, caddie programme, how-much-scotch-and-cigars-you-can-consume, etc and you can see why Kinloch are proud about their course filtering very much towards the top of this illustrious pile.
Once done at Kinloch, we scooted up to Washington DC. Actually a place called Alexandria which I think is in the Northern tip of Virginia but is effectively part of DC. We had a dinner party with our host Keith Mathews and a few friends he’d invited around to meet a couple of unusual species that go by the name of kiwi’s. We ate too much steak, drank some wine and some of Keith’s Bushmills 1608 and stayed up Far Far Too Late talking about what makes the world go round. Golf. Tomorrow we’re taking Keith’s nephew, Kevin out for the day at RTJ where I think we’re also playing with an Aussie.
P.S JP liked the benches by the tees at Kinloch, but we don't have any pictures of them so you'll have to take his word for it that thhey were good
Shinnecock
auckland dodgy donald ross links mackenzie melbourne mornington mornington peninsula new york queensland rain royal sandbelt scotland sunshine coast sydney the first tee tpc us open wow
