102. Trip from MA to NC October 13-16, 2017

Trip from MA to NC October 13-16, 2017

On Thursday October 12, both Pat and I finished our packing and I stuffed my car with all that would fit.  Our plan, which seemed impossible two weeks ago just might work.  I would leave Friday morning early and drive to Philadelphia, play a little golf, visit my brother and his family, and Pat would fly to North Carolina on Saturday.  I planned to drive to Pinehurst from Maryland Monday afternoon 10/16.  Weather looked iffy in Philly but one never knows.

Rolling Green Country Club, October 13, 2017:  Last year I was supposed to play Rolling Green on my way south, but Hurricane Matthew had other thoughts.  I played Llarench CC on the morning of 10/9/16 and was able to walk and play 18, but could not play Rolling Green as no carts were allowed that afternoon and there was no way I could go another 18 on a soaking, hilly track.  So this was my “rain-check”.

 

Rolling Green was designed by William Flynn (Shinnecock-NY, The Country Club-MA, Cherry Hills-CO, Burning Tree-MD, The Homestead-VA, Indian Creek-FL, and too many in eastern PA to list) and opened for play in 1926.  In 1976 Jo Ann Carner won the US Woman’s Open at Rolling Green shooting 8 over for 72 holes, and 40 years later in 2016 Eun Jeong Seong of South Korea won the US Woman’s Amateur at Rolling Green.  From 1997 through 2014, Rolling Green was on the GW USA Classic Top 100 for 18 straight years…although never high enough to make my Merged GW list.

The club name is perfect…or perhaps it should be “Sloping Green CC”.  You better be on the correct side of the pin here, and the greenside bunkers are as difficult to negotiate as any I have ever seen…built into the hills leading up to raised greens.  Back tees total 6941 yards par 71.  Unfortunately, the course was not in good condition and the Club had released their greens superintendent that morning.  After a slow start it really gets going starting on about #4 and hardly lets up after than point.  I do hope they get a good new superintendent but no question the club will need to spend some real $$ to get playing conditions back…but also no question that this course has “great bones.” 

Simply brutal 235 yard uphill par 3 14th on Rolling Green...hit driver on and parred

Play was very slow (I think they pushed groups off the first tee every 7-8 minutes and the entire course was backed up) and it took our threesome 4:45 to finish but we did beat sunset.  I had a 42 – 39 = 81 for my round and was pleased.

 

Saturday morning I had breakfast with my brother Dave, his wife Rosemary, my niece Jean, nephew Sam, and grandnephew Quinn.  Good talk for about 90 minutes and then Sam and Jean started asking me about President Trump.  Suffice it to say that we all need gold stars as no punches were thrown, or weapons brandished…sure sign of our growing maturity.

Manufacturers Golf and Country Club, October 14, 2017:  Then it was off to Manufacturers G&CC, designed by Flynn as well and opened in 1925.  Plays 6722 yards from back tees (par 72) and many of the holes are routed across a valley and have elevated tees and/or elevated greens….plus there is an interesting creek that winds through the valley affecting play on about 5 holes.  Like Rolling Green, Manufacturers had a long run on the GW Classic Top 100, 10 straight years from 1998-2007 but never high enough to make a Merged GW 100.

The clubs’ unusual name comes from an eating club in downtown Philadelphia, founded in 1887.  Most of the members were executives from large textile manufacturers, hence the name.  In the early 1920’s the club purchased a large farm in suburban Philadelphia and retained William Flynn to build an 18-hole course…and shortly thereafter the club moved to this suburban site.

I thought the best hole on the course was its shortest hole, #8, a 117 yard par three protected by a quarry…which reminded me of the 4^th hole at nearby Gulph Mills.

The course is very good but not outstanding and after a while I tired a bit of raised greens and tees.  Also, Philadelphia had been inundated with rain that week and with Sandy Run Creek running though the valley, conditions were very wet.

Much better conditions than Rolling Green, but from a “bones” perspective, I liked Rolling Hills much more.

Huntingdon Valley Golf Club, October 14, 2017:  Founded in 1897, HVCC started with nine holes and eventually expanded to 18 holes before building 27 holes at its present location under the direction of William Flynn.  With the onset of the Depression, the club was forced into receivership but later saved by a small group of members…but the third nine could not be fully maintained and was just rough cut.  With gas rationing during WWII, even this rough cutting was halted.  When the club decided to recover the third nine, 50 years of growth had to be cleared, and wetland and other environmental laws/regulations meant that the entire design had to change.  By 1998 the third nine was completed, and over the past 20-30 years the original Flynn/Toomey 18 has been restored and updated for today’s longer distances.

I played the original 18, and to put it simply, it is nothing short of fabulous…a true hidden gem.  The front nine circles the back nine and is laid out along the banks of the hills surrounding the main valley of the property, with the back nine in the center.  Think of a NASCAR track…the front nine is built on the banked track while the back nine is in the flatter (but nor flat) infield.  From back tees it totals 7042 yards (par 70).  The conditioning is simply superb (it was a little but soft given all the rain, but compared with the other 5 courses I played on this short trip, it was bone dry).  I went off the back and had a 3-over 38.  Then on the front I fired a 2-over 37.  When rating a course I make extensive notes on my scorecard including multiple check marks to note excellent, great, and nearly perfect holes…I almost ran out of room on the card.  Favorite holes:

o   #3, a 233 yard downhill par three to a narrow but deep green with a sharp falloff on its left side

o   #8, a 413 yard par 4 doglegging left, uphill off the tee and then sharply uphill to the well protected green

o   #14, a 471-yard slightly uphill par 4…green has a false front that must extend 15 yards into the green (I remember every one of those yards as my second shot almost reached the crest and trickled back off the front);

o   #15, a 575 yard par 5 with a cross bunker covering the entire right half of the fairway and the left side of the fairway sloped sharply toward that bunker…and to make it tougher, the landing area for you drive is sloped to the right, making it hard to draw your second shot; in summary, better be sure you can fly that bunker on your second shot, or lay up further back—this is the best cross bunker I have ever seen; and

o   #18, a 448 yard par 4 that bends right and is sharply sharply uphill; I played it from 355 and killed both my drive and 3-wood and barely made the front edge (and then 3 putted).

This is a course with wide corridors, sharp slopes, almost no flat lies, and difficult, fast greens.  Above all, the golfer must think carefully and be committed. 

Huntingdon 9th hole...downhill par a and obvious all carry on approach  (I failed to carry)

HVCC has never made a USA Top 100 other than the GW Top 100 Classic list from 1997-2014.  How it could have dropped off and how it never made a top 100 is a true mystery to me.  This is a great golf course.  Enough said.  Must get back there in 2018!

Bala Golf Club, October 15, 2017:  Founded in 1900, the club started with a 9-hole course in Philadelphia and eventually expanded to 18 holes.  In 1952, Bala hosted the US Woman’s Open won by Louise Suggs.  At that time it played to a par of 69 and was 5460 yards long.  Today it plays to 5306 yards. 

It is tight and fun, and the longest 5306 yards I have ever played.  I played well on the front and faded on the back finishing with double bogies on 16, 17, and 18…38-44 = 82.  Somehow, this place fits 18 holes into about 80 acres…a throwback to say the least.  Would not want to play there every day, but great fun to play every once in a while.

After thanking my playing partners and the head pro, it was time to start moving a little south, and I headed actually west-southwest to Inniscrone Golf Club (PA) located northwest of Wilmington, DE.

Inniscrone Golf Club, October 15, 2017:  Inniscrone was planned as a high-end private club.  Several owners later and finally purchased by the local township, it is in a fairly steady (and rapid) rate of decline.  Originally opened in 1999 and designed by Gil Hanse it was either his first or second original design.  What was that expression in that ad: “You’ve come a long way, baby!”?  Totaling 6611 yards (par 70), Inniscrone debuted on Golf Week’s Top 100 USA Modern Course list in 2001 as #60 which made it #120 on my Merged GW list for that year…and then disappeared forever.  That means it earns the crown as the fastest and steepest fall from grace in the history of all the Top 100’s I track…remember its rating for 2002 had to be at best #201 (as GW’s Merged list has 200 positions even if I only recognize the first 100), so after shooting up to #120, it fell at least 81 spots.  That being said, Gil is a first class guy and still lists it on his website.

Simply put, this course is literally falling apart.  The bunkers were washed out and the roughs hardly groomed at all.  I bounced around to get it done and could hardly wait to leave.  Enough said?

After the round, I got to my car and found that someone had backed into its trunk.  With some 198,000 miles my plans are to sell it after it hits 200,000 (milestones are obviously of some import to me), so this is not a major loss…and the good news was that the trunk stayed locked and it could still be opened and closed (it was stuffed with our clothing, papers, etc etc etc).

I was happy to leave Inniscrone, and headed further south to Havre de Grace, MD where I planned to play Bulle Rock the next morning.

Bulle Rock, October 16, 2017:  I had known that Bulle Rock had hosted the LPGA Championship from 2006-09 but knew nothing else about the course, despite having passed within 5-7 miles of the course whenever I travelled through Maryland on I-95 since it opened in 1998.  Didn’t even know it was designed by Pete Dye!!

The name Bulle Rock comes from the first thoroughbred horse brought to the USA.  It sits on an expansive 235 acres and has most of Pete Dye’s “signatures”…sharp angles, railway ties, and of course an 18^th hole with water extending all along one side (in this case the left).  As an upscale daily fee track, for the last 20 years it has been a perennial on different magazine “best courses you can play” lists.  From 1999-2007 it was a staple on GW’s Top 100 Modern Courses list, peaking at #64 in 2002 but never strong enough to make the Merged Golf Week list.

Like all the courses in this area (or at least all of the six I played), recent rains had soaked the property and firm/fast was just a pipe dream.  It had rained hard the prior night and standing water remained in many fairways…but otherwise the course was in superb condition.

 

Dye made excellent use of natural contouring in designing this one.  I was the first person to tee off this morning (off the back as the front nine was wetter than the back).  Best holes were:

o   #13, a 476 yard par 4 doglegging right around a ravine; blind tee shot with lots of trouble right makes for a tough hole…but at least today the ball would not run hard thru the fairway;

Bulle Rock approach shot on par 4 13th

o   #15, uphill 529 yard par 5 that turns left and then right as it snakes its way around and through wetlands left and then a stream running along the right side to a deep but narrow green; and

o   #6, downhill 413 yard par 4 with wetlands left and right off the tee and green angled left front to back right and very well protected by massive bunker front right…tee shot must flirt with fall off to wetlands on left side of fairway for any proper angle into the green.

With no roll, this was a long course (7375 yards from back).  Had a 44 – 43 = 87 and was anxious to get in my car, get through Washington DC traffic and get back home.  I would classify this as a very good Dye course and probably properly rated. 

Fortunately, I zipped thru DC and hit no traffic anywhere on the drive, and was home around 7:30pm and most happy to be there.

And I stood at a lifetime total of 999 courses!  During the drive I thought about alternatives for my 1000^th.  Streamsong Black had received great initial reviews but I wanted to go there with Pat this winter as she loves Streamsong.  As you know, I eventually settled on The Cradle, the new Gil Hanse 9 hole par 3 course at Pinehurst, and knocked that off October 19, 2017.  Interesting that #998 and #1000 were both by Hanse, one his first or second original design and the other his latest…sandwiching a Pete Dye creation.

Cradle after two 9 hole loops and birdieing #9 second time

What is Next?  I am leaving for a five-day trip tonight to Atlanta, Chattanooga, and St. Louis and am scheduled to play 8 or 9 courses.  Here is where the bucket lists stand and possible impacts from this upcoming trip:

1.  Play all 50 states…DONE

2.  Play all Men’s Major Venues ever…two left…one of which scheduled for 11/3.

3.  Play all US Senior Open Venues…semi DONE…2018 site not played

4.  All CUPS (Ryder, Pres., Walker, Solheim, and Curtis) ever…two left

5.   Play all US Amateur sites ever…DONE

6.  Play all US Mid-Amateur sires ever…two left…one of which scheduled for 10/30

7.  Golf Mag USA Top 100 ever…DONE

8.  Golf Digest USA Top 100 ever…three left

9.   Golf Week Merged List Top 100 ever…two left…one of which scheduled for 11/1

10. Golf Week 2016 and 2017 all 200 Modern and Classic…2016 DONE and one left for 2017…scheduled for 10/30

11. Play 1000 courses…DONE

In total…14 left of which 4 are scheduled for this trip. 

Obviously the above excludes my completing the World Top 100 EVER from 10 Sources, and the British Championships Venues EVER (Open Championship, Senior Open Championship, and Amateur Championship) a while ago.

On the horizon (possibly)…US Woman’s Open Venues…only 14 to go and this coming trip is scheduled to reduce that to 13.

One thing I can say, it is good to be caught up on my blog!!  That should last just about 24 hours! 😟😟