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Review: Tom Doak’s Confidential Guide To Golf Courses

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In 1988, a smack of Tom Doak’s friends had a glance at a volume he called The Confidential Guide To Golf Courses. Although the word “confidential” was placed prominently in the title, those friends didn’t exactly heed the warning and the tome gained a bit of publicity.

In that original treatise, Doak had placed a spotlight on the golf courses that made the game enjoyable for the golfing public and also presented the classic elements of design strategy. Doak also identified the architects he considered to be the true executors of those design principles. The CG was not a puff piece, mind you.

[quote_box_center]In the words of the author, the Confidential Guide “reviewed every course on its own merits, gave no free passes, and shredded the myth that hiring a big-name designer guarantees a quality product.”[/quote_box_center]

It also took to task the courses and creators that had strayed from the original notions of what golf was and is: a game played equally along the ground and in the air, over turf that allows a running shot an opportunity to access fairways and greens if the golfer is skilled enough to decode the architect’s intent.

Although the original Confidential Guide was received with disdain by architects like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio and the Jones family, at the time some of the most popular choices for new-build golf courses in America, Doak did not shrink from his notions nor his rankings. Doak had initiated the original Golf Magazine ranking system, at the behest of then-editor George Peper. For the Confidential Guide, a personal system from zero to ten, known as “The Doak Scale,” was born. At the one end was the goose egg, defined like this:

[quote_box_center]A course so contrived and unnatural that it may poison your mind, which I cannot recommend under any circumstances. Reserved for courses that wasted ridiculous sums of money in their construction and probably shouldn’t have been built in the first place.[/quote_box_center]

At the other end of the scale sat the perfect ten, the Nadie Comaneci of golf course architecture:

[quote_box_center]Nearly perfect. If you skipped even one hole, you would miss something worth seeing. If you haven’t seen all the courses in this category, you don’t know how good golf architecture can get. Drop the book and call your travel agent, immediately.[/quote_box_center]

To get to this point, Tom Doak had done what Pete Dye, A.W. Tillinghast and Charles Blair MacDonald, other celebrated architects from distinct eras, had done before him. He had packed a bag and traveled the finest courses of the world in order to learn. Most of us cannot imagine walking a course without playing it; for Tom Doak, it was an accepted practice. He didn’t have time to golf all of those holes, so he often settled for a walking tour.

Through the 1990s and 2000s, Doak’s due diligence paid off. His firm designed the second course (Pacific Dunes) at the Bandon Dunes resort in Oregon, one of two courses at Streamsong Resort in Florida, and a host (some 30 at last count) of the world’s newest, best courses from New Zealand to Scotland to the sand hills of Nebraska.

In the early 2010s, Doak decided to revisit the Confidential Guide. He had learned much since the mid 1980s and missed writing. His works on Alister MacKenzie and the making of a golf course echoed more distantly in his past. Doak decided to enlist the help of three respected golf architecture aficionados and off they went to research and produce the updated Confidential Guide, with a twist.

The Review

What exactly is the Decade 2010 version of the Confidential Guide to Golf Courses? To begin, it’s a five-volume series. The first volume, released in September of 2014, covers the courses of Great Britain and Ireland. Subsequent volumes will visit The Americas (winter); The Americas (summer); Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

The first volume measures a tidy, 180 pages and is anything but a slog through densely-written prose. The four horsemen (Doak, Golf Club Atlas website founder Ran Morrissett, Planet Golf website founder Darius Oliver and Asian golf course reviewer/editor and architectural expert Masa Nishijima) saddled their devices and rode back to the structure of the original guide. In it are these unique sections: Gourmet’s Choice, Course Reviews, The Gazetteer and Most Wanted.

Gourmet’s Choice

The GC of the CG is a group listing of the 18 courses to which Tom Doak, et al., would take a friend to play. The offerings are not always the highest-rated courses in the book, but they are all near the top. The courses combine compelling architecture, ambiance, and the unexplainable sensation of being in the proper place at the appointed hour, accompanied by the necessary people.

In the words of the author, “…the places that stir our souls, and will reward the visitor with something out of the ordinary.” As a result, courses like Ballybunion in Ireland, the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland and Royal St. George’s in England, commingle with Pennard in Wales, Royal County Down in Northern Ireland, Mildenhall in England and Askernish in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Doak describes the Royal West Norfolk club (known locally as Brancaster), the course that taught Pete Dye about railroad ties, in this manner:

[quote_box_center]It is so low-lying that the entrance drive to the club is flooded by high tides twice a day, and the members of the Royal West Norfolk club have to keep tide tables handy to know when they are free to come and go. If sea levels do continue to rise over the next fifty years, Brancaster will be one of golf’s first casualties.[/quote_box_center]

Each of the 18 courses receives a 1.5-page treatise and a hole-by-hole categorization of sorts. In the latter, Doak utilizes chess demarcations to signal a great hole (!), a one of the best in the world hole (!! and !!!), an odd/questionable hole (?) and an odd hole that turned out brilliant (!?).

Course Reviews

TomDoak

This is the meat of the book. The four-man coterie identified 289 courses (a lifetime of golf for me!) in Great Britain and Ireland and rated each from 0-to-10. As Tom Doak points out, for over half of the courses, the co-authors disagree with the main man. Debate is a good thing, after all. Who knew that there was a Spanish Point in Ireland, a New Zealand in England, a Cruit (pronounced ‘crutch’) Island in Ireland and a Muir of Ord or a Boat of Garten anywhere? Each co-author presents a number from 0 to 10, the order being consistent, with Doak followed by Morrissett, then Nishijima and Oliver. If one hasn’t played the course, a dash fills the void.

For consistency, the entire book is written in Tom Doak’s narrative voice. It is a soothing and direct one, with a tone that seeks to inform yet suffers no fools in any capacity. Doak has spent years being critical of his own design work and that of others. The book reflects this thought process and vision. To be fair, there is a pinch of praise for even the lowliest course, while the highest echelon (including the single course to receive 10s across the row) still manages to be kept grounded with a bit of criticism. These honest assessments leave no titans ungrazed:

[quote_box_center]Nicklaus’ web site quotes him as saying it [Gleneagles Hotel PGA Centenary course] was the finest piece of property he’d ever been given to work with; if that were true, the result would be a tremendous disappointment. Its ugly concrete cart paths will be on display to the world at the 2014 Ryder Cup.[/quote_box_center]

A subsequent assessment of Ganton Golf Club works at dispelling what it is and what it isn’t. It is this type of revelation that helps all golfers to seek out new terrain over which to test their love of the game:

[quote_box_center]Ganton is a wonderful course that was for many years overlooked due to its location and genre. It’s neither a links nor a heathland course, and describing it as “parkland” does not do justice to its firm temperment. As a non-links, it can’t host the big championships and it’s well removed from the major centers of British golf.[/quote_box_center]

What it does have, the Confidential Guide explains, are deep, well-placed bunkers, accompanied by memorable par-four holes. Whether the former or the latter, anticipate forthright sincerity throughout the tome.

The Gazetteer

Despite his connection to the original Golf Magazine Top 100 list, Tom Doak is no fan of using this technique to validate anyone’s work.

[quote_box_center]”…lists have also done a disservice to golf course architecture over the past thirty years…rankings have drawn attention to the business, but they’ve distorted the practice of golf course architecture.”[/quote_box_center]

The concerns of Doak and other current architects revolve around the need of an owner or a membership to have their course ranked by one of the magazines. Whether you see it as cart before the horse or the tail wagging the dog, it’s a simple as the case of the student who worries more about the grade than the knowledge.

The Gazetteer, therefore, is a sequence without rankings, of clubhouses and their modest, their lunches and their settings. Also found are accommodations, including on-site dormy houses, nearby resorts, and course conditioning (both natural and human-aided). It is the courses themselves that receive the most diverse categorization, from bumpiest contours (this is where golf was born, after all), artistic routings, best bunker names and the expected delineation of fun, difficulty, wide and slender.

And in case it’s your thing, you can also travel to the 10 courses where you’re most likely to hit an animal…

Most Wanted

Although this impregnable quadrilateral of golf architecture doyens appears to have seen (or built) every golf course around the world, it hasn’t. Each of the contributors has yearnings (in this case, 10 of them) and they let us in on their hidden desires. Most surprising are the fact that Tom Doak wants to see the Welsh Ryder Cup course at Celtic Manor; that Ran Morrissett hasn’t seen Doak’s sole Scottish course (the Renaissance Club) or the New Course at St. Andrews (which is still 120 years old); that Masa Nishijima’s resume has a gaping English void; and that Darius Oliver hopes to one day get to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

This might be the depressing part of your read of this volume. If you’ve traveled to (or live in) Great Britain and Ireland, you’ll quickly come to understand how well-read (or well-played, or well-traveled) this group is. They get around. Don’t let this get you down. Live vicariously through their experiences and connect the features of the courses you typically play with the ones detailed in here. You might discover that your local muni has a connection with Royal Dornoch (as is the case with the Mark Twain golf course in Elmira, New York) or that your home club was designed by the same architect who built a course listed among the Gourmet’s Choice. Perhaps you’ll even find encouragement to travel; the private clubs of Britain, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are much more open to visitors than are U.S. clubs.

Final Thoughts

It is nice (albeit jarring) to read one man’s pure, undriven opinions on golf courses and their architecture. Tom Doak does not seek out controversy, but neither does he shy away from its eruption from honest discourse. After scalding Jack Nicklaus’ architecture in the original CG, the Golden Bear and Doak ended up working together on Sebonack (site of the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open) in a delicious irony for some. The result was that each architect took something away from the other, some nuance that had been previously unconsidered.

In the first volume of the new CG, Doak gives design rival David Kidd’s Castle Course at St. Andrews a zero, although it’s hard to understand why, as he expresses sympathy for the Scotsman while simultaneously gutting him numerically. Soon after the release of volume one of the new Confidential Guide, Mike Keiser of Bandon Dunes and Cabot Links fame announced that Kidd (and not Doak) would build the second course at Sand Valley in Wisconsin.

To be sure, the words of Tom Doak, et al., in The Confidential Guide To Golf Courses, Volume 1 2014, won’t please nor satisfy many of his architectural colleagues. The ASCGA (American Society of Golf Course Architects) has in place a mandate that society members will not criticize the work nor methods of their fellows. Since Tom Doak never joined the ASCGA, he is free to espouse as he chooses. If you ask, “what gives him the right to sound off in this manner?” you won’t be alone. You can and should disagree, but be prepared to substantiate your position. If you choose to walk away from the conversation or the debate, you’ve missed the point of the books.

It’s a bit much to ask the world’s golfing population to care about golf course architecture in the same way that its principles and its aficionados do. Visit the Golf Club Atlas web site if you wish to see how enthusiastic this latter bunch is. Doak holds the GCA brethren in such high regard that he is a regular participant in the site’s discussion group. Imagine that: a golf course architect who interacts online with the people who pay to play his courses. Talk about a total-access package.

However, it is books like the Confidential Guide that bring us neophytes and novices that much closer to the preparations and underpinnings of the courses we trod and golf. Sleeping Bear Press (the great golf publishing house of the 1990s) and its successor, ClockTower Press, are gone now a decade. Take great golf works when you can find them! In this one’s case, you can put your hands on the first now, with the anticipation of four more to come.

For information on the new Confidential Guide To Golf Courses series, visit the Renaissance Golf website.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. don davis

    Jan 3, 2015 at 1:39 am

    The more you know the greater the fun in golf. The site Golf Club Atlas is a fantastic must read for all golfers. I love Ran and all the guys there. I have had some my greatest memories on golf courses that were horrible. It is still golf . Tee it up, watch it fly and go hit it again . Thank God for the Tom Doaks of the world who keep golf the greatest game in the world.

    • Ronald Montesano

      Jan 3, 2015 at 5:39 am

      I suspect that one of the goals of the authors is to bring an appreciation for classic architecture to readers who aren’t aware of the game’s true origins. If it helps unwitting club chairs to fell some trees and make life easier for the greenkeepers, then it is a win.

  2. Chuck

    Jan 3, 2015 at 12:29 am

    This is always fun, for us happy owners of an original singed Sleeping Bear Press edition; a check of what they are going for on Amazon:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1886947090/ref=tmm_hrd_new_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=new&sr=&qid=

    • Chuck

      Jan 3, 2015 at 12:46 am

      Uh, “signed,” not “singed.” A “singed” copy might only be worth a couple hundred bucks, what with smelling like smoke and all.

      By the way, all; for those who know the original book and those who’e never heard of it (it is true legend in golf architecture circles), one of the great joys of the book isn’t any particular ranking or Doak Scale number(s). Rather, the joy is Tom’s terse, delightfully descriptive prose. I’m not so certain his tastes and mine are exactly the same, but his judgment is nearly unerring when it comes to defining good qualities in a golf course or even an entire golf club. I literally keep my copy in a bedside table and I pick it up to re-read portions almost every month of the year.

      It’s a book that has given thousands of hours of joy and enlightenment to thousands of golfers.

      • Ronald Montesano

        Jan 3, 2015 at 7:35 am

        Chuck,

        I’m sure that a singed copy, if recorded, would fetch something on the open market.

        It’s a sign of hope when tastes don’t necessarily align, yet the discussion and mutual respect function in a civil manner. I hope that we continue to read of your tastes in the comment boxes of WRX.

  3. Ronald Montesano

    Jan 2, 2015 at 6:33 am

    Written like a true Jones, Bubba. No matter who writes the review of these books, no matter the site, volume or show, the frankness, the candor of their narrative voice will always be mentioned.

    Since the life span of the “profession” is often discussed in certain circles, how long do you think it will continue as a profession? The restoration cycle will run its course and the available land will eventually be used up. What then?

    • Ronald Montesano

      Jan 2, 2015 at 6:34 pm

      I have heard that there is a movement afoot, directed toward the classic values and worth of more natural golf courses. The British isles might be the fortunate place, as its courses were built before modern technology offered the notion of earth moving and shaping. That might be why the typical scores on the scale were in the 5-9 range. We should see more in the 0-4 range once the Gang of Four gets to the colonies.

      I don’t agree that there will always be land. The sad part will be when the courses that served the lower and middle classes are paved over, while the ultra-private reserves receive a variance. For golf to succeed as anything beyond a niche sport, it needs to have the participation of these other classes.

  4. Ronald Montesano

    Jan 1, 2015 at 5:46 pm

    Thanks to dead-eye Thomas Dai, we’re changing the location of Cruit Island to Ireland, where it belongs.

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Courses

The Scottsdale Experience, Part II: Boulders, Troon North, and Camelback

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It’s been four years since my last desert golf trip in Arizona. For an area so rich in good golf, that’s too long to wait for a return trip.

Our last visit to Scottsdale brought my family to the Fairmont Princess during the Christmas season. We just like to visit this time of year because everything is decorated for the holidays. While there, I was able to play at TPC Scottsdale, Grayhawk, and We Ko Pa–all stunning tracks for every handicap level.

For this trip, now four years removed, we wanted to experience two different types of Scottsdale resorts: The first two nights at Boulders Resort and Spa, about 30 minutes north of town, surrounded by (you guessed it) boulders and nature. For the second two nights, my wife wanted to be a bit closer to the city life so we picked the JW Marriott Camelback Inn, minutes from Old Town Scottsdale.

There are many differences between the two resorts, but both somehow maintained the vibe of being in the Valley.

BOULDERS RESORT AND SPA 

The Boulders Resort and Spa sprawls out across an enormous piece of property, which includes two award-winning, Jay Morrish-designed golf courses that both rank well as playable golf courses in the state. When you check in, they give you a map and a flashlight to help you navigate the grounds at night.  The rooms (or casitas) are villa-esque, complete with your own fireplace and wood to burn on cold nights. The place just smells like fresh air and chimineas.

 

The lodge itself is nestled beneath a small mountain with accessible hiking trails along both sides. Behind the main lobby sits a good-sized pool, which was heated when we visited and allowed for swimming in November. Temperatures this time of year are typically pretty chilly, especially for early morning golf, so to be able to swim in warm water was a nice treat.

The two courses are both on the property, making Boulders Resort a truly ‘never have to leave’ type of resort. There are also multiple restaurants on-site, including Bogey’s Bar near the pro shop and 18th greens for both courses. Boulders is home to about 400 golfing membership families but also remains open for public play as well. The members and public alternate courses each day, which apparently works great and keeps a high-season traffic light on both courses. I played the North Course but also walked the South to get a good feel for each.

View from clubhouse over 18 of South Course

Boulders Pro Shop

Number one tee- Boulders North

The North course tips out at 6,959 yards but can play as short as 4900 from the red tees. There are six tee box options in total, which helps on a desert course like this because between the frequently watered green grass come many different varieties of wasteland carries and sandy ravines. With options on tees and course length, many of the challenging shots can be added or taken out depending on skill level.

You can expect a lot of uneven lies at Boulders, as most of the fairways and playing surfaces undulate to blend right in with the surrounding mountains. Saguaro cacti are in every site line, but the predominant feature of both courses is the elephant-sized boulders on nearly every hole. Some appear to teter on their end, ready to roll down into the bunker where your ball is resting.

Of course, like most desert-style courses, errant shots are findable in the sandy soil, but not without risk of being pricked, poked, or bitten. My general rule is that if I can’t see it from the green grass, I’m better off not wandering too far out in search of what might be painful to find. Drop a ball and take my medicine. That proved to be true at Boulders as well. There are many thick areas just off the fairway where man should not be. And a better golfer than myself would only look in that direction to view the beauty of the Sonoran Desert.

Both courses do have a few splatters of water hazards here and there. Most folks I spoke to on the property noted that the South Course has a couple more breathtaking views and elevation changes than its counterpart North, but the North Course provides a wider array of shot-making options for the more serious golfer. I thought both courses were stunning to the eye, but it wouldn’t shock me if, had I played South, I found it a bit easier and more resort-style friendly.

      

Non-member tee times can be booked online or through the pro shop but if you are staying at the lodge, you’re more than likely going to get a better hotel rate to play. In November, which is almost peak season, mid-week greens fees range from around $100-$200 with dynamic pricing throughout the day. Both courses are incredibly walkable and a caddie or pushcart can be available upon request.

              

After my round, I took my son on a hike up the mountain above the lodge for some pretty stunning views of both courses. My wife escaped to the spa for a 90-minute hot stone massage, which was my way of saying thank you for another golf trip for the family. The least I could do. She said it was incredible and unlike any other massage she has ever had in her life. They even put hot stones between her toes, which I suppose feels good.

We wrapped up our stay at Boulders with a fantastic dinner at Palo Verde, located at the resort headquarters. We were able to sit outside under the stars with the help of a few closely placed heaters. With the golf, the restaurants, and the natural activities available, Boulders proved to be a wonderful spot to relax and get some swings in. If your partner is a fan of spa days and calm settings, this is the golf resort in Scottsdale to stay at. The food, drinks, and lodging are all upscale.  I would say it is a perfect couples’ getaway resort. We didn’t see any other kids so there may be better places to stay if you’re bringing the little ones along, though. With kids, I’d stay closer to town (see below) and head up to Boulders for a round of golf only.

Palo Verde dining room at Boulders

TROON NORTH

The next morning, I took an Uber just a few minutes away to the Troon North campus for a round at the Pinnacle Course. Troon North is home to two tracks, both designed by Tom Weiskopf and both immaculately maintained year round. The Pinnacle course is more links-style than its sister, the Monument Course, which is widely considered the signature course between the two.

The clubhouse is first class, with a well-stocked 2,200 square foot pro shop, and a legitimate locker room for public use. And the logo is fantastic.

Troon North offers a membership plan as well as public play, and daily fees are dynamicly priced. 

    

Pinnacle course plays over 7,000 yards from the back tees but provides seven different tee boxes allowing you to play the course as short as 4831 yards. Though more links style than Monument, the course still provides a very Sonoran desert feel and carries over thorny brush on nearly every hole.

Both courses were ranked in the “Top 10” best courses you can play in Arizona by Golfweek.

I thoroughly enjoyed my round at Troon North. The facility is about 35 minutes north of the Phoenix airport so it’s a bit closer to downtown Scottsdale than Boulders. It is also closely connected to the Four Seasons should you be looking to stay nearby.

The course felt pristine and special. You can tell the place pays attention to detail and takes great pride in the condition of the courses. The layout has some elevation changes so it may not be the easiest to walk. The routing never really brings you back to the clubhouse until the 18th hole, either, but there is a comfort station out there and beverage carts making the rounds.

     

The bunkering is fair and not very deep, but they are strategically placed right where you don’t want them to be. The par 71 has only one par 5 on the front nine but boasts a 609-yarder on the back that plays every bit as long as it reads. The par threes are scenic but lengthy as well, generally playing around 200 yards from the backs except for the short 140-yard 16th.

 

The fairways are bermuda grass and the greens are bent. Overseeding is done in the fall but the schedule is posted online to help avoid any unpleasant rounds. There are valley quail all over the course that walk in front of you on fairways and tee boxes like schools of fish.

The course is just so scenic and first-class. The mountains are in view the entire time and the course provides a wide array of options and shotmaking opportunities. I played early and alone and I genuinely enjoyed my time on the course. It was my favorite round of the trip.

The 18th green is huge and it blends into the practice green near the clubhouse, snaking around a giant rock to protect the practice green from shots gone long. It is a very unique site from both the clubhouse and the 18th hole but adds some character to the facility.

             

CAMELBACK INN RESORT AND GOLF 

The JW Marriott Camelback Inn is an incredible hotel. I am not really sure how else to describe it. Being there feels the way an in-city Scottsdale hotel is supposed to feel. You’re surrounded by Camelback mountain on one side and Mummy Mountain on the other. The adobe buildings feel like they have been there forever and yet are still perfectly maintained. There are sitting areas near fireplaces around every turn and the landscaping is quintessentially desert floral.

We heard from more than one person that the Camelback Inn is Mr. Marriott’s favorite hotel within his entire company and he spends one month there every year. That is saying something!

Our room was standard size but wonderfully located just a hundred yards or so away from the main lodge and restaurants. Between us was a green space with lawn activities for guests of all ages. There is a playground and putting green on site and several pools (some heated) for swimming year-round. And the views are just spectacular. To be only minutes away from Old Town while still being able to hike up multiple mountains of your choosing is one of the most special things about Scottsdale.

We ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Rita’s Cantina and Bar…simply because the menus change for each meal and the outside patio seating is so incredible. Hoppin’ Jacks at the pool is another dining option but the Lincoln Steakhouse and Bar is the upscale dinner spot…and the gem of the dining options.

The Camelback Golf Courses, Ambiente, and Padre, are not on site, but the resort provides you with a free shuttle service for your tee time. The ride is only about five minutes and they start at 7:00 am.

The clubhouse is large with a spacious golf shop. The Camelback logo, while a bit cartoony, is pretty fantastic in a 1960s Bob Hope Classic kind of way.

I played the Ambiente course, which I was told has a bit more character than the Padre. Ambiente goes straight out for 3 miles, following along a gulch on your right the whole way, and then turns around and comes right back to the clubhouse for the back nine. If you are walking, make sure you’re in it for an entire 18-hole round. There’s no stopping after nine if you are on foot and three miles away from the clubhouse.

These courses are more parkland than desert. That’s especially true of the Padre course. But even Ambiente, which translates to ‘environment,’ is not very ‘deserty’ in comparison to Troon North or Boulders. There are a lot more grassy rough areas off the fairway and very little cactus. The gulch, which is seen on nearly every hole, feels more native and marshy than anything I saw in my previous rounds. It’s a gorgeous course, but not what you imagine when you think of Scottsdale golf.

The course itself, with its unique straight-out, straight-back routing, lengthens out to 7,225 yards from the tips and 5,538 from the forward tees. The par 72 Jason Straka design is not an easy course. Many of the holes require precision tee shots and a bit of course knowledge doesn’t hurt as the driver is not always proper. The par threes play long, with the shortest being 185 from the back tees. The 8th hole can stretch back to 241 yards and then number 15 goes even longer to 245. Of course, you don’t have to hit back there unless you’re a glutton for punishment.

    

The bunkering is deep in certain areas, which you realize as early as the greenside on the first hole. Playing this course after the other desert layouts I have played made me wonder if this is the true ‘nature’ of the area and perhaps the other desert courses are a bit more…manufactured. Ambiente feels native. I think I enjoy the other desert style aesthetics of the other courses more, but from a pure golf perspective, Ambiente at Camelback is a real deal course.

  

SCOTTSDALE LIFE

The beauty of Scottsdale as a golf destination is that no matter which courses or resorts you decide to enjoy, you are still always within 30 minutes of a fantastic city center, with great shops and world-class restaurants. Old Town is only one little pocket of what Scottsdale has to offer, but because of the neat stores for our kiddo and walkability, we spent most of our time away from the resort here.

Like any great city, anyone who has visited will be able to give you a list of their favorite places to play, shop, and eat.  For us, we loved going to Popstroke, the Tiger Woods-designed miniature golf course, as well as Mavrix for bowling and laser tag. When you’ve got a five-year-old, you do what makes him happy too. We also went to Isabella’s Kitchen for lunch on one of our days, which overlooks the McDowell Mountains and Grayhawk Golf Course. The food is always delicious and it’s a really fun location for the kiddo to run around while mom and dad can have a margarita.

We went to The Montauk in Old Town for our only dinner outside of the resort and it did not disappoint. It’s a really neat atmosphere and the menu was a mix between The Hamptons and Southwest tastings. They had live music and friendly staff. It doesn’t get much better.

And if you find yourself out and about for breakfast, you need to stop in at the Daily Dose for some Cinamon Roll Pancakes or Breakfast Nachos. We made a quick stop here on our way to the airport and didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day!

Having been traveling for golf for some time now, people always ask my opinion on my favorite courses or favorite city to go to for a golf trip. My answer always starts with “It depends on who you are going with…”

If you are heading out for a golf trip with your family, I don’t think you can pick a better city than Scottsdale. The travel itself (airport, rental car, etc..) is always a breeze. The resort options (and spas) are plentiful and offer a variety of different setups for couples or kid-friendly atmospheres. And there are hundreds of golf courses to choose from. All the while, Scottsdale has one of the best restaurant and entertainment scenes in the United States.

I’m sure I will keep getting the question. But if you are thinking of a golf trip with the family, the answer is Scottsdale.

If you want help planning your next golf experience or just have any questions about some of mine, reach out to me on Twitter or Instagram and shoot me a message. And feel free to check out my other golf experience articles. I look forward to hearing from you!

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PGA Frisco: A GolfWRX first look with Gil Hanse and Beau Welling

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PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas, is the new home of PGA of America. The two courses on-site, Fields Ranch East and West, are original designs by Gil Hanse and Beau Welling, respectfully, but they aren’t set to open for public play until the Spring of 2023. However, GolfWRX was given an opportunity to take an early look, play both courses, tour the facilities, and meet with the course architects ahead of the much-anticipated unveiling for the golf world.

The PGA Frisco location, which also shares the property with a brand new Omni Resort, a short course called The Swing, and a 75,000 square-foot putting course named The Dance Floor, appears to be joining the conversation as one of the country’s best buddy trip and family trip golf destinations.

The Omni resort is going to be complete with 500 luxury guest rooms and suites, 10 private ranch house residences, 13 different dining options, four pools, including an adult-only rooftop infinity pool, and a full-service salon and spa. They are going big with this place. All the facilities are currently under construction, but the plan is for them to be open by the Spring of 2023 as well.

The Swing is a ten-hole, lighted short course that provides a nice nightlife compliment to the larger courses, Fields Ranch East and West. Collaboratively designed by Hanse and Welling, The Swing is just steps from the Omni hotel, The Dance Floor putting courseboth championship courses, and a sports bar with bays for hitting into the driving range. The golf isn’t going to stop when the sun goes down. And no shuttle is needed at PGA Frisco.

“With The Swing, we started off by saying you do five holes and we will do five holes but it turned into a true collaboration,” Hanse said when discussing designing the short course alongside Welling. “When you start to think about designing a golf course with the shot values and how is it going to be perceived, what are the players going to think…then that creeps into your design. But when you are designing something just for unbridled joy, you don’t think about those things and that just makes something super fun.”

As good as the atmosphere and vibes are going to be, people are going to come for the golf. And major championships are coming too.

Fields Ranch East is already set to host the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in 2023, as well as 26 additional championships through 2034, including two PGA Championship events, and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Fields Ranch West Architect Beau Welling, who is probably best known for his work alongside Tiger Woods on the TGR Design projects, was excited about this property and opportunity right from the very beginning. “The original vision of this idea of multiple golf courses and a short course and practice course and all this fun stuff immediately resonated with me,” Welling said. “I remember thinking that this could be the coolest thing ever. It’s the PGA brand around this super accessible thing where people could not only visit to learn the game but also be the place where major championships are to contend.”

The East Course

The East course is the Gil Hanse design that is set to host all these majors. The course itself could either play incredibly long or as short as you’d like it, with huge flowing tee boxes being a feature that stands out immediately. Big fairways also immediately reveal themselves as the scale of this course is big. Very big.

“You have to think about how you are going to design for a major championship but also make it approachable and playable,” Hanse said.  “We worked really hard to create a playing ground where you can accomplish both. The level of precision required to go out and play the golf course should be pretty low. Wide fairways, hit your ball, find your ball, and hit it again. But the level of precision required to score should be off the charts if we are trying to challenge the best players in the world. There are opportunities to tuck pins and lengthen the East course to 7,800 yards. We feel like we have the setup for a major championship course in place.”

After working on the renovation at Southern Hills, Hanse drew from his experience on the Perry Maxwell design to utilize the site’s meandering Pather Creek and natural dry outs throughout the par 72 track. The course features smallish greens to contrast with the large fairways, making it a second-shot course to put a premium on accurate approaches. The fairways and rough use the same grass type to allow for flexible widening and narrowing of hole corridors to adjust for championship play.

The course maintains a prairie-like feel throughout the routing, but the back nine really shines with Texas character. The creek comes into play on many of the closing holes, including a gorgeously long par three thirteenth hole, and an 18th-hole par five that will hopefully provide some incredible major finishes.

“When the stage is set, we would rather see positive outcomes to determine champions as opposed to negative ones,” Hanse said.  “We really enjoy watching golfers make birdies and eagles to win as opposed to some guy making double bogey and the guy who made a bogey barely hangs on to win. So we set up our finishing holes with some tough stretch of holes to start the back nine and then the driveable 15. Then 17 is the shortest par three on the golf course. And then 18 is a reachable par five. So they will have to make decisions and then hopefully positive outcomes will determine how it unfolds.”

There are also rumors of a Ryder Cup coming to PGA Frisco.

“If we ultimately get the Ryder Cup,” Hanse said, “we thought about most matches not making it to 18. So what can we do with holes 14-16, where generally most matches end. So we wanted to set those up for interesting golf and put it in an amphitheater that is set up really nicely for viewers. So whether it is a PGA championship, LPGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship, or Ryder Cup, we feel like that stretch is going to provide a really interesting way to finish a golf course as opposed to just a long slog to the finish.”

The West Course

The West Course, which is the Welling design, is a playable compliment to the East course, providing another glimpse into big golf in Texas. The expansive fairways average 75 yards in width but the green complexes on Fields Ranch West tend to be much larger than its sister course. The size and scale were both something that Welling wanted to provide as a hat tip to its host state.

“Everything is big in Texas,” Welling said. “There are big weather events and big wind. But there is also incredible passion around the game here in Texas. Frisco is going to get famous because of the major championships on the East golf course, but long term it is going to have such an impact on the game as 28,000 members of the PGA come here to Omni and see golf presented in such a fun and modern way.”

The West Course also plays about 500 yards shorter than the East, tipping out at 7319 yards. The greens are larger but much more complex, with lots of undulation and hills to navigate. While the fairways and greens are big, you need to be in the right spot of each if you want to score. Nearly every green has a false front or false side waiting to shoot an errant approach back down the hillside.

Still, the scale allows for any handicapped golfer to play this course with enjoyment.

The course also uses the local terrain and elevation changes to both challenge and support each hole. The shorter par 4’s are often uphill, adding length where it isn’t otherwise there. The marshland and Panther Creek are more prevalent on the West course as well, utilizing the hazard to create more necessary carries.

The end result for Fields Ranch West is an approachable compliment to its companion course. There is an obvious feeling of connection between the two courses, but the style of play required for each is unique.

With the partnership and resources of the PGA of America and Omni Hotels and the design leadership of Gil Hanse and Beau Welling, the PGA Frisco campus is primed to rival the best in the world as a premier golf destination.

 

 

 

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Inside Pebble Beach’s “The Hay” Short Course (designed by Tiger Woods/TGR)

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This is my first trip to Pebble Beach since Tiger Woods’ new “The Hay” short course opened up in 2021, so I had to see the new setup for myself. Preferably, I would have actually played it, but the course was closed for maintenance ahead of the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am festivities.

Luckily, though, I had my camera handy as the fine folks at Pebble Beach’s short course allowed me to walk around and check it out. Below, I’ll take you along my walking tour, but first, some brief backstory and information.

The short course, formerly known as the Peter Hay Golf Course, sits just across the road from Pebble Beach’s driving range, and it’s been a fixture at the resort since 1957. The course was originally named after Peter Hay, the head professional at Pebble Beach and Del Monte. He created the short course to provide a way for junior golfers and families to more easily access the game, regardless of their abilities.

In 2021, Pebble Beach teamed up with Tiger Woods and the TGR Design team to give the course a redesign (without moving any trees or dirt, according to a Pebble Beach representative).

The new 9-hole short course is open to the general public for $65, and juniors under 12 years old play for free. The putting course, which sprawls about 100 yards in length, is open to the public at no cost, as well.

“We know not everyone who comes to Pebble Beach will have a chance to play the U.S. Open course, so we wanted to create the opportunity for all visitors to experience one of its most famous holes,” said Tiger Woods, according to The Hay’s website.

There’s also a restaurant/bar – called “Hay’s Place” – that has views of the entire course, and of Stillwater Cove. It’s not a bad spot to grab a drink before or after the round, and I hear the fish tacos are phenomenal. Just saying.

Enjoy the photos below from Tiger’s new-and-improved Pebble Beach Short Course, called “The Hay.”

The 100-yard putting green course

Hole No. 1: “Hay”

Hole No. 2: “Seven”

Hole No. 3: “Watson”

Hole No. 4: “Bing”

Hole No. 5: “Grace”

Hole No. 6: “Lanny”

Hole No. 7: “Jack”

Hole No. 8: “Kite”

Hole No. 9: “Tiger”

Hay’s Place

Check out more photos from the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am here.

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