Review of the Month July 2018 – Myopia Hunt
I was amazingly fortunate to play two of America’s gems within a twenty seven hour period. What a way to start a week, Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts on Monday and The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts on Tuesday.
The history of Myopia Hunt Club is a little bit fuzzy and depending upon who you talk to you may get a different historical vignette (especially if they are from The Country Club). Some believe that the club originated in baseball not golf, hunting or equestrian. In 1870, a group of men including four sons of Frederick Prince, who eventually became the mayor of Boston, formed a baseball team. The team was called the Myopia Nine. This was attributed to the four Prince brothers and another teammate who all wore glasses because they were nearsighted. Even though the group was nearsighted they did not lack vision.
The Prince brothers and friends would often host competitions and events with their friends in Winchester at their summer cottage. Eventually, they formed the official Myopia Club with baseball, tennis, water sports, racing, hunting and steeplechase. In 1879 they built a clubhouse on a hill overlooking Mystic Lake in Winchester, Massachusetts. Fittingly, the building was dedicated on in May of 1879, with a baseball game. Of interest, in 1902, the site overlooking Mystic Lake ultimately became the Winchester Country Club. A fine club in its own regard, Winchester initially opened as a nine hole course and in 1916 it became 18 holes and was designed by the one and only Donald Ross.
Frederick Prince introduced the sport of foxhunting to the Myopia club with the support of Hugh Allan, a Canadian. The hunts became quite popular. It quickly became apparent that the Winchester property was unsuitable for these types of hunts. A proposal was floated to move the hunts to either Ipswich or Hamilton. In the fall of 1881 the Myopians were able to reach an agreement with Mr. Gibney in Hamilton to rent his farm. However, several charter Myopia members wanted to move the club closer to Boston. This ultimately led to the founding of The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. More on this later.
In 1882, hunters outnumbered ballplayers and they were renamed the Myopia Foxhounds. At one point, the club passed a bylaw that for every golfer joining the club two equestrian members would be admitted as well. However, one viewed the club, be it hunting, golf or social, it flourished until 1891 when Gibney passed away. This created some uncertainty, but ultimately the club purchased the property from the estate for $20,000. This included the farmhouse, stables, barns and almost 150 acres! Amazingly, $20k in the 1890s would only be worth about $600k today. While this real estate transaction cannot compete with the purchase of Manhattan for $24 worth of trinkets, it still was a heck of a deal for the members. Once the deal closed the remodeling started, the farmhouse’s oldest rooms with the original fireplaces were converted into a library and most importantly a dining room with a bar. Thank goodness for priorities.
Foxhunting still takes place today at Myopia August through November. They do not utilize live foxes as a live fox hunt can take up to six hours and is illegal in Massachusetts. Instead of a fox they use something called the drag, which is a laid scent over an 8-10 mile course. I did not know squat about foxhunting prior to this, but my favorite quote on the topic comes courtesy of Oscar Wilde,
“The unspeakable chasing the uneatable”
With a golf course that has the distinction of being the only course in America to have two of the top 100 signature holes in the United States, and a Master of the Hounds who mans the hounds for hunts three seasons of each year, and the oldest continually running polo field in the country, there is a lot to be seen and said about Myopia. In season, polo is still played on Sunday afternoons and is open to the public for a small fee.
Myopia has hosted the U.S. Open four times 1898, 1901, 1905 and 1908. As the 1898 host, Myopia is one of only five courses that have hosted the U.S. Open in the nineteenth century. The first Open at Myopia in 1898 was the first US Open to be played over 72 holes. The previous three were only 36 holes. At the time, Myopia was only a nine hole course, hence the field had to play the same nine holes eight times. The winner was Fred Herd, a native of St. Andrews, Scotland, who shot a smooth 328! It was Fred’s only tour victory and he grossed a cool $150. However, Fred had a reputation as a hard core drinker. The USGA was concerned that Herd may hock the trophy to buy booze. Hence, they required him to make a deposit before he was allowed to have the championship trophy! How about them apples, John Daly?! As a side note, Fred Herd’s brother, Sandy, won the 1902 British Open.
The 1901 US Open saw a record established that in all probability will never be broken. They say records are meant to be broken, and they are. I try to avoid absolutes, but, I feel pretty confident about this one. The 1901 champion was Willie Anderson who shot a 331 to claim the $200 prize money! Even that was not enough. He needed to defeat Alex Smith in a playoff, 85 to 86 to secure the victory. Patience is a virtue as Willie had to wait as the playoff was delayed until Monday because Myopia was reserved for member play on Sundays. Willie’s caddy was none other than Myopia’s club pro John Jones
Willie Anderson was a tragic hero. He was born in North Berwick, (more on this later) Scotland and immigrated to the United States in 1896. He dominated US golfing circles for several years, being the first back-to-back winner, the first 3-time winner, and the first 4-time winner. He is still the only golfer to win the U.S. Open three straight years, 1903-1905 (1905 at Myopia); and he still shares, along with Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus the tournament record for wins with four. Sadly, he died at the age of 31 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While the official cause of death was epilepsy, many people felt he drank himself to death.
Other tasty tidbits from the 1901 US Open, coming in 21st place was another Scotsman named Donald Ross, yes that Donald Ross. Willie Anderson’s caddy, the Myopia club pro John Jones, finished twelfth. Yes, that is, correct, Jones caddied for Anderson AND PLAYED at the same time! I hope John didn’t give Anderson any bad reads or misclub him. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Steve Williams. The second nine at Myopia was completed in time for the 1901 Open and Herbert Corey Leeds was the designer. Leeds had little to no prior golf course design experience.
The last US Open championship at Myopia also went to a playoff. Ultimately, Fred McLeod prevailed over Willie Smith 77 to 83. Fred was the antithesis of the other Scottish US Open champions. While he was also from North Berwick, his father was involved in the temperance movement. McLeod immigrated to the US in 1903 and became the club pro at Rockford Country Club in Illinois. McLeod was a small man, 5’ 4” and when he won the Open he weighed less than 110 pounds. To put this in context, according to his biography Corey Pavin is 5’9” and weighs 155 pounds. I am not sure if there is any significance to this or not, but McLeod did live to 94, but I am not sure about the quality of those last few years……
Now to the course, while “only” 6500 yards, it is not for the faint of heart. Additionally, even the longest hitters must play from the red tees. The red tees are the tips. Unlike, most modern courses, Myopia has three sets of tees, yellow (ladies) 5500 yards, white, 6100 yards and red. The first hole is relatively benign. It is a short uphill 274 yard par 4 with a slight dogleg left. The second hole, while it is a relatively short par 5, 487 yards, the fairway is completely dissected twice. You must focus on the yardage and your distances or you may end up in the gunch.
For those of you who are scoffing at the distance of the course, the third hole, a 253 yard par three is a real gut check. Not only is it long, it is well protected with 3 small greenside bunkers and one large one at about 200 yards off the tee. The fourth hole is a dog leg left with a soufflé green. While the green can be difficult, it is a feat to have the opportunity to three putt for a bogey. On the tee, one must be careful not to drive through the fairway as well as being too aggressive and failing to cut the corner. Either can be cataclysmic. Perhaps that is why it has consistently been rated one of the toughest 100 holes in the United States.
The sixth hole is one of my personal favorites, a short par 4 that is only 260 yards. One must decide whether to try to carry the stream and the corresponding muck and mire and be about twenty yards short of the green or layup at 80 yards. That is not why it is one of my favorites, but rather this is the hole where golf aficionados will park their cars and sneak onto the course. Believe it or not, Myopia typically has less than 12,000 sanctioned rounds per year.
The 9th hole is a brilliantly deceiving par three at 136 yards. Traditionalists would call it a postage stamp green, but I do not think it qualifies. This green is only nine yards wide and thirty yards long, hence I think an appropriate moniker would be a “bar code green”. The ninth is named Pond, where on the tee shot one must carry a pond to have a shot at par. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the seven bunkers that surround the green. Myopia is quite proud of its Scotlandesque deep bunkers (although they are but dimples compared to Bethpage Black). The ninth hole has also been cited as one of the toughest 100 holes in the country.
As tough as the fourth and ninth hole are my money is on the twelfth as the toughest hole. It is the number one handicap hole and plays 446 yards off an elevated tee with a panoramic view. Do not get too comfortable, as it has a tight winding fairway surrounded by rough gone to fields and a wicked crowned green.
After the daunting challenge of the twelfth hole, the thirteenth hole seems almost playful. It is a 349 yard slight dog left. Big hitters can hit it through the fairway. The approach shot is uphill and plays at least two and perhaps as much as three clubs more.
The 16th hole is a downhill 192 yard par three that plays back toward the clubhouse. The pro shop is approximately 50 yards to the left of the green. One of my player partners had caddied at Myopia in the 1960’s. Caddies were paid $2 a bag at the time. He shared the following story with me. When he caddied there was no bunker to the left of the green. However, sometime in the 1970’s, a golfer hooked his tee shot (or sliced if they were left handed) and the ball hit the pro shop. The errant shot took a fortuitous bounce back towards the green, rolled onto the green and into the hole for a hole in one! I suspect that this particular member was not all that well liked because shortly thereafter a bunker was added between the green and the pro shop.
When you play Myopia you will occasionally see or even end up on bridle paths (I know I did) crossing or paralleling various holes. One of the local rules is that you can take a free drop. This is just another attribute that contributes to the uniqueness of Myopia.
By Colin Braithwaite, author of “A Good Walk Unspoiled”
Review of the Month July 2018 selected by Editor-in-Chief, Keith Baxter – click to read more about Myopia Hunt.
Golf Course Rankings are a product of great debate. Even with defined criteria and multiple visits, you're sure not to satisfy everyone. If the rankings don't create a stir we've probably played it too safe or caught lightning in a bottle... South Dakota Top 100 Golf Courses Update All quiet in South Dakota - status quo for 2024... Tennessee Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 3 in-state hold their position with Troubadour making an entry at number 4. The other new entry is Fairfield Glade - Heatherhurst Brae at 25. Cattanooga moves up two spots to 6 with the rest of the ranking moving down due to the new entries and Chattanooga moving up. Utah Top 100 Golf Courses Update Black Desert makes a splash with a new entry at 2nd in state. Entrada at Snow Canyon moves up two spots to 6th. 16 of 20 move down with two courses in the top six pushing the rest of the ranking down. West Virginia Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 15 gets an overhaul with a new Number One with Pikewood National unseating Pete Dye which moves to runner-up. Williams Country Club moves up 6 spots followed by Glade Springs Stonehaven at Raven at Snowshoe Mountain. Glade Springs Cobb, Guyan, and Glade Springs Woodhaven all drop three spots to make room for the three mentioned previously. Vermont Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 15 remained static in the state. Country Club of Barre, Manchester Country Club, Honey Pond Farm, Stowe Country Club and Rutland Golf Club have all found support for inclusion moving forward... Let's see what the future holds. Ohio Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 10 sees the most amount of change. Camargo reigns supreme but The Golf Club, Scioto, and Inverness Club all move up which pushes Muirfield Village down. The other riser in the Top 10 is Brookside Country Club up four spots to 7th, entering the Top 10. That shift pushes The Country Club and Kirtland down one spot each respectively. Kentucky Top 100 Golf Courses Update Not much change in state from existing clubs but the addition of three courses shuffles the deck. Park Mammoth debuts at 7th with Audubon Country Club and Nevel Meade entering the state ranking for the first time at 18th and 19th. Massachusetts Top 100 Golf Courses Update One of the more controversial releases, Myopia Hunt rises to 1st place unseating The Country Club. Eastward Ho! also moves past Clyde & Squirrel in a battle of the Titans. Old Sandwich and Essex Country Club also slide to make way for Myopia Hunt and Eastward Ho!. Kittansett also sees a moderate rise amongst very stiff competition, up from 7 to 6. Mid-rank, Worcester Country Club and Dedham move up eight and four spots pushing down their contemporaries with TPC Boston and Whittinsville taking the brunt of the fall. Hawaii Top 100 Golf Courses Update Manele and Kuki'o move up, which means the well-known Kapalua Plantation gets shunted from 2nd to 4th. Makena and Princeville Makai both move up 8 spots in the ranking to 5th and 10th, respectively. Kohanaiki is a moderate riser in the top 10 from 8th to 6th. Georgia Top 100 Golf Courses Update Not much change as you would expect in Georgia with Augusta National, Peachtree and Ohoopee Match Club fixed in the Top 3. The largest risers are Frederica (up 15 to 9th) and McLemore Club (up 23 to 34th). Ocean Forest rises 3 spots from 10th to 7th. Cuscowilla is the biggest faller from 5th to 12th. South Carolina Top 100 Golf Courses Update South Carolina is home to some of the best new golf of the 21st century. Debuting in the Top 10 in 2024 were: Old Barnwell, The Tree Farm, and Quixote. Broomsedge will be added and updated in 2025 when we get more panellists to see it. Aiken also saw a massive 25-spot rise. Lower down the list, Monticello GC and Prestwick CC debuted at 74 and 79 respectively. The biggest fallers were Dunes Golf & Bech Club, which fell from 7 to 22. California Top 100 Golf Courses California is one of the deepest states in the USA regarding golf. The Top 5 are in the Top 100 in the World. The next 8 are in the Top 100 in the USA. In 2024, we updated the in-state rankings. At 94th, Desert Dunes dropped in the ranking but was also out of contention with its closure... That means Indian Wells Celebrity pops back in at 100. Ladera debuted at 12th which puts it in the USA Top 100 - the question will be where? Lake Merced, Hillcrest, Rolling Hills and Wilshire all moved up significantly with recent renovations. Perhaps the biggest news was in the Top 10. Olympic Club Lake dropped 3 spots with Monterrey Peninsula moving up 3. As well, LACC moved up 1 spot to 2 with Pebble Beach slipping 1 spot to 3. New York Top 100 Golf Courses Update New York also received an update in 2024 but things were more or less static. Garden City moved down 3 with Oak Hill East and Sleepy Hollow Upper moving up 6 spots each respectively. The Top 10 had a decent shuffle too. Oak Hill East got to 6th and Sleepy Hollow up 6 to 10th. The Big 5 in state contenders stayed the same with 11 of the top 16 being shuffled around. Pennsylvania Top 100 Golf Courses Update Pennsylvania was quiet in between rankings with 4 courses moving down a single spot to make way for Longue Vue to move up 5 spots to break the top 20. Florida Top 100 Golf Courses Update Florida has had a massive overhaul. 14 golf courses have fallen from the Top 100 Ranking. They are as follows: Crandon Hideout - Florida Orange County National - Crooked Cat Kelly Plantation Regatta Bay Orchid Island World Golf Village - King & Bear Pensacola Mission Inn - Las Colinas BallenIsles - East Amelia Island - Long Point Southern Hills Plantation La Groce CC The 14 New Entries include: McArthur Back Yard The Dye Course at White Oak The Park West Palm Belleair CC - West Course & East Course Panther National Apogee West Course Cabot Citrus Farms - Karoo Coral Ridge CC Club Adena - Ocala Grove XXIII Bradenton CC Lost Tree Quail Ridge South Hammock Dunes Club - Creek Grey Oaks - The Pine Course Movers and shakers include RedStick, Southern Dunes, Loxahatchee, and Broken Sound Old all moving up. With the 14 new entries and 14 golf courses dropped, there were massive adjustments. Some courses moved down more than others and they included Isleworth and Turnberry Isle - Soffer. Where the dust settles you'll have to wait and see! New Jersey Top 100 Golf Courses Update The Top 2 golf courses in New Jersey don't see any movement - fitting as they are Pine Valley and Somerset Hills. However, Baltusrol Lower moves up 2 pushing Plainfield and Ridgewood down. Hollywood swaps spots with Baltusrol Upper moving up 1 to 6th. Union League National, the Fry Straka addition from 2022, debuts at 16. Old York falls out after being closed. Wisconsin Top 100 Golf Courses Update Wisconsin isn't a traditional golf market but with the recent new builds, it has become a premier golf destination. New Entries include Tom Doak's Lido and Sedge Valley, both at Sand Valley. The significant riser is Lac Le Belle, with Grand Geneva Brute the biggest faller. As we publish only 40 courses on our list, Eagle Springs Golf Resort and House on the Rocks Springs drop off the ranking but stay on the website. Illinois Top 100 Golf Courses Update Illinois' big three remained as they were but the recent work at Medinah No. 3 moved it up 5 spots. Conway Farms and Olympia Fields North also moved up in the Top 10. Michigan Top 100 Golf Courses Update The biggest riser is Bloomfield Hills up 10. The biggest faller was Point O'Woods, which was down 6. Barton Hills moves up 5 to enter the top 15. Franklin Hills moves up 2 to enter the top 5. New entries include American Dunes at 39 and Harbor Shores at 43. Most of the other movers are incidental the new entries and the big four movers and shakers.
East Lake, Atlanta Athletic Club, Cypress Point and Olympic Club - four different ways to make golf very special by Javier PIntos During the last two months I had the chance during two trips to the USA to experience four private and very exclusive golf courses. All four are steeped in golf history and have hosted major events in the past. On April 1st, my friend Gastón Morgan and I had the chance to play both Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands) and East Lake in one day after a 10-hour flight from Buenos Aires. It was one of the most special golf days I have ever had, playing two venues that are very special and also very different from each other. On May 19th, after two long flights from Buenos Aires to San Francisco, I drove directly to the first tee at Cypress Point to play it for the second time (first in 2011) with my friend Lucas Raznoznik and on May 20th we played the Olympic Club (Lake) which was a true test with an added bonus of playing the Cliffs course after lunch, which made for another very special golf day. The purpose of this article is not to review of each course, which I have done separately here at Top 100 Golf Courses (click the links above if you'd like to read my reviews), but to mark the differences between these venues and how each manages to make a visit unique in four very different ways. Of course there are aspects which are shared, but the experiences are all different. The Golf Courses The two features that mark the biggest difference between golf courses around the world come from the designer and the piece of land used to construct the golf course. Then you can put the grasses used to cover the surfaces, the landscaping and the climate in the region. Finally, but no less important, the maintenance, the type of sand, bunkers shaping and attention to detail where you will see the difference between very good venues and those you know are different from the rest. During these two trips I was able to see four very different courses and all of them have their own greatness. East Lake was the first I played in a 36-hole day during April. It is a true classic, a parkland with some great level chances and very challenging holes for an amateur. Greens are not big but they are firm and very fast, with the grain of the grass marking a huge difference... when it is in your direction (very fast putts) or against you (super slow ones). I had some situations where it was really impossible to leave it close to the hole... on the par five 15th I three putted from 8 feet without hitting a bad stroke. There are many tee shots which require power but there are also many where skill is much more important as you will need to fade or draw the ball to get a good angle to the pin. Missing greens often makes it very tough to have a chance of an up and down due to speed and slopes. But the course is fair and true, nothing is hidden and on a good day you can match your handicap. What's great about East Lake is that it's very playable for bogey golfers; the only forced carry is on the par three 6th, but it's a short iron even from the tips. As it's a regular PGA Tour venue (The Tour Championship) you visit familiar places and even try to replicate some shots. Unfortunately I could not try the Bill Haas recovery at the 17th because when they played the water level was 6 feet lower due to the dry summer that season. What is great about Bill's shot is that from where he was he could not see the higher part of the flag. After lunch we drove 20 miles to arrive just before our tee time at Atlanta Athletic Club and play the Highlands Course (host of the 2011 PGA Championship won by Keegan Bradley). So close to East Lake and yet so different. The Club has two courses, Riverside and Highlands, which despite being laid out over similar ground they are very different from each other. Even the front and back nines are very different on the Highlands course. The first nine is flatter and straighter with fewer doglegged tee shots and where almost always you see the green from the tee. But in my case I found it harder to score on the front side, finding holes 1, 8 and 9 the tougher holes. In my opinion, the back nine is better and more enjoyable to play, starting with two great par fours, with 11 a downhill dogleg left where the more you risk with the simpler the approach. Despite being tired on the back nine, I played really well hitting all nine GIRs but couldn’t score lower than even par as the greens were fast and with deep slopes, which sometimes made it very tough to get close with the first putt. We played the 6,900-yard tees and it was wet with drives only rolling a couple of yards. It was a monster. The pros played it from 7,600 yards in 2011, they play a totally different game. The par three 15th was where Dufner found the water and tripled, I managed to hit a 210-yard 4 iron to 25 feet but had a very hard job to get down in two putts. It is one of the toughest par threes I have ever played, but the forced carry needed on the 17th is also hard as a mishit shot will always end wet. We played the 18th as a 520-yard par five... from the same tee the pros played it as a par four. If I have to compare these first two courses, I have to say that for a scratch golfer they are both resistant to scoring, but for a bogey golfer East Lake is much more playable and enjoyable. At AAC a bad round for a bogey golfer can turn into really high numbers and common to both is that you need to be really good with the short game around the green. It's maybe the biggest challenge. Cypress Point… evokes the Wow! It was my second visit here and my only regret was not being able to enjoy more pre-game time as I arrived just in time to tee off after only hitting a couple of putts. This 6,700-yard classic course is a design jewel, as it has been untouched since it was created and remains just as it was. There are many aspects that make it unique: the quality and challenge of the greens, the variety in the design of the holes, the challenge and risk/reward situations (5, 8, 9, 16 being the more remarkable ones). It's true that if you look back down the hole from the greens, you won't see a single bunker (this camouflage technique was learned by MacKenzie during the war). I don’t wish to describe every single hole but I'll just mention some shots that are worthy. The second shot at the par five 5th hole is maybe one of the most engaging, but if you don't have a good lie you can’t go for it. The tee shot on 8th is where you can attempt to cut the dogleg - it's one of the most clear risk/reward situations I have played. Then on the 9th tee you feel that you have to go for it but a miss can be a disaster. Finally the 16th needs a carry of 220 yards to remain dry. Some people, including Tom Doak, think the 18th is a bad hole. In my opinion it's one of the greatest closing holes where you need two solid shots and a hot putter not to card a bogey. It is true that if they decide to change it and play it close to the 16th it could be a better hole, but as it is I love it! The course will never change, it is the playground of its members, it is a place where you play fast and where walking is one of the most enjoyable parts of the round. But if you can’t putt you will not score because the greens are the toughest challenge on this course. Not only that, holes 15, 16 and 17 are maybe the best trio of consecutive golf holes in the world. For bogey golfers it's another course that they will enjoy (the member who hosted us couldn't drive it further than 200 yards and his only lay up was at the 16th where he couldn’t carry the water and he made a very easy bogey!). The Olympic Club Lake Course is markedly different from the first three. From the opening hole to the last it shows it's a US Open venue. The rough wasn't as long as for the Open, but it was tough enough and the greens were running at 12 feet on the stimpmeter. A round of golf here is a true scoring challenge and every missed shot will be punished. But with no water and no forced carries, it is another course where a bogey player who can putt will have a very enjoyable day. It was not the best of the four courses, but there are some elements that are really charming. From the elevated tee on the par three 3rd hole you can see the Golden Gate in the distance, then there's the uphill par three 8th hole which heads to the clubhouse... it's one of the loveliest spots on the course. The par five 16th is a monster and the tee shot on the 18th is maybe the nicest shot you will hit on the course. The greens are big, very tough to read, fast and sloping, but they are true. Some tee shots require skill to draw or fade the ball to flight it to the correct spot. I scored very similarly on the four courses, but some weeks later I feel that it was the Olympic Lake course that really tested me; every missed shot punished me - I missed 6 GIR and could not get up and down. I even doubled holes 1 and 12 from beside the green. If I was asked to select one of these four courses to play tomorrow there are two possible answers: If I want a nice enjoyable walk, I'd choose Cypress Point, but if I want to test my game the choice will always be the Olympic. There are reasons that would make me choose East Lake (the clubhouse and staff hospitality) or Atlanta (the back nine for match play is really great). But ultimately I'd always choose the No.1 course in the World! The Pro Shops The pro shop is the place where visitors get their souvenirs and memories from their visit to these venues. There's a very big difference between Cypress Point and the other three pro shops. Cypress has a very nice but small shop where you can buy the typical stuff (shirts, sweaters, hats, club covers, pitch markers, cap pins, etc.) but where the two things I like most (pin flags and bag tags) are not available. The other three courses have much larger shops, with a wider variety of souvenirs and memories you be purchased. It is not that Cypress has no stuff, the shop is smaller because the course sees less rounds played than the other three. However, one interesting thing I brought from Cypress was the book “The Match”, which is a mandatory read after you have played the course. The two courses, Atlanta and Olympic, used to have a lot of corporate play and outings, which is why I think they are bigger and offer wider variety. Naturally I bought many things from every one! The Clubhouse Again Cypress is different to the other three. The first thing is that if you're not with a member, you cannot use the bar, grill and clubhouse, just the locker room (in 2011 I had an unaccompanied foursome, we left immediately after the game and pro shop purchases). The member who hosted us this time had to leave quickly, so we had just a short opportunity to walk around the clubhouse. I have to say the terrace facing the 16th hole is the best I've seen, no argument. Olympic’s clubhouse is immense, maybe necessary to host its 1000+ members. There are lots of spots where you see memories, pictures, scorecards and more from past US Opens. Atlanta Athletic is like a mix between a resort course and private clubhouse, big and with places where memorabilia from past tournaments is kept. The clubhouse at East Lake is something really special where you will find the memories of Bobby Jones everywhere. One of the most special things I found is the scorecard of the final golf round of his life. As a guest of a member you are allowed everywhere and the club staff proudly tell stories about the history of the club. It is a tough choice, but my favourite is between the simplicity of Cypress Point and the museum style of East Lake, both are very enjoyable to visit after the round of golf. The Locker Rooms All four were nice but I would say the only one not reaching "special" was Atlanta Athletic. I will say that East Lake, where I used Rory McIlroy’s locker, was my favourite. Cypress is small but the pictures shown there are pure history and display how extraordinary the course is, whereas Olympic is huge, with memories of past events everywhere. My small suggestion is that if you are invited to any private club you always take a look at the locker room.. History and Past Events Cypress Point has hosted the AT&T National ProAm in the past, but unfortunately for those who don’t know the course it is not likely to return here. It is the member’s playground and they just like to share it with their friends and guests. Of course pros will be allowed during the week of the ProAm. Caddies here are excellent and always have a story, Andy Bean being -7 at the 11th tee and scoring 80 is my favourite! If you are lucky enough to play here, you simply have to buy and read “The Match”. It's one of the best golf books I've ever read. For the Olympic Club you have to study their US Open stories and you'll learn much. My caddie showed me a lot of spots where historic shots were played, but the bush that buried Jim Furyk’s chances in 2012 is the most notorious as the tee shot was akin to a 24 handicap golfer rather than a pro! East Lake will always be special and holds a deep history related to Bobby Jones, but hosting The Tour Championship for a number of years has provided a lot of background on the current Tour Players and being able to use their lockers is the nicest touch. When playing the course you have to go to the 17th where Bill Haas played that dramatic hazard shot. From where he was you won’t be able to see the top of the flag! Atlanta Athletic hosted a wonderful 2011 PGA Championship and there is a lot of information about it and also about Bobby Jones, along with other past events. There are rooms specially dedicated to history and I always like to spend some time finding out what happened there. But remember that this course plays really tough and from the very back tees it's a monster. By Javier Pintos javier@wegolf.com.ar www.wegolf.com.ar
From Furyk to Bryson: Mungeam's defense of Olympia Fields When the PGA Tour returns to Olympia Fields Country Club this week for the BMW Championship, penultimate stage of the Fedex Cup Playoffs (Aug. 27-30), the most interested observer will be Mark A. Mungeam, the architect who spent nearly a quarter century renovating, then restoring, but always defending this historic Willie Park Jr. design from muscle-bound, technologically enhanced assaults on par. Mungeam, owner of Massachusetts-based Mungeam Golf Design, first reckoned with the competitive resilience of the North Course at Olympia Fields in 1992. That master-planning process led to his direction of renovations prior to the in U.S. Senior Open, in 1997, then more prior to the 2003 U.S. Open, won by Jim Furyk. Thereafter, when the club opted for a full-on restoration — after discovering key period photography — Mungeam directed that refurbishment, as well. His prep efforts continued prior to the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship, at Olympia Fields, claimed by a young, svelte Bryson DeChambeau. In 2017, Danielle Kang won the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship there. But it is DeChambeau who has emerged post lockdown bigger and longer — the new embodiment of golf’s uncomfortable relationship with length. He and his PGA Tour colleagues would appear ever more indifferent to the scoring safeguards Mungeam created over the course of 20 years. Olympia Fields North course 3rd hole photo by Gary Kellner “You can’t take it personally — I certainly don’t,” said Mungeam, ASGCA, whose more recent tournament prep involved rehabilitating a pair of Donald Ross-designed, City of Boston classics — George Wright GC in Hyde Park and Franklin Park GC in Dorchester — for the 2019 Massachusetts Amateur. “I can remember adding a bunker on the left side of what plays during championships as the par-4 18th hole at Olympia Fields, what the members play as no. 9,” the architect says. “It was 310 yards from the tee in 1999. Back then, we thought of it as an aiming bunker! Today they’ll be flying it, or trying to. They were doing that in 2015, during the Amateur. “There is a randomness to the bunkering in places like Scotland that keeps those hazards relevant through changes in technology and length, but it’s not enough to deter professionals today. The fairway bunkers at 18 on the North Course are deep enough that they are plenty penal. But the rough, should they miss the fairway, is ever more punishing. It has to be. At Olympia Fields and elsewhere, it has become a risk/reward situation from the tee, the sort of dynamic we associate with severe U.S. Open-style conditions. Is that better? Well, it’s better than it could have been, had we done nothing.” Located just outside of Chicago, the North Course at Olympia Fields opened in 1923. Two years later, Walter Hagen won the PGA Championship there. In 1928, Johnny Farrell captured the U.S. Open title on the North Course, besting Bobby Jones in a playoff. The club would host another PGA in 1961. The Western Open — considered alongside golf’s major tournaments into the 1960s (the BMW Championship is its 21st century incarnation) — was played here five times. In preparation for the 1997 Senior Open (won by Graham Marsh), the club engaged Mungeam to effectively renovate the North Course for 21st century tournament use. The USGA needed a championship venue in Chicago, the nation’s second biggest population center and television market. This was the first of several distinct renovation phases, Mungeam says. “That second renovation in 1999 was complicated — we were preparing for a U.S. Open Championship in 2003, for goodness sake — but it was a renovation. We didn’t have any period photography or plans from Park Jr. detailed enough to allow for restoration. That all changed in 2013 when someone found a program from the 1928 Open, with pictures of every single hole! That document was a goldmine. It became the practical basis for our sympathetic restoration work prior to the 2015 Amateur — the basis for the course we’ll see this week. “Without those photos, we would not have those magnificent cross-bunkers on the 5th, 8th and 17th holes, for example. The old photos were also crucial to full expansion several green surfaces. And, of course, they helped guide some tree removal.” Mungeam’s interaction with the North Course during all these tournament engagements has run the gamut. In 2003, he became the first architect who prepared a U.S. Open site to ever work the same course as part of the grounds crew: Mungeam raked bunkers, filled divots and fluffed rough for then superintendent Dave Ward, starting at 4 a.m. — before watching championship play from the maintenance shed. “I had been working alongside that crew for nearly 10 years by then. They were my friends,” Mungeam explains. At the Amateur in 2015, the architect observed DeChambeau up close, walking the course from what then passed for a responsible distance. After 24 years, Mungeam’s association with the club ended in 2018. He will watch this week’s tournament from the sofa inside his 1850s farmhouse in central Massachusetts. “This winter I ran into the current Olympia Fields superintendent, Sam MacKenzie, and he confirmed that nothing much has changed since 2017,” Mungeam says, noting the layout still maxes out at 7,343 yards (Par-70), up from the 7,180 yards it played for the 2003 Open. “All the same, I’ll be interested to see where they maintain the fairway edges. We modified them — to narrow things down beyond those fairway bunkers. And I’ll be interested to see how long and thick they keep the rough in those areas, where there won’t be galleries trampling the rough down. “The only real deterrents to Bryson and the Bombers these days are the roughs and the wonderfully sloped Willie Park Jr. putting surfaces, which many of these guys haven’t see before (though Bryson has). In the end, the greens make this course what it is. I’m sure Sam will have them rolling pretty quick.” Jim Furyk, never a long hitter, shot a then-record 8-under par to win the 2003 U.S. Open. “If the BMW winner doesn’t double that,” the architect says, “I’ll consider it a moral victory.”
