US Open, 2nd place, Phil and the announcers

18th hole at Merion

All I heard after the conclusion of this week’s US Open was about Phil Mickelson’s mistakes coming down the stretch. The golf announcers were so invested in him winning, that their frustrations were now being taken out on him because the story didn’t turn out as they had wanted to tell it. It was like watching a Team Canada hockey game where the announcers from Canada see all the events in front of them as a fan rather than a commentator. When the team loses, rather than recognizing the advancements of another nation’s players or team game, the only reaction is to analyse what the Team must have done wrong.

I was thoroughly disgusted by what I heard.

What was more frustrating to watch was the entire summary seemed to be about Mickelson. It wasn’t about him playing well enough all week to give him a chance. The entire focus was his inability to win. Lost was how good Justin Rose was all Sunday. The story became all about the commentators and their personal desires. It was like nobody won and nobody else ever contended.
It was a very compelling Open full of high drama, not a tragedy based around a single player.

Phil’s crushed. I get it. I’ve recently finished second a few times myself in chasing new clients. But what finishing second does tell you is that you’re doing an awful lot right too.

The people watching from the sidelines need to show a bit of perspective and empathy to his plight and realize that all anyone can do is play well, get in contention and hope they can bring the result home. Sometimes that’s not going to achieve get the result we want or they expect. The only real failure is not trying as hard as you can in competition.

Phil has finished 2^nd in 6 US Opens. This is the event that is least suited to the style, but everyone seems to ignore that fact. Yet there he is knocking at the door at the Open.

It’s easier to finish well back or to pass the ball to another teammate to take the last shot, that way you never get called a choker or be ridiculed for not getting the job done. But if you want to win, you need to be in the mix when it matters. You have to want the last shot. You need to get the last two in a competition for work. And as Michael Jordan made clear in that famous Nike commercial,

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

It was time to cut Phil some slack … and the biggest failure on Sunday goes to the golf announcers.

 

No Holds Barred with Ian Andrew

9th hole from the fairway at Laval

I'm featured in this months Canadian Golf Magazine in a piece called No Hold Barred with Ian Andrew. The feature is a question and answer interview that talks about projects from Highlands Links to Laval-sur-le-lac. The interview touches briefly on how I started and finishes with my favourite.

Here is the written version: Canadian Golf Magazine

Here is video version of the interview: See the Video of the Interview on YouTube



I apologize for not writing much recently, but I've been very busy and will eventually share what's been going on.

Merion to Undo the Recent Changes

4th Green - courtesy of Planet Golf

I had heard that this was coming and smiled when I saw this piece in Geoff Shackelford's web site. Now if they would only change architects...

"But the real bombshell in the Merion conversation was dropped by Ill, who revealed after a discussion of Merion's decade long restoration (tree removal, bunker work, etc...) that following the 2013 U.S. Open, several of the "restored" bunkers--which were actually shifted to pinch landing areas on holes like 2, 15, 16--will be restored to their previous positions."

I would say the term restoration would be a stretch, particularly when it comes to the bunker work.

To see the entire piece from GeoffShackelford.com Click Here

"Also of note was Fazio's prediction that after this week, the world of golf will be having a "very different" debate about the ball because of his belief that Merion will show that a course under 7,000 yards is plenty relevant in today's game."

I personally think the opposite will turn out to be the case. I continue to find I'm at odds with my contemporaries on this issue.

St. Thomas Tree Removal is Amazing

3rd Hole - picture by Robert Thompson

Rick Young has recently written about the tree removal project at St. Thomas Golf and Country Club. In the piece he said,

"A couple of weeks ago Robert Thompson of G4G and myself paid St. Thomas a visit to see the completed work to this point. I was blown away. Opening up the golf course in such a dramatic fashion has re-energized it and certainly offers a revealing look into the positive attributes of a tree removal initiative."

The article can be found here: click here

He quotes something I sent to the club after seeing the work this spring,

“The tree removal that was completed this winter is one of the most impressive things I have seen in my 25 years in the business. I can’t believe how much it opens up the golf course and creates spectacular views out to the other holes. The change has really showcased the wonderful sense of scale for the property. I’m particularly impressed with green sites like the sixth, which now stand out from the landscape and are impressive to the eye. Even the removal of the tree on the 14th has improved the setting. I can’t think of a single change to the course that has made such a positive impression. I can’t wait for the next stage of removals to see the further opening up of the valleys. I think people will be awestruck by the change. In the long run a management program for the upper fairway lines will also be important for showing off the wonderful undulating landscape. The more this course gets opened up, the more people will realize that St. Thomas has one of the most spectacular properties in Canada.”


Robert Thompson also wrote about the work and the article can be found here: Click Here

I thought he offered the ideal last word,

"St. Thomas is planning on going forward with removing thousands more trees — and when it is done the club will be much better for it."

How Merion will decide the Winner

2nd Hole and narrow fairways

From an architect’s perspective Merion is one of the five to ten must see courses in golf. If you asked me to name ten best courses to teach you about golf architecture, I would name Merion. If you asked me what might be the single best routing in golf, I would name Merion. Architecturally, this is one of the most brilliant courses I have ever seen.

One of the aspects that will rule play this week is that Merion is a three act play.

Merion features a strong opening set.  But the fact that there is two par fives means that par or better is in the cards. Watch for players to play solid and generally stay close to par for the set. The hole that will create chaos is the 5^th. There is a review of the hole in my blog archives. You will see a lot of bogies and few ruined Opens here. The 5th is one of the best par fours in the world since position on this hole is everything for the approach. If you see a player coming in from the right on Sunday, they are in deep trouble under that pressure. 

The amazing 5th - and the hard bank to the left including the green

The second act is the short and sporty middle run from the 7^th to 13^th. You will see lots of players go three and four under through this stretch. This is also where many an Open lost because players have tried to overplay their hand and try to go low and not only not make birdies but make bogies too. It’s a psychological problem for the elite players because their expectations to score will exceed what the course will yield. You can score, but patience and position is imperative and more prudent than trying to drive greens and chase pins.

The final run is a brute with each holes being a monster and the difficulty going up each shot. The 16^th may be one of the prettiest hoes, but the home hole is truly the toughest second shot in golf playing to a crowned green. The final stage is all about perseverance and par will beat the field by a couple of shots. If anyone is in the clubhouse and tied with the lead, I’ll take that player over the guy on 14 needing par all the way home to win.

15th hole - one of the best on the course

As a side note: I did want to talk about the set-up. The long rough may be perfect for the US Open and be the very reason "most" players don’t go low, but the set-up is awful for member and guest play (standard presentation all the time) because it takes away all the wonderful decisions that should be in play. The first time I played it the rough was manageable and the fairway width was still present. The last time I played the course the rough was six inches, astonishingly thick and the fairway widths were all about 25 yards. Gone was the positional play, the desire to play more longer clubs than you should on the middle holes and any semblance of fun. Here’s hoping that it is true and they have decided to undo all the changes made for the Open!

I think this will be one of the best Opens in recent times because the entire field can win. I also think they will score well because the course is short and wet. It may not be a number that the USGA likes, but I see this event having much of the magic of recent Masters with low scores and excellent play leading to birdies. The course rewards a thinker over a hitter and therefore the winner will likely be a very popular player. I think this will be an event for the ages and I’m glad Merion will once again play the role in deciding a worthy champion.

Maple Downs Renovation Approved to Begin in 2014

11th Hole with new short grass front and right

I am very pleased to announce that Maple Downs has voted overwhelmingly (75%) to go ahead with a major renovation to the golf course. Construction will begin in 2014.

The work includes the rebuilding of all 18 greens which has been taken on because of agronomic issues. Many of the originals will be rebuilt in place and will keep the existing contours, some will be softened to address issues of green speed and pin areas and a few will see major change (interestingly each of those were rebuilt in the past).

3rd Hole with feeder slope on right

The bunkers will be rebuilt using a grass-faced style similar to Raynor which will emphasize the green sites and land rather than the bunkers. This will also address many complicated maintenance issues by removing the sand flashes and washout concerns.

We will build new tees, install fairway drainage, re-grass the fairways and remove trees during this process. Architecturally we will see some improvements with the addition of a few feeder slopes to open up ground based approaches. We will also see some run-off areas around greens to allow the ball to run out and off the backs or sides of greens to reduce the need for bunkering.

I consider the routing at Maple Downs to be excellent, but there are a few significant changes that will make holes better:



4th Hole relocated to the left bringing the valley in play

The 4^th green will be shifted left to hang on the edge of the valley. The valley will have all the trees removed and be visible and in play from the tee. While players can play away from the valley off the tee, the approach shot becomes very complicated after that play.

The approach shot to the 7^th will no longer be blind with the green raised and the crown of the hill lowered slightly to open up a clear view of the green from the valley.

The 8^th will play as a Redan with a high feeder slope on the right and the green running from front right to back left.

 

"Drivable" 12th Hole

The 12^th green will move left up onto the ridge left of the green (into the sunlight). The fairway will run out to the left and up onto that ridge, running all the way down to the green (which will run away from play) making this a drivable par four.

The 18^th green will be moved back (for sunlight) and into the valley as it originally was planned making this a stronger finishing hole.

What we are not doing is lengthening the course or adding dozens of bunkers to make it tougher. In fact the bunker count has dropped because we are relying on short grass around the greens and the natural contour of the land to play a larger role. This set of changes is all about making this a fun and interesting place for the members to play.

 The Redan 8th

 

This is an exciting a project for me. I consider Maple Downs one of the very best courses in Canada and see this set of changes elevating the golf course. I think we have a very smart plan that will keep what makes the course fantastic and add a number of changes that will make the land play a much larger role in the design.

Greens Rebuilding – is it a trend?

16th Green rebuild at Knollwood in New York

Tomorrow night there is a vote for a green rebuilding project at a Toronto area course. This is one of my “my” favourite courses in the country. Unfortunately for the club they have seen a combination of shade, tight soil and an evolution to a very weak stand of Poa force their hand. This is not a decision made to gain speed or raise conditioning to an extreme level. They have seen consistent winter damage and summer wilt for the past five years. This is a decision based upon having healthy greens year in and year out.

Interestingly, this may not be the last green rebuilding program I will be involved in around Toronto. I’m currently talking to a second club about the potential for the year after. I’m also slowly rebuilding all the greens at Pinegrove in Montreal one green at a time (They have 19 holes). I’ve always rebuilt greens most years, but the idea of all 18 at once is fairly new to my business.

But this is becoming a more common approach to problem greens. Donalda will rebuild their greens next year, Angus Glen will rebuild them this year, Deer Ridge rebuilt their greens last year and Mississagua rebuilt theirs the year before that.

I believe this is necessary when the agronomics are clearly a problem. I always thought this would be a rare decision for a club because of the cost and disruption, but I’m finding memberships are more willing to entertain this idea in recent times. I’m not willing to call this a trend yet, but it’s becoming a common discussion point.

I am hopeful for a positive vote tomorrow. It has nothing to do with workload or a desire to make changes to a golf course. In this case it comes down to the course needing to do something to change the cycle they are in. They need healthy greens.