My First Birdie

We played a modified version of the 5th hole - teeing off near the 3rd green. It played quite well - someone hit it near infierno anyway.

I'd like to describe my bag: Persimmon driver, 4 metal wood, odd irons, wedge, sand wedge & putter = 9 clubs. It is very light and old fashioned. On the alternate 5th tee Don rides up and asks when am I going to get rid of that old driver. I smacked one very far down the middle that ran forever. He said nevermind and rode off - he was unfortunately working that morning.

The above picture is of the 5th green complex (image during construction). It very much favors an approach from the right side. I played my approach a little tenative and didn't get up and down from front right of the green. My second time around I must have had Don as inspiration again as I hit a similar tee shot. I played my approach a little more aggressively towards the pin and made the putt. My first birdie. Fortunately or unfortunately it wasn't the first birdie on 5, our client is getting close to a ringer score of 9 under - it might be a little while before he birdies 17 however.

Feedback

I was traveling for the first unofficial outing at Wolf Point. The initial feedback was great. One lucky player, Terry, was blown away by the greens. Later my initial round was with our client and Terry. I want to share Terry's comments to me:

After playing Wolf Point, I don't want to play anywhere else - nothing compares. The time goes by so fast out here - I'm enjoying the course so much, I just want to keep playing.

Thank you Terry.
My intention is to share comments, thoughts and incidents from play on the course.
I hope it will be fun for every type of golfer.

Pictured above is one of the bunkers in the first landing area on the par five 14th hole - yes it is in the middle of the fairway too.

The 3rd Green - an architectural like

My second hole for the day was the par five 3rd. The first time I played it cautiously. The second time I missed a bit. Both times I played down the right side (the less advantagous side). Both times I tried to do too much with my 3rd shot knowing how difficult it would be from the far side of the fairway. Both times I made a bogey. I was enjoying my round so much I wasn't really paying too much attention to the course, I was soaking up all the other elements of the day - mostly the fruition of all our hard work.

The above picture is of the 3rd green and the two heights of cut around the course. The green is surrounded by a tight fairway cut that extends througout the entire hole. No collar, no intermediate rough. I love that there are only two heights of cut through the green throughout Wolf Point.

The following picture is the opposite and one of my dislikes that didn't make my previous list. Please notice how many different heights of grass cuts are in the following picture all within a few feet of the green.

Not very practical, I don't like the playability, higher maintenance costs and I think it looks funny too.

It was a windy day

It was'nt until I got to the 2nd tee, our first for the day, that I realized how brisk the wind was blowing. It was the prevailing wind from the south east - see above video from the afternoon - it was even brisker. My first swing was almost directly into the wind. My approach came up a little short - as it was into the wind, I wasn't sure of my distance and I was playing safe -- I was hitting from the wrong side of the fairway to the opposite sidded pin -- There was no way I could get it close. From the front of the green it was a simple up and down, for my first par at Wolf Point - and my first hole. The course plays very strategically with the wind, all the holes change heading and each green has a slightly different best angle to attack from. The greens are most difficult when playing a pitch from down wind and down slope - I ran into quite a few of those.

The ride to Wolf Point

Preparation: I've spent a lot of time on the road to and from Wolf Point. It is over 100 miles from my house and I've made almost 100 trips - a few week long ones - 150 days total. I've listened to a lot of books and even more Zencasts. my ipod is filled with great music too. For yesterday I set up a playlist of some of my favorite suitable songs - Beck, Ray LaMontagne, Fiona Apple, David Gray, Johnny Cash, Bruce, Foo fighters, Glen Hansard, Gomez, Tori Amos, Rihanna, Moby, Peter Gabriel, Bob Marley, Kendall Payne, Rodrigo y Gabriela... I got to the course in a great mood - calm, rested and no work on my mind.

The entrance to Wolf Point is quite unusual - here is a description Don wrote some time ago:

My favorite entrance drive is into Wolf Point Club.
Two miles on a gravel road through a working cattle ranch followed by some peek-a-boo looks at the golf course until it all unfolds in front of you.
Without a doubt one of the more unique driveways and I believe it'll turn out to be a great course entrance. (if you don't mind driving around a few cow pies and waiting for the bulls to clear out of the way)

The above picture is of the crew on the 7th green. That one is often photographed because it is the first green you would pass on the way to the club. Exactly as I was pulling up I got to see Don place a flag in the green - for me the first time to see any flag at Wolf Point. What a thrill. Don has unfortunately gotten used to my quick shot camera and he didn't give me anything near a pose - and he was busy getting stuff done - 8:30 is almost mid-morning for a superintendent.

8:30 Tee Time

For the past 10 years I could think of no better career than to be a golf course architect. Somewhere inbetween then and now I thought I could make a golf course that people would love to play - more than almost any other course.

It appears as if we have succeeded grandly!

It is late and I still have a great big grin on my face.
I will share more this week about my first time around the 1/2 open course.

Sand to build with....

Building a golf course in sand, like the above image, would be about 100 times easier than on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Yes we had some sandy loam and did harvest sand for plating from the site, and I still dream to build a course in the sand. Why?
Easier to drain - I wouldn't need drainage on the site picture I posted yesterday - which is the same as above. Dig a hole and there is a bunker.
Shaping in sand would be like using a steak knife in melted butter vs. a plastic spork on a tough steak. It is that much of a struggle to shape clay - it can be done, but not easiliy and certainly not fast.
The site has already set itself up to drain and I think I could build the course without any earthwork - why the routing is so important.
I will get my chance one day, even if I have to buy the land myself.