18 best casino course holes, Part V

The penultimate instalment of my selection of the best 18 individual holes derived from Golf Digest's top 40 casino courses:

14th Black Mesa (Big Rock Casino)

Excuse the routing plan extract, which I've had to enlarge more than is ideal, just to give you an idea of how this hole works. For its true flavour, study the photos and self-explanatory notes here.

Baxter Spann's masterpiece is a worthy new inductee to the World Atlas of Golf, which describes the 14th as offering "a plethora of options to consider when standing on the tee." I'm sure those who've played the course may well feel I could have chosen several other holes in addition to this one.


17th Dacotah Ridge (Jackpot Junction Casino)

Another shortish par 4 where the prospect of a wedge to the two-tier green tempts you to take on Wabasha Creek at the corner.














17th at Shadow Creek (Mirage Las Vegas)

One hundred and sixty-four yards long from the tips and utterly penal, this is one of two holes in my 18 where I have allowed scenery to sway my judgment.

It looks fabulous and I have no problem with just one hole on a course being an all-or-nothing affair. Were it 200 yards plus, this hole wouldn't have made the cut but at 164...what are we , men or mice?

Player-architects - Appleby bucks the trend?

'Player-architect' isn't normally a term that thrills the heart of golf course design enthusiasts but I wonder if a tip of the cap may be due to Stuart Appleby for his work on The Sands Torquay.

While the comments of those who've played it would, of course, be welcome, a scan of the website suggests a course that is true to the nature of links golf, as well as providing enough space to be enjoyable by the less able players and not just those at the architect's end of the golfing spectrum.

My only disappointment came when I realised this is Torquay in Australia and not Torquay England...

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If you're golfing in Indiana, you'll find a nice website devoted to its golfing real estate at IndyGolf. Click on 'Find a Course' beneath the main heading.

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And if you're drinking in Scotland's capital, it looks like you could try worse watering holes than The Golf Tavern - "the world's oldest golf pub".

We interrupt the serious stuff...

With thanks to Urban Fly Fisher:

Beer, Fishing, Sex and Golf

A man was walking down the street when he was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless man who asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner.

The man took out his wallet, extracted ten dollars and asked, “If I give you this money, will you buy some beer with it instead of dinner?” “No, I had to stop drinking years ago,” the homeless man replied.

“Will you use it to go fishing instead of buying food?” the man asked. “No, I don’t waste time fishing,” the homeless man said. “I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.”

“Will you spend the money on a woman in the red light district instead of food?” the man asked. “What disease would I get for ten lousy bucks?” exclaimed the homeless man.

“Will you spend this on greens fees at a golf course instead of food?” the man asked. “Are you NUTS!” replied the homeless man. “I haven’t played golf in 20 years!”

“Well,” said the man, “I’m not going to give you the money. Instead, I’m going to take you home for a terrific dinner cooked by my wife.”

The homeless man was astounded. “Won’t your wife be furious with you for doing that? I know I’m dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.”

The man replied, “That’s okay. It’s important for her to see what a man looks like after he has given up beer, fishing, sex and golf.”

'Tis the season...

[Pic courtesy of foxypar4]

Golf course websites - too many wedding photos

"Love and marriage, love and marriage; go together like a horse and carriage"

You see that? LOVE and marriage.

Not "the 18th green and marriage" or "the first tee and marriage". Hell, they don't even scan.

I'm seeing this a lot on golf course websites lately - too much white lace and top hats. I know they have ancillary services to promote but the Almighty didn't shape the Old Course at St Andrews with a view to nice backdrops for the wedding album.

I'm off to church later today for the Christmas Eve service. I've half a mind to take my 7-iron.
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Looking for a murder mystery to read over the festive period? Try The Golf Course Mystery, available as a free download. You may like to search for other sporting titles on this nice site: I note that Ring Lardner's classic baseball story You Know Me, Al, is also available.

One link on this site led me to a treasure chest of American Golfer issues, ranging from 1908 to 1935. Check the box alongside American Golfer in the 'Magazines' section, then insert 'architecture' as your keyword in the search panel at the top of the page and you're away.
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This blog is more about terrain than Tigers and tourneys but every so often I come across something in golf's wider spectrum that simply demands comment.

Next time you hear professional sportsmen complain about being asked 'the same old questions', for example, bear in mind this little incident at a recent Tiger Woods press conference.

An interloper asks Tiger if her boyfriend might be gay because he screams out Tiger's name during sex. Manna from heaven for the great man, surely? Amid all the humdrum of "what did you take for the approach at seven?" and "how good do you think you can be?", here's an absolute beaut from left field.

A man with Tiger's intelligence and that famous sense of humour that so wowed GQ all those years ago; he could have had a stab at this, surely? A wry smile, a little tongue-in-cheek banter, a chance to scotch rumours that the PGA Tour is running on empty where charisma is concerned?

Alas no. 'Woods handled the situation calmly, and waited for the woman to be removed.'

Actually, disregard what I said earlier. Next time you hear a professional sportsman complain about being asked 'the same old questions', just handle the situation calmly and wait for him to be removed.



[Photo courtesy of Kiwanja]

Golf courses - now even the books are exclusive

Tom Clavin is not short of commercial savvy.

Writing for Hamptons.com, the golf writer had this to say in his review of the 2006 book Building Sebonack:

“'Building Sebonack', published by Duck Pond Press, is at $59.95 not cheap by any means, but you know it is going to become a collectible because it is unique, just like the course in Southampton it is based on."

Good call. Amazon currently has two available starting at $125, while Abe Books has two for $250 each.

I thought golf architecture was 'niche'...?

'Florida's Best' award should pop the Nicklaus cork

Jack Nicklaus' Old Corkscrew GC has been named 2008 Florida Course of the Year by the National Golf Course Owners Association.

The Estero course has been open for just eight months and collects the gong for "setting new standards in golf course design and club management by demonstrating exceptional quality, excellence of ownership and management, outstanding contributions to the community, and significant contribution to the game."

Two Guys Who Golf offer their view of the course, while a selection of other opinions can be found here. I'm not surprised by the comments that high handicappers should steer clear. While it doesn't look like a course that meets the principal test of greatness - being all things to all men - I should think low to medium handicappers will find options and challenge a-plenty. The frequent observation that you have to think about your shots will always be music to my ears.

My own favourite is one of its subtler offerings: the 16th, which seems to tempt you to nibble away from the tee for a little more yardage, only to flirt with the formidable cross-bunkers.

“The lack of a residential component allowed us to concentrate on the golfing experience,” is the Nicklaus verdict: probably the politest way in which you'll ever see the sentiment expressed.

"My Nike vest is in the wash..."

This one has been waiting in the queue for a fortnight but even a belated farewell to recently-departed golf architect William Teufel is better than none at all.

Normally, I never say "never" but I think I can suggest with some confidence that the jacket and bow tie era of golf course architecture is over. More's the pity. How many battalions of polo-shirted and baseball-capped designers can you gaze upon before migraine sets in?

Even the bad hair seems to work with Mr Teufel. For individuality alone, I'd have hired him in an instant.

If you've played one of his courses, do hit the 'Comments' link and let me know whether my judgement would have been vindicated. In the meantime, RIP William Teufel (a further obit here and an intriguing observation as to a possible Teufel trademark in the comment at the end of this alt.obituaries post).

18 best casino course holes, part IV

We start the notional 'back 9' with three more of my favourite individual holes from Golf Digest's top 40 casino courses.

6th The Meadows at Mystic Lake
(Mystic Lake Casino)

Making it two great-looking holes back-to-back (see last Tuesday's post for details of the 5th) the 6th shows why the cornerstone of golf architecture is 'options'.

If you're prepared to flirt with the bunker to keep your tee shot on the right-hand side of the fairway, most of your second shot - should you go for the green - flies over dry land. Too far left from the tee, however, and you have to fly the pond or play safe to its left.

The green has been kept large enough to make the bid for eagle a viable option.


7th Cholla course, We-Ko-Pa Golf Club (Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino)

On a good day and if your stipulated tee is properly matched to your ability on this par 4 (350 yards from the back tee) it looks like the scrubland that splits the fairway should be negotiable with some comfort. I doubt that any mid- to high-handicapper will be able to erase it entirely from his mind as he prepares to tee off, however.

Steering clear of it to the right involves clearing more wasteland from the tee, though, while the total wimp who chooses to avoid it by going left, is rightly left with a pig of an approach over the greenside bunkers.




13th Dacotah Ridge (Jackpot Junction Casino)

A 525-yard par 5 that has you on your toes from drive to tap-in.

Stay well clear of the left-hand trap and you have the tree to worry about for your second shot. Then, the further you decide to advance with the latter, the more trouble you face in the vicinity of the putting surface.




To be continued...

Hallmark of a great golf course - low wanker count

You can get so immersed in the small-print of golf course architecture, that the occasional reminder that Alister MacKenzie is not, in fact, a household name, comes as something of a shock.

Eavesdropping on this conversation among Australian golfers as to why they like their local club, I was struck by the fact that course quality was not invariably number one on their list. And not one architect name-check...

Not that I sneer at this, I hasten to add. People are entitled to take from the game whatever they like. It was simply a reminder that there are people out there who love their golf every bit as much as I do, who may nevertheless be under the impression that 'redan greens' are a French salad. Twelve months ago, indeed, I was one of them.

No bad thing, the occasional reality check.


[For details of some of the courses referred to, search on the excellent Australian site Golf Select]

Stuck in Amazon's jungle

If anyone can explain why keying golf, golf course, golf architecture and golf architect into my Amazon ad keywords panel results in a host of books on fashion being paraded before your eyes, I would love to hear from you.

Amazon.co.uk were great in this respect, with most books shown relating to the subject-matter of this blog. I switched to Amazon.com because most of my readers were coming from the USA, since when matters have gone a tad awry.

Until I hear from Amazon, I can only apologise that you are having to look at supermodels where Tom Fazio and Geoff Shackelford should be.

I can't believe I've just written that.

PS: What? Suddenly I'm getting golf architecture books in my Amazon panel. Is that the clincher - you have to plug Amazon three times in a post to get your ad panel working? Oh well, watch this space. Or not, as the case may be.

For future reference: course coming your way

Fyre Lake National:

Press report here.

"FLN will have plenty of recognizable Nicklaus traits with 60- to 70-foot elevation changes, water features on half of the holes, some forced carries and tricky greens.

"'This course will not lack drama,' said Gaugert. 'We're trying to create a community, a golf course that is fun to play and that can be played at a fee that has great value.'"

Unlike some, I don't really mind that this will be a Nicklaus course without the Nicklaus presence. Some of Jack's recent utterances on golf course design have made me wonder if he will in fact rise to the same dizzy heights as a designer that he achieved as a player.

His name, however, surely gives him the pick of budding architects wanting to work for him and I would have thought there's a better than average chance that he has some useful talent on his payroll. So let's give his man Chris Rule a chance. Donald Ross was a nobody once, after all.

18 best casino course holes, Pt III

Completing the outward nine:


4th at Dancing Rabbit GC Oaks Course (Pearl River Resort)

Play safe off the tee on this 536 yard par 5 and going for the green in two means an all-the-way carry of rough and sand. Avoid this by reaching for the right hand side of the fairway from the tee, however, and you flirt with the bunker.

Laying up with your second is no gimme with the two fairway traps in attendance, while for anyone fancying a putt for eagle, the two greenside bunkers are just large enough to make him sweat his second shot. Perfect proof that you don't have choke a green with sand to defend it.







5th at The Meadows at Mystic Lake (Mystic Lake Casino)

You want the second shot to be a routine pitch over water, you take on a fairway that gets narrower and meaner the further you drive.

You want to guarantee any kind of second shot at all, you hang back with your tee shot and settle for an approach that's now not quite so routine.









6th at Sandia Golf Club (Sandia Resort & Casino)
Close to a par 3 for the long-hitters but for the average golfer, it is what one visitor described as a 'head-scratcher' - a genuine dilemna as to how much desert you want to take on.

They don't seem to name the holes at Sandia, which is a shame. Feelin' Lucky, Punk? has a certain ring to it.








A word on my use of hole diagrams from the websites of the courses concerned, by the way, which reflects my general policy on this blog.

Each time I use a diagram, I link back to the course website both through the image and the accompanying text and if I'm being generally critical of a course, I don't use material from its website.

In other words, the use of the illustration amounts to a free 'plug' for that course. If anyone from the club concerned still wants me to remove the picture, then I'll do so immediately. I just didn't want anyone to think I was blithely ignoring copyright laws.

You'd better pray Ted Turner likes golf...

...'Cos if he keeps on buying American real estate like there's no tomorrow, Fazio, Doak & Co could find raw material increasingly hard to come by.

(As an aside, how many acres does he have to amass before the words 'Bond villain' start crossing your mind?)