The Most Natural Looking Golf Course I've Ever Seen

This year I haven't had many guests to Wolf Point - I sure do wish there were more. I have a great time playing every time I go down too!

A client/friend came to town to get some help with his master plan - non-golf portion.
We finished up quickly then headed down to play. He grew up outside New York City playing at Quaker Ridge Golf Club - a most excellent Tillinghast golf course, and has seen a lot of great courses since too. He is also a very tough critic.

"This is the most natural looking golf course I've ever seen. You should be very proud."

He can't wait to come back. Next time he should probably stay away from Infierno. I can't wait for him to come back too, I want to play Wolf Point more often this year.

Green Contours

This weekend I got a very nice compliment from a visitor to Wolf Point. They thought the greens were excellent and not like so many they've seen before - unusual. Where a green may have flat areas separated by a slope - the greens within a green premise.

Our greens seemed so much more natural with the shapes blending and rolling and it made for so much more fun and imagination.

Subtle rolls and shapes like the ones pictured above, of the 5th green,
keep the strategy alive until the player is in the hole. With flat sections once the player picks a fairway side and hits their approach there is no strategy left.

With subtle movement the strategy applies to the putt or pitch to the hole as there is usually an aggressive and safer line to the hole.

Bruce + Infierno

I'll never tire of taking pictures of players in Infierno.

Today's victim is a fine player as was his opponent Matt, who did win 2 up.
The 5th green is in the distance. Bruce did get a little confused thinking it was a par 5.

Bruce really enjoyed being able to choose from lots of options, especially around the greens.  He had the honor on the 12th tee. His stance was quite different from his play so far, as was his swing. I was completely blown away by his choice of shot without any coaching. He hit the ideal shot I envisioned during design - that could get to a front pin. He hit a knock down 9 iron short and we watched it bump up over the false front and wind up around 8 feet from the pin. Matt was swearing that he missed it, but Bruce and I knew better.

It was ideal and not perfect as the 9 is a tiny bit too much loft - which is why I hit a soft, low 7 iron that landed just short of his target getting a little more roll past his and It cozied up to 2 ft. Nice birdie thank you very much.

Matt was most psyched to see our work in anticipation of what I could do for him one day soon.

Here they are on 17 green.
They made so many great comments about the course it is hard to remember them all....

Steve + Infierno

Steve got to meet Infierno first hand during his visit. He hit a great recovery to the right side of the green - the safe spot.

It is the first time I saw dormant grass at Wolf Point. It has been a very dry winter with a few frosts. I used to enjoy playing a local course when it was dormant because it was so much faster than during the summer. Not so here - Don keeps everything fast no matter the season - there wasn't a noticeable difference.

"With no doubt, the best ground game I have been on" - Steve

Thank you buddy.

Infierno Got Drainage

This fall the bunkers were completed. Infierno was the last one - Don saved the best for last. It is big - 11,750 square feet the last time I measured. It is about 20% of the bunker square footage on the course.  We have a total of 56,000 sft spread across 61 bunkers, and the average size if far less than those numbers would indicate.  

The bunker on #7 is also large, leaving an average size of 600 sft for the remainder of the bunkers.  Don and I both prefer a smaller bunker.  We have one that is 150 sft that is all the penalty one would need around the 2nd green.

The picture above is of the crew installing drainage pipe throughout the bunker.  The pipe is designed to collect the water and get it away from the sand.  Bunker drainage is a big issue today, in that there are many different ways to manage the water and maintenance, with nothing that works ideally or practically.

The best way to keep water out of bunkers is by shaping the land to divert the water, and that keeps the balls out too.  That method would make an ugly bunker that didnt' come into play.  We have none of those!

Holiday Cheer

Playing safe on #5 can cause trouble

Lou (pictured in the distance) played away from the bunkers on the 5th tee shot - playing safe.  From the far left side of the fairway he was forced to try a long low approach to hit the green - a very heroic shot with a high probability of failure.  He did not have that shot in his bag at the moment and wound up short and left of the green with an equally difficult last shot to the green. Those swales are bigger than they look from the tee.

*Yes those are carts - I often talk about how much I enjoy walking Wolf Point - sometimes if we only have 2 1/2 hours to play we need to ride.  That isn't a rushing 2 1/2 hours either.

Comments are encouraged!

I love getting comments from respected friends and professionals. Here are a few from this week - please read to the end. :)

"I noticed this morning the grrrrrrreat! (imagine Tony the Tiger....) pictures of Wolf Point...."

"Just saw some of the updated pics of Wolf Point.
Looks fantastic. The fairway contours look unbelievable."

"The course looks awesome."

"THIS is what a golf course in Texas should look like."

"The latest progress on your design...looks absolutely fantastic!"

"The pictures are phenomenal."

Don & Mike
"... we are always searching for something new and different; something that has the feel of originality. Originality is the element that draws us ... and that is the element you have captured at Wolf Point. You have created something that feels fresh and original. Congratulations!

The above picture is of the 5th green and approach.
VERY BIG DAY FRIDAY - and I don't mean the PGA.
CHEERS

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.

Infierno from a distance

A Glimpse of Infierno

Hell bunker is one very memorable bunker from The Old Course in St. Andrews. Being on the border of Mexico it seemed only fitting to name our mammoth bunker complex Infierno - Spanish for Hell. It also helps to have Diablo and Demonio protecting the bunker. The above image is just a fraction of Infierno. It protects the inside corner of the 5th hole, and the green complex sets up in a way that you really want to be near Infierno for your approach.

The 5th My Favorite

The 5th hole is to date my favorite. The green complex and the natural swales leading up to the green lend to a much favored location to approach the green from (see earlier image). This set up the opportunity to protect that favored location – with Infierno. Our client gave us so much room (so few constraints) to make the course as good as possible -- I couldn't say no to the one request I didn’t think was the path to the best course possible. Fortunately I think I turned that request into an opportunity and used it somewhat originally.
Earlier Holes Featured: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 11.

What Clayton & Rob are looking towards...

The above image is looking in the opposite direction towards the 5th green. It was taken from the middle of the fairway - a stout poke from the tees. The shaping is all natural as it was one of several drainage collection points from the ranch, and had eroded over the years. We cleared some trees, added pipe for drainage and irrigation, spread some sand and cleaned up. It has always been and ideal spot on the course.

For perspective, when I stand just to the left of the green, I am unable to see the putting surface, and I don’t think Yao Ming would be able to either – it is deep and steep. The more you challenge the right side of the fairway the less the player has to contend with the severe shaping on the left.

Unfortunately for the player the right side challenge is Infierno bunker - more on him another day. Cheers