Muirfield Village Golf Club: Jack's Place

Muirfield Village Golf Club was originally designed in 1973 by the one and only Jack Nicklaus. Inspired by the rolling hills and nearly pristine perfection of Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, Nicklaus wanted to design a course that would challenge the world's best players as well as provide spectators an ideal way of watching golf live. Muirfeild Village is located in the affluent Dublin, OH just north of Columbus, OH and has been host to many amateur and professional events over the years. Most notable is the Memorial Tournament hosted by Nicklaus every every year during Memorial Day week. Other events that have been hosted there include the 1986 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, the 1992 U.S. Amateur Championship, the 1987 Ryder Cup, and the 1998 Solheim Cup.

The golf course itself is one of the hardest in Ohio. With a total yardage of 7343 yards and a rating of 76.6/150. To play the course effectively you not only need tremendous distance and accuracy but you also need to be able to think. With many split fairways and diagonal greens a player is required to manage his or her game on every shot.

The condition of the golf course, especially during the Memorial Tournament is impeccable. The fairways are nearly perfect, the rough long and thick the greens true and fast, and the bunkers consistent. In fact, during last year's Memorial Tournament Paul Latshaw, the current course superintendent, was interviewed multiple times and constantly complimented on the work of both himself and his crew. As a spectator of the Memorial Tournament numerous times I can say form experience that the course rarely looks anything less than perfect. Nothing seems to be out of place.

As I have already mentioned, the Memorial Tournament is played there every year. Known as "Jack's Tournament" it is one that is populated each year by the world's best players. The field, which normally includes players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, and Vijay Singh, is one of the strongest all year. One aspect of the tournament that makes it unique is that each year it honors a member of the golfing community and provides them a place on the tournaments "Wall of Fame" located just to the right of the first hole. The Memorial Tournament truly is Ohio's tournament and to be hosted by Ohio's own Jack Nicklaus it is a very special experience.

I have gotten the privilege of playing Muirfield Village roughly ten times in tournament rounds and can say from experience that it is quite an experience. Just to walk the fairways that the greatest pros play year in and year out gives you chills running down your back. You really do have to play intelligent to get yourself around the golf course but what really makes it difficult is that playing smart won't always get you the lowest score. Some holes and hole locations simply do not allow you to play anything but aggressive. Playing safe isn't always your best bet, in fact playing safe can get you in trouble. That being said, however, the golf experience created by Jack Nicklaus is unlike many you'll receive anywhere in the world.

Information found at both Wikipedia.com and Ohiogolf.org

Donald Ross: The Man, The Legend, The Designer

Golf course design would not be complete without the golf course architects. So who better to start with than one of the most prolific, most world renowned architects of all time, Donald Ross.

Ross was born November 23rd, 1872 in Dornoch, Scotland. Son of Murdoch Ross and Lillian Campbell Ross, Donald lived a modest early life and was devout in his Cristian beliefs. He picked up the game of golf early in his lifetime and often played at Dornoch Golf Club. Apprenticing as a craftsman he also made many items for the course and its members, including golf clubs. It was after many years in the Scotland it was in 1899 when Donald Ross finally moved to America.

Almost imediately upon arrival Ross began his work at Oakley Country Club in Watertown, MA. This would eventually be the site of Ross' very first design which opened in the year 1900. The course upon his arrival was in great disrepair and was only an 11 hole layout. Ross took this 11 hole layout and turned it into an 18 hole track that would be stretched across the enitire property at Oakley Country Club. This would be the beginning of a era in American golf course design that would be nearly dominated not only by Ross' design theory but Ross himself.

In the years to follow Ross would accumulate 362 course designs in 30 different states Canada, Cuba, and of course Scotland. The earliest of these becing Oakley Country club in 1900 and the latest being Fort Mill and Ridgefields Country Clubs in 1947. These numbers are staggering in any era but as I had stated in earlier posts this was the "Golden Age" of golf course design and Ross was the driving force behind it all.

Not only has he designed and built the most courses but he has also designed some of the greatest including his pride and joy, Pinehurst #2 in Pinehurst, NC. Host of many U.S. Golf Championships, Pinehurst #2 is considered by many to be Ross' most renowned and difficult designs. Other golf course's on Ross' resume include Seminole Country Club, Scioto Country Club, and Oakland Hills Country Club just to name a very few.

Seeing as most of Ross' courses were built during or near the 1920s there have been many changes made to the courses since then. Some of the courses were 9 hole designs with 9 hole add ons. Others were redone or renovated completely either by Ross or another designer. The most significant change to many Ross courses is, however, the incredible overgrowth of trees. Not only are they more numerous but much bigger as well. Many of the holes that Ross designed in the 1920s look nothing like they do today.

As you can see Donald Ross has made a huge impact on the world of golf course design and leaves with us a legacy that has inspired many course designers today. So, that being said anyone who plays this great game owes Mr. Ross a great debt of gratitude for his both courses and his theory. He will live forever.

This post is based on the book "Discovering Donald Ross" by Bradley S. Klein.

Oakmont Country Club

Most, if not all of my course reviews, will consist of three main parts: a brief history and overview of the course, a current description of the course or club, and a review of the experience. Because of the opinionated application of this I reserve one key requirement for all my reviews and that is that I must have at the very least been to the course if not played it myself. Therefore, I would like to present to you all the one and only Oakmont Country Club.

According to Oakmont's official web site, the course was established in the 1903 by Henry Fownes, also the the designer of the course. This was his first and only attempt at designing a golf course and fortunately for him became one of the best. The course itself is situated along the Allegheny River Valley in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA. The course has consistently ranked inside the top ten best courses in America and renowned by many as one of the most difficult courses in the world.

The history of Oakmont would not be complete without mentioning the magnitude and quality of the golf championships it hosts. Over the life of the club, Oakmont has hosted 8 U.S. Opens Opens (including the most recent won by Angel Cabrera), 3 PGA Championships, 2 U.S. Women's Opens, and 5 U.S. Men's Amateurs. It is due to host its next U.S. Women's Open in the year 2010. As one would expect, the the lore that comes with these championships comes not from the championships themselves but from the players. The winners of these tournaments included: Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Johny Miller (who set the major championship scoring record of 63, considered one of the best rounds of golf ever played), Ernie Els, and the great Bobby Jones.

The course itself is a par 71 measuring roughly 7255 yards from the tournament tees. One unique characteristic of Oakmont is that it is situated on two different sides of the Pennsylvania Turnpike which makes for an interesting walk from the 1st to 2nd tees and 8th to 9th tees. The fairways and greens are of a bent and poa annua grass mix and the roughs are quite possibly some of the longest around. The difficulty of the course lies in two characteristics. The first of these are the greens, many of which slope from front to back making them difficult to hold and all of which are maintained at lightning fast speeds. All of these things considered, however, the most significant aspect of Oakmont are what are known as the "Church Pew Bunkers." Named for there appearance the church pew bunkers are what most everyone would remember if they ever saw the course. There are two areas with these bunkers on the course and both of them are hell to get out of.

My experience at Oakmont was one of the best I've ever had. When I played the course it was nearly four years prior to this past year's U.S. Open and already they were preparing. One of the first things they did was to remove nearly 4000 trees from the golf course in order to restore it nearly to its original feel and style as an open golf course. As you walk out in front of the clubhouse you can see nearly the entire golf course, even the 7 holes across the highway. The course itself had a immense feel to it. The space the holes covered, the areas between holes, and even the landscape itself made you feel small in its presence. As you walk through the clubhouse, pro shop, and around the course you could feel an aura of history and glory.

As for the difficulty of the course, it was second to none that I've played and between you and me, I've played my fair share of hard golf courses. During the 2007 Open the analysts said more than once that if a major championship needed to be held in two weeks time and a course needed to be picked at that very moment two weeks prior that Oakmont would be the best choice. It is maintained to major championship quality nearly every day, every year and my experience was no exception. With rough ranging from 3-6 inches and greens running at nearly 11 or 12 on the stimpmeter I would say it was probably ready for the '07 Open in on a random summer day roughly three years prior. For these reasons I would probably say that it is and probably ever will be the best course I've ever played.