Absence Explained

Tuesday demanded my presence at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale for an Eastern Seniors outing... a delightful track featuring wide fairways but seriously contoured green complexes.  Given the wet conditions, one can only imagine the challenge involved when running firm and fast....

For some reason they did not mandate forecaddies, resulting in slow play and and the inevitable mistakes that occur in the first loop around a challenging course.  The slow play became a factor when the storms rolled in after we had completed fifteen holes, and the biblical rains necessitated calling the evnt.

I brought my new camera with the intention of getting in some necessary reps before Scotland, but only took it out once.  Here's the Great Walloon on one of their Par-3's:

I should note that that is a completely atypical green for Sunningdale, befitting a short par-3 that was an obvious routing afterthought.  

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be invited to the Member-Guest at Engineers Country Club. a great get due to both the joys of the golf course as well as the first-class treatment of their guests.

For those unfamiliar with Engineers, it's the work of one of those strong-willed golf course architects of the early part of the twentieth century named Herbert Strong.  For those interested in the history, I'll refer you to this Golf Course Atlas discussion of Strong and his creation.  Strong grew up near Sandwich and was influenced by Royal St. Georges, and for a time was a pro at Apawamis, next door to Willow Ridge and featuring similarly rolling terrain.

It's the greens that make Engineers and they are maddeningly spectacular.   Or is it spectacularly maddening.....eh, pretty much both.  As is appropriate with such challenging greens, the set-up provides ample room off the tee, though often you'd rather be in the rough with the correct angle in as opposed to in the wrong side of the fairway.  

Engineers is renown as well for its old 14th hole, affectionately known as the 2 or 20 hole for the range of scores likely in a given fourball.  Here's the GCA description of it, and do note the yardage:

Fourteenth hole (a),95 yards; Other famous short one shotters like the 7th at Pebble Beachand the 8th at Royal Troon rely on the wind to further their challenge. Not so with this little brute -the green complex is so heavily fortified and the putting surface so long and thin that the hole preys on the golfer’s mind long before he reaches it.While the severe penalty for failure may be out of proportion for those who (mistakenly) insist that golf be fair, this is a stand-alone unique hole in the history of golf course architecture. Perhaps the fact that golf was more of a match play game back in Strong’s day emboldened Strong to build such an all or nothing hole – whatever the reason, it is a shame more short, waterless holes aren’t built like it. In The American Golfer in 1923 J.S. Worthington wrote a series of articles entitled The Best Golf Holes I Have Played. Worthington was a world traveler who visited all the great courses in America and the United Kingdom and he started his discussion on great par-3’s with the 14th at Engineers: ‘More malediction, praise and lamentation has been bestowed upon this particular creation than any other short hole in existence.’

And here's a great old photo of it, with a modern one as well (if you enjoy old golf course photos, do click through to GCA, as there's many of the course from the 1920's):

There's quite a bit of slope on the green, so one's problems aren't over once one reaches the putting surface.  Both Bobby Jones and Gene Sarazan posted double-figures on the hole, so it's got quite the bite...

Engineers has not been immune to the membership issues common today, as as a result had a dalliance with Donald Trump a few years back.  My understanding is that The Donald made an offer, but in presenting it to the members uttered something along the lines of "Of course, we've got to do something about these greens."  Quelle horreur!  Bullet, dodged....

As for the event, I can't say enough about the wonderful day the club provides.  They start early and the main event is completed before a late lunch.  After lunch the teams go back out and they've created two n in-hole par-3 courses with each nine, this year played as a scramble.  That's just good fun, and provides a mechanism for them to spread the prizes deep.... not quite deep enough to get to our team, but we had played ourselves out of contention after our first hole.

And some of the details continue to amaze me...towels and toothbrushes laid out for the players, golf bags magically in the boot when it's time to leave.  And when the valet brings your car, a thank you note and cold bottle of water for the ride home are included.  Just a great day all around, with wonderful company.