Tuesday 24 September - Pine Valley

Never has a drive into a golf club been so nerve wracking, and yet rewarding.  Firstly, when you are heading through the little town Clementon, you are questioning if you are heading the right way, much as you are when heading to Augusta.
When the security man at the gate said "G'Day mates, you must be the Aussies, your hosts are waiting at the clubhouse for you" all of the planning and hoping that this would work out was finally realised.  We were here, about to play Pine Valley, the number 1 golf course in the world.

Please excuse the quality of some of the images.  My camera was not permitted, and only phone images were allowed.  I did my best, but not as good as if I could use my camera.
Even the range is impressive, incredible target greens, and accessible from both ends.

Pine Valley was founded in 1913 by a group of amateur golfers from Philadelphia. They purchased 184 acres of rolling, sandy ground deep in the pinelands of southern New Jersey, and gave George Arthur Crump, who knew the area from hunting expeditions, the opportunity to design the course.

The site was challenging and the project became something of an obsession for Crump, who sold his hotel in Philadelphia and plowed his money into the course. Marshlands had to be drained and 22,000 tree stumps had to be pulled with special steam-winches and horse-drawn cables. This was all done at a time when many golf courses were still built with minimal earth moving, and the course was called "Crump's Folly" by some.

This was Crump's first and only golf course design, but he brought together celebrated architects such as A.W. Tillinghast, Hugh Wilson, George C. Thomas Jr., Walter Travis, and H.S. Colt to help him create the course.

Crump set himself some idiosyncratic principles: no hole should be laid out parallel to the next; no more than two consecutive holes should play in the same direction; and players shouldn't be able to see any hole other than the one they were playing. He also felt that a round of golf on his course should require a player to use every club in the bag.

The first eleven holes opened unofficially in 1914. In 1918, when Crump died - reportedly penniless, four holes - #12, #13, #14, #15 - were incomplete; they were finished in 1922. Over the years more land was purchased, with the property now well over 600 acres providing a great level of peace and seclusion around the 200 acres of golf course.

It is hard to describe effectively the quality of the design here.  No two holes are the same, although many carry similar characteristics, such as the impressive rugged bunkering, and there are no weak holes.  None.  On almost all tee boxes you look at what is in front of you and say WOW.

An example of the diversity is the par four 4th.  Playing over a bunker filled rise, and then slightly downhill back toward the clubhouse, you are provided the opportunity to run the ball into the green.  A large green that slopes front to back.

The long par three 5th hole.  One of the strongest par threes you will ever play, at over 230 yards, uphill, across water and deep bunkering.  Anything heading right funnels into deep bunkers.  There is no bail out left either as plenty more deep bunkers await.

Did I mention that there are no rakes in the bunkers here?  None.  Just swipe over your footprints and divot with your foot, and move on.  There is so much sand here that you inevitably find yourself walking through bunkers en-route to your ball.  Play it as it lies, unless socially like today you are in a horrific lie, then just roll it out.

Above is "Hell's Half Acre"  the bunker complex on the par five 7th hole.  The hole requires you to lay up from the tee short of this 100 yard long bunker, and then negotiate your way through the hole.

You can see that the path to the fairway is via the bunker, and the plethora of footprints mean that you will most certainly draw an affected lie should your ball end up in here.

The stunning halfway house.  An old water tower that has been converted, that you can utilise from both the 8th and the 12th.  The concoction that Jose made when I got to the 12th tee, and I trialled for him, worked a treat.  A chocolate milkshake with whisky.  Delicious.  And golf enhancing.

The short par four 8th hole has two greens.  The one in the foreground which is on the left of the hole is the original green, and used for tournament play, and the right green, which we played at other times.  They are both tiny.

The view from behind the miniscule 8th green.
Tournament play I hear you say, there are no tournaments at Pine Valley.  No there are no professional tournaments, but there is one major amateur event staged here each year.  The Crump Cup.  This event is a mid-amateur invitational.  Two rounds of stroke play, into 4 rounds of match play.  The final match play round on the Sunday afternoon is the only time that the gates of the club are opened to the public, to view the match free of charge. 

The view of the 18th hole from when you are standing on the 10th tee, exciting you about what is still to come.
Did I mention that the Crump Cup was being played the week we were there?  That's right, not only did we get access to the best course in the world, one of the most difficult to access in the world, and one of the most difficult courses in the world, but we got it in tournament condition, the day before all of the tournament players arrived for the event.

The short par three 10th hole.  That dark spot in front of the green is the infamous "Devil's Asshole".  A deep and narrow bunker that is virtually impossible to get out of.

Here it is as you get closer to it.  Doesn't look that bad right?

Ask Mike King if it is not that bad.  There is barely enough room to take a stance, and no room to swing.  Your swing needs to be nearly vertical to avoid making contact with the bunker wall.  Mike is getting some advice from our caddies, literally pointing out (that is the caddie's arm pointing) that he should probably either drop back at the tee, or at the very least get rid of the wedge and try to run it up the embankment with a putter.  Hence the bemused look on Mike's face!

The par four 12th hole.  A lot of the bunker area above used to be filled with pine trees.  Only recently the club removed the trees and installed the bunkering on the inside of the dogleg.

This is the view from behind the green, looking back down the fairway.  There is a lot more room to the right than you think off the tee, but beware the green surface as it runs away from you front to back, and right to left.

The view into the green on the par four 13th.  A great hole that requires a good drive, and a well directed approach shot.  Don't go left.  This hole ended a good little patch for me, 3 birdies in a row! I told you the milkshake was golf enhancing.

The beautiful downhill par three 14th.  187 yards, but you need to be very aware of the extra downhill flight.  Even though we played it into a breeze that I thought would level out the downhill, after seeing what our host hit, I dropped 2 clubs, and still finished just off the back edge.  Glad I didn't hit what I originally thought.

 The par five 15th.  No rest as you come into the home stretch.  The fairway of the 15th is the one to the left, the 16th is on the right. A strong water carry, into a fairway that slopes left to right, funnelling balls into the bunkers right of the hole.

If you do avoid the funnel, and your ball stays up on the flatter left side, then you have a very limited angle to approach the green.

The tee shot on the par four 16th.  The hole works left to right over the bunker in front of the tee.  The approach then leaves you in an off camber lie, helping you to feed the ball toward the lake on the right of the green.

The green is slightly concaved, and so helps hold the ball a little, but get too far left, and the next is fearsome with the lake behind.

The view up the fairway of the par four 17th, with the 16th green to the left.

The impressive bunkering continues around the small 17th green.  No respite as you head for home.

The stunning view of the par four final hole from the tee.  The water to the right comes across in front of the hole and forces you to seriously think about your choice of club from the tee.

It is this view that tantalises you about the course when you drive into the property.  It is the first glimpse of the course that you get from the driveway, on your right, but you wait until the end of the day until you see it again.  I think the comment in the car was, Oh god, don't be short!

Looking back across the 18th green having completed one of the most incredibly satisfying and saddening holes in golf.  Satisfying, in that you have just played Pine Valley.  Saddening, in that you have just played Pine Valley and it is all over.  Apart from the great lunch, and the lightening of your wallet in the pro shop that is.  Didn't need those US Dollars anymore right?

A truly special day, and a phenomenal golf course that lives up to what you dream it to be.
Hopefully I will get back there one day.

Tuesday 24 September - Philadelphia Cricket Club

The Philadelphia Cricket Club, or "Cricket", as it is known locally, was actually founded as a Cricket Club in 1854, by a group of students of Philadelphia University, of English heritage.  They had a desire to continue to play cricket together after their university years.  The club has two 18 hole courses, and a nine hole course, and is Kingston Heath's only East Coast reciprocal club.

The club did not have any official grounds, playing wherever was available until 1883 when they came to St Martins in Chestnut Hill. A nine hole golf course was constructed on the St Martins site in 1895, designed by Willie Tucker, and was extended to 18 holes in 1897. It has since returned to a nine hole layout.

It was this St Martins course, that hosted the US Open in 1907 and 1910.  The club did not own the land that this course was on, and as golf continued to boom in the area, the club wished to acquire their own property, and did so at Flourtown in 1920.  Club member A. W Tillinghast suggested the site, and designed the course, which opened for play in 1922.

Like many golf courses, Cricket had fallen victim to an overgrowth of trees, and many of Tillinghast's design features had become hidden.  The club wholeheartedly proceeded to complete a full renovation, led by architect Keith Foster, in 2013.

When I say full renovation, I mean full renovation.  Every piece of turf on the property was removed, as were the majority of trees (keeping a few landmark trees), and relaid as per Tillinghast's vision.  The job was completed very quickly, and the course reopened at the end of 2014.

Five years on and the course has matured beautifully.  Tillinghast's clever design features are obvious, and his ability to play tricks visually are there for all to see.  The course has an expansive feel, giving you the freedom to go for more than you should from the tee.  The course was renamed to be called Wissahickon, a tribute to the local creek that runs close by, and that this, the Lorraine Run flows into.

The property is bisected by a old rail platform which separates the upper from the lower section, which you can see to the right of this picture.  Most of the front nine is in the lower half, Tillinghast routed this section to create an intimate feel. The back nine has a much more expansive feel as it makes its way out to the far corner and then back to the grand finish at the clubhouse.

On hole that underwent significant change during the restoration was the par five 7th.  This was in an effort to bring back one of Tillinghast’s favorite designs, “the Great Hazard.” Tillinghast wanted to be able to replicate the impact that a water hazard has on play through mass bunkering. His intention was for the Great Hazard to come into play when a player misses either his drive or his second shot.

Along with the 7th at Philadelphia Cricket Club, Tillinghast also used this design at Bethpage Black, Baltusrol and what many believe to be his design of the 7th at Pine Valley. A good tee shot on the 7th gives the long hitter a chance at hitting the green in two. However, it’s not an easy shot as the 7th green is guarded by deep bunkers in front, requiring players to hit a high, soft long iron in, which very few have in the bag. It’s a terrific par-5 design, and I am glad it has been resurrected.

The view from behind the green on short par four 9th.  This hole doglegs slightly to the left, requiring a draw from the tee.  Control is vital on the approach to the green that slopes front to back, to give any chance of making the birdie. 

You then head across the bridge to the par three 10th.

One of Tillinghast's great skills was to visually include other features to play with your mind.  Regularly greens, or greenside bunkers from other holes will appear to part of your target.  Here, and also on the approach to the 2nd, it is the Pro Shop and locker rooms that get in your head.  Not just visually intimidating, they are actually quite close to the green.  You don't want to hit one thin here.

As you work your way out to the back corner of the property, you go past the section of land that was an old quarry.  You can see remnants of the quarry buildings on the right.  This area is now the Militia Hill course, named for its position overlooking an area steeped in Revolutionary War history.  The quarry land was going to be consumed as housing, which prompted the club to buy the land.  After a little time of inactivity, the club was asked to do something with the land, and another course seemed appropriate. Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry designed the layout and it opened in 2002 as a wonderful complement to the club’s existing Wissahickon course.  It also give the club a unique feature that it has 3 courses, each created in a different century.

The houses behind the par four 14th would have been a lot closer had the club not proceeded with Militia Hill.  This shot shows a great example of the Tillinghast visual effect.  The green of the 15th hole sits in behind just to provide enough visual confusion as you approach.  Sadly, GPS devices and lasers take away a lot of this uncertainty, but if you were trying to "eyeball" your distance, you could imagine the challenge.

The shot from the back tee of the par three 15th.  The green of the 14th appears in your vision on the left, and it's redan style green adds more challenge when playing, regardless of whether you are here at 240 yards, or the more pleasant 190 that we played from.

This is the view from behind the green, showing the drive on hole 16, but also the little run off area at the back of 15.  Quite helpful when you are hitting a 200 yard shot into a redan green.

The approach to the par four 17th.  A great hole for those who prefer to play a draw.  However, too far left and you have a fairway bunker and trees to contend with.  The green is a perfect Tillinghast infinity green.  Designed to appear as if it is raised above the surrounds, it is actually the same level as the fairway.  Bunkers and surrounds have been dug out to give the illusion of a raised green.

The par four 18th is a great finishing hole.  Another slight dogleg left, it also flows downhill, with the Lorraine Run intersecting the fairway before the green.  Plenty of thought still required to get you into the clubhouse, which sits behind the green, safely.  The green is small, and generally there is a decent sized group of "supporters" on the terrace to let you know how you have performed.

A memorial for Tillinghast.  His ashes were scattered in the Wissahickon Creek in 1942.

A truly enjoyable day of golf at Cricket.  A great club, and certainly well worth visiting to see the great restoration work.  A great sign of dedication to the restoration, by Keith Foster, is that he wanted no reference to himself on any club literature.  The scorecard shows that this is a Tillinghast course, and that is how Foster wanted it, he just helped restore it.

Nola Faure was the winner here.