Quaker Ridge #11

A drawing of my favorite hole on my home course.

Banks Punchbowl Video

The opening hole for The Fourth Nine at Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, NJ is on my short list for best #1. The only 9 designed by Charles "Steamshovel" Banks (the other 27 holes are Donald Ross) starts with a super bold punchbowl green complex and has some significant front-to-back slope to it as well.

The video is a little Blair Witch-y but I'm sure other architecture nerds might appreciate it anyways... I'm trying to find ways to incorporate video.

1st Week Back

Its been extra busy around here in my first week back on the job this week after surgery. In the spirit of going full speed ahead at Pavelec Bros Golf Course Construction and looking at Quaker Ridge Golf Club here are some of the highlights:

A renovated #15 at Quaker Ridge

(1 original fairway bunker reestablished, fairway shifted right, bunkers

reshaped, trees removed on right and behind green, green expanded)

- caddied for 1997 Mid-Am Champion and Masters Invitee Ken Bakst

- dug 260 ft of drainage in my first day back in the operators seat for the new practice tee @ Lookaway CC in Bucks County, PA

- hauled 312 ton of mix to the new practice tee @ Lookaway CC on thursday... only about 750 more to go!

Great Caddy Story - 108 Hole Marathon for Charity

Bellow I have posted something my friend Jim wrote on his website earlier this week. He was nice enough to invite me to Ballyneal, but this may is way more important! Glad I could help, keep up the good work....

Jim walking up #8 fairway during a round with just 4 clubs at his beloved Ballyneal

To my friends and loyal blog readers,

Anybody who has ever been out to Ballyneal knows the caddies are a big part of the experience. Most are high school and college kids from the area. And "area" is defined loosely, because some come from up to two hours away just to earn a $75-$100 dollar loop and a chance to be an Evans Scholar. Over the years, seven Ballyneal caddies have earned scholarships at Colorado University through the Colorado Golf Association Eisenhower-Evans Scholarship Fund.

Since my first trip to Holyoke in 2008, I've had caddies that run the whole gamut - from caddies on their first loops to ones that who know every inch of the wild Ballyneal greens. Either way, every experience I've had there with the caddies has been a positive one. They are simply great kids - warm, down-to-earth, helpful and hard working - consistent with just about everybody else I've ever met in that region of the country.

Getting to know the caddies and building relationships with them over the years is one of the best parts of Ballyneal. Of course, it didn't take long for them to realize that I'm a golf-crazed maniac, and I get needled for it constantly. The caddies are constantly egging me on to play more holes...to keep chugging for 72 holes after just finishing my 54th, for example. Last year, two caddies, Nick Flaa and Gary Nelson, threw down the gauntlet and played 100 holes in a day. Their primary motivation was just to get under my skin. My gut reaction was to immediately go out and bring the record back to its rightful owner, but scheduling, conditioning and footwear issues forced me to postpone it until 2011. Now armed with three new pairs of True Linkswear shoes and about 25 less pounds of spare tire, I'm ready to take on the challenge and raise the bar even further. Six-full rounds -- 108 holes, is my number.

During the offseason, I started to make plans to use the marathon to raise money for the local Holyoke High School golf team and the CGA scholarship fund. To give back to the kids who had meant so much to me. But unfortunately, a much more pressing need became apparent recently. One of the caddies, Ben Cox, was seriously injured in a skiing accident in March (details here). He suffered a broken femur and broken neck and is currently paralyzed from the chest down. But Ben is in great spirits all things considered and is ready to take on the long recovery process head-on. When I heard the news, I knew I had to switch the focus of the marathon. On Wednesday June 22nd, I will be walking (at least) 108 holes of golf to raise money for Ben and his family as they begin to face this long recovery process.

If you've been out to Ballyneal and have enjoyed your time there, or have gotten any entertainment value out of this blog over the past five years, or you simply want to help, anything you can contribute on a lump-sum or per hole basis is greatly appreciated. You can e-mail me directly at jcolton31@gmail.com and I will provide more details on how to contribute by paypal or check.

Also, if you want to take an active role in this fundraiser, I'm willing to host anybody who can raise $500 or more on their own to join me at Ballyneal on June 22nd for what I'm calling the "half-marathon" -- 54 holes in one day. My only request is if you see a single lefty in an orange hat coming up on your group, please let him play through.

Sincerely,

Jim

[April 14 Update: I just spoke to Ballyneal and they are generously going to pitch-in two free foursomes for a day of golf in the future. Anybody who contributes $1/hole or $100 gets an entry into the drawings. The first foursome winner will come via a straight random drawing. The second foursome winner will come via a pool where you guess the total number of strokes played over par over the 108 holes (you could guess under par, but you would lose). If for some reason I fall short of 108 (which unless I get struck by lightning or have a heart attack, will not happen), it will revert to straight random drawing like the other one. Since there can only be one guess per stroke, it will be first come first served on locking in your number.

Everything will be putted out and I will be mixing up the teeing spots. The only liberty I'll be taking with the rules is for a lost ball - stroke versus stroke and distance.]


[April 14 Update #2: Dismal River has also generously donated a foursome of golf that will added as a third random drawing.]


[April 15 Update: The Kingsley Club has generously donated a foursome of golf that will be added as another raffle item.]

New 18 Hole Course to be added at Ballyneal, CO

#15 Tee blends into the "Chop Hills" of Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club.

Parts of the new course will be located just off the back of this hill.

Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club, already home to one of the best modern golf courses I have ever played, plans to add a 2nd 18 holes according to golf digest... http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2011/04/new-18-at-ballyneal.html...

The second course will be designed by Bruce Hepner, a former VP and Sr. Design Associate for Tom Doak's Renaissance Golf Design, who built the first course. Apparently the course will course will not be quite as rugged as Mr. Doak's, but we can expect the same artistic and fun style of golf members and guests are used to. The routing, which is rumored to be located in the slightly softer terrain to the players right of #18, near the entrance, and wrap around the existing back 9 in an out-and-back style. Apparently a crossover may even be possible between the two courses, which is totally in the spirit of the place.

The tough #17 is also located close to the proposed new course

Based on the terrain, the overwhelmingly fun spirit of the club, and the track record for courses Mr. Hepner has been involved with in the past, I expect another world class golf course will soon come to life in Holyoke, CO. Hopefully Golf Digest will finally figure it out after the next course is built; Ballyneal is seriously in the discussion for the best 25 golf courses in world, why their rankings don't reflect that is beyond me... Good luck to Ballynizzle and those who will be trampling around in Yucca uncovering the next course.

Links:

Ballyneal Review

Ballyneal Phototour

Golfmeister Productions joins Facebook and Twitter

So I added "Like" buttons last week and was considering moving towards this in the coming weeks, but after GolfClubAtlas decided to jump into the mix, I wasn't going to get left behind!

facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Golfmeister-Productions/193491240688209?sk=wall

twitter @The_Golfmeister

One of the biggest stories from The Masters so far... Alvaro Quiros

Quiros playing a practice round at Bethpage Black...

If you have never seen him play, I highly suggest it.

Live Coverage from The Masters

has already begun with coverage from Amen Corner at this link...

http://www.masters.com/en_US/tournament/live_coverage.html

For those who are not aware, Augusta National and The Masters Tournament has pioneered/invented virtually everything about the way we watch and view golf today. This live coverage and now 3-D live coverage available at certain times is just the next step.

My $1 picks for the week were:

Ross Fischer 100/1 (early leader)

Adam Scott 66/1 ($1.65 on the man with broom stick)

E. Molinari 100/1

F. Molinari 66/1

Phil Mickelson to use 2 Drivers at The Masters

3 Time Masters Champion Phil Mickelson

Phil, who has done this before, just said in his press conference Tuesday at Augusta Nation Golf Club that he will again be using two drivers while trying to win his 4th Masters. Mickelson said the 2nd driver would replace the 3-iron in his bag. Siting the warm temperatures, and his strategy for the par-5's he feels like 4-iron will be all he need from the fairways to reach in two. The second driver is supposed to carry about 15 yards further and be one inch longer; it probably has some loft/lie adjustments as well. Expect to see this new driver in play on #1, where he will be trying to carry the fairway bunker, surely just one of many exciting plays to come this week.

Phil's plan is to carry this bunker on top of the hill on hole #1. A very

bold strategy right out of the starting gates even for the long hitting

lefty who never seems to lay it up.

photos:

http://www.masters.com/en_US/players/player_1810.html

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/golf-masters/2008-01/photos_course#slide=1