The reward for a long hot day in the dust and mud was always a golden view of Mt. Diablo
For those familiar with these annual write-ups, this year’s version may seem a little bit boring compared to years past. There were no exploits overseas, work or otherwise. Airplane trips can be counted on a single hand. And all work, present and prospective, was located within driving distance, including our main project of the year—shaping on a major Todd Eckenrode renovation at Diablo Country Club, just a nice 20 minute ride from home.
That isn’t to say that the year was boring though, especially from our perspective. There’s the aforementioned Diablo project, which saw us getting back into the dozer to rebuild and reimagine greens—the most enjoyable and creatively satisfying type of work. There’s our continued progress in the pursuit of project work on our own. There’s an amazing trip to Chicago and Wisconsin to explore architectural styles that we have yet to experience in person. And on a personal level, there’s the new family that we started this November with the birth of our baby girl.
It’s been a simpler year for us, but thrilling nonetheless.
THE WORK
Diablo Country Club was our only major shaping project this year, but it kept us occupied full time from April all the way until mid-October. The project, led by SoCal-based architect Todd Eckenrode, was a significant one with complete re-grassing of the whole property, a new irrigation system, re-shaped greens (of various impact/significance), re-shaped and shifted bunkers, the restoration/addition of natural creek ways, and the addition of lower maintenance “native” areas. The project was driven not just by a desire to improve the playing interest of the course and restore it to its historic pedigree, it was also implemented to sensibly move forward into the future by switching to much more environmentally and drought friendly turf grasses that should see a significant reduction of water and other inputs.
The course itself is one of the most history-rich in the region, having been originally designed by Jack Neville in 1914 and expanded by William Watson later in 1920. This is the only known property where both Neville and Watson worked, which made it an especially exciting project to be a part of.
The course is still in the late grow-in stages, so coverage at this time is limited. More to come as things mature and the course re-opens.
Favorite Features of the Field
Hole 11 at Diablo just after sodding. The course plays over a gentle, pastoral landscape that is seemingly uncommon for golf in California, where the hills are either heaving or don’t exist at all.
1. Hole 2 Main Green, Diablo Ironically, this might be the hole that is least different from the previous version to the new one. We just simply enhanced what was there, bringing the green out to the edge of the creek-way and giving the bunkers more teeth and character. What was there was dead simple—a green that falls away to the back and right and is guarded by bunkers on the left and the back, meaning you want to bounce a shot softly in from the left near the bunker to keep from rolling off into the back bunker or creek on the right. It is subtle and simple strategy that was worth preserving.
2. Hole 16, Diablo The spot where it all came to a close. This par 3 is special, as it plays inside of giant eucalyptus trees that marked the border of a former horse-racing track. We ended up re-introducing some historic elements based off of that, including some front cross bunkers and a Watson bump that eats into the left side of the green, which ended up being one of the more interesting and contoured ones of the project.
3. Hole 15, Diablo The spot where it all began. I’ve always liked this up-and-over hole that finishes at the historic halfway house with a view of the mountain to the left. The green really didn’t have much to it, however. Instead of a total blow up though, we focused on a couple of small moves, shifting the bunkers to open the left, adding front left contours that can help or hurt you, and angling the green a bit more to the right—all while keeping the low-profile feel of the complex, which sits in a big low flat spot on the property. It’s an example of doing just enough to make something more interesting.
4. Hole 18, Diablo This is probably my favorite trees-down-the-middle hole anywhere, so it was an honor to get to work on it. As such, not much was changed except for emboldening/tweaking the existing green and fairway bunkers and moving the greenside bunkers back out to a historic location, which opens the front entry for a running approach on this short par 5. Should be an even more fun finish now.
5 (t). Hole 11, Diablo The orientation of this hole sets it up for beautiful views to a central oak knoll and the distant ridgeline. The beginning of the fairway to the bend might be my favorite spot on the property, and I like it even more after building a pair of bunkers that are an homage to a set of four that used to exist historically. The green, which sits up on a hill top, received a few tweaks, enhancing a dip to the left behind a bunker, losing the right bunker and adding one short left, and redoing the back mounding to something more Watson-like while making the long shot into the green more visually intimidating.
5 (t). Hole 7 Alternate Green and Creekway, Diablo As part of an alternative routing for when a temporary range is open, this is an intimidating little short par 3 that sticks out into the newly enhanced creek way. I really like the way that we were able to fit it into the space and make it feel like a natural landform, and playing it will be a true test of bravery. Take on the trouble, or bail out into the acres of the 7th fairway on the right.
H.M. Hole 1 Bunker Edging - Cal Club, Hole 2 Alternate Green - Diablo, Hole 6 - Diablo, Hole 8 - Diablo
Above: before and after of re-edging a large fairway bunker at Cal Club. It is amazing how much the grass grows down and thickens over time, even when actively trying to keep it lean.
Favorite Features off the Field
1. iSeekGolf Podcast (https://podcast.iseekgolf.com/106)
2. Some thoughts on the trends of bunker styles
3. The continued pursuit of solo work
Best Work Experiences
1. Working the 11th green at Diablo, which sits on a nice precipice with views all over the back nine.
2. Beginning work on the 15th green at Diablo amidst the greenery and lingering drizzle of early Spring, knowing that the hot dry heat was only a few short weeks away. Mt. Diablo many mornings would remind me of the Scottish hillsides/mountains during summer.
3. Feeling like I’m back to working a European winter on the 8th hole with surprise rains in mid May. Yes I was enjoying working in the rain. Just work a couple summers in California sun and clay (dust), and you will understand where I am coming from.
4. The final float on the 16th green at Diablo. Time to call everyone over and share a Pliny!
5. The instant satisfaction of bunker edging at Cal Club and Orinda. The achy joints might get old, but seeing a refreshed edge never does.
THE GOLF
Lawsonia is bold and beautiful. It’s undoubtedly engineered but still naturally fits, which is something I am still wrapping my head around.
I don’t play much golf these days, but when I do, the quality—whether it be the course or the people I am with—certainly makes up for the lack of quantity. And really, I’d prefer it to be that way. I enjoy walking and learning from a great design as much as I do just playing, and the inspirational benefits from that are great, especially when seeing something new, as I did a few times this year.
This year’s big study trip took us to Wisconsin, where the focus would be to see the new Sand Valley courses as well as introduce myself to some different architectural styles that I have long wanted to see—the bold, engineered designs of William Langford and Seth Raynor. As I looked into flights to the Badger State, I found it just made more sense to fly SFO to O’Hare, and at that point it was too hard not to add visits to Chicago’s great courses in Chicago Golf Club and Shoreacres. I ended up having to cut the trip a day short and miss Shoreacres, unfortunately, but overall it was a successful and fun journey that opened my eyes further to the possibilities in golf course design.
Best New-to-me Golf Courses Seen in 2019
Sand Valley is the landscape and type of golf I always imagined for Northern Michigan, but Wisconsin beat us to it.
Let's start by noting that this list is just a casual indicator of how good I feel a course is. It is a combination of how I think it holds up for a range of players as well as just how much I personally like it.
The brackets [ ] indicate a "Doak Scale" rating. It should be understood that I didn't spend the same amount of time on every place and that they were all first time visits. These rankings and ratings are somewhat arbitrary and based on what I saw, understood, and felt about each course. I also get admittedly swayed by firm conditions and links golf in particular; a true links course generally gets boosted by 1 or even 2 "Doak points" whenever I rate it.
Really, this should just be fun and give a general idea of what I like in a golf course.
1. Chicago Golf Club - Wheaton, IL; Seth Raynor redesign from Charles Blair MacDonald original [9] My first thought when glancing over the beautiful, simple, open, pastoral landscape of the Chicago Golf Club was “why don’t more golf courses look like this?” I mean, seriously. Half close your eyes, and it looks just like some of the nearby abandoned farm meadows with varied color and texture on the ground, a few groves of mature specimen trees, and golf holes that do not impose upon the gentle, broad tilts of the land. Almost any other course of the last 80 years would have lined every hole with trees and cut back the native grasses and flowers, and that would be a shame. But that is just the course’s landscape.
The golf is also excellent with a history even more impressive. Seth Raynor re-designed Charles Blair MacDonald’s original course with his blessing, routing the holes with more variety of directionality and tailoring his typical template holes and green complexes to the land. The tilts of the greens are impressive, especially the Redan 7th (really incredible to see in person), but the variety and micro contouring really stood out to me as well. A hole like the 9th is a simpler one with a square green, but two little ridges run parallel down the length of the green, creating a couple of separate troughs that demand extra accuracy on the approach if you are to make birdie or par. Other greens that stood out like this were 5 (Leven), 15 (Ginger Ale), and 16 (Raynor’s Prize).
I’ve long argued that one does not need a “spectacular” piece of ground to have great golf architecture. Respect the land for what it is and make shrewd, well-thought out design moves, and the golf as well as the experience can be great. Chicago Golf Club is an excellent example of this.
2. Lawsonia (Links) - Green Lake, WI; William Langford and Theodore Moreau [8] Everything said about Lawsonia is true, and it does have to be seen to be believed. The scale is truly incredible, and the greens are full of interesting internal contours that reward playing to the proper section of the green. I got very giddy when I noticed the lower back shelf on the 5th hole with steep dropoffs for the overly greedy play. I just about lost it when I saw the 6th green, which falls off to both the back and left, again with (literally) steep penalties for the over-aggressive. And then I saw the 7th green…
I now get why the 7th green is often photographed
The back nine gets all the love and photographs, but this stretch on the front nine is as good as any on the course. Speaking of the back nine, it really is a special place to be and play, especially as the sun starts to lower in the west and the shadows of Langford’s bold shaping start to grow and darken. I can’t believe what these guys were able to build in the 1920s with those awkward steam shovels. Impressive.
3 (t). Sand Valley - Nekoosa, WI; Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw [8] Growing up in Michigan, I was well aware of the sandy nature of “Up North,” that vacationland full of lakes and golf courses. As I grew older and my knowledge and exposure of good golf design expanded, I began to realize how drastically far from its potential the region is. Pine Valley type courses, at least in aesthetic style, could abound. Alas, it took Mike Keiser and a remote pine plantation to finally take advantage of this sandy type of landscape, though over in our neighbor state across Lake Michigan instead. And it really is stunning and beautiful as the spacious routing takes you on a peaceful journey across the land. The golf itself is really fun too, with all sorts of different ground game shots and approaches.
3 (t). Mammoth Dunes - Nekoosa, WI; David McLay Kidd [8] I will admit being somewhat skeptical of Mammoth Dunes prior to playing it, concerned that the massive width and greens may be a stretch too far and lead to an almost dull affair. Not so. For one, if you are erratic off the tee, as I was at the end of a long week, there is no guarantee you will find the short grass. Looking further though, I could often see that there were much smaller windows along or up against a sandy expanse or centerline bunker that you would want to try and hit if you were to have a markedly better angle of attack into the green. This effect is immediately felt on the second hole, which has a green guarded by a large short grass hill on the front left of the green that is certain to be Ejection City for anyone coming in from that side of the hole. Off the tee, you want to do one of two things to open up your angle: hit it deep and skirt the centerline bunker along its right side, or play way out right, which is a longer distance carry the more right you go. I found these conundrums present throughout the round.
On top of that, there were a number of very fun greens and approaches where the aiming line was well away from the hole. The routing was also brilliant in the way it took you to and around a large oak-laden ridge at the far end of the course, a natural feature not experienced on the other course. I also quite liked the emotional experience of walking the fairways on the holes nearest the clubhouse, particularly 17 and 18. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so small on a golf course.
We probably shouldn’t be building every new golf course on such a large scale, but in the sake of macro-variety, it is good to have a few like this to experience and enjoy. I’m sure I will like the small-scale Doak counter to this just as much for that very reason.
5. Blue Mound - Wauwatosa, WI; Seth Raynor [7] The only other Raynor I had seen to this point was Chicago Golf Club the day before, but still I felt like this was a good example of his work. The double-plateau 2nd is actually bolder than at Chicago, and the Redan and Punchbowls are both just as strong and bold. I also liked how the routing begins on the flatter section nearer the urban setting but slowly works its way into a beautiful natural section laden with hills, forest, and water. Bruce Hepner has done a great job with a long term restoration of the course, and new superintendent Alex Beson-Crone is working diligently already to increase the firmness of the conditions which will only make Raynor’s well-thought slopes matter that much more. Excited to see this course continue to progress into the future.
6. The Sand Box - Nekoosa, WI; Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw with Jim Craig [7] This has to be one of the most fun settings in all of golf, especially toward the end of the day. Groups as big as 12 go around this wild 17 hole par 3 course, typically wielding an adult beverage of choice though sometimes not wielding shoes. You will hear music playing from portable speakers, plenty of laughs, and some mighty roars when someone drops a bomb for a birdie. This faster paced party atmosphere is the perfect complement to a round on one of the big courses, which is a slow and peaceful stroll across the land.
The golf itself is also really fun and quite varied too, with miniature-sized takes on such famous holes like the Road Hole, Lion’s Mouth, and Alps. Don’t miss the Sand Box.
7. Milwaukee Country Club - Milwaukee, WI; C.H. Alison [7] I often like to look at Google Earth before visiting a place to get a feel for what I might see. This can be misleading sometimes though, and that is certainly the case at Milwaukee, which is on a much grander scale than can be seen from 10,000 feet. Wide corridors, large flashed bunkers, and ample short grass just make the place feel big, especially for still being a tree-lined parkland course. The interaction with the Milwaukee River on the back nine is another highlight, as I can’t recall too many other golf holes that play over and along a river of such size and flow.
The pleasing grand scale and tight turf of Milwaukee CC
8. Eagle Springs - Eagle, WI; A.G. Spaulding [6] Since Andy Johnson of The Fried Egg first started posting photos of this course, I really wanted to see it. Finally getting there in person did not disappoint, and the fun starts right away on the first hole, which has one of the coolest, boldest, and natural settings for a green that I have ever seen. It continues with what might be the most extreme volcano hole anywhere. I also liked the understated simplicity and gentle tilt away on greens like the 3rd and 5th as well as the mental respite from the holes that precede and follow them. The 4th, which sits hidden down to the left and has more extreme trouble further left, is another highlight. The remaining greens all have a very classic, old feel to them and present different challenges. I seriously loved this golf course and wish I had something like this near my house. It would certainly get me to play more.
9. Spring Valley (partial tour) - Salem, WI; William Langford and Theodore Moreau [5] I was losing daylight on a rainy evening, so I only got a look at a few holes. I was able to get the general idea though—lots of Langford and Moreau greens and landforms much in the same style of Lawsonia, though scaled down a bit. More discussed in the “Restoration Opportunities” section.
10. San Diego Country Club - Chula Vista, CA; William Watson, with revisions by Billy Bell [5] The land on this course is very “golf scale” with a series of smaller up and down hills and valleys. Whereas most of California courses are on big heaving slopes or flatlands, this “in between” land reminds me a lot of the glacial forms you’d see at courses where I grew in Michigan—places like Oakland Hills, Franklin Hills, and Orchard Lake. Throw in the Watson and Bell heritage, and there is a lot of potential here.
H.M. Goat Hill Park - Oceanside, CA: Ludwig Keehn; Downers Grove - Downers Grove, IL: Charles Blair MacDonald, with numerous revisions over the years
Best Greens: Design, Interest, and Sensibility
The clean horizon Double Plateau at Blue Mound gives a real sense of unease about the potential trouble behind.
1. Chicago Golf Club
2. The Sand Box
Aside: gallery of the fun variety of greens at the Sand Box. Also, no shoes required.
3. Lawsonia
4. Mammoth Dunes
5 (t). Sand Valley
5 (t). Blue Mound
H.M. Eagle Springs, Spring Valley
Above: The amazingly creative, diverse, and wildly fun greens at old Eagle Springs
Best Bunkering: Playing Importance, Aesthetics, and Context
Sand, bunker, and native texture blend beautifully at Sand Valley. That sandy native is particularly beautiful and diverse in color and texture, and it is remarkably playable as I never lost a ball. I’ve never seen it where all those ideals were achieved so well.
1. Sand Valley Sand Valley is what I always thought golf in Northern Michigan ought to be. Wild, sandy, natural. I particularly liked the way sandy expanses and harder edged bunkers blend with the native plants and texture, which is also the best version of “native” that I have ever seen anywhere in the world. It’s colorful with varied texture and density, and I never lost a ball once in it, despite many attempts to do so.
2. Mammoth Dunes The aesthetics of the bunkers and sand areas on Mammoth don’t have quite the same natural appeal to me (less blending, more formally defined, a lot of repeated islands), but I thought they often impacted play in a brilliant way. Known for its extreme width, I often found myself wanting to cheat closely alongside the sand (down the right on number 2) or place a shot as close to a crossing hazard as possible (par 5s 7 and 11). There are advantages to be had out there, and I can see why David Kidd can get a bit testy when people bring up the course’s width for the thousandth time.
3. Chicago Golf Club Chicago’s trench bunkers are remarkably close to original. Their depth exacts a true penalty, especially at the greens, where they are extremely tight to the surface. A very light-handed restoration is forthcoming to reclaim some size and depth, and that along with some fairway re-widening should reclaim a lot of strategy in fairway bunkering. Those simple moves could possibly be enough to bump this set to the top of the list.
4. Lawsonia Obviously big and bold, but also often set at angles where an advantage can be gained by taking on the longer side. I found there is a beauty in their simplicity as well, and many follow the simple aesthetic principles of having a high side falling to a low side. Nevermind that you often can see little or no sand—the landforms give no doubt that you are looking at a bunker*.
*Except for the ones that have been converted to a grassy bottom over the years, presumably for pace of play. The land wall is often so big though that the playing effect is often the same whether there is sand in it or not.
5. The Sand Box Classic Coore & Crenshaw bunkering at a smaller scale, and they play well into the shot risks and strategy involved with the greens. Also fun to try and recover from with a putter. More on that later…
H.M. Blue Mound, Milwaukee, San Diego
Milwaukee has surprisingly large scale, which is well-exemplified by this large fairway bunker that perfectly guards the open angle into the green.
Best Routings
1. Sand Valley
2. Mammoth Dunes
3. Chicago
4. Milwaukee
5. Blue Mound
H.M. Lawsonia, Sand Box, Eagle Springs
Champions of Fast and Firm--Best Turf + Conditions
Indeed it is with conditions like these
1(t). Sand Valley I had worked for Rob Duhm when he was an assistant at Kingsley Club and I a summer intern, so I knew that the fine fescue turf at Sand Valley was probably going to be pretty good. Even with lofty expectations, the playing conditions were better than I could have imagined. Despite some rain that morning and the course being more “lush” than normal heading into winter, a putter or a bump and run was always an available option. Also, when a ball would land on the green or approaches, the ground offered that most delightful of golfing sounds, the “thud.” Fine fescue is simply the best, especially when you have someone who knows how to manage it and resist the urge to add water and inputs.
1(t). Mammoth Dunes See above
3. Chicago Scott Bordner had the fairways very tight and firm, and this was despite a relative wet period. I can only imagine what it really gets like when drier. Also, it was great to see the greens literally maxed out to the very edge of their pads. The club is working on a plan to restore fairway widths, which will be very exciting to see as it adds variety and strategy to angles of approach.
4. Sand Box See above, but also special shoutout to their efforts to manage against ball mark damage on the small surfaces
5(t). Milwaukee As mentioned, there is very tight bent grass everywhere, which not only makes the design play much more interestingly, it also makes for great presentation, especially around the beautiful old building architecture of the clubhouse.
5(t). Lawsonia The emphasis on the ground game is also present at Lawsonia, where Mike Lyons does a great job of keeping the ground fast and firm. They’ve also done a great job of bringing the greens out to the edge of their landforms, which allows for the widest variety of hole locations and some especially scary ones up next to large drop-offs. Special shout-out as well to the crew tasked with fly mowing the huge Langford banks using a rope system. That is not easy work and often thankless, but I’m here right now to say thanks to them and their efforts so that we can enjoy such bold architecture without it getting overly penal.
H.M. Blue Mound As mentioned before, this already improved Raynor is about to get better with the efforts of new superintendent Alex Beson-Crone, who on the day I visited was busy getting hands-on helping the crew to pull plugs and spread sand on the approaches and surrounds. That is dedication and someone who is truly setting out to do what they say.
Best Playing/Walking Experiences
Quite the scene for a putter-only showdown
1. Putter-only match with Brian Schneider as the sun sets at the Sand Box
2. Lawsonia! Was lucky enough to play alone in a nice gap of play on a busy day. Allowed for time to look at angles and take photos as well as save some embarrassment from all the gawking and giddiness
3. Walking around Chicago Golf Club for the better part of a day. Preceding it was a wonderful history lesson from club historian John Moran.
4. A round with Joe Hancock, Sean Tully, and Kevin Hauschel at Pasatiempo. Not sure if the banter or architecture was better.
5. My rounds at Sand Valley and Mammoth Dunes that were with a good group of guys from Michigan, of all places
6. Running into Andy Johnson on a beautiful evening walk around Milwaukee CC, talking architecture and taking photos
7. First time playing a Raynor at Blue Mound
Just a couple of photo geeks (Patrick Koenig and Ben Peters) doing their thing
8. Solitary walk in a drizzle around the incredible Eagle Springs—solitary as in I didn’t see a single other person the entire 9 holes, which I found quite peaceful
9. Officially getting in on Patrick Koenig’s RGV tour at Orinda along with “The Golf Hawk” Ben Peters
10. The best superintendent post-meeting golf yet at Claremont. Josh Clevenger pulled out all the stops with beer on tap and post-round hors deuvres. Also, the golf at funky old Claremont is always good.
H.M. One of the best up-and-downs I’ve ever had, played around a bunker on the 15th at Sand Valley. Inspired by the Road Hole Bunker, I pulled out my putter as one of the caddies proclaimed “bold move, Cotton.” Luckily it worked out, but it was way too fun not to try.
Cool Curiosities, Awesome Oddities: The Most Enjoyable Unusual Features
1. The many old landforms from the original course scattered around Chicago Golf Club. These make me really curious to see what C.B. MacDonald’s original course of parallel out-and-back holes, which were inspired by the Old Course, looked like.
This old ruin is not only cool to incorporate, it also is perfectly located to give pause for those pondering a long running shot into the green.
2. Gigantic falloffs around the greens at Lawsonia. Unbelievably large. Somehow constructed in the 1920s.
3. Crossing the Milwaukee River at Milwaukee CC. The course gets awfully close to a fairly major river. Seems like that would be hard to pull off these days!
4. Basement Bunker at Mammoth Dunes I don’t know the backstory on this or how they found it, but it’s pretty cool and right in play.
5. Stables and barracks on the 3rd hole at Lawsonia Cool building architecture to complement the cool golf architecture
H.M. Decorous bathroom on 8th hole at Milwaukee CC
Best Restoration Opportunities
Because I can never just relax and play golf...
It’s all right there at Spring Valley
1. Spring Valley This one is too easy. All the Langford greens and landforms from the bunkers are still there. The greens just need expanding, the bunkers getting sand, and trees removed to restore playing corridors and vistas. Easy.
2. San Diego CC While the landforms are great, it’s obvious things have evolved over time with the greens and bunkers. Also, there are way too many trees throughout the course, most of them smaller and younger in age too.
3. Downers Grove Only number 3 because it is impossible to completely restore. You could certainly do some of it and then turn the rest into C.B. MacDonald’s original style, drawing inspiration from some of the old landforms still present at Chicago Golf. This would be serious fun to play around with.
THE EVERYTHING ELSE
Not surprisingly, this is especially light this year. Our main project was at home, and our only trips away were to the Golf Industry Show in San Diego and the study trip to Wisconsin/Chicago. There were some big personal highlights, though…
Favorite Cities
1. Madison, WI The state capital has a perfect mix of size, culture, and college energy. Also, it sits between two lakes, which offer beauty and year round recreation whether water or ice.
2. San Diego, CA Tons of bars and restaurants in close quarters, a great ballpark right downtown, awesome craft brews, and even some old brick architecture, rare in California.
3. Walnut Creek, CA Home!
Favorite food by Place
Above: Wisconsin.
Wisconsin - Fresh cheese curds from the state capital market. Broiled lake perch from Adam’s Rib in Green Lake.
San Diego - Fish tacos, obviously
Walnut Creek - Home cookin’!
Favorite Sights Seen
Not the result I was hoping for (or close to it), but still a great experience. Definitely recommend sitting upper deck midfield—view of the game is incredible
1. Camp Randall Stadium and the Badger tailgate scene. Madison, WI Might be the best gameday experience in the Big Ten, and I say that after witnessing my team get crushed.
2. Ship Rock, near Sand Valley. Wisconsin. A bizarre rock formation that literally sticks up out of nowhere. I had to double back in the car to check it out further.
3. Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet. DeForest, WI. A cheese lover’s dream store. Went with the beer cheese curds. Did not disappoint.
MUSIC
Anyone in this business who spends a lot of time in a machine out in the field knows how valuable a companion the art of music is. It is easy as well to draw parallels between the two, a great golf course acting as a great album with the component pieces—the holes and songs—standing individually while contributing to the work as a whole.
I still find myself listening to podcasts more these days, but there was some decent stuff put forth this year, including that by a few regular favorites and a return from an old one.
Best Albums
1. How to Leave Town - Car Seat Headrest I tend to gravitate to Will Toledo’s inner musings whenever I go back to the midwest, and especially so when I have longer drives through the countryside. I admittedly start with the second track on this album, but it is the best one and followed up by another very good one. Will packs in a lot of sounds and types of musical structure not just within his albums but also individual songs. You probably won’t “get it” on the first listen or two or if not in the right mindset, but after it starts to grow on you, it will continue to grow. This is probably my second favorite album of his now only after Teens of Denial.
2. In the Morse Code of Brake Lights - The New Pornographers The New Pornos keep with their brighter, more colorful, and more spacious sound that they began with on Brill Bruisers, though the songs on this album don’t “hook” you as strongly as the previous two albums. I still liked it a lot though, and fast paced dreamy sounding songs like “One Kind of Solomon” would perfectly complement the colorful sky during a sunset drive along the Wisconsin countryside.
3. New Songs for Old Problems (EP) - Middle Kids If this were a full length album, it could have competed for top billing. Middle Kids follow up well on their debut album Lost Friends, which was my personal album of the year one year ago.
4. Help Us Stranger - The Raconteurs So good to have The Raconteurs back, who originally debuted way back when I was a turf intern at Kingsley Club in the summer of 2006. The opening track kicks you right in the face and gets me personally a bit more excited with its references to both California and Detroit, the two places I’ve called home in life. The rest of it is solid rock and roll, which we just do not have enough of in this world anymore.
5. Gallipoli - Beirut Normally I reserve Beirut albums for stints in Europe, but this came out just after our trip to Spain last year. As fall/winter finally arrived in California in late November, I found myself getting back into this album as the scenery of the countryside reminded me of that Spain trip a year prior. I didn’t listen to this much while doing actual golf work, but its spacious, beautiful sound is worthy of a spot in the top 5.
6. The Lamb - Lala Lala I really like the edgy, dreamy, reverb-laden sound of this album and am looking forward to seeing what else she puts out in the future.
7. Twin Fantasy - Car Seat Headrest Yep, two Car Seat Headrest albums in one list. Will’s most recent album didn’t connect with me like How to Leave Town, but it is still really good.
8. Descended Like Vultures - Rogue Wave. No Rogue Wave album is as good as Asleep at Heaven’s Gate, but this preceding album has some of that sound and feel from it. I particularly like the opening two tracks.
9. Anodyne - Uncle Tupelo I always liked listening to this early version of alt-country toward the end of the day when the wind would calm down and the lighting turn golden, illuminating Mt. Diablo and its foothills.
10(t). Starlite Walker - Silver Jews Having been a fan of this band but not listening to them for a few years, I was inspired to download this album immediately after listening to the “Feed the Ball” podcast featuring Tom Dunne. I’m glad for that.
10(t). Let it Bleed - The Rolling Stones August is always “Rolling Stones Season” for me. Something about the heat and dust and late day glow that their rough, twangy sound seems to accompany really well. This year’s new addition was Let it Bleed, which perfectly fits the above description. The only reason it isn’t higher on the list is because of my long familiarity with 60% of the album’s songs.
H.M. Pony - Orville Peck; Future Me Hates Me - The Beths; Days of the New - Days of the New; Innerspeaker - Tame Impala; Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough? - Bleached
Best Songs
1. "Beast Monster Thing (Love isn’t Love Enough)" - Car Seat Headrest
2. “Needle” - Middle Kids
3. "Kimochi Warui (When? When? When? When? When? When? When?)" - Car Seat Headrest
4. "When I Die" - Beirut
5. "One Kind of Solomon" - The New Pornographers
6. "Siren 042" - Lala Lala & Why?
7. “You’ll Need a Backseat Driver” - The New Pornographers
8. "All I Know" - The Mailboxes
9. "War is Placebo" - Blitzen Trapper
10. “Bored and Razed” - The Raconteurs
11. "Love in Vain" - The Rolling Stones
12. "Turn to Hate" - Orville Peck
12. "Trains Across the Sea" - Silver Jews
13. “The Surprise Knock” - The New Pornographers
14. "Publish My Love" - Rogue Wave
15. “Bodys” - Car Seat Headrest
16. "The Sidewinder Sleeps at Night" - R.E.M.
17. "Slate" - Uncle Tupelo
18. "Hard to Kill" - Bleached
19. "Feed the Tree” - Belly
20. "Leather on the Seat" - The New Pornographers
H.M. "America (Never Been)" - Car Seat Headrest, "Desire Be Desire Go” and “Lucidity” - Tame Impala, “Destroyer” - Lala Lala, “Black Gold” - Soul Asylum, “Salt Eyes” and “Real Thing” - Middle Kids, “Bird on a Wire” - Rogue Wave, “My Boy (Twin Fantasy)” - Car Seat Headrest, “Somedays (I Don’t Feel Like Trying)” and “Thoughts and Prayers” - The Raconteurs
Non-Golf Experiences of the Year
No words needed
If you can believe it, golf isn't the only important thing in life. Visits to special places, once-in a lifetime events, and time spent with your best people is a huge part of the picture. These moments contribute to personal happiness and indirectly serve as inspiration to what we do out on the golf course site.
1. The birth of my first-born daughter The most obvious number one of all time. I knew parenting would be a lot of work, but I had no idea that the love and emotions that I would feel toward her would be so wonderfully intense.
2. Visiting my newborn nephew as well as participating in his baptism My younger brother beat me to the baby game with his fun little guy, who really isn’t so little and rather shaping up to eventually start at left tackle for the Wolverines. It’s been special so far to see him at a week old and get to be a part of his baptism in the church we grew up in and went to school at.
3. Seeing a game in Camp Randall for the first time It was the perfect accompaniment to a golf study trip, until it wasn’t on the scoreboard. Still, experiencing Madison on game day was amazing. Between the farmers market on the State Capitol, seeing the parties on frat row (which is amazingly right next to the stadium), and the bar scene nearby, where the marching band came playing right through the bar crowd and gave me all the feels, it really is a great place to experience a game day, especially when visiting an old college buddy who has now made Madison his home. The stadium is also cool, and I elected to go for the high middle view in the upper deck since we don’t have that at Michigan Stadium. The view was indeed great and worth it, the gameplay by the Maize and Blue not so much.
4. Finally getting to the new Red Wings arena with my Dad In 2017, we closed down the Joe together in what is still probably the best sporting experience of my life. Thus, it was extra cool to experience the new arena for the first time together. I still miss the old and often intangible charms of the Joe, but for a modern arena the Illitches and Red Wings really did an incredible job, mixing technology, history, style, comfort, sight-lines, and home-ice advantage. The concourse is a big atrium connecting outer buildings and restaurants to the arena structure, which is draped in a giant LED screen called the “jewel-skin.” It also features the original lettering from the old Olympia Stadium marquee, which was extra cool for me to see as I have had a picture of Olympia in my room or office for many years, always wondering what the Old Barn must have been like. The seating, which is the most important thing to me, is steep and pushed in toward the action, leaving the upper sections with a “hovering” feel over the game below. It also doubles in function in making the atmosphere louder and more intimidating for opposing teams. I can’t wait to see what the playoffs will be like in this building, whenever that day comes. Come on Stevie Y, make us great again!
5. Summer weekend getaways to the NorCal coast with the wife The SoCal coast gets all the attention for its weather and beaches, but I might like the NorCal coast more for its beauty, peace, and low-key vibes. We spent time near Point Reyes, Bodega Bay, and much further up north of Fort Bragg on a ranch that has a piece of coast line better and more dramatic than that of Pebble Beach. I wasn’t there to think about golf, but I couldn’t help but start imagining holes over the massive cliffs and bright blue waters.
As much as I was trying to take a break from golf stuff, it was impossible not to imagine hitting shots over and along these cliffs north of Fort Bragg.
A word of thanks, and what’s up for 2020...
She’ll be wearing this one soon!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this year what it was.
To Todd Eckenrode and Origins Golf Design, Ryan Nicholson, Javier Campos, the staffs at Diablo and Cal Club, Joe Hancock, Matt Flint, Scott Clem, Trevor Hansen, and the hard-working crew at Landscapes Unlimited: it was a pleasure working with you all.
To all the superintendents, club pros, historians, and design fans who welcomed me to your courses: it was a real pleasure making your acquaintance, and experiencing your properties will shape my design sensibilities for years to come.
To my extended families, friends, wife, and now my baby daughter: thank you for all the support and understanding that make this unusual career possible.
To you, the reader: I appreciate your interest in us and passion for the game, as well as your patience to get through this entire post!
We are looking forward to this year, which is shaping up to be a busy and exciting one, including some small projects of our own. It should only be getting more fun from here.
Thanks for reading, and cheers,
Brett