Southern Pines Golf Club, Take 2!
Readers respond and so does the golf course architect! Slap my face!
The recent review—Southern Pines Golf Club Needs Time—of the renovation of Southern Pines Golf Club, one day surely to be a Donald Ross gem in better shape than ever, drew several positive comments from readers including the golf course architect and renovator of SPGC Kyle Franz who had at least one nice thing to say about the review but with a huge and very educational “but” that followed. Slap my face! First, the good comments.
Sid Sarver posted his opinion on the comment section of JIM TALK: Jim, that’s an excellent review of a course I love mainly because it’s a true Ross. Your closing paragraph is spot on, the course needs at least two grow-in seasons. Tell me the par 3, third hole isn’t one of the hardest par 3s in Pinehurst. You also were correct about the yardage, looks short on the score card but plays much longer. I always walk when playing there and love every step. Thanks again for a nice article.
There was this from a member of the North Carolina Golf Panel who shall remain nameless as will the other commenters who sent via email their opinions about my opinions: You were very nice to them. (We) were shocked by how little had been done the last 8-10 months since we played it. On Wednesday, the greens weren’t mowed. Poa Annua dominates the fairways. The cart paths are non-existent, and I swear the same ruts are still there (from last time they played it). They have to be making big $ from the other two (Pine Needles and Mid Pines) so why open Southern Pines Golf Club for play when it isn’t close to ready? After 2.5 hours and just 10 holes, we left. Call them whatever they want but the sand was terrible. Green side, no way they shouldn’t be blown out and raked. I really like the layout but I’m dropping it way down.
From a golf enthusiast who quit playing golf years ago but continues to read about and watch golf played by others: Enjoyed this because yours is the first take I’ve heard on the re-do and I’ve been eager to hear about it. Even though you are lukewarm about the result, it’s a good, descriptive, and seemingly fair account of what they did.
And this from a golfer who plays as often as possible: My rating of the course may have been a bit kinder than yours. The sand bunkers ate my lunch! I stopped shooting for the green, played the hills for bounces and putted onto the green from 10’ off rather often. I had fun!
In the review there was reference to a very capable golfer who took three unsuccessful tries to hit up the false front of (the 3rd) green (reference Sid Sarver’s mention of that hole as one of the hardest par 3s in Pinehurst: Agree (with your assessment), but you were stretching the truth with the capable golfer comment.
One more comment before we get to Mr. Franz: I could not agree more with your recent JIM TALK review of the course. I never could figure out if it was a natural area or actual sand traps. I seemed to be one club short on most iron shots and we questioned the 150 markers that had not been moved or updated. It will take some time for this course to reach the classy Mid Pines and Pine Needles courses and surrounding areas in condition or reputation.
And now onward and upward (or downward?) with the aforementioned renowned golf architect, Kyle Franz, who is thanked immensely for chiming in and educating us all. (As I wrote in today’s first paragraph, “Slap my face!” His comments are in italic.
“Well, Jim some of the things you said I would agree with as it needs more polish -- more wiregrass, cart path work, detail work, etc. If your article was a spot on, I would have even utilized it to motivate the client. Everyone has their 5-year plans, and I am all-in for making our projects as perfect as they can be as soon as possible budgetarily. But you kind of cut off your own credibility in couple of areas.”
FROM JIM TALK: It’s a shame when some of the renovation is overdone because, maybe, the renovation architect is a self-proclaimed expert trying to put its stamp on the “new” golf course instead of giving full credit to the original designer.
“So not only am I not "self-proclaimed" anything, I've worked on the restoration of No. 2 for Coore and Crenshaw 10 years ago and obviously was the lead architect at Mid Pines and Pine Needles restorations. So not only do I know what I'm doing I know how Ross evolved significantly throughout his career. Especially his Pinehurst style. So, I'm second only to Chris Buie in terms of Pinehurst/Ross course knowledge. But after all these 10 years’ worth of field/archival work, no one can touch that by 8 years.”
“Now if you knew this material you would know what is omnipresent to me -- we were attempting to restore specific periods of Ross's work here at Southern Pines. Emulating Ross's early greens in Pinehurst that were quite sporty and wilder work earlier in his career.”
“The second-place your article losses credibility is you neither recognized that -- because you don't know as much about Ross as you think you do -- nor you never took the time to call me or ask about the project while writing a critical piece. When you had plenty of time to do it and research properly. Next time how about you do that -- you might learn something.”
“Have you ever seen the close-up image of the utterly wild original 17th green at Pinehurst No. 2? That image that has been omnipresent to me for a decade? Or countless images of Ross's huge sprawling bunkers on his 1910s work. Or short forced carries he did early in his career. If I had the time, I'd extend you the courtesy of what didn't to me -- showing you a 1910s oblique aerial of the early 15th hole of Course 3. Or 20 other holes that formed the genesis behind this work.”
“Or maybe you don't want to ask me any questions? We've had a lot of great feedback and positive response to our work there. We've had probably 20-30 dozen positive articles. Then there is you. Other than your's there was only one other article that was critical -- it was written by a superintendent closely affiliated with/drinking buddies with a rival architect who had just lost a job to me in Kentucky. And they were too stupid to realize everyone saw through it. Or his own green committee chairman is exasperated by mediocre conditioning while goofing off writing that or on Twitter a lot. So, if that's the case, who's your boss or your buddy on this?” (It’s not the case, though I do have a few drinking buddies! I was just shooting from the hip!)
“Every time someone has found time to criticize some aspect of our work recently there was a logical reason for it. And the answers are a lot more well researched than these half-baked articles. So, next time how about you do that -- you might learn something.”
Franz signed his email with a simple “K” (and we thought that single initial was taken by someone else). All in all, we appreciate K’s comments which make for good reading in this follow-up piece about the renovation of Southern Pines Golf Club. Slap my face!
If you wish to “like” or “comment” on or “share” this story and others, please do so with the icons below. And…