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Founders' Corner
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Darin's Blog

01/03/08

They’re out there, and you’re probably thinking about them right now—the holes that take a bite out of your butt each time you tee it up at your favorite places to play. They’re your own, personal golf demons.
We’ve all got ‘em. It might be the tight tee shot that requires a draw, the short-iron approach to a green as thin as an Olsen twin or a putting surface that gives Six Flags’ roller-coasters a run for their money.
But if you’re a “real” player who doesn’t mind a flesh wound or two, the kind of guy or gal who stands in the face of challenge and pronounces, in your best Monty Python accent: “I putt in your general direction,” you want to play those holes again and again. You want to conquer them.
Here are nine of the holes (in reverse order) in California and Las Vegas (we’ll have our Northern Nevada, Pacific Northwest and Arizona experts plunge into the discussion in the coming weeks) that have slapped me around for years. But I’ll get the best of them yet. Tell us your favorite “trouble spots” and why for a chance to be our first FG Lucky Winner in 2008.
9) 14th at Oak Quarry — “Spinel Slide,” as it is called, is the Mother of All Signature Holes, and I’ve yet to make par here. At 214 yards from the tips, it’s like tossing a marble onto a postage stamp … from across the room. My tip: Pick a club, trust it and pray. And repeat as needed.
8) 1st at Trump National — One of The Donald’s truly inspired improvements of Pete Dye’s somewhat muddled Ocean Trails, this waterfall-backed opener is still relatively short (300 yards from the blues, 370 from the blacks, although it plays uphill). But the real trick is on the wedge-shot approach to a rolly-polly sliver of green — too little and your ball takes a bath, too much and your ball takes a shower. It sets the tone for the enjoyable seaside spanking that is ahead.
7) 3rd at Rhodes Ranch — I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff on this hole. In fact, my golf buddy, Little Danny McDonald, has made par out of the water on this somewhat-island-green par 3, plus he’s had a hole in one from the 167-yard tee box. But when played from the full 227 yards, it’s as touch a one-shotter as you’ll find. Over water. OB long. Into a waterfall left. Into the community’s guard shack right. And Ted Robinson Jr.’s trademark three-tiered green makes birdie on the back pin placement nearly impossible. I’ve carded a 2 here, but I’ve also carded a 9.
Continued in Good “Bad” Memories – Part 2

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Vic's Blog

05/07/08

Last week I snuck out to play The Chase, the brand new Jack Nicklaus Signature course at Coyote Springs north of Las Vegas. Actually, “snuck” is a bit off the mark since I was joined by a lot of PGA teaching pros, some other media folks, PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka, PGA President Brian Whitcomb and developer Harvey Whittemore, who envisioned Coyote Springs over a decade ago and hopes it one day has more than 10 courses and over 100,000 residents. They were on hand to christen The Chase as the first piece in a multimillion-dollar PGA Village compete with epic practice facilities, a 12,000 sq. ft. clubhouse, lodging and 5-star amenities. Right now it’s just a gorgeous golf course in the middle of nowhere, an instant Jack-sterpiece routed through cholla-studded desert, around 11 water features and rock walls, with the goods to be one of the strongest resort tracks in the West. Is it worth an hour drive north of the Strip, up I-15 with a lonely stretch on Highway 93? You’d better believe it. It takes no time at all to fall under the course’s spell and admire the care taken in every aspect of its design. The conditioning is eat-off-the-fairway flawless. When the greens ramp up to 11 on the Stimp, watch out—you’d better be below the pin and clear of the deep stuff. I loved it. And I can’t wait to get back.

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