"Proposal suggests revamped Yale golf course"

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Daniela Brighenti reports that Yale University and the city of New Haven have a proposal before them by Yale grad Roland Betts to transform the Country Club of Woodbridge and restore the Yale University course.

As you can see from Ran Morrissett's 2008 profile of Yale, the CB Macdonald, Seth Raynor design could be one of the world's great courses with a full restoration.

The plan would also include a partnership with the University in which Redan would restore and operate the Course at Yale as well as construct a lodging facility of approximately 80 rooms on its nearby land. According to the proposal, hotel operations would be provided by The Study in New Haven.

“The Redan Reserve concept is an intriguing one that is of significant interest to our Board of Selectmen and many of our residents,” Woodbridge First Selectman Ellen Scalettar said. “[Woodbridge] awaits news from Redan Reserve regarding Yale’s interest — and the city of New Haven’s interest — in the Redan Reserve project.”

According to Redan’s proposal, which is expected to cost $3.5 million, the restoration of the Course at Yale would be “faithful” to its original, historic design, while the revamped course in Woodbridge would be “entirely modern and unique.” Both courses would be open to the general public and built with the explicit intention of being ranked among the top 100 courses in the world, according to the proposal for the course.

America's Closest-To-Perfection Course Designs

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I was asked to put the emphasis on design for this slideshow at GolfDigest.com and went a little snobbish in pursuit of highlighting perfection.

In thinking about some of America's best and pouring over rankings, restorations and thoughts of their architects, I was astounded by how many elite courses have well-documented design flaws or are living off their reputation as merely difficult-to-play. (It was also amazing to consider how many Macdonald-Raynor designs have seen restorations take them to places maybe never even imagined by their creators.)

Anyhow, here is my list of designs (with scrollable explanations in the upper right) where all of the parts are in place and presenting the kind of architecture we wish we had more to experience.

Rio Golf Course: It's A Jungle Out There, Owl & Cabybara Edition

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You're going to see them more than enough if you watch the Olympic golf coverage, but one of the great accomplishments of this course will be taking a property and making it better for wildlife through nature-based design and maintenance. That message hopefully is picked up by much of the world and may be one more important than who wins, or which developing nation gets more funding.

Gil Hanse told me today he's already seen a few bird species he never saw during construction and even he's astonished by the wildlife activity at a place that was already so active.

Steve DiMeglio wrote about the various critters for USA Today.

Here are the burrowing owls at the 9th, who have been allowed to do their thing. The Rules of Golf naturally allow for relief from this situation for the safety of all in involved.

A couple of shots from the ninth hole:

And the American contingent checking out the Capybara swimming around the 5th hole. Here's Rickie Fowler checking out the giant rodent who was busy munching on some greens.


Video: Gil Hanse On Olympic Course Bunkering And Sands

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As I noted in this week's Golf World, uniformity will not be a word you'll hear this week at the Olympic Golf Course, one already little known to players and adding another local knowledge element: different sands.

Gil Hanse explains in this exclusive to GeoffShackelford.com why the sand shades and textures are different throughout the course, something unique to the site incorporated both for sustainability, cost savings and rewarding those skillful enough to do their homework. Let the howling begin!

We also discuss how the sandbelt style of bunkering came about.

Video: Hanse Discusses Rio Olympic Course Finishing Holes

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An exclusive to GeoffShackelford.com, architect Gil Hanse discussed with me about the finishing holes as we look at his renderings. Tomorrow he'll explain why you're going to see different colors of sand through the property and the look of the bunker style. (Thanks to Sean Gilroy for the crack editing work!)

As I have with all the previous flyovers, I encourage a look at Golf Digest's drone shots sponsored by Adobe. They really are a pleasure to watch, as narrated by Hanse.

The 16th hole flyover and Hanse's final rendering.

The 17th hole flyover and Hanse's final rendering.

The 18th hole flyover and Hanse's final rendering.

Video: Rio Olympic Golf Course 7th, 8th and 9th Holes

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The closing three holes of the front nine return to the upper shelf of the property where the sandy influence is stronger. The long par-4 7th plays493/407 yards into the wind with a strong false front green.

Gil Hanse narrates the flyover for Golf Digest. Here is his final rendering.

The par-3 eighth (172/154) certainly exudes ties to the Redan and given the terrain it was set on, the fit was not forced. The rendering and the flyover:

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The par-4 ninth hole brings a little blindness and weirdness to close out the front nine, playing 369 yards for the men and 324 yards for the women. The rendering.

Review: Trump Turnberry

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I made two visits to Turnberry around The Open at Troon, and as The Donald prepares to accept the nomination, I hope you can set your views aside and just appreciate what he and his family have done to replinish and update Turnberry.

Every element of the experience is exceptional. Granted, I'm happy at the Brora's and Cruden Bays of the world, but I don't knock the person with money wanting to enjoy a luxurious, five-star experience. Trump and his team, spearheaded by golf architect Martin Ebert, has delivered for that audience and brought new life to one of the world's most amazing resorts, as envisioned over 100 years ago.

My review at GolfDigest.com.