The Donald Ross Road By Javier Pintos. [email protected] Me at the Championship Wall. Two years ago we hosted 4 golfers from Oak Hill Country Club, one of Donald Ross’ masterpieces in Rochester NY, in a 8 days golf trip to Buenos Aires where they played all our top courses including Golf Digest Top 100 Jockey Club (Red), Olivos Golf Club and Buenos Aires Golf Club. It was great meeting them, sharing some drinks after each round and knowing more about the Club in USA. It happened to be that one of them was the current Club President and another one was the President of the Committee who was organizing the 2013 PGA Championship. After the trip we kept in touch with them, they got pretty close to what was happening in Argentina. We received a letter from them when Cardinal Bergoglio was named Pope Francis I. And lately they were cheering for Argentina in 2014 Soccer World Cup. Ever y now and then we exchange emails and hopefully they will come back, as they loved the experience. Left: The group with me at 18th Green of Jockey’s Red Course. Right: The group and caddies at San Andres Golf Club. One day in March we told them we had a business trip to USA for the 2014 IAGTO NAC in Charleston and they came to the idea of inviting us to experience Oak Hill and present Argentina as a Golf Destination, which was immediately accepted by us. For a couple of months we prepared the presen tation and when we did it in one of the Saloons at Oak Hill it was a success, we are very proud of the result. This trip helped me to meet some courses from famed Scottish architect Donald Ross. WeGolf Argentina | Ugarteche 3107, 4c | Buenos Aires (1425 ) | Argentina [email protected] | Tel (+5411) 4801-6602 | www.wegolf.com.ar Página 1 This is my story about what I was able to experience, “The Donald Ross Road. ” Wednesday June 4 th Day one: meeting Oak Hill and playing the West Course. After a very long plane trip and driving a couple of miles I arrived to Oak Hill. I met John, the member who organized the trip and who showed me the entire club house before leading me my private locker for those days. A quick shower and then lunch at the main room with the 4 guys WeGolf had hosted 2 years before. It was a very nice catch up chat where they told me all what happened at Oak Hill since then (including that big storm) and the PGA Championship with the fantastic performance from Jason Dufner. I can say I was impressed by the Club House: a lot of memorabilia around the corridors, in the rooms, the Proshop and the outside wall where all the Major Championships played are showed. It is something all Golf Clubs around the world should watch and t ry to copy. The Reputation of a course is built by its history and it should be honored and remembered by the members and anyone who visits the Club. And then in the afternoon I was able to play the West Course, maybe shadowed by her famous sister (The East Course) but I have to say that a fantastic test of golf and some of the tougher/faster greens I have played in my golfing life. The Course remains pretty much the same since it was created by Donald Ross as it did not go under redesigns or changes neces sary to host a Major Championship, despite being host of US Amateur some time ago. Maintenance is exactly the same as the East Course, greens are the same grass and the same speed but believe me tougher and rough maybe just a little bit shorter. But it is a fair and tough course, very fun to play and if you are not in a good day score can be very high. The greens are tougher than the East and if you miss long the chances of recovery are almost none. Front nine holes are maybe tougher, but the course i s a great experience and I have to say this is the best “secondary course” my game was able to experience. Hole #1 is a friendly and not long par 4; only a wedge for the second shot but green is the first tough test you face. Then the stretch 2 -3-4 is mayb e the toughest, specially hole 3 and the long par 3 fourth hole. Sixth hole is maybe the best one of the course, a long par 5 with a very elevated green where a short shot will come back no less than 30 yards. The last 3 holes on the front nine are not ver y spectacular but all the green surfaces are very fast, breaking very severe from back to front and where a long shot can be a nightmare. Left: 7th green at West Course . Right: 6th Green at West Course. WeGolf Argentina | Ugarteche 3107, 4c | Buenos Aires (1425 ) | Argentina [email protected] | Tel (+5411) 4801-6602 | www.wegolf.com.ar Página 2 Back nine are different, some more change levels, 2 “easy” par 5s and maybe the best two par 4s on the course (13 th & 15 th ) with 2 very elevated greens where going long is a sure bogey. Then the final 2 holes look simple but long par 3 17 th into the wind as I played it can be very difficult and the final hole required a very tight approach shot to have a birdie chance. A fantastic course with little fame due to her famous sister but a true test to be played and where Donald Ross left one of his biggest traces in Golf Course Design history. One final statement: one meter away from the green you will always find rough so forget about the bump & run Scottish shots and bring your best flop shots, they will be needed to save pars. Left: 13 th green. Right: 15 th green. After the game dinner at the Club was the perfect ending to the first day of the Donald Ross Road, experiencing the deep trace he left in Rochester with all the courses he designed. Thursday June 5th Day two: playing Oak Hill East and presenting Argentina as a Golf Destination. I was scheduled to arrive very early to the Club, as the game was 10am. So at 8am I was already there arranging details for the night, before starting to warm up for the big game: playing the course where some months ago Jason Dufner had won his first Major Championship. I cannot say nerves, but I felt anxiety and wanted to see how my game reacted to a tougher test than the West Course. We played a 6x3 Fourball match (changing partners every 6 holes) with 3 members that we had hosted in Fe bruary 2012. We played the blue tees for around 6800yds which is quite long, but far away of the 7200yds the Tour Pros play and believe there is a huge difference. Willie, one of the Members and future Club President, had one special story at every hole starting from the 1 st which was described as the toughest starting hole in golf by Ben Hogan. WeGolf Argentina | Ugarteche 3107, 4c | Buenos Aires (1425 ) | Argentina [email protected] | Tel (+5411) 4801-6602 | www.wegolf.com.ar Página 3 When we arrived to par 5 fourth hole another special one was showed: the “nineteenth hole”, an extra hole (par 3) which is used for practice or when one of th e main 18 needs to be repaired. Then at 5 th I was reminded Tom Kite’s errant tee shot which after missing a 30 inches putter cost him a triple bogey 7 in the 1989 US Open won by Curtis Strange. And in 6 th hole we had the story on the four holes in one during that same Open; Willie told me the roars were extremely loud. The story is that all 4 of them were made with the same club, the 7 iron. I hit a great 8 iron 15 feet short of the pin, wrong club! Left: The plaque. Right: the 6 th hole from the tee. The final 3 holes are very tough par 4s specially 7th were your driver needs to be accurate an short of a creek before heading a long iron to a very well protected green with OB if you are long. And 9 is one where you need to be sharp with the tee shot in order to have a clear second shot to the green. Once finished you enjoy the fantastic half way house and the premium white hot dog (Our “Choripan” here in Argentina) which you order using the phone on the 9 th tee box, before heading for the fantastic final 9 holes. Tee shot at 10 after eating is no t easy, but the course turns very special from 12 th hole (Leaning Oak is the name): a very tough par 4 with an upright second shot into another very severe green. Then 13 th , maybe one of the two best par 5s I have ever played together with 15 th at Pine Val ley in NJ. 14 th is that “reachable” par 4 (only for Pros, I smashed it and had no chance!) where the second shot is short but very tough. Par 3 15 th is that one where you could choose the pin position for the fourth round of the PGA Championship and with 1 6th run by Irondequoit GC, another Donald Ross Jewel (which I will later describe).