My Favorite Golf Course Architect
11-3-2010
I’ve been playing golf for just a bit over 3 years and I’ve been extra-ordinarily intense regarding studying the game,
its history, and its architecture over the last two years. During that time I’ve had the opportunity to play some of the
country’s best golf courses and I’ve stumbled across my favorite golf course architect, Herbert Strong.
I stumbled across Mr. Strong’s work when I played Canterbury in Cleveland, Ohio. As I have family living in Ohio and
I live in Atlanta, I am searching for a golf club to join in Ohio so I can see family during the summer and still enjoy golf
on a good golf course. Thus far I’ve played a few in Ohio, but seeing Canterbury was a totally eye opening
experience. The course does have a fairly prestigious heritage and pedigree. Since it was designed by Strong in
1921, it has hosted 13 major championships and the likes of Walter Hagen, Jack Nicklaus, and Bill Campbell have all
won at Canterbury. And as I write this, the course is ranked the 79th best classic golf course in the Unites States by
Golfweek.
I suppose these are the things that enticed me to check out Canterbury, but even the club’s amazing history didn’t
prepare me for what I was about to witness. For starters, the members and staff welcomed me with open arms.
Their friendliness and welcoming nature were amazing and immediately put me at ease. But it was the golf course
itself that blew me away and fully opened my eyes to what I really enjoy and treasure about a golf course.
The course is very walking friendly and has very limited cart paths. They are BIG supporters of the Evans Scholars
program and have capable and eager caddies at the ready. The property the course is on is only 146 acres in total,
but despite that relatively small piece of property Herbert Strong’s routing never gives the golfer a claustrophobic
feeling. In fact, it is quite the opposite and you feel like you are enjoying a walk through a wide open park. Another
amazing aspect of the course is the turf. Simply put it is velvety smooth and wonderful to strike the ball off of. The
fairways seamlessly blend into the greens and the greens provide the perfect mix of contour and speed and to my
knowledge they are the best preserved set of Strong greens in the world.
There are so many wonderful golf holes at Canterbury, but the closing four holes are really what distinguishes the
course from all the others. The 15th is a “unique” par 4 that has a creek out about 250 yards from the tee box that
is immediately followed by a 40 foot steeply sloping hill that immediately leads to a green that has a severe back to
front slope that begins at the ridge in the middle of the green.
This par 4 is followed by the monster par 5 16th. This bad boy is over 600 yards from the tips and the tee shots
needs to hug the right side of the fairway as the land doglegs right to left a bit and has substantial slope as well. It is
typical for most golfers to attempt to play to the top of the ridge on their second shot. If they hit that ridge, they will
then have about 130 yards remaining to the green, which is quite small and slopes back to front. If you miss any
one of these shots, you might as well just chalk up a double bogey as the severity of the recovery is quite intense.
Do-able, I suppose, but you must hit some amazing shots.
Next is the par 3 17th. Frankly, this hole is pretty straight forward but success is hard to come by. It is 230 yards
from tee to green and the green is narrow, long, crowned in the middle and surrounded by bunkers. All you have to
do is hit an accurate 230 yard tee shot, two putt, and you are all set!
Finally, you reach the 18th. This par 4 is pretty straight with a slight dogleg to it. It is 430 yards and on your second
shot the smallish bunkers surrounding the green will come into play. Generally a 170 to 200 yard uphill approach
shot will be required and the front of the green is open enough to try to run the ball onto the green. Like many of
the greens at Canterbury, there are subtle nuances to it and two putts are not a given.
Regarding Canterbury, it is my understanding that Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design has renovated and
restored the golf course at Canterbury. Bruce Hepner, I was told, is leading RGD’s charge at Canterbury and is
constantly involved and advising the club regarding the course.
So, that was my experience at Canterbury. Great people, great course, wonderfully maintained, a great history,
great current Stewards, and amazingly unique “quirk” imbedded in the course’s design. I suppose I was wondering if
this was a one shot wonder for Strong and immediately made my mind up to see his other courses to find out for
sure.
A few months later, I was invited to play some golf on Long Island. I knew that Strong did some work on Long Island
and looked into what courses I might be able to play; Inwood came up. Inwood’s history involved a complete re-
design by Strong in 1915, Bobby Jones first major victory in the 1923 US Open, and curiously enough more work by
Tom Doak beginning in 1998. Okay, I was sold…I needed to check out Inwood.
Let me say, I was nervous that Inwood wouldn’t live up to Strong’s work at Canterbury and I would have wasted my
time. But, nevertheless, I had to see it for myself.
The first green was a bit too straightforward and I wondered if Strong’s quirk had been altered and removed over
time, but the views of Manhattan in the background made up for the holes mundane nature. But the second hole
began to show Strong’s work with the great greenside mounds,
The third hole is one of the best par 5’s I’ve ever played and that green seemed to be a magical mix of Strong and
Doak’s work and was absolutely ideal!
The fifth hole was the third par 5 in a row (a great quirk) and had incredible sandy beach cross bunkers.
Then the course revealed back-to-back par 3’s.
After that it was one good parkland golf hole after another until I hit holes 12 through 15. This stretch of holes takes
you out to a peninsula portion of the course and the parkland feel gives way to a links land feel with great and
beautiful bunkering, water views with Manhattan in the background and, most likely, windy conditions. This change
of pace is quite stunning and the par 3 14th is the climax regarding this section of the course.
Then it is back to the parkland holes which climax with the 18th hole where Bobby Jones’ incredible shot from the
rough onto the 18th green over the pond that fronts that green sealed hit first of many major championship
victories. In fact, a plaque on the course marks the exact spot where he launched this historic shot.
Needless to say, Inwood was not a let down. In fact, combined with Canterbury is has cemented in my mind that
Strong is my guy and I must see more of his courses. But I must say that I find it interesting that Doak and his team
are involved in these courses as well. I’ve played two Doak originals (Ballyneal and Sebonack), along with these two
Doak renovations. All four of them I hold in very high regard. So for now, Herbert Strong is my guy, but I am not
over-looking the fact that perhaps Doak might be the real guy behind the scenes.
In fact, one thing about Tom Doak that really struck me as impressive came on one of my latest visits to his website.
In the “Work” section of the site under “Restoration and Consulting” link, he says that, “we believe we owe it to the
game to help preserve and restore the great classic courses of the past.” This to me speaks absolute volumes
regarding Mr. Doak’s appreciation of the golf course architects that came before him and how much he values the
timeless truths revealed in their work.
In closing, play some golf courses…if you get a chance play Canterbury and Inwood. Check out what I am talking
about. If you like them, perhaps we have the same taste in golf course architecture and we need to get together to
hit the little white ball together.
Take care!
11-3-2010
I’ve been playing golf for just a bit over 3 years and I’ve been extra-ordinarily intense regarding studying the game,
its history, and its architecture over the last two years. During that time I’ve had the opportunity to play some of the
country’s best golf courses and I’ve stumbled across my favorite golf course architect, Herbert Strong.
I stumbled across Mr. Strong’s work when I played Canterbury in Cleveland, Ohio. As I have family living in Ohio and
I live in Atlanta, I am searching for a golf club to join in Ohio so I can see family during the summer and still enjoy golf
on a good golf course. Thus far I’ve played a few in Ohio, but seeing Canterbury was a totally eye opening
experience. The course does have a fairly prestigious heritage and pedigree. Since it was designed by Strong in
1921, it has hosted 13 major championships and the likes of Walter Hagen, Jack Nicklaus, and Bill Campbell have all
won at Canterbury. And as I write this, the course is ranked the 79th best classic golf course in the Unites States by
Golfweek.
I suppose these are the things that enticed me to check out Canterbury, but even the club’s amazing history didn’t
prepare me for what I was about to witness. For starters, the members and staff welcomed me with open arms.
Their friendliness and welcoming nature were amazing and immediately put me at ease. But it was the golf course
itself that blew me away and fully opened my eyes to what I really enjoy and treasure about a golf course.
The course is very walking friendly and has very limited cart paths. They are BIG supporters of the Evans Scholars
program and have capable and eager caddies at the ready. The property the course is on is only 146 acres in total,
but despite that relatively small piece of property Herbert Strong’s routing never gives the golfer a claustrophobic
feeling. In fact, it is quite the opposite and you feel like you are enjoying a walk through a wide open park. Another
amazing aspect of the course is the turf. Simply put it is velvety smooth and wonderful to strike the ball off of. The
fairways seamlessly blend into the greens and the greens provide the perfect mix of contour and speed and to my
knowledge they are the best preserved set of Strong greens in the world.
There are so many wonderful golf holes at Canterbury, but the closing four holes are really what distinguishes the
course from all the others. The 15th is a “unique” par 4 that has a creek out about 250 yards from the tee box that
is immediately followed by a 40 foot steeply sloping hill that immediately leads to a green that has a severe back to
front slope that begins at the ridge in the middle of the green.
This par 4 is followed by the monster par 5 16th. This bad boy is over 600 yards from the tips and the tee shots
needs to hug the right side of the fairway as the land doglegs right to left a bit and has substantial slope as well. It is
typical for most golfers to attempt to play to the top of the ridge on their second shot. If they hit that ridge, they will
then have about 130 yards remaining to the green, which is quite small and slopes back to front. If you miss any
one of these shots, you might as well just chalk up a double bogey as the severity of the recovery is quite intense.
Do-able, I suppose, but you must hit some amazing shots.
Next is the par 3 17th. Frankly, this hole is pretty straight forward but success is hard to come by. It is 230 yards
from tee to green and the green is narrow, long, crowned in the middle and surrounded by bunkers. All you have to
do is hit an accurate 230 yard tee shot, two putt, and you are all set!
Finally, you reach the 18th. This par 4 is pretty straight with a slight dogleg to it. It is 430 yards and on your second
shot the smallish bunkers surrounding the green will come into play. Generally a 170 to 200 yard uphill approach
shot will be required and the front of the green is open enough to try to run the ball onto the green. Like many of
the greens at Canterbury, there are subtle nuances to it and two putts are not a given.
Regarding Canterbury, it is my understanding that Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design has renovated and
restored the golf course at Canterbury. Bruce Hepner, I was told, is leading RGD’s charge at Canterbury and is
constantly involved and advising the club regarding the course.
So, that was my experience at Canterbury. Great people, great course, wonderfully maintained, a great history,
great current Stewards, and amazingly unique “quirk” imbedded in the course’s design. I suppose I was wondering if
this was a one shot wonder for Strong and immediately made my mind up to see his other courses to find out for
sure.
A few months later, I was invited to play some golf on Long Island. I knew that Strong did some work on Long Island
and looked into what courses I might be able to play; Inwood came up. Inwood’s history involved a complete re-
design by Strong in 1915, Bobby Jones first major victory in the 1923 US Open, and curiously enough more work by
Tom Doak beginning in 1998. Okay, I was sold…I needed to check out Inwood.
Let me say, I was nervous that Inwood wouldn’t live up to Strong’s work at Canterbury and I would have wasted my
time. But, nevertheless, I had to see it for myself.
The first green was a bit too straightforward and I wondered if Strong’s quirk had been altered and removed over
time, but the views of Manhattan in the background made up for the holes mundane nature. But the second hole
began to show Strong’s work with the great greenside mounds,
The third hole is one of the best par 5’s I’ve ever played and that green seemed to be a magical mix of Strong and
Doak’s work and was absolutely ideal!
The fifth hole was the third par 5 in a row (a great quirk) and had incredible sandy beach cross bunkers.
Then the course revealed back-to-back par 3’s.
After that it was one good parkland golf hole after another until I hit holes 12 through 15. This stretch of holes takes
you out to a peninsula portion of the course and the parkland feel gives way to a links land feel with great and
beautiful bunkering, water views with Manhattan in the background and, most likely, windy conditions. This change
of pace is quite stunning and the par 3 14th is the climax regarding this section of the course.
Then it is back to the parkland holes which climax with the 18th hole where Bobby Jones’ incredible shot from the
rough onto the 18th green over the pond that fronts that green sealed hit first of many major championship
victories. In fact, a plaque on the course marks the exact spot where he launched this historic shot.
Needless to say, Inwood was not a let down. In fact, combined with Canterbury is has cemented in my mind that
Strong is my guy and I must see more of his courses. But I must say that I find it interesting that Doak and his team
are involved in these courses as well. I’ve played two Doak originals (Ballyneal and Sebonack), along with these two
Doak renovations. All four of them I hold in very high regard. So for now, Herbert Strong is my guy, but I am not
over-looking the fact that perhaps Doak might be the real guy behind the scenes.
In fact, one thing about Tom Doak that really struck me as impressive came on one of my latest visits to his website.
In the “Work” section of the site under “Restoration and Consulting” link, he says that, “we believe we owe it to the
game to help preserve and restore the great classic courses of the past.” This to me speaks absolute volumes
regarding Mr. Doak’s appreciation of the golf course architects that came before him and how much he values the
timeless truths revealed in their work.
In closing, play some golf courses…if you get a chance play Canterbury and Inwood. Check out what I am talking
about. If you like them, perhaps we have the same taste in golf course architecture and we need to get together to
hit the little white ball together.
Take care!
Photo used with permission of Ran Morrissett and Golf Club Atlas
Photo used with permission of Ran Morrissett and Golf Club Atlas
Photo used with permission of Ran Morrissett and Golf Club Atlas
