Donald Ross & Augusta

http://www.pinehurst.com/about/tale-augusta-national-donald-ross/

Makes me wonder what August would be like if Donald Ross had designed it. Maybe a bit more like Pinehurst #2. I am sure the diabolic greens of Augusta would be as challenging. Donald Ross courses are known for their unique green designs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saevel25

http://www.pinehurst.com/about/tale-augusta-national-donald-ross/

Quote:

"By that time, Jones had dreamed of an idyllic golf club somewhere near his home in Atlanta and apparently had a handshake agreement with Ross that the Scot would design the course whenever Jones was ready to embark on the project.

But when Jones lost in the first round at Pebble Beach, he had a week to kill – travel arrangements not being as fluid as they are today. He spent considerable time playing a new course on the Monterey Peninsula and getting to know its architect. Jones was so smitten by what he found in Cypress Point and Alister MacKenzie that he left California knowing MacKenzie, the British physician-turned-golf architect, would be his designer—not Ross."

Makes me wonder what August would be like if Donald Ross had designed it. Maybe a bit more like Pinehurst #2. I am sure the diabolic greens of Augusta would be as challenging. Donald Ross courses are known for their unique green designs.

After seeing the other article on how much Augusta National has changed over the years I couldn't begin to imagine the evolution of another designers vision.

Craziest quote from the article " He rebuilt and re-contoured all the greens and their surroundings and replaced the sand/clay putting surfaces with Bermuda grass . A "sand/clay putting surface"? I'd like to see some pictures of that. I'm guessing they didn't refer to them as "greens"

http://www.pinehurst.com/news/pinehurst-no-2-a-timeline-of-greatness/

There is an old black and white picture there.

I can tell you from playing a DR course in "that state up north", that he is an evil genius who has figured out how to make golf balls break uphill. Just kidding. Kinda...

Hard to tell but it is different from an oiled sand green right?

Boyne? I first got the golf fever while living in MI and played all the local courses where I lived and loved every single one.

Oakland Hills.

Here is another interesting part of the relationship between Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie...

Dr. Alister MacKenzie, the brains behind Augusta National's revered contours and curves -- elegantly showcased each year by the Masters -- died pleading poverty in 1934 and begging for his fee.

Bobby Jones had won the grand slam as an amateur in 1930 -- capturing all four major tournaments in the calendar year -- before he stunned the public by announcing his retirement aged just 28. He determined to construct an exclusive golf course in the sun-blushed south of the United States that would offer him twin benefits: sanctuary from his fame and a healthy stream of income.

But though Jones declared himself delighted with the finished product, and its architect trumpeted Augusta as his finest creation, MacKenzie was almost destitute by the time he died. He halved his fee to $5,000 in a bid to be paid quickly, but clawed back just $2,000, with several other golf courses also slow to settle their debts.

It was symptomatic of the financial difficulties Augusta encountered in its fledgling years, exacerbated by the Great Depression, a fact that seems inconceivable given the club's towering strength in the present day. "Augusta struggled a lot in the early years and found it very hard to attract members they wanted," Adam Lawrence, editor of Golf Course Architecture magazine, told CNN. "They were really struggling for money. MacKenzie didn't get full payment paid for his work at Augusta -- until he died he was writing letters asking perhaps they could send part of the fee."

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/10/sport/golf/masters-mackenzie-augusta-golf/