Shoreacres

Shoreacres (ranked #51 in the world) is located in Lake Bluff, Illinois, north of Chicago on Lake Michigan and was designed by Seth Raynor in 1919.

In a happy coincidence, I bumped into The Itinerant Golfer, who happened to be playing Shoreacres the same day I was. For some reason, probably because I’m psychotic, my first thought was, “Criss Cross,” which is the phrase used in the wonderful Alfred Hitchcock movie Strangers on a Train, where Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony meet coincidentally.

What are the odds that two golf lunatics will meet crisscrossing the planet playing their top 100 lists? Pretty slim. Steve and I played together at Galloway National a couple of years ago as part of his journey, and we both hosted the crazy kiwis this summer. An amazing coincidence and a stroke of good fortune. Small world.

If you’ve never seen the movie, it is one of Hitchcock’s best, particularly the tennis scene played on grass at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York where the US Open used to be played.

The Golf Course

My experience at Shoreacres was very rewarding. We had an 8am tee time on a lovely summer morning and were the only ones on the course. When I stepped to the first tee to hit my drive, the Star Spangled Banner started playing. I thought, "Hey, this is pretty cool," until my host politely pointed out that it wasn't in my honor but was the daily ritual at the Great Lakes Naval Station, which is located across the street from Shoreacres. Throughout the round we heard our nation's bravest marching, chanting and doing drills.

The defining characteristic of Shoreacres is the way Raynor routed the course around, over and through the ravines that dominate the landscape. The majority of holes play over a ravine on either the tee shot or the approach shot, sometimes both. The ravines are so prevalent that the scorecard features a local "Ravine Rule," allowing you relief under various penalty strokes if your ball ends up in one.

A ravine on the 4th hole at Shoreacres



A major ravine crossing the fairway on the 5th at Shoreacres

Raynor is known for his use of prototype or replica holes, and Shoreacres has many. The prototype "Biarritz" hole, the sixth, is a 192 yard par three that features a green that measures an amazing 88 yards from front to back with a big swale through its middle. Without moving the tees, the hole can vary in length from 148 yards to 236 yards just by moving the pin.

Like the golf course itself, the halfway house behind the sixth green is classic and refined. They have a nice selection of finger sandwiches stacked on a three tiered serving tray. The edges of the bread are nicely cut off the salmon, chicken salad and egg salad sandwiches. Her Majesty would approve of the halfway house at Shoreacres. Call me a ponce if you'd like, but I get off on this kind of stuff. It's the little things in life that count!

Shoreacres has the usual polish of a Raynor course, and the front nine was a joy to play. The course really picks up steam, though, on the back nine: Holes eleven through fourteen really get your heart racing. The tenth is a great rendition of a "Road" hole with only one bunker protecting the green, but when the pin is on the left side, one is all that's needed.

The intimidating 11th hole from the tee

The eleventh is a 378 yard par four with the fairway set at an angle to the tee so you have to decide which line you will hit on and judge the distance correctly. It is a classic risk-reward shot with a big penalty for a miss.

Not only do you have to carry the massive ravine off the tee, but also once again as you approach the green. The hole is seen from the green looking back below:

The 11th hole seen looking back from the tee

The eleventh is a true world-class hole and is followed by another at the par three twelfth, a prototype "Short" hole. It plays only 127 yards from an elevated tee box, but just look at the beauty of how Raynor designed the large green to sit tucked away in a small valley.

The world-class par three twelfth, "Short" hole at Shoreacres

The short 332 yard par four thirteenth features a completely blind tee shot over the ravine. Once again, your second must also carry a smaller ravine.

The approach to the 13th green

Shoreacres is not a long course; it measures 6,530 yards from the tips, but remember, golf is supposed to be a game we play to have fun and not a place to prove our manhood by demonstrating how far we hit the ball. Besides, holes like the 449 yard par four fifth and the 438 yard par four sixteenth provide plenty of opportunity to use muscle, if that's your cup of tea. Raynor routed the entire course to take advantage of the ravines, and even though the property abuts Lake Michigan, there are no holes where you can see the water.

Shoreacres is a tremendous place to play golf and I am a lucky man indeed to be invited to experience a place such as this, although as I approach the end of my journey, I wish I could slow the whole thing down and make it last longer. Shoreacres also represents the 52nd course I have played where you have to be hosted by a member. I've really become spoiled playing courses without a lot of people on them and with great caddies.

In addition to a world-class golf course, Shoreacres also has one of the stand-out clubhouses along with Shinnecock, Loch Lomond, National Golf Links and Cypress. There are few places better to enjoy an after round refreshment, overlooking the beautiful and cooling Lake Michigan. The clubhouse is set on the top of the bluff overlooking the lake. Of the 95 courses I have played, eight stand out as places I would like to join if I had unlimited money and better manners. The other seven are Maidstone, San Francisco Golf Club, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Sunningdale, Yeamans Hall, Somerset Hills and Camargo Club.

The stand out Shoreacres clubhouse

Some of the best golf courses in the world such as Pine Valley and Peachtree are located in average neighborhoods. Shoreacres is no such animal. Lake Bluff and the adjacent town of Lake Forest are one of those elite suburban areas where everything is perfect and the people are at the highest echelons of wealth in the country.

An interior view of the classic clubhouse

The view from the clubhouse overlooking Lake Michigan

I have now completed playing all of Seth Raynor's courses ranked in the top 100. I think his best is Yeamans Hall (1925), followed by Camargo (1921), then Shoreacres (1919) and Fishers Island (1926). Yeamans, Camargo and Shoreacres have all been renovated by Tom Doak and seem better because of it. Perhaps Fishers can hire Tom and his firm to refresh the course to be more in line with its peers and for it to live up to its true potential.

Hainan Island: China's Answer to Hawaii

I visited Mission Hills Resort in Shenzhen, China a couple of years ago and was very impressed with the massive, 12-course complex. Now, the Mission Hills developers are expanding their golf offerings on Hainan Island. An island the size of Belgium in the South China Sea, Hainan Island is often called “the Oriental Hawaii.”

Here’s some information I received recently detailing some star-studded happenings on Hainan Island:

The world's biggest celebrities and their golfing counterparts have teed off in the inaugural Mission Hills Star Trophy, at Mission Hills Haikou on Hainan Island , China .

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Hugh Grant and Matthew McConaughey were among the Hollywood stars to meet the press today (Thursday) at Asia's leading lifestyle entertainment event, joined by golfers Tseng Yani, the women's world number five, Candy Kung, Zhang Lian-wei, Feng Shanshan, Danny Lee, Rosie Jones and Belen Mozo.

The ground-breaking Star Trophy brings together superstar celebrities and the world's biggest golfing names for the first event of its kind ever played in Asia . In addition to the pro-celebrity team event, the professionals will compete for Asia' s richest individual golfing prize of US$1.28 million.

For Zeta-Jones, the event is a great initiative for golf in China . "As everyone knows, I love golf and have been lucky enough to play in a number of pro-celebrity events around the world. I am sure everyone would agree the time is right to start an event that brings Hollywood and golf together in Asia and to be honest I cannot wait for the action to start."

Grant added: "I am very excited to be in Hainan for the first time. The chance to play golf at such a great new resort and be around some of my golfing heroes is wonderful, as it would be for any who loves the game. This is the closest someone like me can come to playing a professional event, so I have been practising as hard as possible, and hope my team is in contention on Sunday."

Tseng, who is taking a short break from the LPGA Tour to play this week, added: "I did not play very well today (in the Pro-Am), but I will have a new strategy for tomorrow. I am determined to win the inaugural Mission Hills Star Trophy and will use that new approach on the weekend and hope for the best."

Amongst the other announcements today at Mission Hills·Haikou, leading international golf coach Hank Haney announced the launch of the Hank Haney Academy at the new resort, the first of its kind in Asia.

The new academy is a 2,000-square metre state-of-the-art indoor training centre including 10 indoor hitting bays equipped with sophisticated state-of-the-art JC Video swing and SAMS putting analysis equipment, along with 3D motion analysis equipment. It also has designated natural turf practice areas with a comprehensive short game area to help improve every facet of golfers' games.

The Star Trophy field includes celebrities, professionals and selected amateurs, with the amateurs playing with the celebrities and professional golfers today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday) in a Pro-Am format.

The weekend play will then be in four-ball stroke play format between 18 teams consisting of a celebrity and a professional, with a 36-hole individual professional event running concurrently on the Blackstone Course. The pro event offers a US$1.28 million first place cheque, the richest individual prize in Asian golf.

The Mission Hills Star Trophy will be beamed to over 150 counties across the world. The TV output will be managed by esteemed broadcaster Terry Jastrow, the veteran sports producer of 68 golf majors and six Olympic Games over his glittering career. Jastrow has won seven Emmy awards and been nominated for 17 times.

The Mission Hills Star Trophy is one of the first major events supporting a government-led initiative to make Hainan a leading international tourism destination in the coming years and reaffirms Mission Hills· Haikou as the world's most memorable golf resort.

Who would you want to have a drink with?

The results of our latest poll question is in and not surprisingly, Bobby Jones commanded the lead in the voting, "Which golfing figure would you most want to have a drink with if you could?"

Bobby Jones 37%
Halter Hagen 21%
Jack Nicklaus 14%
Phil Michelson 12%
Tiger Woods 9%
Colin Montgomerie 4%

Only 12 other people voted with me selecting the dour Scot. Even after his performance on the Ryder Cup? The man is a living wonder.



Prior poll results:

Hardest course to get on? Augusta
Great golf course architect? Mackenzie
Best golfing region in the world? Long Island

Please join me in our new poll question: The best Redan hole?

I have a new write-up coming later this week on a real gem of a course.

Rain Pours Through Sun Mountain

I'm a huge fan of Sun Mountain golf products. They have repeatedly won me over as a customer with such novel golf innovations as the stand bag, Dual X-Strap and the Speed Cart. Unfortunately, Mother Nature literally rained on their parade at the 2010 Ryder Cup this past weekend.

If you didn't hear, Sun Mountain provided the rain suits for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Initially, the gear was panned for their gawd awful looks. Butch Harmon quipped, "They are the ugliest things I have ever seen." But really, hasn't ugly golf attire been somewhat the norm for Ryder Cup teams? Not a surprise to me since it appears that the only qualification for designing and selecting the team's wardrobe is to be married to the captain. But so what about fashion? When it comes to rain gear function over form is paramount. Anyone who has had to play golf in the rain knows the utter misery of playing in wet clothing. Not only is it uncomfortable but it can adversely affect your play.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Ryder Cup team experienced this firsthand since their Sun Mountain rain suits possessed neither form nor function. They were found to be about as waterproof as one of Lady Gaga's fishnet tops. Their leaky gear had to be ditched in favor of generic off-the-rack digs bought from a merchandise tent. What a debacle! It's quite simply an excusable failure by any measure and a huge blow to the manufacturer. This is certainly a low point for the company but it got even lower when, in classic "kick 'em when they're down" fashion, the manufacturer of GORE-TEX issued the following statement:

"It's unfortunate that the U.S. team at the Ryder Cup was not wearing uniforms with the GORE-TEX® brand, especially if the faulty gear ultimately interfered with performance," said Yvonne Erickson, marketing leader at W.L. Gore & Associates. "Gore has rigorous uncompromising standards in place to ensure that our products are of the highest quality, to back up our Guaranteed to Keep you Dry® promise to consumers. Gore and Sun Mountain Sports parted ways in 2006 and, therefore, GORE-TEX® brand technology was not used in the rain jackets and pants worn by the U.S. team this morning. We hope that the U.S. Ryder Cup Team will be wearing uniforms with GORE-TEX® product technology in the future."

Hopefully this epic disaster doesn't dampen Sun Mountain's hard-earned reputation as a producer of quality golf products. I've owned two stand bags and a Speed Cart and I've been 100% satisfied with their quality and performance. I'm still a fan and I'll continue to buy their products as long as I play golf.