CC Charleston, Golf Observer, and the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot

Hat's off to Sal Johnson at Golf Observer for doing a great job with my Tobacco Road - Pulp Fiction piece. It's here.

I'm particularly keen on the photo captions...like "They had a hi-fi phono. Boy did they let it blast!" Enjoy...I had a lot of fun writing that one. Thanks to all my architecture friends who were my test market...you guys are brilliant.

Also, thanks to the Cybergolf guys for posting my Rawls Course piece.

For the future, my 2006 U.S. Open preview piece will by at Cybergolf in about two weeks, maybe less. I'll be covering the tournament for them in June and will have at least two pieces a day.

For Golf Observer, my next piece will be a review of Brian Silva's restoration of Country Club of Charleston. For a little taste, here are pix of the great "Lion's Mouth" Green complex, located at the 16th hole. Notice how the gaping maw of a bunker sits almost totally encircled in sand. Now also notice how you THINK you are snookered if you're on one "ramp" and the hole is on the other. But also look at the amazing slope from back to front! So you can actually SPIN a putt from one ramp to the other and leave yourself 5 - 12 feet for your two-putt.

Amazing...just like the contours that aid you in getting around the bunker or rough at 7 at Crystal Downs, 6 at Riviera and 14 at Black Mesa. We think the only other one like it in the country is at St. Louis Country Cl;ub, but my sources are scouring books to check that.

For those keeping score at home, I paced off 26 yards from front to back and from side to side. here about three-four feet of elevation change from front to back. Typical of the goemetric...almost baroque work of Seth Raynor. You'll also get a Cape Hole (with an interesting historical twist!), a great redan, a biarritz with a twist (the swale is a false front!) and other staples from the repertoire of National Golf Links of America. Enjoy.

More to come at www.golfobserver.com.