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JBovay

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour
« Reply #50 on: October 18, 2014, 07:52:45 AM »
Thanks for the terrific photos, Jon.

I always expected the "chocolate drops" to look more uniform and pronounced, like the Dragon's Teeth on the Redan at the Greenbrier, so it's neat to see how natural and varied they look. Do they come into play much?

Mac Plumart

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour
« Reply #51 on: October 18, 2014, 10:24:11 AM »
Thank you!
Sportsman/Adventure loving golfer.

J.D. Griffith

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour
« Reply #52 on: October 18, 2014, 01:26:24 PM »
There are some beautiful courses in the Boston area.   Whitinsville, The Country Club and this gem.

Brad Tufts

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour
« Reply #53 on: October 18, 2014, 01:44:37 PM »
Leeds has an impressive resume given his short list of courses designed.
Palmetto, Myopia, Kebo Valley

Did Leeds design Myopia, or did one of the other GCA greats?

The very early origins have been up for debate for years on here, on which members turned the first spade of dirt, to who visited early-on, etc.  Without any desire to get into all of that (as I have no research to prove yay or nay), I think it is safe(ish) to say that Leeds was the main member-in-charge of the layout over the first few decades, with some influence/advice from some of the local pros working/designing in the area in the 1890s.  Leeds is also associated with Bass Rocks about 10 miles north of Myopia, Kebo Valley in Bar Harbor, Maine...the northernmost bastion of "summering elites" in the late 19th/early 20th century, and the original Palmetto in SC, which was about as far as Bostonians ventured in the winter in those early days of vacationing.  It's not surprising that all of his courses were associated with Boston ties, or at least the areas his colleagues visited in each season.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2014, 02:52:54 PM by Brad Tufts »
So I jump ship in Hong Kong....

Dónal Ó Ceallaigh

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour
« Reply #54 on: October 18, 2014, 01:53:03 PM »
Great photo tour; the course looks amazing.

Here's a previous photo tour of the course by Malcom Mckinnon:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,53577.0.html

To ensure your photo tour remains under the radar, maybe you should also change the subject to something a bit more obscure. I believe Ran had a feature essay on the course that had to be removed.

Ed Homsey

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour
« Reply #55 on: October 18, 2014, 11:11:54 PM »
Terrific photo tour of a course I know little about, but have held in reverence.  One of the great golf thrills for me was finding a Myopia Hunt Club ball marker off the cart path on the 13th hole at Ekwanok CC many years ago.  That ball marker occupies a prized position in my collection.  Great to finally see some wonderful images of the course.

Jon Cavalier

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour
« Reply #56 on: October 18, 2014, 11:48:09 PM »
Photos moved to main tour.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2015, 09:17:33 PM by Jon Cavalier »
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Ronald Montesano

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #57 on: October 19, 2014, 06:34:43 AM »
Showers at Justin Rose's adopted USA club are the best I've ever used.
Coming in August 2023
~Manakiki
~OSU Scarlet
~OSU Grey
~NCR South
~Springfield
~Columbus
~Lake Forest (OH)
~Sleepy Hollow (OH)

Brad Tufts

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #58 on: October 19, 2014, 09:19:42 AM »
Back 9!

Hole #10...After the thrilling ninth, we walk to the right to an old-school completely blind tee shot.  A 20-foot hill rises just in front of the tee obscuring another very underrated hole.  The fairway is relatively narrow, but funnels toward the middle if you can keep it between the edges.  For those missing slightly in either direction, deep fescue and natural-looking bunkers await.  This fairway plays firm, and the hole plays less than its yardage.  Bobby Jones found some calamity in the deep rough bowl right of the fairway during his rounds at Myopia, and the deep bunker about 50 yards short of the green is the "Taft bunker," as the portly president had to be extricated from it with ropes during his rounds there in 1915 (his thank you note can be found in the pro shop)!  Luckily for those with a round middle, there are now stairs to/from the bunker.  This green has a gentle bowl shape, and at-grade ground around the putting surface allows for recoveries.

Hole #11...A short par four with an interesting tee shot.  The fairway here has widened in recent years, bringing the right fescue into play as much as ever.  While the only idea off the tee is to find some fairway, the line is left of where the eye and mowing lines dictate, and often the first bounce for an ideal tee ball (everything goes hard L->R) is in the left rough.  The second shot is a wedge from a hard L->R sloping fairway that always plays a bit longer, to a green with as much slope as any at Myopia.  The green is built into a hill leading to the 12th tee, and goes hard back to front and left to right.  Current speeds only allow a few pin locations, and any ball ending above the hole may break upwards of 10 feet!  A good play is to land short and putt or chip up the flat slope.

Hole #12...Another half-par hole (the 6th!) at 455 yards par four.  This is the best view on the property in my opinion, with parts of holes 2/3/4/6/7/8/10/11/12/13/14 all in view!  Tee shots down the right will contend with a rock-covered hillock, and the ball tends to run out on that side leaving a good view of the green.  The left side is wider but tee shots tend to stop quickly and leave a semi-blind uphill second.  The green is tiny and domed, with a small lower front right section, and a higher rear section.  The trick on this hole is to get a long-iron or fairway wood to bound a few times in front of the green while eventually stopping somewhere close to leave a putt or simple chip.  This is the easiest bogey at Myopia, but probably not the highest scoring average to par, as most players can find their way to playing the hole in 5 shots.  Just a wonderful hole.

So I jump ship in Hong Kong....

Brad Tufts

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #59 on: October 19, 2014, 09:38:07 AM »
Hole #13...Easily the most intimidating 349 yards you will play, without a drop of water in sight!  The tee shot is a simple one...play no more than 250 yards straightaway to an inviting wide fairway...most people can find the fairway without issue.  The second shot is often played with a short iron, but this might be Myopia's hardest hole to par.  What is the catch?  The second shot rises about 40 feet over a hillside covered with fescue and broken ground to a very shallow green.  While the green is wide, your margin for error is about 5-8 paces of green.  More than that, you will be chipping downhill from the rough, less than that, your ball will find the false front, and be shunted down the fairway to the rough (or a bunker) about 30 yards short and 15 feet below the green, leaving you with the same approach shot in miniature for your third.  There is a small bailout to the right half of the green where the surface is a bit flatter, but the approach shot requirements are similar, and even the bailout leaves a 40-foot putt if done successfully.  To be honest, I'm not sure how high-handicappers play this hole...I'm not sure what advice to give.  You must be a good short-iron player or have a good short game to succeed here...the green complex is a fair one, if just so.

Hole #14...The most improved hole over the last decade, as a new back tee has been added, trees have been cleared, and the green complex expanded to bring bunkers back into play.  Another underrated hole, the 14th looks benign but offers considerable challenge for a 390-yard hole.  The tee shot is straightaway, but the fairway slopes R->L on the left half, throwing decent-looking tee shots into the left rough.  The right side is flat, but heading that way skirts several deep fairway bunkers in the right rough.  Simple strategy is at play here, as the left tee shots will contend with a greenside bunker blocking the left half of the green, and those down the right have an open avenue to the right side of the green.  These issues would be no big deal on a modern course, as the player would approach from the air and stop the ball with spin.  Not at Myopia's #14!  The approach must land on the front of the firm green, or the player risks a deep bunker beyond, or the steady R-L slope.  It only takes one play to realize that a wedge from the left rough is not enough loft to stop an approach here.

Hole #15....After two shots down a wide fairway, #15 is all about the approach.  Bombers can get in range of the green from the tee on this mid-length par five, but two 6-foot deep bunkers guard the front of the green, negating the ground approach for only the third time all day.  Second shots that lay-up usually end up down the left side.  The greensite is an interesting one, with 10 paces from the bunkers to the front of the green, and a small at-grade green with the rear half pushed up a few feet.  Strangely for an accessible green, it is difficult to stop a wedge close at #15.  This is really the last good scoring opportunity, even as the longest par five out of Myopia's three.
So I jump ship in Hong Kong....

Matt Bielawa

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #60 on: October 19, 2014, 09:41:01 AM »
Showers at Justin Rose's adopted USA club are the best I've ever used.

Couldn't agree more. 

Andrew Hastie

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #61 on: October 19, 2014, 12:32:08 PM »
Thanks Jon for the photo tour! And thanks Brad for the extra comments, looking forward to the last three holes. What an amazing place!

Brad Tufts

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #62 on: October 19, 2014, 01:21:29 PM »
No problem...always happy to talk Myopia!  Now on to three diverse and interesting finishing holes.  Two out of three of them (16/18) are quite controversial in this day and age.  With maintenance standards very high these days at top tier clubs, some of the older features aren't able to come into play as they once did.  Is this for better or for worse?  I call 16 and 18 fair, but only barely so like 13.  They are not card-and-pencil holes, but they do fare very well in match play.

Hole #16:  If you have seen one picture of Myopia, it is probably of the gorgeous 16th hole, a downhill par three of about 190 yards with the Revolutionary War-era clubhouse behind, and the golf shop to the left.  Now take a good look at the green...how do you intend to stop a ball on there?  As on many holes at MHC, the real yardage means little.  190 yards can some days be covered with a 7 or 8 iron even by mere mortals.  The green runs away from the tee 50 feet above, with the steep left section unpinnable.  The only shots to have a chance to hold the green are those that carry a bunker 30 yards short, bounce through the tiny fairway section, and hopefully come to a stop before the back fringe.  For years, the fronting fairway played too wet to allow this to happen.  Lately it has firmed up and the fairway functions as planned, but most shots will end up long anyway.  The green is surrounded by hazards on all sides, and the only recovery area is the back bunker, as you will have an uphill shot.  For me, there is a bit too little recovery area for greatness, but it is thrilling to hit a shot and wait to see if it will run out and stop correctly.  No doubt it is a great match play hole, where a 4 is never a bad score.

Hole #17:  A mid-length par four recently improved with tree removal between 17 and 18, which makes the player even more uneasy off the tee with less definition available.  This is the only hole with OB in play, as a stone wall separates #17 from the driving range to the left.  Classic strategy is at play, as the fairway slopes hard L->R, requiring a tee shot in the general direction of the OB wall.  The green is at the very end of the slope that dominates the hole, with a steep shaved dropoff to the right.  With a left to right stance, the shaved bank is ever more in play.  For those able to use the flat run-up on the left side of the green, a short birdie putt awaits, as this is one of Myopia smaller greens.  Another underrated hole.

Hole #18:  On a course full of "most difficult for its length" holes, the 18th is no exception.  The dominating feature off the tee is a slope about 260 yards out that shoots long tee shots into the left rough to a difficult stance.  If the player can stay short of the slope, it must be between deep pot bunkers on both sides of the fairway.  The approach is a mid- to short-iron, but extremely demanding.  The green slopes gently towards the rear, and 8-foot deep bunkers guard the entire front and right edges.  The green is not small, but it is so flat that very little of it can be seen from the fairway.  Fear of the front bunker makes each player pucker even with a 9-iron in hand!  One can miss left, but not far, as a slope will kick it further left, or long, where there is short rough because the majority of third/fourth shot play is from there.  The last full shot on the course has one of the neatest "only at Myopia" views, with the yellow clubhouse just behind, and grassy courtyard, putting green, and tennis beyond.  This is another very difficult stroke play hole, but most definitely fun for match play if it gets this far!

Questions, comments, heckles?  Now-and-again GCA poster and PGA pro Jeff Fraim worked at Myopia the same year I did, so a hearty hello to him if he sees this!
So I jump ship in Hong Kong....

Jon Cavalier

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #63 on: October 19, 2014, 01:59:18 PM »
Brad:

Thanks for your comments. An awesome addition to this tour.

Jon
Golf Photos via
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Instagram: @linksgems

Mark Steffey

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #64 on: October 19, 2014, 08:11:03 PM »
Showers at Justin Rose's adopted USA club are the best I've ever used.

:)

i played with a group some years ago at Essex (MA).  as one of the other gentlemen got out of the shower there he exclaimed for all to hear "that is the best shower i've had since merion!"

Jon Cavalier

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #65 on: October 19, 2014, 08:26:25 PM »
While I would hate to have my tour defiled by yet another shower discussion, I thought we had already established that Manufacturers GC has the greatest showers in the golfing universe. Merion's are great. Mannies' are a drowning hazard.

(I can't comment on Myopia's, because I skipped the shower and jumped right back in my car is to head back to Philly - no way I could have managed that one-day round trip after a nice, soothing shower - I needed my own rankness and the promise of a shower at home to keep me awake).
Golf Photos via
Twitter: @linksgems
Instagram: @linksgems

Tom Kelly

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #66 on: October 20, 2014, 08:17:10 AM »
Stunning photos, the place looks amazing.

I can't quite put my finger on why but the photos remind me abit of Walton Heath at times, perhaps the mounding and bunkering combined with the open space and expanses of rough?

There appear to be alot of blind bunkers and even when a hazard is visible the sand lines often aren't. How does this play? It is something I am often against as a good flashed face and visible sand line helps offer that "thrill" Dr Mac refers to when you clear a hazard, but somehow when combined with the native rough, landscape and overall setting it seems to visually work at Myopia. How do the blind bunkers play in practice? With it being I assume mainly member play (?) does it make much difference that they are blind?

Chris DeToro

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #67 on: October 20, 2014, 08:53:39 AM »
Showers at Justin Rose's adopted USA club are the best I've ever used.

:)

i played with a group some years ago at Essex (MA).  as one of the other gentlemen got out of the shower there he exclaimed for all to hear "that is the best shower i've had since merion!"

muirfield has the best showers in golf.  perhaps this is worthy of a separate thread.

Mark McKeever

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #68 on: October 20, 2014, 01:24:24 PM »
While I would hate to have my tour defiled by yet another shower discussion, I thought we had already established that Manufacturers GC has the greatest showers in the golfing universe. Merion's are great. Mannies' are a drowning hazard.

(I can't comment on Myopia's, because I skipped the shower and jumped right back in my car is to head back to Philly - no way I could have managed that one-day round trip after a nice, soothing shower - I needed my own rankness and the promise of a shower at home to keep me awake).

The showers at Myopia are very solid Speakman heads with good water flow, though each stall is MASSIVE in size.  Overall they are nothing extraordinary, far short of Mannies.

Mark
Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

Josh Tarble

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #69 on: October 20, 2014, 01:27:01 PM »
Sorry guys, the shower conversation begins and ends at Blackwolf Run  ;D

Jon,  thank you for this tour.  I love seeing pictures of Myopia.  I think it may be one of the most unique courses in the US. 

Is there anywhere else that the bunkers are basically holes in the ground?  Do they drain well? 

Mark McKeever

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #70 on: October 20, 2014, 01:29:11 PM »
Josh, the first time I played Myopia was in a monsoon, and the bunkers stayed surprisingly dry.  I have no idea how but I swear I was seeing standing water on the greens before I saw it in the bunkers...

MM
Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

Jon Cavalier

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #71 on: October 20, 2014, 01:45:03 PM »
Sorry guys, the shower conversation begins and ends at Blackwolf Run  ;D

Jon,  thank you for this tour.  I love seeing pictures of Myopia.  I think it may be one of the most unique courses in the US. 

Is there anywhere else that the bunkers are basically holes in the ground?  Do they drain well? 

Garden City comes to mind on the bunker issue. And yes - they also seem to stay dry.
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Jim Franklin

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #72 on: October 20, 2014, 01:45:55 PM »
While I would hate to have my tour defiled by yet another shower discussion, I thought we had already established that Manufacturers GC has the greatest showers in the golfing universe. Merion's are great. Mannies' are a drowning hazard.

(I can't comment on Myopia's, because I skipped the shower and jumped right back in my car is to head back to Philly - no way I could have managed that one-day round trip after a nice, soothing shower - I needed my own rankness and the promise of a shower at home to keep me awake).

THe showers at Deepdale are the best.
Mr Hurricane

Josh Tarble

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #73 on: October 20, 2014, 02:16:15 PM »
Mark and John,
That's pretty amazing really.  I love the look and the seem like they would have a pretty significant gathering effect.

And John, mentally going through pictures Garden City was the only place that came to mind.  They are certainly less flashy in pictures, but I think they look awesome.

PCCraig

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Re: Myopia Hunt Club - Photo Tour (A Few New Photos Posted - See #57)
« Reply #74 on: October 20, 2014, 02:20:26 PM »
While I would hate to have my tour defiled by yet another shower discussion, I thought we had already established that Manufacturers GC has the greatest showers in the golfing universe. Merion's are great. Mannies' are a drowning hazard.

(I can't comment on Myopia's, because I skipped the shower and jumped right back in my car is to head back to Philly - no way I could have managed that one-day round trip after a nice, soothing shower - I needed my own rankness and the promise of a shower at home to keep me awake).

THe showers at Deepdale are the best.

This is a fantastic photo tour, thank you for putting it together Jon. I hope it stays up, despite the club's urge for intense privacy, as Myopia is very much worthy of study.

I might be bragging, but the showers at my home club are nothing short of elephant hoses. It's not the size of the shower head that's important, but the amount of water pressure! :)
H.P.S.

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