Caledonia Golf and Fish Club and Dormie are the subjects of this installment of More 18s of the USA.
We imagined that golf season was winding down in Buffalo-Niagara, so our attention momentarily turned to domes, trips and television. However, Mother Nature in the guise of El Ninyo disagreed, so we golfed through December 23rd, took a break, and returned to the course in January. To keep the appetite whetted, I’m going to offer up a new series on eclectic eighteens across the USA. The only thread tying them together is my having played them. That, and the fact that all of the courses are worthwhile. You’ll never play them all in one sweep, as I once did, but when you find yourself in these regions, know that these courses are worth your money and your best game.
Seth Raynor was 52 years old when he passed away in 1926. Mike Strantz was barely 50 when he succumbed to cancer in 2005. The golf world revisits their early departures on a yearly basis, wondering what each might have added to the landscape of golf course architecture if only… The vast majority of Raynor courses are inaccessible to those without private-club connections. His work, exemplary as it is, often lies behind the gates of exclusive clubs. In stark contrast, Strantz’s brief body of solo work includes six public-access courses within a brief drive of each other. Two are located in the Williamsburg (VA) area, two more in the Pinehurst (NC) region and a third pair in the Myrtle Beach (SC) environs.
The tag line that everyone who visits Caledonia seems to ask or offer, is how did he fit so much great golf into such a small piece of property? Just up the road is its sister course, True Blue, where much more land was available for the artist to paint his inspiration. Caledonia is marvelously routed, and certainly plays way longer than its 6500 yards would indicate. To begin, it’s a par 70, with five par threes (most of which require a mid-iron or longer) and three par fives, none of which would fit the category of risk-reward. Finally, the use of rising humps in the drive zones serves the purpose of reducing run-out after landing. All in all, it sums to a how do I have that much left? reaction after more than a few tee balls.
My day was spent as a single, so I decided to play two balls. I had 81 and 78 from the tips, on my first go-round, so I was happy with the numbers. Fortunately for me, fate did not smile my way on the wee 9th, a pitch of about 100 yards over a maw of sand, to a hidden green. One of my balls was dead on line, six inches shy of the cup. The other was just past, about seven feet. How would I ever have found a soul to believe that I made one, or even two, aces? Fortunately for us, Mike Strantz gave us aces every time.
Given the esteem in which Caledonia is held in golfing circles, it wouldn’t have been fair to pair it with a lesser course in this review. Not many recent builds can measure up to Caledonia; Dormie is one of those that can. Its lineage is as exemplary as Caledonia’s, having been designed by another of the modern greats, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The club occupies a wonderful tract of pure sandhills oatmeal, some five miles north of Pinehurst proper. The land dodges and feints like a welterweight, asking you to consider alternatives while tempting you to hit before you’re ready. My history with Dormie is a bit odd and bears telling.
The first time I set foot on the course, I knew its bones were special. Not just for the overt whimsy (a tractor buried left of #1 green or a poorly-written sign-see the slide show) but for the hidden joy of the course. If your goal is to fly every tee ball to the drive zone, then fly every approach to the flagstick, you won’t have a second date with Dormie. She’s all about the ground game, all about sometimes laying back, sometimes charging forward. Most importantly, you need to know her angles and the true measure of her distance. What you see may appear to slope right and BAM! there goes your ball, trundling leftward. Oh, my story. Forgive me.
We played Dormie back a few Februaries, on a day that began with much promise. When the first flakes fell, we laughed at nature’s dandruff without a second thought. As the flakes grew in stature and frequency, we mumbled about the odds of bringing the white stuff with us to the south. When we nearly lost site of each other, we decided to eliminate the loop and head straight to the 14th tee. We barely made it in, and I was left with no memory of holes 10 through 13. On this go-round, I finally saw the hidden corner of the property. Its holes ranged from a long-distance par five to a tiny par three, with a controversial par four thrown in to keep the conversation spicy. Is this hazard properly placed? Shouldn’t the fairway go over there? No matter the audience, you’ll have plenty to discuss and remember at Dormie.
