Sunday, January 19, 2014

La Robinie, Milan

6168M, Par 72, Slope 126, by Jack Nicklaus
the only Jack Nicklaus course in Italy, up by Milan
it took replaying a nicklaus course, playing this course for the first time
to remind me of the excellence of Jack Nicklaus designs,
the amazing simultaneous challenge & playability

short par 4 to start, all right there in front of you, like Nicklaus does . . . 
hammered that first drive right down the pipe, despite the gnats swarming around me. hotfooted it down to my ball, and with no ceremony hit a half-wedge 20 ft short of the pin . . . I can't explain it, but I just totally HAVE that putt, the 20 footer uphill that breaks left a little. made bunches of them in my memory, starting with #11 AT Walden On Lake Conroe . . .Birdie.



#2 was even shorter, even more infested with gnats. Hastily hit a low toe hook down the right side, way down near the green.lobbed a short pitch pin high 15 ft right of the pin. Missed by a gnats hair.


breathed in a gnat. . . 
they were really swarming around this pond. I guess I just started too early, 8ish, before the sun had time to come out and drive them away. totally lost it.
foozled a 7iron, bladed a wedge, chunked a chip and 2 putted for double bogey.


#4 was the worst evidence of the gnat infestation,
I wuz playin as fast as I could,
still snuffling gnats with every breath
and being tickled around the face arms and legs
even tho'I put repellant on
so predictable results:
slice weakly down by the water into deep rough
chunked it out only to roll back in 75 m further, once
then again. from the terrible slice lie in the deep rough 
i couldn't get a club on the ball
the 4th shot I managed to get pin high but off in the rough again to the right,
chunk & putt for a double bogey
tough hole



don't remember a thing about this par 5 . . . 
just tying to fight off the bugs and play fast, too fast



on #6 I hit a patented scottish hook around the bunkers on the left,
on top of the mound, basically, a usable drive,
but not a very usable lie . . . 
hit a 7iron from there right over the pin, over the green, 
so the come-back was thru some scrabbly grass, 
and some sort of GUR marker . . . bogey



#7 was rock bottom . . .for me . . . #1 handicap hole
sorta skulled the drive, playing fast still because of the gnats
into the deep rough short of the fairway , , , 
2 5irons later, both from the rough, 
I was in the bunker left of the green,
from there to the bunker right of the green,
and back,
before chunking out onto the putting surface for 2putt snowman . . . 
here. . . 
i was somewhat aggrieved,
seing my round getting away from me,
because of the gnats,
and my hyper-speedy play to get away from them
so I was of a mind to take a break and regain my poise, anyway


and on 8 the ground crew was still mowing . . . 
they waved me up but I waved them off, to finish,
while I sat down on a bench in the sun and drank my gatorade.

Here is where I started playing with the zoom for tee shots . . . 
one realizes that, in complement to the actual physical golfiness of a Nicklaus course, there is a photogenic aspect, entirely suitable to the photo-zoom, inherently appropriate, by virtue of the design -- in a way other golf courses - even good golf courses -- are not. . . 


the sun was out enough to chase away the gnats, now
so I felt I could breathe again,
and i calmly choked down on a 5wood for a halfshot,
the easy swing really kicked the ball high,
with a pretty big fade on it . . . 
not a great shot, 30 ft short of the pin, but on the green,
but the break had done me enough good to get back on track.
2 putt par.



#9 is not a long par 5, but it's full of danger, even tho'you can see it all in front of you . . . 
just kept it left out of trouble, and the the ball settle back into the fairway
on the drive, then with the easiest-shot-in-golf, 
the second shot 5 iron on a par 5
so that I had 95m left to the green, with the pin in the very back



I hit an easy 9ironto the back middle,
but it tailed right back at the pin,
a shot I would NEVER attempt over water. . . 
missed that 15ft birdie, tho.
bu the weather was gorgeous now,
clear and a little hot . . . 


#10 is almost identical to #1,
so i hit the identical shots, as best i could,
but this wedge flew 20ft past the pin
no chance to make that one 8^D . . .



the par 3 #11 had all my dashlights glowing green,
a perfect 6iron, I thot,
and I made a good swing,
hit it high with a tiny fade right at the pin,
but a club short, have to do the math again . . . 
I popped a pitch right over the trap to kneeknocker distance,
but missed the par.



some screw went loose on #12,
didn't go off the rails, but off centre, for sure .  .
pulled my drive almost into the traps . . .
basically, ok, enough distance, but disturbingly off-line . . .
my 5 iron 2nd felt solid, but over-faded right of the green, short of the trap,
so it should have been a no-brainer up-and-down,
but it wasn't


so on #13 par 5 i concentrated on basics,
hit a drive long & high down the right side of the fairway, 
where it found a little bald spot
then hit a 4iron thru the chute of trees guarding the fairway
to a nice full short iron distance.
hit a nice full iron that came up short
(math issue again?)
on the front fringe.
putted with my 7iron to within a foot.
par.


there\s something screwy about the layout here . . . 
i couldn't find #14 . . .
the signage was wrong or something,
so I walked 15 minutes around #13 green in all directions till I found it.

not a strong drive, off on the right

performance anxiety about the approach with a long iron,
and only got half of it.
lobbed safely to the middle of the green,
but 2 putt bogey



I don't remember #15 at all. . . 

not much to look at, but #5 handicap hole
triple bogey for me . . .



I tho't i had this par 3 all the way too,
even after I hit my 4iron,
but it came up a club short again, in the sand.
hit a good sandshot that ran over into the far fringe,
up-up-and-down. bogey 




still not sure what happened here, 
I mean, par 5, and you ought not go thru the dogleg,
but I did, up onto a steep grassy slope.
so the second shot went uncontrollably left, into the water . . .


4th shot went right of the green, 
where my lack of a short game
revealed itself slowly over 4 more shots.
shrudder. . .  



this is one of them holes that shows off nicklaus designs even better in zoom mode, aint it?
just like my daddy taught me,
I hammered a good drive on #18 in front of the club house . . . 8^D . . . 

then somehow got the math right and hit a 5iron courageously between the pin and the water . . . 
I was so happy about that, I wasn't to upset when the 20ft putt didn't take the small break I;d read and slid by the hole. Tap In Par.


no, not the hardest Nicklaus course I ever played,
but hard enough, and holes #6,7,8,9, and 
#14,15,16,17,18 are hard as any you'll come across . . .
the nicklaus imprimature is in full scope here,
even on those relatively short holes 
the course looks fabulous,
has great shot values,
is super well maintained .  . 
a 2 on the scottsdale scale for sure
candidate for a 1,
as long as you play when the gnats are down,
if you see how I mean.