La Robinie, Milan

http://www.lerobinie.com

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.