i feel like #9 belongs in the worst golf holes thread, but that may just be because i’m not that long. a decent drive would put me in the creek, forcing a layup, then the giant hill/false front rejects anything that doesn’t end up in the back bunker, i just don’t get it.
EDIT: I was thinking of the old routing and this should really say #6
Hahaha yep. There it is.
“They destroyed the local oxygen factory,” Seydel said. “The trees provided our neighborhoods with oxygen”
That’s my favorite part.
This article is ridiculous. I live within walking distance of BJGC. The entire area for miles in every direction is basically still a forest, and it’s hot as hell in the shade all summer too because that’s just how Atlanta is. And if 40%+ of the trees were already in “not good” aka “bad, probably gonna die soon” condition, what’s so bad about taking them down? They’d fall down eventually, and possibly damage the greens/fairways in the process. Calling the old course an “oxygen factory” is as much an overstatement as calling me Rory McIlroy.
Sure, the creek isn’t in great condition, but i doubt many ATL waterways are much better. The million bucks being spent to preserve its banks is probably part of the reason 9 holes there cost as much as 18 at other muni’s. By the way, the banks of the creek are still surrounded by pretty dense brush and trees.
Also, the new design was meant to make golf accessible to kids and folks with physical handicaps. The PGA has hosted some great events there, including some for wounded veterans who are learning to play with their prosthetic limbs and other disabilities. They’re doing a big kids’ golf camp over Thanksgiving. It’d be cruel to teach kids and handicapped folks to play on a heavily wooded and unforgiving course. It’s not Augusta, and it shouldn’t be. It’s not perfect, and I wish the city/state/whoever hadn’t run an oversized plumbing project in the middle of the 5th fairway for most of this year. But overall it seems like the foundation is doing something that is good for the game locally, and once the finishing touches are done it should be just fine for years to come.
Is the project on 5 finally finished?
Yeah, the structure is down, fences are gone. Fairway hasn’t been fully re-sodded but you don’t have to chip your tee shot over a crane anymore.
They need to remove a shit ton of trees. It’s way too narrow for a muni course. Also way too many forced carries for a muni. Nearly every hole has water hazards or dense forest to the left or right, too. Really impedes / slows play.
A few of the holes imo are pretty bad. #2, #8, #10, #12 and #18 come mind.
I think you’d have to completely redo hole #8, it’s my least favorite in Atlanta. Trouble on both sides and fairway is about 30 yards wide. The green is awful, dead in spots and doesn’t drain. No way to leave a shot anywhere near the hole unless the pin position is up front. Creek behind the green too. Show me a man who has birdied this hole and I will show you a liar
Too hard to hit the fairway on #8, #10 or #18 if you are a mid to high cap. I’m still not really sure where you land the ball on #18 - it either rolls into the creek or you are impeded by trees unless you hit a perfect drive. And you still have uphill 200+ approach for a par 4 unless you are a bomber
Ha! I actually birdied 8 on Saturday. Driver, wedge that was past the front middle pin but trickled back to two feet, and a nervously made putt.
Haha yeah, it must have been one of those lucky days where the pin was up front and not sitting on an incline…
Agree on 10. Another par 5 where you have to pretty much hit 3 irons in a row. I do like the green/approach on that hole though.
Just what we need in Atlanta, protect all the trees. You go to any high rise office tower in Atlanta, and all you see are trees. You can’t see the city beneath the trees. I love the trees, but it’s nice to see what they did with Bobby Jones. I’ve been there and looked at it, but I haven’t played it yet.
All the healthy grass somewhere like Bobby Jones also produces oxygen and processes carbon dioxide, just like trees. Trees don’t have a monopoly on that function.
My theory is that people are not really in charge of this planet. We’re just pawns in the battle between grass and trees. Grass grows quicker, but trees have the advantage of being able to block the sun and stop grass from growing. So grass made itself attractive to humans so that we would cut down trees and plant lawns. Their eons-long battle continues and we don’t even realize we’re in the middle of a war we don’t recognize.
Oh, and the funniest part of that article is the quote “the trees were a natural filter for Peachtree Creek.” I played the old Bobby Jones quite often in the 90’s. That creek didn’t smell like it had any filters.
Seems I remember learning in college that an acre of grass would produce 5x the amount of Oxygen than an acre of full-canopy trees
I stole my observation from a Fried Egg podcast with a super (one of the many) that was using the argument to cut down some trees to save greens and not lose any air quality benefits. I believe I have heard the “better than trees” point before as well. Very interesting stuff.
So they argued to reduce the number of trees removed along the creek, but I guess they didn’t think it was important that BJGC cleaned up the old tennis court materials/tennis balls right next to the last green. I found that amusing the first time I played.
When you look in that gully its ridiculous how many tennis balls are down there.
…and Gatorade bottles, and clothing, and needles, and illegally dumped oils
Anybody know if they closed the grass at Bobby Jones driving range for the winter? It’s been mats only for the past month it feels like
Yeah it’s probably mats only til spring. That’s how it was last winter as well.