Brett Hochstein

Excited to reveal our plans for the special and historic 1924 William Land GC in Sacramento’s Land Park! Goals of the project are to fix critical infrastructure issues, reduce future water usage, and introduce fun + strategy through distinct Golden Age features. Happy 100 years!

@TZurybida @BogleGolf @SHistorians @alan_bastable The commentary in the article implying there isn’t enough documentation or “mapping,” to use his wording, is insane.The aerials, both top-down and oblique, seem to contain plenty of information for a faithful restoration. You restore to an as-built image anyway, not a concept map

@BogleGolf @SHistorians @alan_bastable

A must red article by @alan_bastable in Golf Mag on Fazio’s plan for East Potomac. My take on Fazio’s comments regarding restoration: What Fazio fails to recognize is that without those budgets and equipment that he “needs to build a golf course.” these architects of old, built better golf courses (objectively if you compare his courses to any rankings) than his. It may be decades from now- but my guess years from - now golfers will tear apart Fazio’s design at East Potomac and restore Walter Travis’ work. We are just delaying the inevitable. This isn’t to disparage his work, but rather roll back his ego a bit.

@SHistorians @alan_bastable Restoring to Walter Travis after whatever this ends up being is likely to be astronomic in cost to undo and resimplify the land. Pray there aren’t structural water features. Also pray we don’t lose the things that can never truly be brought back, such as the historic cherry trees

@garrett_TFE @Dundee_Golf This has been going on for decades in golf architecture, unfortunately. Blatantly incorrect lip service to sell a point or win a job. Gross, but not atypical

@Dundee_Golf I think it's more relevant to note that the group behind this work has already promised something that the architect is now publicly stating he has no interest in carrying out

You have to grudgingly respect that Fazio isn't even pretending that his version of East Potomac will "incorporate themes of the original Walter J. Travis design," as the press release from the Trump administration claimed it would. He's just like, "Nope, Walter Travis was an idiot, I'm blowing it all up."

@garrett_TFE @pnrodenbush @Jordanfabian @links_national I think dealing with situations like this and others of the current day is also outside the specialty of politicians and bureaucrats, to be fair. Unusual times challenging decades/centuries of standard operating procedures

@pnrodenbush @Jordanfabian @links_national Definitely hear you. A key to understanding all of this for me is that NLT is run by golf people, not politicians or bureaucrats. Dealing with situations like this is very far outside of their specialty. So it's not always going to be pretty.

@pnrodenbush @Jordanfabian @links_national It's fair to argue that NLT should have just gone to battle and tried to wait the administration out. But I'm not sure people appreciate how difficult a position they' re in — especially considering the risks to the other courses.

Sequoyah CC is coming together. Pic from new 3 tee. Remember having this in my mind about seven yrs ago. Thanks to @theturfyoda @labargolf @sequoyahcc team, PZ and @hochsteindesign for bringing it to life.

@garrett_TFE #planttheoldcourse

We have some early U.S. Open-related content out, and I'm already seeing some complaints about the lack of trees AT SHINNECOCK HILLS. Wild stuff.

@fried_egg_golf Incomplete map

Gil's got a point.

@feedtheball When I first read the quote some 20 years ago, I couldn’t figure out what he meant. I still can’t, even after you’ve done this deep dive. I feel like it was intentionally vague and convoluted, meant to appease whomever happened to read or hear it. Mission accomplished (probably)

Gil Hanse has said that he thinks Ross approved of the final version of Aronimink because Ross wanted to do something different in a competitive golf market. That may be true, even though there’s no direct evidence that Ross was thinking this way. All we have are his plans and his words. Maybe he really meant what he said, as clumsily put as it is. Or maybe he was basically disavowing the design. His foreman, McGovern, the Aronimink board member, was also a client, and it’s possible he and the club had the last say. END.

A lot is made of Ross’s quote about Aronimink, “I intended to make this course my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize I built better than I knew.” Most take it to express his belief that he outdid even his own expectations, but I’m not sure that’s what he’s saying. He might be saying something quite different. Let’s take a closer look at his words. A thread...🧵

@feedtheball @DanZimgolf Also in Ross’s book “Golf Has Never Failed Me,” a collection of his commentaries over the years.

@DanZimgolf It's on a plaque near Aronimink's first tee.

@garrett_TFE @AndyTFE Advancing the craft…

I'm going to make the worst argument you've ever heard about [golf architecture / trees on golf courses / equipment rollback]. But I'm going to put a paragraph break between each of my sentences. So that the whole thing seems more serious and substantial. Don't get me wrong, though: it's still a bad post. An empty post. Perhaps even a dishonest post. And it will keep going, making full use that sweet, sweet extra blue-check space. Even though everyone has already gotten the point. [Cherry-picked numbers from Data Golf] I'm glad I've managed to keep your attention for this long. Aren't you?

@tommynacc And listening! Learned a lot from you

@HochsteinDesign I’m glad you were reading!

Some Cypress Point content for the Walker Cup that has nothing to do with the ocean and only a little about the dunes. My conclusion about a less-heralded stretch early in the round:

🤌🤌🤌 Glad this is getting out there. Let’s get everyone’s cards on the table. Very much pro-rollback. But tough to be pro *this* rollback. Let’s do it right. And do more than just the ball.

@Mike_kim714 @garrett_TFE @AndyMalone1966 At Aronimink, this would bring the bunker clusters back in play, no? If it did, how would that affect what you do? Ideally, those are in play, and flanking them brings about a mid iron (at a less favorable angle), shorting them brings a long iron, and carrying them brings a short

@garrett_TFE @AndyMalone1966 Honest question, if the ball goes shorter, doesn’t the strategy get even more simplified?

Unstated here, sadly, is that if the only way you can generate strategic interest off the tee is by planting trees in the line of play and fundamentally changing the nature of a 100-year-old Donald Ross design, your problem is bigger than the tree-removal trend.

@X05738579 @TZurybida @3sticksCGCS @links_national Definitely NO to any Trump change

@HochsteinDesign @TZurybida @3sticksCGCS @links_national Maybe your little firm will get some Trump change thrown your way so you’ll be happy, but for generations of people who will miss out on East Potomac/Haynes Point I say FUCK @links_national

Great news! Glad you all mentioned everything you are doing for the community and on the pollinator front. Hopefully this model of community involvement finds its way into many other municipal golf operations to grow this great game.

@X05738579 @TZurybida @3sticksCGCS @links_national I’m angry too, and apologies for getting extra chippy. At some point I’ll have a candid conversation with them about the particulars of this, but I’m certain they were(are) fighting hard and were basically stuck with this as a best result. It stinks. Hate the game not the player

@HochsteinDesign @TZurybida @3sticksCGCS @links_national lol I’m definitely not a bot. Just pissed off that I supported and gave money to a group that folded like a cheap suit and may have ruined east Potomac forever w/o a fight. Because I’m right they turned off comments!

@X05738579 @TZurybida @3sticksCGCS @links_national They often turn off comments on items like this to prevent a bunch of flame throwing and false claims from folks like yourself, Mr. Bot. Not a one off here.

@TZurybida @3sticksCGCS Also my sense is @links_national is embarrassed by it because they turned off comments LOL. Just sounds like bad PR gobblyguck. Will east po be open this summer????

@garrett_TFE @X05738579 @links_national @DemocracyFwd Particularly when it all seems to be rigged at the moment. Judge, jury, and executioner…etc. The “bad faith” seems rather obvious, but the stipulations of the court of law don’t go off “obvious.” It all sucks. Makes you lose faith in lots of things

From talking to the people involved, I've gathered that NLT would have needed to prove that the government acted in bad faith in order to get the contract restored. A very high bar. We may feel confident that the government acted in bad faith here, but proving it is another matter.

This statement says that East Potomac, along with Langston and Rock Creek, will remain "affordable and accessible for all." It also acknowledges that the plan is to turn East Potomac into a "top-tier 18-hole championship golf course capable of hosting pre-eminent tournament golf." It's worth noting that a big reason municipal golf is accessible in D.C. is that East Potomac offers 36 holes of golf across three courses. Reducing that number to 18 inevitably reduces accessibility. Plus, my own reporting has persuaded me that top administration officials have no interest in keeping the green fee at East Potomac low, and in fact have discussed drastically raising it. And obviously any move to eliminate the road, trail, cherry blossom trees, and non-golf recreational areas around the golf course would be unacceptable. D.C. residents should hold this new group's feet to the fire on the promise to retain the affordability and accessibility of East Potomac. The government, the Evans Scholars Foundation, the First Tee, the WGA, Fazio, whatever committee Doug Burgum appoints, and, yes, THE NATIONAL LINKS TRUST need to be accountable on this front. The NLT will be in a very tricky position with regard to East Potomac over the next couple of years. I hope they stay true to their principles.

@garrett_TFE @X05738579 @links_national @DemocracyFwd Why is that, and why is our system so that such is not one of the main outcomes of a suit? Seems like it should be

@X05738579 @links_national @DemocracyFwd Litigation would have had almost no chance at getting the lease back. It might have gotten them some money. Key for understanding their position here.

One of the big problems with this attempted takeover—golf’s negative image among the non-golfing public and setting it back further when the initial path with @links_national had massive potential to shift that and show what golf really can be for communities and the environment

@BPBlackMetal I find the desire for unreasonable green speeds at the expense of original greens contouring to be offensive.