Chris Baldwin - Latest Comments on Harding Park no great course, pros just being polite in San Francisco

Dale C [Visitor] in response to: Harding Park no great course, pros just being polite in San Francisco

Dale C [Visitor] — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:23:53 +0000

I find this review of Harding Park a bit hard to believe. It seems that the author has completely missed the point of Harding Park and San Francisco golf.

Harding is truly one of the great golf experiences that a public golfer can experience. When you are playing Harding there is no mistaking where you are. The place just oozes San Francisco. To judge the course conditions mid-winter is not fair as well as expecting municipal course conditions to be on par with PGA Tour conditions in the middle of winter. As a layout Harding is fabulous, especially when you get a bit of wind blowing and the famous Marine Layer. It held up very well to the best players in the world. Then only day they had their way with it was the first day with SoCal weather.

I played Harding back in the early 90's when I was at Stanford and absolutely loved the place before the makeover. I played it in very poor condition but still found it to be a great and unique golf experience. With the changes and improved conditions I am looking forward to getting back. Harding Park is all about the San Francisco golf experience. If you can get on the Lake or SF Golf Club great but that is unattainable for most mortals. Harding exudes the same type of atmosphere plus a special feel that only a muni can. If you play golf because you love it you will not leave Harding disappointed and the remake only made it that much better. Otherwise, there are plenty of very well conditioned, forgettable layouts around the country that will be happy to take your money.

craig scott [Visitor] in response to: Harding Park no great course, pros just being polite in San Francisco

craig scott [Visitor] — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 21:35:36 +0000

I must say you do have the nerve of a sandbagger. I must say you do have the skill of a 43 handicap hack! I must say you are no class act Mr. Chris Baldwin... Blog writer, one of kind nobody! Stand tall Chris Baldwin- Be proud of the ass you've made yourself! Just think, your parents have to be proud of thier clueless numbnutt son!!!!!

Greg Pinelli [Visitor] in response to: Harding Park no great course, pros just being polite in San Francisco

Greg Pinelli [Visitor] — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 05:00:08 +0000

I don't know if I can write this...Ivory actually makes sense. Have you ever played Harding...Chris???? Harding rests on a truly remarkable piece of terrain. The course follows the same route it followed pre remake. When I attended the AMEX I was very impressed with the redesign. It's an excellent course...and if they had allowed the rough to grow much more scores would have been MUCH higher. The short par 4's are very creative and take away much of the course bullying on tour today.
Olympic Lakeside...which you can see from Harding..Chris....only deserves more respect because of it's great (and deserved rep)....but , of course....you've played both and know that.

Denver Player [Visitor] in response to: Harding Park no great course, pros just being polite in San Francisco

Denver Player [Visitor] — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 01:04:37 +0000

Chris,

If I play an away course, I try never to criticise it. It is someone's home course, and they may take offense.
I had a friend play at my course two years ago. He was a hack. He voiced his dislike of the course. He hasn't been invited back since.
One rule I live by: I never take instruction or advice from a hack. I am guessing that you are a hack. So I won't take heed of your review of Harding, just like I won't take heed of your choice in cheesesteaks. BTW, are you even from Philly?

arnie [Visitor] in response to: Harding Park no great course, pros just being polite in San Francisco

arnie [Visitor] — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 18:30:51 +0000

Wow you really are as clueless as everybody thinks, aren't you? How did you ever get into golf writing?

To rip Harding based on comments by some weekend hackers about inconsistent greens is ridiculous. I notice not a single comment about the design of the course itself or the shotmaking it requires. The beauty of Harding is that it requires just that, shotmaking. The fact that you think 18, probably the worst hole on the course, is one of the best, shows that you know nothing about golf or course design and really shouldn't share your thoughts on those topics with the world.

I've played Harding many times and, while I agree it is being overrated by the media, it is definately a top tier course design and also a course with a lot of history. I'm sure you'd be happier if they held the tournament at some new tricked up high end daily fee course with pretty grass and perfect greens, eh?

James G. Prusa [Visitor] in response to: Harding Park no great course, pros just being polite in San Francisco

James G. Prusa [Visitor] — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 17:50:22 +0000

FROM: Director of Agronomy -- Harding Park

Read your column with peaked interest. H'mmm, I could write a book. How about 75,000 rounds a year and full tee even in February -- wear and tear with slow growth...

First, this past winter was no time to judge Harding. Weather was terrible, turf conditions were not good. Frankly, our City staff has been learning and raising the quality bar since our opening in 2003 -- AND they, to the credit of SF municipal employees, have reached the mark. There won't be any going back either.

As to the sincerity of the pros'comments on Harding -- it was all real. Even off the record the caddies were gushing. Even the wives in the clubhouse were thrilled. Sure, the course put on its Sunday best (well, almost as we could notch it up even further), but the kudos were very real. I personally had the press coming to me asking if the positives were real as they were astonished by the favorable reaction.

I have been around golf professionally since the 1960's, Ron Whitten and I even worked togther when I was tech editor of Golf Course Management magazine. Ron shoots straight, objective and hard. He hit the mark on his assessment of Harding and time will tell.

There is more to Harding and SF golf than you can see right now. You mentioned Lincoln (and Sharp too) -- well just watch partner!

Best regards,

Jim Prusa
Harding Park
Director of Agronomy

Butch V [Visitor] in response to: Harding Park no great course, pros just being polite in San Francisco

Butch V [Visitor] — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 09:14:23 +0000

As a person who plays golf, I give due credence and respect to every golf course I play in. I have not played in Harding Park but would love to play some time. A golf course is a blend of design and the elements. Maintenance, good or bad, makes part of the challenge in the game. This game will never have a perfect course, much less a perfect player. Not even a hunderd Tigers, Jacks, or Arnolds. While the game's technology have evolved, this game grows as nature wants it. Not on how we want it to be. What makes a golf course worthy of worldclass play is made up of the players who play in it, who wins it and of course, the color of money. Certainly the challenge of the course will always be there.

steve san filippo [Visitor] in response to: Harding Park no great course, pros just being polite in San Francisco

steve san filippo [Visitor] — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 17:57:32 +0000

A couple of thoughts about your issues with Harding. First, do you say the same things about Olympic Lake because having played and walked both at professional events there was little difference at the AMEX, other than Harding was longer.

Inconsistent greens? Not at the tournament. And remember, this is Nor Cal. You have greens that remain moist for months at a time while enduring 80,000 rounds a year, with many of those 300 lb. players doing pirouettes next to the hole after missed three footers. Yeah, they do get bumpy and uneven at times. It's part of the game.

Harding was everything the announcers said it was. As Tiger said, "it rewards good shots and penalizes marginal shots" without 8" roughs and tricked up greens. And when a course limits the winning score to -10
with a field of 70 of the best players in the world, it is a true and fair test.

But I have to say, as a local, after a while all the gushing did make me start to cringe.