Mike Strantz and Mike Keiser at Bandon Dunes: If Only...

Sitting around as the world melts down around me, I ponder warmer climes. A rare, unique thought occurs to me: what if Mike Strantz had been selected by Mike Kaiser to work on the first or second courses at Bandon Dunes. What glacial layout, what burning bunkers, what exploding mounds would we have discussed for the past six to nine years?

On record as having been thrilled beyond consciousness with Kidd and Doak (and Coore/Crenshaw, for that matter) at Bandon, I still wonder what craziness Mike Strantz might have derived from the lands of the Coos tribe. I had the distinct pleasure of trying my hand at True Blue in South Carolina two summers ago. Guess what? Blew my mind. How could a course so difficult summon forth my best golf? I had played many a difficult golf course before, yet this one seemed to urge me on, calling out shots I had forgotten or never known. I regret not being more forceful with Caledonia next door, but will return to play it.

In fact, I will make a pilgrimage, first to Williamsburg to play Stonehouse and Royal New Kent. I will stop in at Bull’s Bay when I play Caledonia in South Carolina. Next will come North Carolina, to stop in at Tot Hill Farm and Tobacco Road. Final destination: California for Silver Creek and Monterrey Peninsula Shore.

Find someone bored by a Strantz design and I’ll buy dinner and drinks. Incredibly, all of his courses are ranked among the best 100 modern courses by every major golf publication. Could it be that there was not enough room for his designs? Probably. No, Baldwin, you can’t lie and say that you were bored, just for the freebie. In the meantime, look forward to Old MacDonald at Bandon Dunes (estimated arrival time: 2010) and wonder what might have been.