Sports Publications

Now Playing . . . : Grip it and rip one for the Gipper - Brief Article

Golf Digest, Nov, 2000 by Ron Whitten

Despite some obvious talent, it remains to be seen whether Notre Dame will reclaim a spot among the elite in college football. A difficult task, given the brutally tough schedule the Irish play each year. But the Golden Dome still has reason to glow: Notre Dame's new Warren Golf Course on the edge of campus near South Bend, Ind., will soon be recognized as one of the premier collegiate courses in America.

It's not in the mold of recent beefy, brawny college layouts such as Karsten Creek or Colbert Hills. It's more comparable to grand old Stanford or Yale. If you didn't know better, you would think Warren had been built in the Roaring Twenties. It looks old, with tiny perched greens guarded by gnarly bunkers, some cross bunkers in the fairways and big cedars backdropping many holes. And it plays old, with holes that beg for a slight fade or draw and greens that favor low, bouncing approaches.

Credit architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and their team of creative shapers. No one does "old" like Coore and Crenshaw. They even opted not to list par on the scorecard--no par for a hole, no par for the round. Instead, par is what each golfer deems it to be. (Muirfield in Scotland also has a no-par scorecard.)

It's obvious what par should be on most holes. On others, like the 462-yard second or the 480-yard 17th, it'll depend upon the mind-set of each player, and the strength and direction of the wind.