Gil Hanse's Boston Club

• There's a really good story about Gil Hanse's Boston Club. In fact, I'm stunned this appeared in a major newspaper, as the story really gives a pretty strong take on Hanse and his naturalistic style. I haven't played a Hanse course, but he is a protege of Tom Doak, arguably the hottest golf architect in the business right now. Interestingly, Hanse also went to Cornell and received a scholarship that allowed him to travel to the UK and see many of the world's best links. Doak received the same scholarship. Big things are expected of Hanse. He's currently working with Mark Parsinen on a new course in Inverness, Scotland that is being billed as the next Kingsbarns. The only knock against him is that he's not the strongest router in the world, but he could get better with time.
• I had to fend off a screaming baby every so often, but I did manage to talk to PGA Tour pro Tom Lehman for about a half hour yesterday about his golf design business. Lehman was in Collingwood working with Tom McBroom on a course called The Raven for Intrawest, the resort operator. While most tour pros are only in the design business for the marketing value, Lehman seems very different. He discusses the nuances of the likes of Harry Colt and has even spent some time seeing top Toronto courses like Toronto Golf and St. George's. Look for a full story in an upcoming National Post golf column.
• Lastly, I'll be away from the blog for the next two days visiting Pine Valley and Merion. Then I'm in the middle of a move, having purchased a new home (and a bigger mortgage) that we move into this Friday. But first, two of the best golf courses in the world. I'm looking forward to being less intimidated by both of them this time. And dammit, I'm not going to listen to the caddie when he tells me to hit driver on 16 at Merion, "because no one can hit it into the quarrry." No one, my ass. I pulled out the driver and stroked it right down the middle, 285 yards -- you guessed it -- right into the quarry. I'll do better this time. And I've decided to give the caddies instructions -- give me the yardage to the flag. Don't read putts and don't tell me what club to hit. We'll see how it goes.