Discussion: US Open Golf Course O map
in: Orienteering; General
Jun 15, 2022 9:05 AM
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On which golf course would you most like to see an orienteering competition? To me it would be The Country Club in Brookline MA where the US Open Golf Tournament is being played this week. What topography!
Yes, I know we'll never get to go orienteering there. That is unless O-Cinn can actually get their pigs to fly. But I think following along the golf tournament on TV while reading the map actually does improve orienteering map reading skills.
Enjoy.
Also thanks to EricW for pointing me to a link to a drone flyover of the course. That video made the topography and the vegetation much clearer. Now I believe all those who say drones can be a big help to orienteering mapping.
Yes, I know we'll never get to go orienteering there. That is unless O-Cinn can actually get their pigs to fly. But I think following along the golf tournament on TV while reading the map actually does improve orienteering map reading skills.
Enjoy.
Also thanks to EricW for pointing me to a link to a drone flyover of the course. That video made the topography and the vegetation much clearer. Now I believe all those who say drones can be a big help to orienteering mapping.
Jun 15, 2022 3:28 PM
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Excellent. They have a bunch more holes, but they picked some (presumably the best 18) for this tournament?
I think you should feel free to create a new symbol for bunkers. It took me a moment to realize what those were, because the dot pattern is too big relative to the size of the objects.
I think you should feel free to create a new symbol for bunkers. It took me a moment to realize what those were, because the dot pattern is too big relative to the size of the objects.
Jun 15, 2022 5:14 PM
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Great eye as always JJ. Yes the bunker symbol needs adjustment. When I have been making golf course maps for real I usually reduce the 213.000 Sandy ground symbol by 50%. I just missed it here. All the bunkers here were placed by whoever made the Open Street Map version of this area.
The Country Club has 27 holes and they picked a particular mix of 18 holes. There is one they left out that I wonder 'what if...' That's the hole to the southwest of Hole #4. It tees off from a high point and heads south to the green in a low point with two other hills and dips in between. I have added it to the link above.
The Country Club has 27 holes and they picked a particular mix of 18 holes. There is one they left out that I wonder 'what if...' That's the hole to the southwest of Hole #4. It tees off from a high point and heads south to the green in a low point with two other hills and dips in between. I have added it to the link above.
Jun 15, 2022 6:27 PM
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PG:
I played the 18-hole course (as it was then) a number of times in the spring of 1964. Quite the pleasure, even though my game was hardly up to the challenge. Still had the horse racetrack oval in the area of 1 and 18. I remember that area as being totally flat, other then the green at 18 being up a bit. Gord has a contour line or two snaking through that area, don't know whether field-checking would show that was warranted or not.
Come to think of it, this was only a few months after my introduction to orienteering at the Blue Hills (south of Boston). But even with O' freshly in my mind, I don't believe I ever looked around me and thought, wow, what a great place this would be for night orienteering.
Come to think of it, this was only a few months after my introduction to orienteering at the Blue Hills (south of Boston). But even with O' freshly in my mind, I don't believe I ever looked around me and thought, wow, what a great place this would be for night orienteering.
Jun 15, 2022 6:53 PM
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Yes, the hole that Gord references is noteworthy, and usually included, historically.
A couple other twists-
#13 is actually a combination of two holes. The normal green for this hole is on the flattish plateau on the east side of the ponds, which makes for a mediocre par 4, but they extended the hole by using the green on the west side of the ponds which is normally on the subsequent par 3 hole, making a very strong/interesting par 4.
It would be confusing to show the additional green on this map.
Also the rear tee on #14, which makes this a great par 5, is probably not normally usable because it plays over another green which would be in play under normal circumstances.
#11 is a extra short par 3 which has usually been skipped, but included this year, because it apparently fit the overall scheme.
A couple other twists-
#13 is actually a combination of two holes. The normal green for this hole is on the flattish plateau on the east side of the ponds, which makes for a mediocre par 4, but they extended the hole by using the green on the west side of the ponds which is normally on the subsequent par 3 hole, making a very strong/interesting par 4.
It would be confusing to show the additional green on this map.
Also the rear tee on #14, which makes this a great par 5, is probably not normally usable because it plays over another green which would be in play under normal circumstances.
#11 is a extra short par 3 which has usually been skipped, but included this year, because it apparently fit the overall scheme.
Jun 15, 2022 8:29 PM
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Re the horse track…
“A serious identity crisis consumed members of The Country Club in the 1880s and raged on for parts of the next three decades. Race or golf?
Horsemen were first on the scene as the competitive racing on their track was the source of immense pleasure. Golfers were a little later and in the minority, so there seemed to be an amicable existence.
But as golfers increased and the course went from three to nine to 18 holes “the golfers were averse to having horsemen ride over their fairways and the riders claimed the golfers were not always careful to avoid hitting them,” wrote former club historian Elmer Cappers.
It wasn’t until 1935 that a clear winner was declared when the last horse race was held. As a concession to club history, or perhaps owed to a membership that doesn’t like change, the track remained in place (it circled the first and 18th holes) until 1969.”
“A serious identity crisis consumed members of The Country Club in the 1880s and raged on for parts of the next three decades. Race or golf?
Horsemen were first on the scene as the competitive racing on their track was the source of immense pleasure. Golfers were a little later and in the minority, so there seemed to be an amicable existence.
But as golfers increased and the course went from three to nine to 18 holes “the golfers were averse to having horsemen ride over their fairways and the riders claimed the golfers were not always careful to avoid hitting them,” wrote former club historian Elmer Cappers.
It wasn’t until 1935 that a clear winner was declared when the last horse race was held. As a concession to club history, or perhaps owed to a membership that doesn’t like change, the track remained in place (it circled the first and 18th holes) until 1969.”
Jun 16, 2022 4:31 PM
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Hey Gord I couldn’t believe how humpy and tilted the golf course was until I started watching the telecast this morning. Yes, great for a night-O! Will you run another event at Rivermead?
Jun 17, 2022 4:27 PM
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Jun 18, 2022 2:30 AM
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Not likely to be a night-O at Rivermead Golf Club this year but there will be a night O in October at a Quebec golf course--- Golf Fauvel, in Bonaventure, Quebec.
Jun 18, 2022 11:25 AM
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I’m NOT a golf fan. I find the sport really boring to watch, difficult to play, and the environmental impacts of the courses are horrendous. But environmental impacts aside the late Adrian Zissos was absolutely right in his assessment that in many aspects golf is better than orienteering.
https://www.barebones.ca/Why%20Golf%20Is%20Better%...
https://www.barebones.ca/Why%20Golf%20Is%20Better%...
This discussion thread is closed.