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Wake Golf 2024 - Women’s ACC Tournament April 18-21; Men's ACCT April 19-22

Why build a course when you have a top rated course within walking distance of campus? Palmer did the right thing by funding the practice facility instead. The Dan Maples course in Germantown was considered for purchase and renovation, but it wouldn’t have been on par with OTC.
 
Man that 2019 tourney was loaded. Wolff, Hovland, Cole Hammer, Collin Morikawa... Yowza.
 
Pilchard said:
FWIW, WF did get the Elite 8 in 2019, the last time that there was a season, and WF did get the Sweet 16 this year. I have no idea the role of a golf coach on the college level other than to bring in highly rated recruits, which Haas does. Golf is such an individual sport, and all or most of the players have their own coaches/pro's/parents that help them with their games. It's not like the typical team sport where there is a particular gameplan versus an opponent. Did Haas do a great job coaching the team in round 3 when Parker Gillam shot the low round at 64? Did Haas employ a different strategy when the same player shot 77 on the last day? I understand that over time the results (particularly the lack of an ACC title are gauling), but if you have ever played golf, it's really weak sauce to blame the coach for individual players shooting their worst round by 16 shots on the last day. That's just the nature of the sport.

As for the tradition of WF, yes WF has an amazing golf tradition, and that helps with recruiting, but WF built that tradition at at time when only a handful of schools even attempted to compete in golf, and when there were no limits on scholarships. The landscape of the golf has changed. Schools like Clemson, GT, FSU, Bama, Auburn, OK State, Texas Stanford, now are all in on golf. Golf was at best a niche college sport in the 1970s and 1980s when WF dominated. Also, don't discount the fact that WF doesn't have its own golf course. In the 1980s and 1990s, Arnold Palmer led an effort to build an elite WF golf course, and the school couldn't raise the funding. WF has amazing practice facilities and plays at awesome course all of over the country, but it doesn't help that there is no WF golf course.
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The practice facilities & Old Town access are definitely a big advantage for WF, not a disadvantage. I don't have any connections to the program anymore, but my own brief interactions with Haas, as well as the feedback I received from friends/acquaintances that were 3 former players and 3 former recruits (that went elsewhere after initially preferring WF, 2 became All Americans) were quite negative.

Golf is undoubtedly an individual sport, and the coach can only do so much. But from HS all the way to the Ryder Cup, the most talented teams don't always win the big matches/tournaments. The camaraderie, competitiveness, mental game, etc. are all very important, and my guess is that there are plenty of qualified coaches/former players (some with WF connections, if that's a necessity) that would create a much better winning atmosphere & culture in the program. I guess the only downside, in my mind, is if you think the Haas name is that big of a recruiting factor.
 
tigerswood said:
The practice facilities & Old Town access are definitely a big advantage for WF, not a disadvantage. I don't have any connections to the program anymore, but my own brief interactions with Haas, as well as the feedback I received from friends/acquaintances that were 3 former players and 3 former recruits (that went elsewhere after initially preferring WF, 2 became All Americans) were quite negative.

Golf is undoubtedly an individual sport, and the coach can only do so much. But from HS all the way to the Ryder Cup, the most talented teams don't always win the big matches/tournaments. The camaraderie, competitiveness, mental game, etc. are all very important, and my guess is that there are plenty of qualified coaches/former players (some with WF connections, if that's a necessity) that would create a much better winning atmosphere & culture in the program. I guess the only downside, in my mind, is if you think the Haas name is that big of a recruiting factor.
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How much does the job pay? $300k plus camp money, retirement, insurance etc? Jonathan Byrd is taking over at Clemson, but he has totally lost his game in recent years and won’t take a cut in income. What big name from WF would want the job?
 
wfu22fan said:
Why build a course when you have a top rated course within walking distance of campus? Palmer did the right thing by funding the practice facility instead. The Dan Maples course in Germantown was considered for purchase and renovation, but it wouldn’t have been on par with OTC.
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Ellis Maples, not Dan.

And the plan would have called for a massive initiation fee and gutted the existing club membership. A few years later they could have bought the place for pennies after the bottom fell out. The new owner paid about 1.5M for it in 2013ish, and immediately sank a couple million into renovating it into a much nicer facility.
 
Liquid Karma said:
Ellis Maples, not Dan.

And the plan would have called for a massive initiation fee and gutted the existing club membership. A few years later they could have bought the place for pennies after the bottom fell out. The new owner paid about 1.5M for it in 2013ish, and immediately sank a couple million into renovating it into a much nicer facility.
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When you say “gutted the existing club membership” do you mean the course in Germanton or Old Town? Maybe the former but definitely not the latter. My understanding is one of the main reasons that plan failed was a lack of enthusiasm/commitments from folks in Winston to leave either Old Town or Forsyth and join the proposed club.
 
Liquid Karma said:
Ellis Maples, not Dan.

And the plan would have called for a massive initiation fee and gutted the existing club membership. A few years later they could have bought the place for pennies after the bottom fell out. The new owner paid about 1.5M for it in 2013ish, and immediately sank a couple million into renovating it into a much nicer facility.
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When you say “gutted the existing club membership” do you mean the course in Germanton or Old Town? Maybe the former but definitely not the latter. My understanding is one of the main reasons that plan failed was a lack of enthusiasm/commitments from folks in Winston to leave either Old Town or Forsyth and join the proposed club. LL
 
Bob Niedbala said:
When you say “gutted the existing club membership” do you mean the course in Germanton or Old Town? Maybe the former but definitely not the latter. My understanding is one of the main reasons that plan failed was a lack of enthusiasm/commitments from folks in Winston to leave either Old Town or Forsyth and join the proposed club.
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I'm referring to what was then Pinebrook CC. They were going to have a substantial initiation fee and require existing members to buy up to it. And also, the appetite for another "elite" private really wasn't there for Winston Salem in any circumstance, but this was at the tail end of the golf boom where courses were being overbuilt everywhere. I still remember when Salem Glen was supposed to be super private.

Regarding Old Town, I'm a big fan. Were money no option it's the place I would most love to play every day here in the piedmont. That said, I don't feel it's long enough to challenge the current era of college golfers. Certainly an amazing test on and around the greens though, but the value in hitting approach shots is lessened when they hit wedge or short iron into all but 2 par 4's.
 
Who bribed golf magazine to put OTC #41. Sorry Dunlop, it was cute getting them in the top 100 on occasion but ahead of Winged Foot & Bandon? Let’s get real.

The running joke is further highlighted by OTC’s complete omission from the top 200.

Like all things WF, we “settled” for what was already there. A private club (you can’t walk to fenced up) & a civic center to showcase our only real sports.

The decline was predictable.
 
Haas probably needs the Childress treatment, a slow burn exit with opportunities to continue working with the golf program in a different capacity.
 
Delaware just finished its HS golf tournament. Runner up in girls tournament is headed to Duke. She has five top 10 finishes in the state tournament. (Eighth graders are allowed to play.) The winner is a freshman. Third place is an eighth graders. Two to keep an eye on for future reference.
 
Combined with our on campus Arnold Palmer Golf facility Old Town is the perfect course for us. Its on campus, nationally recognized, the restoration by Coore and Crenshaw has been lauded nationally, loved by our current and past players and they've done more to embrace Wake Forest and its history than the Joel ever has. Contrast this to Vanderbilt where its a 45 minute drive from campus to their golf course.

I can tell you first hand that Kupcho and Migliaccio referenced Old Town and its proximity to campus as one of the reasons they selected Wake. Having a course and first class practice facility close to campus is a rarity. Having them be rated as high as they are are reserved for places like Stanford, OSU and Yale.

BTW Wake pays Old Town next to nothing for having unlimited access.
 
Tim Straub would be a good choice to replace Jerry. He was a key member of the 1986 NCAA champs and had been the coach at Davidson for about 20 years. Great guy and would do a great job.

I have also thought about Len Mattiace for the job. I may be the only one. Len is super personable and would bring some name recognition - maybe. Kids are too young to remember Len on tour but their parents are not. He was another key player on that 1986 team.
 
guitardeac said:
Tim Straub would be a good choice to replace Jerry. He was a key member of the 1986 NCAA champs and had been the coach at Davidson for about 20 years. Great guy and would do a great job.

I have also thought about Len Mattiace for the job. I may be the only one. Len is super personable and would bring some name recognition - maybe. Kids are too young to remember Len on tour but their parents are not. He was another key player on that 1986 team.
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Good possibilities. ABH - Anyone But Haas
 
guitardeac said:
Tim Straub would be a good choice to replace Jerry. He was a key member of the 1986 NCAA champs and had been the coach at Davidson for about 20 years. Great guy and would do a great job.

I have also thought about Len Mattiace for the job. I may be the only one. Len is super personable and would bring some name recognition - maybe. Kids are too young to remember Len on tour but their parents are not. He was another key player on that 1986 team.
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Man, he was so close to being a Masters champion. Would have been nice to have another Wake major champion.
 
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