This is a Shame

GC at Yale to get '100%' attention starting this week, AD says

Was it "shuttered since November" due to it closing for winter and not opening for the season prior to the Coronas?

Yale has a 30B endowment. I can see where they would have a problem maintaining a golf course. Complete failure on the part of the university. Covid is not to be taken lightly, but maintenance workers could easily maintain distancing and wear masks.

I'm not familiar with the restrictions that were in place in CT but most places had exemptions for maintenance workers that would have allowed the course to be maintained.

I wonder if the fact that the crew were University employees put further restrictions on them.

EDIT: Yep, the article specifically states that they were subject to University restrictions.

I don't know the reasons. I don't really care what the reasons are. When you have a course, any course anywhere, with that pedigree, you have a responsibility to take care of it. If you have the means to do so you have no excuse.

CBM is in the world golf hall of fame. Seth Raynor has a society dedicated to his works. You are a steward of those types of courses.

It just condition issues its not like they built a dorm on the property. Yale has infinite money, I am sure they will get it fixed up pretty quick.

I think you are making a bigger deal out of this than it is.. Were they supposed to break the law to maintain it? It is just a golf course, the layout is still there and great. They are now allowed to work it in full capacity, everything will be ok.. Deep breaths.

And the rest, eesh, grass will grow and bunkers will be raked again. I'd hate to think how the OP would react if someone knocked over his favourite statue from his favorite most esteemed early 20th century sculpturer.

Won't someone think of the children!

Yeah, a few posts in this thread are objectively bad takes. Yale has the money to get the course back to what it was and I’m sure they will in due time. What they won’t do is put their golf course ahead of the safety and welfare of their staff. But by all means, resume yelling at clouds.

Honestly, still looks better than some courses that are open for play and collecting greens fees.

It was an internal decision not a law.

Agree or disagree with how serious I take it, I see them using coronas as a scapegoat. Why do they now need to hire a gm and super?

University wide mandate. They took Corona Virus (not sure why you keep calling it coronas) serious and kept their employees from working. The article says they had a couple people maintaining the tee boxes and greens. Why do you think they are out to get you or the golf course, maybe they are making decisions that are best for them as a university. The course will be fine sooner rather than later. Again, you make it sound like the end of the world. It is a golf course, it will be back, there are bigger problems.

They aren't out to get me. I doubt I will ever step foot on the place. I just have a concern for great courses and courses of architectural merit.

There certainly are bigger problems. Some courses here suspended play as well. They didn't quit mowing the fairways though. If it is about safety why limit the amount of time the two folks working could work? The steps they took don't match the risk nor align with what they are saying. I think this is indicative of a place putting other things well ahead of the course, and they should given how they are structured and the other responsibilities. But I question if the course was operated separate from Yale with a GM and Super would this have happened? I don't think so.

So my hang up is with the obligation and responsibility to the course I feel they should have. Given the structure of who owns and operates it I think it got pushed to the wayside unnecessarily.

That's all. I guess I was just shocked that they would let the course (of that renown) go like they did.

Lol "significant misinformation circulating"...

Umm no, you just confirmed exactly what's been reported. No super or GM, 2 workers doing bare minimum, course gone to s***

There is a point beyond which it's not just turning on the sprinklers, cranking the mowers and raking the bunkers. The course can certainly be restored, Yale has the money to do it, but it's not going to be a short process.

The greens and tee boxes have been maintained - so the greens are fine which is key. The next most difficult and expensive aspect would be bunkers. I'm not a superintendent but I think bunkers can be pretty easily fixed with $$, which they have. But big picture, they don't need to be ready by August or whenever. They have as much time as they want to get the course back. There are plenty of courses to play, the only thing impacted by them being closed is them. The original post was like they went in and bulldozed the course and destroyed the layout beyond repair.

I wouldn't care if they lose the course. University administration too dumb to know how to craft rules so they can safely and effectively maintain the course. They don't deserve a course that nice.

The original post was just a link and a question. The title of the thread is an opinion.

Bunkers are easy if you got money. If you had enough money (yale obviously does) you could rebuild every bunker in a day if you realllyyyy wanted to.

It'd take a lot of people and cost a small fortune but it could be done.

Sorry, your following post*

C'mon, really? He was off one - this is just a touch melodramatic:

"I don't know the reasons. I don't really care what the reasons are. When you have a course, any course anywhere, with that pedigree, you have a responsibility to take care of it. If you have the means to do so you have no excuse.

CBM is in the world golf hall of fame. Seth Raynor has a society dedicated to his works. You are a steward of those types of courses."

Edit: beat me to it :-)

I strive for accuracy. Even when I might be blowing things out of proportion.

In golf Architecture forums

there have been rumors for years of Yale wanting to develop the land the golf course sits on

recently, they seemed to bring in people who respected the golf history and quality of the architecture, but the post stating hiring new manger/supt is concerning for golf Architecture geeks

ir would be sad to lose This quality of a design. But I wouldn’t be surprised

I can see where the OP is coming from on this. It does not take long for a golf course to go to pot if not maintained. Good example my home course closed for good back in November to make way for more houses and condos. Now there is some kind of Snafu and nothing has been done. In just 8 months time it has really grown up so bad if you do not know the area you would never know a course was even there. And trust me it was maintained to the very last day it was open. I know I was one of the last to play it. Now due to closing they did not over seed the greens. Some of us diehards walked and played it after it closed. It was ok sort of for about 2 weeks then the grass got so high in the fairways you could not hit out of it yes worse than US Open rough.

Now a few years back we had another course close and sat ( we have had about 5 in that category now) the HOA decided they wanted to get it back playable. Was going to be around 1 million to even try to get it back into playing condition after sitting for 13 months. They had no idea.

So yeah I can see everyone's point on this. And I have no idea on what the law was in CT. or how things went since I assume they accept state money.

I can't read the minds of the Yale decision makers but I'd assume they thought it would be bad optics to have the golf course looking pristine in the middle of a pandemic shutdown. It's their course. They can do what they want with it.

Certainly they can. That's where I think if you had a group who were responsible for the golf course first and foremost this would not have happened. No need to worry about optics. I haven't heard or read of any other university course in a similar situation but the Yale course is unique in that it is consistently ranked the best university course in the US and among the best courses period.

I get the concern over the history of the course and the fact they made a choice (they own the course and can do what they want with it as that is the right of ownership) to not maintain during the current Covid times is pure choice.

Though when you have a 30B endowment.... there is really is no reason they could not have keep it maintained?? Wondering if they put the Dir/Sup and staff on furlough and they moved on to find other work? Everyone still has bills to pay as we all know.

I looked and Yale would of been allowed keep the staff full on to maintain the course under the regulations. Probably worried about lawsuits if someone did get sick at work like many businesses are.Wonder if the professors keep the full pay while closed =)

For everyone saying endowment endowment endowment I am not sure y’all know how they work (maybe I don’t either but...).

Endowments are often already earmarked and directed towards certain things. Part of the endowments are used to operate the school every year, fund financial aid, make capital improvements etc. If you’re projecting a loss for the school, it’s not as easy as just dipping into the endowment, cuts need to be made. If I’m a school and cutting the golf course means I can pay my instructors? Or keep someone’s scholarship it’s a no brained for a board member.

it’s is unfortunate, I hear it’s a fantastic golf course but it’s a golf course.

To paraphrase a quote from a Simpsons episode... "Yale needs to restore its golf course, Mr. Burns!"