The dream of every golf course site planner ...

Editor's Note: As this issue went to press, Jack Sullivan, general manager and vice president of The Old Collier Golf Club, received the following e-mail from James B. Singerling, CCM, CEC, the chief executive officer of the Club Managers Association of America:

Jack,

As you know, I recently had the opportunity to visit and play The Old Collier Golf Course.

What the Collier family has created at the club is unique and special in our industry. As the CEO of the Club Managers Association of America for the last 17 years, I have experienced venues around the world. What the course architect and the Collier family have captured on this piece of property would be the dream of every golf course site planner who has ever lived.

Having spent the nine years prior to my role at CMAA as a corporate official with the Robert Trent Jones, Sr. organization, I do appreciate the effort that was taken to establish a significant challenge for the single-digit handicapper, yet still provide a rewarding experience for the regular golfer.

The maintenance of the entire facility, the multiple pin positions on all of the greens, and the marvelous flashing of the bunkers is a tribute to your remarkable team. Mr. Tim Hyer, CGCS is a legend in the environmental golf community, to say nothing of his commitment to the image of the professional golf course superintendent.

The creative use of the varying strains of the paspalum grasses on tees, greens, fairways, and rough, in addition to the aesthetic feature areas around the greens, is a wave of the future in all areas of the world dealing with diminished flesh water for irrigation. Hats off to all involved in The Old Collier experience. It is second to none.