Yale Golf Course Feature in the New Haven Register

It's all too rare for an American newspaper to feature an article on a Classic Era golf course, never mind one that also delves into the architect and/or the superintendent.

In a recent New Haven Register piece, however, Assistant Sports Editor Bill Cloutier did just that. He not only profiled the Yale Golf Course that will host the Eastern Regional NCAA Div. I Men's Golf Tournament May 20-22, but also interviewed golf course superintendent Scott Ramsay, allowing him to enlighten readers into the efforts to restore the Seth Raynor-designed layout, including the removal of thousands of trees. (The Biarritz green of the 9th hole is pictured here.)

Here's one of Ramsay's quotes:

“Technology aside, we’re presenting a golf course that will stand the test of time. Yes, we do need a little more length but we were the shortest (NCAA) golf course in 2004 and the winner was 2-under par. All the other regionals they were in the teens under par and they were all over 7,000 yards."

The entire piece is worth a read.

For me, Yale is easily the finest golf course not just in Connecticut but in New England.

One side note: Cloutier and I worked together for a short time in the late 1990s at the Record-Journal newspaper in Meriden, Conn.