COURSE:  Shattuck

LOCATION: Jaffrey, New Hampshire

ARCHITECT: Brian Silva (Designer of Firestone, West Course)

JNSE DESIGN: Scott Chesney


At long last, my most precious JNSE project has come to its
conclusion.  Shattuck is not yet a well known course but I
predict that it will be.  Without question it is the most
beautiful course I have ever had the pleasure of playing. It is
also the hardest, even though it is relatively short for a
championship course (6,701 yards from the blues). The actual
course rating is 74.2 (par is 71). According to the course
brochure, "from the great blues it is the toughest course you can
play in all of New England." The slope rating is 148 (courses
average 116). The rating was so high that the NHGA computer
couldn't handle it and the figures had to be sent to USGA
headquarters for computation.  

Cut out of granite and woodlands at the base of Mt. Monadnock,
Shattuck weaves through beautiful marshland which makes it a true
target course.  It is perhaps best known for the number of lost
balls (they claim the average golfer loses 10 balls a round
here...I lost 12).  Of course, on JNSE you never lose a ball so
hit away.

I can safely say that this course is as accurate a course as can
be reproduced within the limits of the JNSE program. I had the
good fortune of connecting with the real architects of the
course, who provided me with the original drawings. One of the
architects, Howie Maurer, kindly arranged for me to videotape the
course to my heart's delight, which we did in the spring of this
year (1992). All measurements (fairways, greens, etc.) are exact
according to the drawings. There is significantly more granite
around the course than I could put on the JNSE version, due to
the limitation of 240 objects per hole.  Also, the course has
magnificent wooden bridges which span the marsh areas.
Unfortunately, the design program does not allow for those type
of objects to be properly viewed from all angles so I did not
reproduce them.

I changed the objects and background on this course so many times
I hate to think about it. Finally, I settled on the fall season.
Most of the trees I drew myself. I digitized one of the tall
pines, as well as the big reddish tree. I borrowed the
traditional pine (Christmas tree type) I believe from one of
Lee Ritze's courses. I also thank Lee and Mark Willett for
inspiring my cloud work. I also thank Mark for his idea of the
colors for the fairway and rough. I loved what he did with
Mulligan's Point, as the deep rough had kind of a brownish green
look to it, as would be true in the fall. It fit perfectly for
Shattuck so I changed my palette accordingly.

The marsh areas are an experiment I'm sure I will continue to
perfect. I wanted to create the look of a non-moving scum pit
that was also filled with a certain kind of beauty. Actually, I'm
very pleased with the overall look I have been able to develop in
the marshes, as it captures Shattuck pretty well.

As for the course....you can't just bang away here. But if you
plan carefully, you can score quite well. As for my favorite
holes....I love the challenge of number six, which has three
distinct fairway sections. But you can go for the green in two.
Miss and you are in the marsh.  My favorite view is the second
shot at number 10 from atop a hill looking down to a green
protected by traps and marsh.  Finally, I love 17, although I had
to change it somewhat to make it fair for this game. The fairway
slopes more severely to the left and the dropoff near the green
is even greater than what you see. Still it is quite daunting. In
truth, the game version is easier than in real life. Believe it
or not, on those holes with marsh around, you are out of bounds
if you are even 6 feet off the fairway. Every shot must be on
target.

I hope you enjoy the course. If you do, you may like to try some
of my others for JNSE, which include Pebble Beach, The Links at
Spanish Bay, Banff Springs, and as a co-designer on Gabrielle
Gardens. They are available on all the major boards.

Finally, I wish to thank Howie Maurer for his tremendous
assistance and support in this project. Both he and Brian Silva
served as playtesters and gave suggestions to make the course as
accurate as possible.

                           Scott Chesney
                           27 Edgerly-Garrison Road
                           Durham, New Hampshire  03824