Mira Vista named finalist for Renovation of the Year
Mira Vista Golf and Country Club
in El Cerrito was recently named one of nine finalists for “Renovation of the Year” by Golf Inc. Magazine. The club’s restoration and redesign,
completed in 2011, included exten- sive focus on 19 new bentgrass green complexes that were built to USGA specifications. All bunkers on the course were replaced, and nine tee complexes and all-new cart paths were installed. Mira Vista is joined by fellow nomi- nees in the Private Courses category: The Bald Head Island Club (Bald Head, N.C.); Lambton Golf and Coun- try Club (Toronto, Canada); Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club (Tampa, Fla.) and River Bend Club (Great Falls, Va.). Judging criteria for the annual
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Before Mr. 55 A 59 used to mean
something in golf, the mag- ic sub-60 number carded first by Al Geiberger in 1977. That 13-under score sat as golf ’s gold standard low score in an official event until Chip Beck did it again in 1991 at the Las Vegas Invitational. Annika Soren- stam became the first (and only) woman to break 60 in 2001 and Ryo Ishikawa went one further when he posted a 12-under 58 in a 2010 Japan Golf Tour event. How then does one
properly place a 55 in historical context? The 16-under score produced by Rhein Gibson in May at River Oaks Golf Club in
12 /
NCGA.ORG / SUMMER 2012
Edmond, Okla., is the low- est known 18-hole score in golf history. “Pretty surreal,” the
26-year-old Australian told Golf Oklahoma magazine. “I really wasn’t nervous on those last few holes. By then, I knew I was in the 50s so it was just a matter of how low it was going to be. I would be more nervous over a 3-foot putt to make a cut.” After an opening par,
Gibson went eagle-birdie- eagle followed by five more birdies to post a 26 on the first nine of the 6,698-yard, par-71 course. Gibson’s group had begun their round on the 10th hole and
then had to wait 15 minutes for the first tee to clear. After pars on the first two holes, the aspiring tour pro- fessional produced birdies on six of the last seven holes to reach 16 under. While River Oaks’ yard-
age is short by professional golf standards, and the course was damp allowing players impunity in firing at the hole, the 55 still stands as one of the game’s most remarkable scores, even if it was shot in a casual round. The combination of yard- age, par and difficulty can sometime temper enthusi- asm upon hearing the tale of a golf feat, but River Oaks’ course rating and
award, which began in 2004, stems from how well the renovations improved the course with specific note made to routing, playability, maintain- ability and aesthetics. Golf Inc. is a leading magazine for golf course developers, owners and management company executives. The current class of award winners
will be announced in the summer issue of Golf Inc.
Rhein Gibson
slope clocks in at a respect- able 72.8/132. Ironically, Gibson’s
score shattered his week-old course record at the same facility. That round? A routine 60.
PHOTO: MIKE HOUSKA, COURTESY OF FORREST RICHARDSON & ASSOCIATES
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