REAL OR RENDITIONS
Nothing Fake about this Impersonation
     A round at Renditions Golf Course in Davidsonville, Md., can be a disorienting experience, and not just because a bad hook off the tee at Augusta National's No. 11 can put you in the middle of eastern Long Island on Shinnecock Hills' No. 16.
Even more distracting are the two voices constantly whispering in your ear as you make your way around the 6,762-yard, par-72 layout, one muttering, "This is so fake!" while the other exclaims, "This is so cool!"
     If you can just muzzle your inner purist, you're in for a highly enjoyable day.
     Certainly no course in recent memory has generated the buzz that Renditions has among my golfing buddies. The latest and most technically sophisticated of the spate of knock-off courses around the country, Renditions promises a "Grand Slam experience" by faithfully (and eerily) reproducing famous golf holes from around the world, including the Masters' Amen Corner (Nos. 11, 12 and 13), Oakmont's No. 3 (with its famous church pew bunkers), and three holes from the British Open rotation of courses, including Royal Lytham's No. 16, where Bobby Jones clinched his first British Open.
     The only hole not modeled on a course that has hosted a Grand Slam event might be the most notorious: Sawgrass' No. 17 (No. 13 at Renditions), the island green that regularly breaks hearts at the Tournament Players' Championship.
     Despite the mandatory legal disclaimers — none of the championship layouts has given its formal blessing to the knockoffs - the technical level of mimicry at Renditions is superb. The designers used aerial photography, topographical mapping and sophisticated landscaping software to place the various holes on a 500-acre site that once housed a sand and gravel mine.
     The technology allows the designers to replicate the setting of tees, traps and greens to a remarkable degree accuracy of the originals.
     The shape and slope of the individual holes were digitized, and the software helped to fit the holes to their best position on the site. (One drawback: The need to use just the proper terrain gives Renditions a funky, elongated footprint, making carts absolutely necessary.)
     Backed by some creative landscaping, the effect can be uncanny. Renditions has just nailed the three Augusta National holes - which play here as Nos. 6, 7, and 8 — down to the leader board flanking the faux No. 11 and the famous arched walkway to the green on the imitation par-3 No. 12.
     Sure, the knock-off/homage to the par-5 dogleg No. 13 lacks the huge stand of hardwoods along the left side of the Georgia original, but put your drive out past the crook of the dogleg, ignore the thin collection of striplings at your back and there it is: that notorious, infinitely seductive second shot to the green, with Rae's Creek (or a very reasonable facsimile) snaking around the front. It's the closest most of us will ever get to Masters heaven, and it's pretty close.
     Even more successful in their way are the British Open holes, which were not even part of the original concept. The par-4 fourth hole (Royal Lytham's No. 16), the par-5 No. 5 (Royal Birkdale's 543-yard No. 15), and the par-5 No. 12 (No. 6 at Carnoustie) sit on some of the most open land on the site and, with their pot bunkers, calf-high rough and small, civilized greens, effortlessly convey a sense of the real thing.
     The Renditions theme isn't limited to the topography. The caddies and bag-drop attendants wear pork-pie hats and plus-fours. Each hole has a small sign detailing fabled feats or historic disasters that occurred at that hole. And the pro shop, the grill room and the banqueting facilities are each designed to reflect a different era of golfing tastes.
     When Renditions first opened, it suffered through some rough weather and heavy play. A prolonged drought was tough on the course and its groundskeepers. But the course matured and quickly rounded into shape. Playing conditions are now as pristine as any other area course.
     The opening months haven't been kind to Renditions in terms of weather, even though early demand has far exceeded projections. The heavy play and the prolonged regional drought have meant major headaches for the groundskeepers, Sheehan says.
Especially hard hit was the par-3 17th, a dead ringer for Winged Foot's No. 7 — save for the bald patches on the green and the tattered surround.
     "The problem has been we were too popular too fast. This course is a baby, and it's already been run pretty hard," he says. "This concept only really works in the long run if the conditions are pristine. We can spend the money to do that, but we can't make it rain."
     The other early issue to emerge was pace of play, especially given the lengthy cart rides between holes, the punishing rough and numerous bunkers on many holes, the lack of any real "breather" holes and the incurable desire of some first-timers to read all the signs and have their picture taken at various replicant historic sites on the course.
     But that problem seems to have been solved as Renditions personnel give helpful playing tips on the first tee and the course is set up so that the adventure ahead unfolds in front of you. Blind shots and long forced carries are not part of the mix at Renditions.
     For all the ingenuity and intelligence that went into the design, Renditions was conceived as a once-a-season treat, not a place a serious golfer would want to call his "home club." The course does not offer memberships and aggressively markets to corporate and charity outings, even on prime weekend dates.