BACKYARD ADVENTURE lie, also a fine teaching pro, have their own instructional area in their backyard in nearby Aldie.
“ He’ s an interesting guy,” said Guttenberg, now director of instruction for the Raspberry Falls golf group out of Bull Run Golf Club in Haymarket.“ In the beginning, I could never find out what he did. He told me he was a writer. He says,‘ I write a lot of checks.’”
Phipps also told Guttenberg he had a lot of land and was thinking about installing a practice green near his art studio. Guttenberg came out one day, saw the property and suggested positioning the green at the end of what was then a hay field, far from the studio and safe from possible errant window-shattering missed shots.
“ Everyone who plays wants to be an architect,” Guttenberg said.“ I designed a two-tiered green for him. I drew out the shape, where the traps would go. And then we created a 270-yard tee shot and then a 150-yard shot. I loved being part of the process. I’ m not Nicklaus or Crenshaw, but this was a great thing for me.”
The golf hole itself is nothing fancy— a well-manicured, straightforward fairway, generously wide with a first cut of rough, then longer grass. A lawn service keeps it mowed to regular fairway length. It’ s framed on both sides by tall trees that really don’ t come into play and it’ s slightly downhill to the green that was installed by Winchester’ s Rich Shoemaker. And if Phipps ever decided to put other tees left, right, or behind, there’ s probably enough land to make nine different holes aimed at that single green.
For now, he’ s more than satisfied with what he’ s got.
“ Hubert can hit it pretty far,” Guttenberg said.“ Scoring wise, he’ s probably a 90s shooter. In all the time he’ s taken lessons from me, he probably only plays about one or two rounds a year on a regular course. He just wanted to play golf in his backyard.”
“ He just wanted to play golf in his backyard.”
PHOTO CREDIT HERE vsga. org S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2017 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 31