Our Plan for Knollwood

 

 

 

The famous 18th - still there - but needs restoring

 

The initial focus of our work at Knollwood is to return the course back to the way it originally played.

 

All our work will begin at the greens. The putting surfaces originally went all the way out to the edge of the fill pads that Raynor and Banks built. They shrank as riding mowers were introduced and the shapes were rounded out. They continued to shrink to help make the maintenance of the greens easier. They may have got easier to maintain, but they also lost much of the character that made the course great.

 

 

16 before

 

 

16 now - so much missing green

 

By shifting the green back out to the edge, and in a few instances slightly over the edge, we create a situation where you are either on, or you have to face a tough recovery shot often from well below the green. By taking the greens closer to the edges we open up the opportunity to push the pin positions closer to the edges and re-introduce some of the strategy and danger created by Raynor. Many at the club may think length is the key to adding a little more challenge, but the key to making the course more challenging is restoring those greens.

 

 

The 14th from the side - and how much green is missing

 

The bunkering was right up against the greens with very steep slopes separating the surface and the flat bunker bottoms. The absolute nature of either on and putting or short and in the bunker has an impact on the play towards pins that are tucked behind trouble. Being so close, golfers know that there is no longer a margin for error, or a width of rough to keep you close and on top. By restoring the steep banks around the bunkers, the bunkering will become a bigger factor in play.

 

 

The 10th - and the feeder slopes

 

There are kicker slopes, bowl banks, false fronts, chipping opportunity also in the plans, but the greens, followed by the bunkers will be the reason that Knollwood takes a big leap forward when the work gets done.

 

June 17th, 2010

 

 

Knollwood Country Club

 

 

Opening hole - 1927

 

I have been at Knollwood Country Club is Westchester, New York for the last couple of days. I consider the opportunity to work on a course designed and built by Seth Raynor a great honour and really look forward to assisting the club with a restorative based plan.

 

 

The incredible 16th

 

So far I have done four walks of the course, spent time with the committee, had an evening meeting and gone through the archives. I’m having lots of fun. I plan to finish up by playing the course on Wednesday and visiting Sleepy Hollow to look at how they handled a similar circumstance.

 

 

The short 3rd

 

This afternoon I spent some time looking through the minutes and so far it appears that the course was routed by Tillinghaust. Tillie began work on six holes, but had a major falling out with the club and was let go. The club soon hired Seth Raynor to produce a new plan and pick up the work where it left off. Raynor’s notes indicate that he rebuilt the green surfaces that were started and made modifications to the holes.

 

 

The 4th hole

 

Over the next couple of weeks I plan to read everything that I have collected, including Raynor’s reports and his initial proposal to help me understand the evolution of the club. The information that I was able to find in the archives is something you dream of finding and I’ll share it as the story unfolds. I hope to eventually answer the question of who should get credit for the course.

 

 

16 - 17 -18 from the Raynor Plan

 

 

I’ll post more on the course tomorrow evening.

June 15th, 2010

 

The Open Up for Grabs?

 

Cherry Hill's 17th with new bunker work

 

Gary McKay from the Hamilton Spectator reported that Cherry Hill Club may officially throw its hat in the ring to become a candidate to host an RBC Canadian Open in the not-too-distant future. Cherry Hill has held a past Canadian Open and is definitely capable of hosting a future one since it could be easily stretched if nessasary.

Gary reports, �It has all the attributes required to host an Open: an old-style course that players like, acres of land for the infrastructure, and plenty of hotel rooms nearby in Fort Erie, Niagara Falls and Buffalo. It also has the attractions at the falls, which might convince some players to come and bring their families.

Cherry Hill's 11th and its wild green

I must admit I was skeptical until I read about the available hotel rooms at the Falls and realized that this will still likely have a summer date that takes place after school is finished.

Gary continues, “The club's board of directors asked Roy to feel out Golf Canada about what would be required to put in a formal bid. He said Bill Paul, tournament director for the RBC Canadian Open, has visited and was surprised at how much room they had. The course, which is currently a 7,100-yard par 72 from the tips, is on 250 acres. We could easily stretch it to 7,400 yards or longer, Roy said.�

Having worked on the recent restoration/renovation of Cherry Hill, I’d be thrilled by the possibility. I’m curious to see how the current administration chooses to go in the future. They certainly are talking to everyone right now.

 

June 10th, 2010

 

 

 

Working in the United States

 

My latest client....

 

I have been working in the US for quite a few years now. My former employer was never fond of working on renovations in the States because it comes with so many complications such as work permits. I was always a big believer that we should be working in the US since the opportunity for historical work is much larger there.

 

I always wanted to work on as many architects work as I could since restoration is a research based process. I always thought being honest to what was built at “that� site was far more important than having perceived expertise on a particular architect.

 

 

Plymouth CC 11th

 

Through my efforts in the US, I have been hired to work on a series of architects such as Donald Ross, where I might not have had the same opportunity at home. The chance to work on from these courses is an honour and presents a real opportunity to learn and grow as an architect. This year I was hired to work on another new architect for me and one that I have admired for some time. I’m now working with a course just outside New York City that features some Tillinghaust in its legacy, but is almost exclusively the product of the great Seth Raynor. I’ll talk about this in detail next week.

 

Working in the US does take some planning and arranging. I need to spend at least a day obtaining yearly TN permits that allows me the right to work in the US. In some States I also require certain types of local arrangements to comply with the State Laws, which means I have developed relationships with local Civil Engineers and Landscape Architects which I’m really enjoying.

 

Some wonder if all this effort is worth it, but when you consider how excited I am to be working with a Seth Raynor course, it’s easy to see that it is. I love working on historical courses and have pretty much restricted myself to only that work in recent times. What I can’t wait to do is bring all these lessons into the few new courses that Mike and I will do in the near future.

 

June 9^th, 2010