Design Phase 2A Meadowbrook

When discussing changes to a golf course it is easy to forget that the course is a business and must remain in operation during any alterations. There are several ways to go about making changes while re- maining operational. One, a hole may be improved piecemeal while remaining open for play. This often involves mowing a circle of shorter grass into the fairway, cutting a hole in the middle of it and making improvements to the green and other parts of the hole while the hole remains in play. This solution is one that is often used but is not ideal. The temporary hole is rarely anything

more than a filler in the round and usually not very satisfying to play (even Cypress Point used this method during the author’s visit, turn- ing the exciting ninth into a dull drive and pitch) but it does allow the course to maintain a “full round” of nine or eighteen holes.

The second option involves closing the hole altogether and sim- ply reducing the round to either eight or seventeen holes. This option

Design Phase 2 Von Plinsky

cheating its customers. However, it does have the advantage of allowing the club to making any changes that are necessary without having to hold up work for daily play or having to design around temporary elements. The final and least often used option involves the addition of an entirely new hole, bringing the course’s total to ten or nineteen. This is not often done simply because it is expensive to design and build a new hole that must then be maintained. The benefits of this option however, are huge. Opening a new hole allows play to continue on a full course with nine (or eighteen) challenging holes while a hole elsewhere on the course can be closed indefinitely. This ensures that its redesign can move forward with no concessions made for temporary play and no undue time pressures that come with reducing a course to a less than standard number of holes.

For the purposes of this project the third option will be used to move forward with Design Phase 2A. After careful consideration a par three will be used as the additional hole for a couple of reasons; first, they require the least amount of land to build, second they require the least amount of money to build, and third they require the least amount of resources to maintain. These logical considerations along with a careful examination of the Pine Grove Springs site from a variety of different angles has led to the conclu- sion that the best area of the course on which to design a par three is in the southwest corner, just after play has concluded on the third green (Forest Green Oval). A par three here would be a logical bridge between

Von Plinsky Design Phase 2

the current third and fourth holes and due to its close proximity to both holes its placement would not adversely affect the rhythm of a round.

When determining the location and length for Meadowbrook the similarities of site and scale be- tween it and a Mackenzie gem became apparent. Playing at roughly the same length and elevation change as the world famous twelfth hole at Augusta National, Meadowbrook was the perfect opportunity to explore a few Mackenzian ideals.

Meadowbrook calls for a short iron shot to a kidney shaped green that is set at a slight left to right angle to the line of play (Forest Green Oval). There is a single bunker on this hole, which is located in the right-center niche of the green (Maroon Oval), a nearly identically position to a similar bunker at Augus- ta’s par three. The bunker serves several purposes; namely it provides a sense of scale and aids with depth perception while at the same time rescuing slightly missed shots from a more serious fate at the hands of the wetland pond, which borders the hole’s right side. At this point Meadowbrook and its muse diverge.

Unlike Augusta’s hole there are no bunkers beyond the green. Instead the punishment for missing the hole long is a steep drop off of several feet (Navy Blue Oval) from where a delicate pitch must be ex- ecuted to a green that runs away toward the water. Another divergence from Meadowbrook’s more famous cousin is that the hole offers a bailout to the timid. The area short of the green is left open to a player choosing to run a pitch up close to the hole rather than playing a direct line. A second major difference is the redan-like cant of the green. The steady but not too steep left-to-right sloping of the green allows a player to play at a back left pin without taking a direct line over the bunker or pond.

Meadowbrook is a fair design that allows a player to play as aggressively or timidly as he wishes and allows for more than one way to achieve a par. The balanced shot values mean that an aggressive play is re- warded proportion with its difficulty when successful and when the shot is unsuccessful it will be punished

Design Phase 2 Von Plinsky

in similar fashion. Finally, the hole is not as penal as many waterside holes tend to be. Unless the water is found recovery is not impossible when a little skill and creativity is applied.