Alex Russell - revisited

[Mark_Huxford]

I recently came across some of Alex Russell's notes for Paraparaumu Beach, compiled for the club by the son of one of the founders. It makes interesting reading if you know the course and I must say I quite like Russell's practical approach.

Tom MacWood, you were correct about the amount of the initial course incorporated into Russell's design. He left several greensites as they were or just added a bunker or two.

Ran, what do you think of that proposed 12th?
Russell says he changed his mind about it in 1952 but it's one I would liked to have played.

The first paragraph about each hole is Russell in 1949. The second is Russell in 1952.

[Jeff_Lewis]

Wow. What a remarkable document.

[Ran Morrissett]

Mark,

Almost anything is an improvement over the current 12th and the idea of a distinct alternate route is intriguing but I am unclear exactly how he was going to pull it off without it appearing unnatural - was he going to use a high mound to replicate the dilemma of the Principal's Nose?

On the downside, his comments in favor of thick rough around the collar of the greens are both surprising and disappointing. Thankfully, none of his courses have such rough, at least that I have seen (Lake Karrinyup, P.Beach, and RM East).

Cheers,

[T_MacWood]

Mark
Very well done. What can you tell us of the photo, who's the gentleman in the suit? Russell? Ran?

[Mark_Huxford]

Ran, the 'high mound' Russell has penned on the sketch is about 300 yards down the hole. There is a second high mound on the right maybe 190 yards off the tee. It looks like Russell envisioned the regular tee shot going around the back of these dunes into an area that is currently fairly level rough, right of the lower fairway on 17.

The 'alternative route' he draws is the current 12th fairway we play but it starts only a hundred yards or so from the tee. I think there is enough room between 12 and 17 to try it and can't tell you why he didn't think it would work.

I agree with you about the rough comment. If anything the rough holds shots closer to the green, often on the upslope and provides a cushion to slide a lofted club underneath the ball. I personally want to bring back more chipping and bump and run shots.

Tom, I remembered your comments from the Alex Russell post here a little while ago and thought you would like to know more about him. The man who had these notes is Alex Paterson, Stronach Paterson's son. I live next to the 10th green and he lives over the road from me. Alex Russell stayed there with his family for two months in 1949 while laying out the course so I would really like to ask Mr Paterson what else he has kept and what Russell mentioned of MacKenzie.

As for the photo, it looks to be taken from the 14th tee looking across the beginings of the current 13th green. The 15th green is just visible in the top right of the picture. It is to the right of the cabbage tree while the 3rd green is to the left of it. The man in the photo is Douglas Whyte - The club captain at the time and one of the founders. The other man is Mr Hunt, the greenskeeper.  

[Paul_Daley]

Thanks Mark:

Great detective work to unearth all this.

[T_MacWood]

Mark
It's always exciting when you uncover new info, thanks for getting to the bottom of it. I bet Paterson is full of other interesting facts.

[Mark_Huxford]

Ran, what enhancements, to PB would you recommend to the club?

The new 18th tee and the practice fairway/chipping green are going to cause some headaches but the rest of the course has great potential in my opinion.

I little while ago I spoke to the greenkeeper about removing 'ornamental' trees that serve no purpose but to distract the eye on the course. Some of these decorative shrubs on the large teeing ground servicing the 5th and 8th holes have been taken out and already the feeling of spaciousness is returning.

[Mark_Huxford]

Here's a possible version of Russell's 1949 12th hole Ran. I've drawn in the position of the new 18th tee as well. The trees the new 18th's centre line bisects were removed earlier this year.

[Ran Morrissett]

Mark,

You really are a magician with all the fancy diagrams - great stuff!

I haven't played the course since 1997 so I am not in any position to make comments other than to say that the least appealing holes on the course were 7, 12, 14, and 18. The rest of the holes are almost all terrific but I would look at those four holes to see if anything has been lost from Russell's original work ala what you found out about the 12th above.

Also, Mark, you're notion of locating the 7th green well back and up into the dunes sounded like a great idea that is well worth exploring.

Unfortunately, the Club's quest for adding length to the 12th and 18th appears a misguided one, as best I can tell from what you have told us. Also, taking the trees down from behind the 16th green seems a mistake, given the ugly vista that was created.

Cheers,

[Mark_Huxford]

I'll have to do a little more digging
and find Russell's sketch of the 14th
green Ran. Four of his hole sketches appear
in the PBGC 50th Jubilee book so
this shouldn't be too hard.

The original green had to be moved 30
yards to the right because it was decided
it was too close to the boundary
(similar to #9 ch. tee). I will have
to find out if this was done between 1949
and 1952 - and therefore seen by Russell.
Or after D.O Whyte's death a few years
later and therefore not seen by him
(I think Whyte's contibution to the
course construction deserves a lot of credit).

It could be a nice drop hole but
something about the green doesn't fit.

The sand quarry behind the green on the
7th wasn't there in 1949 and in any case Russell chose to use an existing green
previously placed infront of it.

It was man made by the guys taking sand
for other parts of the course over the
years and is now abandoned. It is eroding
so fast however that I think it would be
a good idea (not to mention a safe one
as it is fully 15 feet deep) to take
the green side of the dune down
completely and create a chipping area
over the back of the green which leads
into the base of the quarry.

The green could be placed on the other
side of the quarry at some time in the future when the club has sufficient funds
or motivation to do so.

For whatever reason 18 is all messed up right now. I hope that with 'no one at
home' on the old 18th tee, something
more interesting can at least be done to
the 12th (the tees share the same block).