Arthur Hills Renovation Book...Has He Ever Blown It...

[JakaB]

Representative Renovation Projects

UNITED STATES:    
     
ARIZONA    
Camelback Inn (Padre Course) Scottsdale 1999
Oro Valley Country Club Oro Valley 1987
Stonecreek Paradise Valley 1988
     
CALIFORNIA    
Half Moon Bay Golf Links (Links Course) Half Moon Bay 1999
Palos Verdes Golf Club Palos Verdes Estates 1989
     
COLORADO    
Green Gables Country Club Denver 2004
 
     
FLORIDA    
Colliers Reserve Golf Club Naples 2004
Country Club of Florida Boynton Beach 1987
Deer Creek Country Club Margate 1993
Foxfire Country Club Naples 2002
Palmetto Pine Country Club Cape Coral 1993
The Club at Pelican Bay Naples 1999
Quail Creek Country Club Naples 2002
Royal Poinciana Golf Club Naples 1991
Wilderness Club Naples 2002
     
GEORGIA    
Druid Hills Country Club Atlanta 1985
Country Club of Columbus Columbus 2002
     
ILLINOIS    
Ivanhoe Club Ivanhoe 2001-2003
Ruth Lake Country Club Chicago 2003
Westmoreland Country Club Wilmette 1992
     
INDIANA    
Elcona Country Club Elkhart 1986
Fort Wayne Country Club Fort Wayne 1986
Orchard Ridge Country Club Fort Wayne 1990
     
IOWA    
Wakonda Club Des Moines 1993
     
KENTUCKY    
Big Spring Country Club Louisville 1988
Summit Hills Country Club Fort Mitchell 1985
Hurstborne Country Club Louisville 1986
Hunting Creek Country Club Louisville 1988
University of Kentucky Golf Club Lexington 2001
     
MARYLAND      
Army Navy Country Club Washington DC 2003
Bethesda Country Club Bethesda 1993
Burning Tree Bethesda 1998
Chevy Chase Club Chevy Chase 1998
Congressional Country Club Bethesda 1999
Manor Club Rockville 2003
Woodmont Country Club Rockville 1999
     
MICHIGAN    
Barton Hills Country Club Ann Arbor 1983, 1994
Birmingham Country Club Birmingham 1985, 1994
Bloomfield Hills Country Club Bloomfield Hills 1981
Crystal Downs Country Club Frankfort 1991
Country Club of Detroit Grosse Pointe Farms 1981
Detroit Golf Club Detroit 78, 80, 85, 99
Edgewood Country Club Union Lake 1986
Forest Akers (East) at MSU E. Lansing 1997
Forest Akers (West) at MSU E. Lansing 1991
Forest Lake Country Club Bloomfield Hills 1981, 1993
Fox Hills Country Club Plymouth 1998
Franklin Hills Country Club Franklin 1986
Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club Grosse Ile 1981
Gull Lake Country Club Richland 1992
Indianwood Golf & Country Club Lake Orion 1984
Lenawee Country Club Adrian 1995
Leslie Park Golf Course Ann Arbor 1996
Lochmoor Club Grosse Pointe Woods 1981
University of Michigan Ann Arbor 1992, 1996
Oakland Hills Country Club Birmingham 1987
Orchard Lake Country Club Orchard Lake 1984, 1996
Plum Hollow Golf Club Southfield 1984
Point O'Woods Golf & Country Club Benton Harbor 1987
Walnut Creek Country Club South Lyon 1989, 1993, 1996
Western Golf & Country Club Redford 1987
     
MINNESOTA    
University of Minnesota Golf Course Minneapolis 1992
Owatonna Country Club Owatonna 1989
     
NEBRASKA    
Highland Country Club Omaha 1995
     
NEW JERSEY    
Pennbrook Country Club Somerset County 1984
     
NEW YORK    
Country Club of Rochester Rochester 1984, 1990
Monroe Country Club Pittsford 1984
Park Country Club Buffalo 1983
Siwanoy Country Club Bronxville 1997
Wykagyl Country Club New Rochelle 1993
     
NORTH CAROLINA    
Country Club of North Carolina Pinehurst 1999-2002
Greensboro Country Club Greensboro 2003
     
OHIO    
Belmont Country Club Rossford 1979
Brown's Run Country Club Middletown 1988
Clovernook Country Club Cincinnati 1984
Crest Hills Country Club Cincinnati 1986
Fremont Country Club Fremont 1985
Stone Oak Country Club Toledo 1983
Greene Country Club Fairborn 1992
GE Park Cincinnati 1991-93
Heatherdowns Country Club Toledo 1988
Hyde Park Golf & Country Club Cincinnati 1984, 1993
Inverness Club Toledo 1983, 1994, 1999
Kenwood Country Club Cincinnati 1993-94
Kirtland Country Club Willoughby 1990-91
Lost Creek Country Club Lima 1991
Maketewah Country Club Cincinnati 1989
Marion Country Club Marion 1987, 1993
Ottawa Park Golf Course Toledo 1977
Plum Brook Country Club Sandusky 1993
Sylvania Country Club Sylvania 1983
Terrace Park Country Club Cincinnati 1985, 1997
Toledo Country Club Toledo 1979, 1997
Shady Hollow Country Club Canton 1991
Springfield Country Club Springfield 1991
Valleywood Country Club Swanton 1993
     
PENNSYLVANIA    
Chartiers Country Club Pittsburgh 1986
Churchill Valley Country Club Pittsburgh 1991
Colonial Country Club Harrisburg 2002
Edgewood Country Club Pittsburgh 1987, 1993, 1997
Lehigh Country Club Lehigh 1990
Oakmont Country Club Oakmont 1991, 1995,
Pittsburgh Field Club Pittsburgh 1986, 1996
     
SOUTH CAROLINA    
Bear Creek Golf Club Hilton Head Island 1986
Rosehill Country Club Bluffton 1988
Pine Hills at Myrtlewood Golf Club Myrtle Beach 1992
     
VIRGINIA    
Belle Haven Country Club Alexandria 2002
Country Club of Fairfax Fairfax 2002
Hermitage Country Club Manakin-Sabot 1989
     
WISCONSIN    
Maple Bluff Country Club Madison 2001
Milwaukee Country Club Milwaukee 1999
Nakoma Golf Club Madison 1997-1998
Naga-Waukee Golf Course Waukesha 1998-1999
Wanaki Golf Course Waukesha 1998-1999
     
INTERNATIONAL:    
     
CANADA    
Board of Trade Country Club Toronto 1993
Essex Golf & Country Club Windsor 1972, 1991, 1997
     
JAMAICA    
The Tryall Club, Resort & Villas Hanover 2003
 

[THuckaby2]

Odd that he lists Half Moon Bay - Links as a renovation... that was most definitely a brand new course he designed.  Ask Pete Galea.    

[JakaB]

I thought he did a fine job at The Country Club of Columbus in Columbus, GA.....I remember telling my bud that I would join the place if I wouldn't have to tell anyone it was a Hills redo...I do remember a perfectly square green that didn't fit my gut...but it was interesting at the very least.

[A_Clay_Man]

One interesting aside, I heard he was none too pleased with the alterations done on his beloved Dunes at Seville, Now the The Dunes Golfers club.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Art is a very nice man. Huck I think that is the Palmer course he did some modifications too. I am not positive though.

[Mike_Cirba]

See that!

Arthur Hills renovated Lehigh in 1990 and within a decade it became a lost gem, climbing the national ranking charts!    

[THuckaby2]

Art is a very nice man. Huck I think that is the Palmer course he did some modifications too. I am not positive though.

The Palmer course most definitely had major work done in the last few years, and I don't know who did it - maybe it was Hills.  But unless JK copied this wrong, Hills lists the Links and that's the new course... Seems sloppy to me to get this reference wrong... Hey, I love the course and have absolutely nothing against Art Hills, believe me.  I just think he needs a good copy editor!

TH

[Peter Galea]

After Arthur Hills desgned the Half Moon Bay Ocean Course(1997), he renovated the Links Course(1973 Palmer-Duane).

[Jim Sweeney]

Scratch Big Spring in Louisville,KY fromthe list. It was completely remodeled last summer to the design of Tom Fazio.

My understanding is the routing remains, but it has a totally different look.

[Buck Wolter]

Crystal Downs turned out pretty good.

[Steven_Biehl]

Buck,

Be careful who you give credit to for Crystal Downs.  Arthur Hills did do a bunker restoration there in the early 90s.  The resulting bunkers were completely out of place.  They had perfectly rounded edges with perfectly shaped capes and bays.  If you had seen any of the bunkers, you would likely agree how awful the project turned out.  Luckly, soon after the bunkers were done, the club historian found an old 8mm film from the late 30s that had documentation of how the course looked then (very soon after the course was completed).  After seeing this film, the club scrapped what Arthur Hills had done, and completely rebuilt all of their bunkers in house.  The bunkers at Crystal Downs now, are a result of Mike Morris and his crew, and a little help from and old 8mm film.  

I wish I had some pictures of the Arthur Hills bunkers, but they showed absolutely now representation of anything Maxwell, or Mackenzie would have built.

[Buck Wolter]

Steven-
It's hard to show facetiousness in a post as I'm not a big fan of the emoticons . Didn't know the whole story but I thought it was probably hubris for Hills to list CD as a restoration -- not sure what the source document was for this post.

Buck

[JakaB]

Buck,

The source is www.arthurhills.com ...The information found in the Design Student section is mind boggeling in itself..

[TEPaul]

redanman:

I heard that too from the same reliable source. But I always assumed that was the point where Lehigh said; "Art, this is the point called exit stage left!" And now you're telling me they actually let him work on the course after he had to ask who designed it? What does it take to get a golf club not to hire a particular architect?  

[ForkaB]

Pete G. is right, of course about HMB.  It is confusing since what is now the "Old" course used to be called the "Links" course (before the "Ocean" course was built........).

All that being said, the answer to JakaB's question is yes.  The "renovation" of the HMB Links/Old course was a major "blow" job.  All he did was take some of the left over excavations from the Ocean course and dump it on the Links/Old course in mostly out-of-play mounds (viz. the 12th green site...) that even Rees Jones would have gagged on if were to see them.

Disclosure--I lived next to and played over (a few hundred times) the Links/Old course from 1984-1988 and played it again a few times in 2001 after Hills had renovated it.  It bad.

PS--forgot to say that the Ocean course is a gem--one of the best post 1980 courses I have played.  And the Links/Old track, despite the mounds and the invasive condos is not that bad either--just not as good as before Hills touched it.

[Jeff_Lewis]

He did a good job at Siwanoy and at Tryall.

[noonan]

He did a good job at Siwanoy and at Tryall.

He is not highly skilled at best.

[GeoffreyC]

Siwanoy enjoys STAYING a hidden gem. Its one heck of a wonderful golf course that I could enjoy playing every day. Ross really used diagonal fairways and hazards very well on this property.  

I recall only objecting to a stupid pond and stone retaining wall put in by Hills on #12 to replace a creek and possibly moving one green on about hole 16 or so.

[Jfaspen]

I enjoy Forest Akers West here at MSU.

The East course is built on very uninspiring land and even the green complexes for the most part don't leave a lasting impression.

jf

[THuckaby2]

Pete G. is right, of course about HMB.  It is confusing since what is now the "Old" course used to be called the "Links" course (before the "Ocean" course was built........).

All that being said, the answer to JakaB's question is yes.  The "renovation" of the HMB Links/Old course was a major "blow" job.  All he did was take some of the left over excavations from the Ocean course and dump it on the Links/Old course in mostly out-of-play mounds (viz. the 12th green site...) that even Rees Jones would have gagged on if were to see them.

Disclosure--I lived next to and played over (a few hundred times) the Links/Old course from 1984-1988 and played it again a few times in 2001 after Hills had renovated it.  It bad.

PS--forgot to say that the Ocean course is a gem--one of the best post 1980 courses I have played.  And the Links/Old track, despite the mounds and the invasive condos is not that bad either--just not as good as before Hills touched it.

Pete G is indeed correct and he ought to know!  But as for Hills' list of renovations, well... I'd still say he needs an editor, because the older course has been called the "Old" and the newer one the "Links" for a long time now... so for a reader today, the assumption would be he renovated the newer course, not the older one.. which he built from scratch....

Oh, never mind.  Confusing it remains.

As for the quality of the two courses, I agree completely.  

TH

[Greg Holland]

Can anyone comment on Hills' work at the CCNC Dogwood course?  I know his work on the Cardinal course did not receive praise on this site, but I have heard from non-GCA types that his work on Dogwood was quite good.  Anyone?

[Dan_Callahan]

I thought he did a fine job at The Country Club of Columbus in Columbus, GA.....I remember telling my bud that I would join the place if I wouldn't have to tell anyone it was a Hills redo...I do remember a perfectly square green that didn't fit my gut...but it was interesting at the very least.

Hills built a square green at Newport National that is completely out of place on an otherwise very natural course. Did the square green at CC of Columbus pre-exist Hills, or was that built as part of the restoration?

The square green at Newport was the first I had ever seen, and I hated it. What is the possible rational for such a feature?

[Greg Holland]

I believe Raynor used square greens, for example at Yeaman's Hall.  Also, Love Design -- in its "Rossnor" style -- has used them.  At Forest Oaks CC here in NC where the PGA plays, the Love redesign has been very well received.  In addition, I believe Paul Cowley indicated that the squared-off greens add more pin positions.  I found it added interest to the hole.  

[JakaB]

I'm not a big fan of the squround greens...instead of Rossnor why not just call it Stiles....Wayne Stiles was the first and original Rossnor way back in the day anyway..

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