Rees J on the Medinah changes

[PThomas]

hello all

from Chicagoland Golf, a local publication, August:

"I likened this redesign project much to the way we did the CC at Brookline......

" A lot of changes have been made to Brookline over the years that really didn't coincide with the original design, original concepts, original green sizes.  So what we really did is we built seven new greens much like the older greens and took out the newer features that have been built over the last ten years.

"We also, in light of the technology changes, rebunkered the entire golf course.  The bunkers had eroded at the edge, and we relocated the bunkers closer to the green surfaces, bringing them more into play, taking [fairway bunkers] farther out from the tee so that they could actually accomodate the equipment and the palyers of today.

"And then we added some yardage, not a significant amount of yardage, not as much as we added at Torrey Pines....because Medinah was already ahead of the curve.  It had the length , it had the green contours, it had great golf holes.  ....but we did take out about 300 trees because trees are organic and they tend to grow in where the sunlight is, so that was another restoration project in essence to bring the golf course and the envelopes[MY COMMENT:  I NEVER HEARD THAT WORD USED BEFORE LIKE THIS!!] of the golf course back to the way they had been in the past.

""But for the most part, I think we've given [Medinah] an entirely new look.  We have classic old style sculptured bunkers which are like A.W. Tillinghast or Mackenzie bunkers...Bunkers are deeper, the green contours and sizes of the seven greens that we did are complemenetary to the greens that were originally here"

anybody played there since the changes???

[Tom_Doak]

So are they like MacKenzie bunkers, or like Tillinghast bunkers?

[Jeff_Mingay]

What's a Tillinghast bunker? In other words, do they look like the original bunkers at San Francisco or the ones at Somerset Hills?

Or, how about the original bunkers at Winged Foot? Those ones?!

[Paul Richards]

Paul


I have played there a couple times since the changes.

I like what they did there, for the most part.  The lengthening doesn't seem to be overally severe.   The new bunkering is a vast improvement.

The greens are SO much better than before, mainly due to massive tree removal around them.  The tees are in much better shape now due to the massive tree removal around them that allows sun and moisture and less competition.

However, that being said, the job seems like it's only 2/3rds done.  While they removed vast numbers of trees around the tees and greens, it appeared they did not remove a single tree or even a limb from each tee to each green.  This is the area where the most improvement can be made to the course.

Finish the tree removal job you started!

 

[T_MacWood]

"We have classic old style sculptured bunkers which are like A.W. Tillinghast or Mackenzie bunkers"

...or Travis bunkers or Flynn bunkers or you-name-it bunkers...

Translation: they now look like Rees bunkers.

[Tom_Doak]

Paul R:  I've been beat up for my review of Medinah No. 3 about as much as any course included in The Confidential Guide.  So, your review of the improvements to the course lead me to ask a question:  if the course was so good before, how is it possible for them to keep redesigning and improving it so much?

[Paul Richards]

Tom

I thought the course was very good before - but it was hard to tell HOW good underneath the clutter of all of those darn trees!

If they finish the job here, I think it will deserve its lofty ranking.

As is, I agree with you, it leaves me wanting.

That being said, playing Medinah once in a while is a treat.  However, it is just too hard to be fun to play very frequently.  There are plenty of other excellent courses in this area that make golf fun to play all the time.   Medinah #3 is like work sometimes.  

[Ken Fry]

I played not long after the course reopened.

The yardage from the back tees is almost a joke as most distance markers are less than one step from the back of the tees (i.e. the course can't play to the advertised 7508 yards).

The original first green was controversal with it's severe slope, but I'm not a big fan of the new one.  The old green followed the ground contour of the fairway in a high right to low left fashion and the new green does the opposite.  It just didn't fit my eye like the old one from the fairway.  A few of the other greens also struck me this way, most noteably the par 5 14th.  The bunker complex fronting the green looks entirely forced and manufactured.

The change to the par 3 17th is excellent.  The hole sits back on the river as it should and is not repetitive with the par 3 13th.

The playing corridors are still choked with too many trees.  The course would still retain its difficulty if the trees were thinned out considerably.

If this was a form of "restoration," than shouldn't the bunkers be Bendelow bunkers?

Ken

[Jeff Goldman]

I know shivas and Matt W have gone round on this, but really, if the course WAS the 20 or 30th best course in the country, what the hell was anyone doing putting in SEVEN new greens and redoing all the bunkers. Pick out any course in the top 50 amd comsider that possibility. Camargo?  Chicago Golf? Plainfield?  Ridiculous.

Jeff Goldman

[Michael Kim]

I played this summer. Very impressed with the golf course, but was surprised to see something different than what I saw at the 1999 PGA. The bunkers were rescoped and deepened, and reminded me much of the bunkers at Torrey Pines.


Here's the 1st hole with the new tee. I sort of liked the old tee with its flower bed surrounding it and railroad ties. Now this hole is 435 from the tips. I was surprised by this.


The 7th Green. Here's a good example of the rebunkering. I'm glad they kept the rustic sand look, but the bunkers are so "Ree-sified".


The new 17th hole, Version 3. Hole used to be on the lake, they moved up the hill, and now back down to the lake.


The new approach to the 18th. They just raised the green by about 5 feet.

Great course. Great clubhouse. Very impressed.

[Paul Richards]

Michael

Great pics!!!